Author Archives: stillalife

About stillalife

I retired June 30, 2010 after working for 40 years in the field of education and most recently doing school public relations/community outreach in a mid-size urban school district. I wrote for superintendents and school board members. Now I'm writing for me and I hope for you. In this blog, I offer my own views coupled with the latest research on how to preserve our physical and mental health as we age, delve into issues most of us over 50 can relate to like noticing wrinkles and forgetting where we left our keys, discuss the pros and cons of different ways to engage our minds and bodies after we leave the workplace, and throw in an occasional book review, all peppered with a touch of humor, irony, and just plain silliness. Also, I'm on the third draft of my second novel since retirement.

Broken pottery and other inconveniences

Posted on March 13, 2023 by stillalife

Recently, I’ve reverted back to life as it was during the months of quarantine, a time when ideas for new blog topics were as scarce as cat food and toilet paper. Quarantine returned last week after my husband and I tested … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 7 Comments

Valentine’s Day and Our Health

Posted on February 14, 2023 by stillalife

Happy Valentine’s Day! February 14 celebrations have had many justifications, some of them very strange. Historians describe the Valentine’s Day of many centuries past as a dark holiday involving drunken, naked Roman romantics who “sacrificed a goat and a dog, … Continue reading →

Posted in aging, current events/themes, friends and family | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Drawing for the ages — or the aged

Posted on January 30, 2023 by stillalife

Some people excel in painting, ceramics, collage and other artistic media. I do well in photography, but not so well in others. But that knowledge doesn’t keep me from dreaming of success in every medium. A group of friends I’ve … Continue reading →

Posted in aging, arts and crafts | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments

Writing with robots

Posted on January 17, 2023 by stillalife

Lately, news reporters and cartoonists have been taking on the topic of Chat GPT, the Advanced A.I. If you don’t know what this is, neither did I, until recently.   “Chat AI for writers,” who are now known as “content … Continue reading →

Posted in current events/themes | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Lost homing pigeon to be driven home

Posted on January 4, 2023 by stillalife

Here goes 2023. During December, three people asked why I’d hardly blogged in 2022; a friend on the East Coast emailed to ask if she’d been removed from the blog mailing list; and someone else said she’d like to start … Continue reading →

Posted in humor | Tagged , , | 13 Comments

The age of distractions

Posted on April 18, 2022 by stillalife

Recently, I read that the average adult can stay on a mental track for eight seconds, whereas goldfish can stay on track for nine. (How does anyone know the mind of a goldfish?) Fishy story or not, a lot of … Continue reading →

Posted in current events/themes, personal reflections | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Notes from a former Yale student

Posted on March 15, 2022 by stillalife

This post is a continuation of the last one, in which I confessed to my foolishness in signing up for a ten-week course, “The Science of Happiness,” offered by Yale University.  Taking the course was an impulse decision, and like … Continue reading →

Posted in personal reflections | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

A cozy mystery

Posted on February 28, 2022 by stillalife

After missing a year or two of the large annual bluegrass and folk music festival in my city, I decided to take a chance in 2022 and attend.  I didn’t make up my mind until the last minute, when a friend … Continue reading →

Posted in humor | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

New Year’s resolutions are to blame

Posted on January 31, 2022 by stillalife

After the holidays, I attended a Zoom class on how to keep a visual diary.  Not having kept a diary before, but having received dozens of notebooks as gifts in anticipation of a time I might keep one, I decided … Continue reading →

Posted in arts and crafts, luxury of time, personal reflections | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

2021 in the rear view mirror

Posted on December 16, 2021 by stillalife

I planned to write an end-of-year letter to friends, but gave up and decided to turn it into a blog. So, dear friends, 2021 was a year of missing pieces. No overseas trips, few social events, and no encounters with crowds.   … Continue reading →

Posted in Covid, humor, personal reflections | Tagged , , , , , , | 9 Comments