Clean restrooms

If it's one thing we retired people appreciate, it's clean restrooms, right? Something in our anatomy means we need the facilities more often, and being retired, we travel more than before, so we're often gazing at something growing, or going.


The loveliest public facility on an interstate just has to be Salt Kettle in Illinois, between Danville and Champaign-Urbana. It's a place you can look forward to--worth crossing your leg for 'til you get there. The photo (taken from Google) doesn't show the setting. It probably wouldn't get a Golden Plunger award, however, the setting is worth not getting back in the car so quickly and taking off. There are a lovely pond, wonderful trees, and many birds and wildlife.

The modern version of an old song

An e-mail said Julie Andrews performed this for AARP, "My Favourite Things" from the legendary movie "The Sound Of Music." Here are the actual lyrics she used:

Maalox and nose drops and needles for knitting,
Walkers and handrails and new dental fittings,
Bundles of magazines tied up in string,
These are a few of my favourite things.

Cadillac's and cataracts, and hearing aids and glasses,
Polident and Fixodent and false teeth in glasses,
Pacemakers, golf carts and porches with swings,
These are a few of my favourite things..

When the pipes leak, When the bones creak,
When the knees go bad,
I simply remember my favourite things,
And then I don't feel so bad.

Hot tea and crumpets and corn pads for bunions,
No spicy hot food or food cooked with onions,
Bathrobes and heating pads and hot meals they bring,
These are a few of my favourite things.

Back pains, confused brains, and no need for sinnin',
Thin bones and fractures and hair that is thinnin',
And we won't mention our short, shrunken frames,
When we remember our favourite things.

When the joints ache, When the hips break,
When the eyes grow dim,
Then I remember the great life I've had,
And then I don't feel so bad.

B vitamins slow brain shrinkage

Just in time. Not a minute too soon.

"Results from the double-blind controlled trial, published in the journal Public Library of Science One, revealed the annual rate of brain atrophy in subjects who took B vitamins was almost 30 per cent less than those on a placebo. Researchers involved in the 24-month trial believe the findings may be the first step in finding a way to delay the onset of Alzheimer’s."

B vitamins slow brain shrinkage - Pharmacy News

"Homocysteine-Lowering by B Vitamins Slows the Rate of Accelerated Brain Atrophy in Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Randomized Controlled Trial," A David Smith, Stephen M Smith, Celeste A de Jager, Philippa Whitbread, Carole Johnston, Grzegorz Agacinski, Abderrahim Oulhaj, Kevin M Bradley, Robin Jacoby, Helga Refsum

PLoS ONE: Research Article, published 08 Sep 2010, 10.1371/journal.pone.0012244