Are you unhappy? Or maybe just feeling like your life isn’t all that stellar? I have a sure cure for that – just 10 easy steps! Go to your utility room, and find the main water shut off valve. If you don’t know where it is, find out as soon as possible. Turn the valve … read more Water solvable
Tag: 2015
Sticking to it
There seems to be a conspiracy afoot to keep me from my goals of losing weight, painting my sketched concepts, and writing a book. Just in the last four months, my brain blew up. My shoulder froze. Big projects at the cabin need supervision. I signed up with an unhelpful self-publishing program. And now the … read more Sticking to it
The secret to happiness and health
For 75 years, Harvard has been tracking a group of ordinary American men and their families. From the thousands of pages of research that this study entailed, they found out the secret of happiness and health. You can hear all the details in a TED talk, below, or … … you can read my summary here. … read more The secret to happiness and health
Thought replacement
Seems like every day I hear about something that someone replaced. Hip replacement. Hair replacement. Or they replaced their stove, their car, their bathroom. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could go to the doctor, or the store, and get thought replacement? Old thought: I’m so fat. New thought: I really enjoy eating, good thing that I’m well-off enough … read more Thought replacement
Metal to the pedal
With all the winter slip-sliding on the roads, you’re bound to notice dings and scratches on your car when spring rain washes it clean. But say you can’t afford to re-paint your car. What would you do? Save your pennies? Good idea. You’d probably need less than $400 in pennies to cover your car, and then you’d … read more Metal to the pedal
Curves and ice
I was standing at the stove cooking, and suddenly it hit me again: the ax in the head. I wasn’t having another aneurysm rupture. Just for a moment, I was re-living it. The fear that gripped me. Being alone. The pain and dizziness out of nowhere – no warning at all. One minute I was … read more Curves and ice
Swimming in beauty
Before my aneurysm, I went to water aerobics and swam laps in this pool. I was very purposeful – get in, get the exercise, get a shoulder massage from the whirlpool, get out. It was only when I began to use the pool more slowly – in the open area outside the lap lanes – … read more Swimming in beauty
Other gifts, too
About a month into my recovery, a friend who is an herbalist and practices traditional Chinese medicine told me: “Your shen had a fright and has yet to fully return. Taking baby steps to make things nice and cozy ‘in Lisa’ will entice your shen’s full return.” She recommended herbs, meditation, looking at green things, being … read more Other gifts, too
Watch over me
It’s only this week, now that I feel almost fully recovered from the brain surgery, that I realize what a big deal it was. Eleven weeks today, almost to the minute, since that aneurysm ruptured and I collapsed on the floor. I really did almost die. And the surgeons really did dig through my brain. … read more Watch over me
Suddenly simpler
Sometimes my to-do list is so long, it makes me incredibly anxious. Even worse than the long to-do lists is the mess at my desk. Since November, even before I had a brain aneurysm, my desk has been covered with growing piles of paper: magazines, memorabilia, bills, receipts, cards, and random sheets of information. It corresponds to the … read more Suddenly simpler