geezerchick

geezerchick
Bio
exercise junkie, married to the best alien on Earth, four grandchildren, ornery dog who is not house-trained, if it's legal, I've probably done it -- for pay

MY RECENT POSTS

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Salon.com
DECEMBER 11, 2010 5:16PM

Who Wants a Happy Childhood?

I was flummoxed to read an advertisement in a home schooling magazine that said, “You can expect exceptional writing from happy students!”


Huh? Nobody in my experience had a happy childhood, and I know quite a few exceptional writers. Happy children would not have the memories necessary… Read full post »

DECEMBER 9, 2010 1:24PM

The Wall is My Friend

In this blog, I write about my exercise program, most of which is successfully helping me recover my strength and balance after being hit by a car while biking.  It’s only fair that I report a set-back, too.

I usually do yoga standing poses against a wall. I’ve felt steady,… Read full post »
DECEMBER 6, 2010 9:39AM

Family Science Projects

For family get-togethers, I’ve become the maven of low-cost entertainment.  This year, the big hit at Thanksgiving was the plastic spoon catapult.


 http://www.ehow.com/video_4950873_build-catapult.html


All you need are some wood scraps (easily available from my neighborhood carpent… Read full post »

DECEMBER 1, 2010 1:35PM

A Strap Around My Hips in Yoga



My Sunday yoga teacher looks out for me.  It bothers her that I often leave class in pain.  No matter that I often arrive in pain – she says yoga should help me feel better.  My Sunday yoga teacher referred me to her yoga teacher, who has a beginning… Read full post »
NOVEMBER 29, 2010 9:41AM

Ideas for Teaching World History

While walking, the morning after our Thanksgiving feast, my younger daughter’s husband came up with an idea for teaching world history.   Americans are taught US history year after year after year in school, but only one year, during high school, is devoted to studying world history. That… Read full post »

NOVEMBER 23, 2010 9:41AM

Watching MacBeth in Modern Dress



Shakespeare’s play, MacBeth, is not historically accurate:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macbeth,_King_of_Scotland


MacBeth was a good king who ruled long and well.


That’s not relevant to watching the play – it’s just the sort of detail that adds to my enjoyment of the… Read full post »

NOVEMBER 19, 2010 1:51PM

I Smell Like My Grandmother

My grandmother smelled like wintergreen. She was the only person I knew who smelled like that. I liked her, so I didn’t mind the smell. I asked her why she smelled like that. She showed me a roll of wintergreen lifesavers, and gave me one.  It tasted awful.  I ran toRead full post »

NOVEMBER 15, 2010 12:55PM

New Computer Blues

There was nothing wrong with my client’s computer.  If she only wanted it for writing and book keeping, she would have been fine.  But it was a 5 year old computer with only 514 meg of RAM, and a small hard drive.  And she wanted to do email and browse the… Read full post »

NOVEMBER 12, 2010 10:22AM

A Woman's Place is On Top -- Annapurna

Breaking Trail: A Climbing Life by Arlene Blum, isn’t just the story of a woman who led teams of women climbing the highest mountains in the world.  It is the story of a woman who broke many trails, as a chemist, an environmental activist, and as a single woman, singleRead full post »
NOVEMBER 7, 2010 1:05PM

Rapunzel, The Second

I’m slowly learning that when I do magic for my grandchildren, the props must be indestructible. Plus they must not have any tricky switches or secret compartments that will let my grandchildren figure out how the trick is done. Also, there must not be any slight of hand because they like… Read full post »

I just got this email, and it appears legitimate.  The video is good, too.

 From: joaniboomer <joaniboomer@aol.com>

 20, 2010 9:25 am

Subject: Fwd: Help Susan G. Komen just by watching a video!


  A  few weeks ago, 135 Philadelphia Eagles Cheerleaders representing… Read full post »

NOVEMBER 1, 2010 12:10PM

It's All Arbitrary


After the accident, which included a concussion, my husband and best friend were relieved that I had not had a personality change.  I was puzzled by their concern.  These are people who like me – wouldn’t they like me if my personality changed?


All my life, I’ve met peop… Read full post »

OCTOBER 31, 2010 6:45PM

Squirrel-Proof Screen


I live in the kind of neighborhood where break-ins are usually at gun-point, and the intruders / thieves force their way in through the front door.


A few weeks ago, I came home to my peaceful quiet living room, took off my shoes.  Then I entered my kitchen, which… Read full post »

OCTOBER 26, 2010 2:17PM

Spelling Out the Magic

This is Magic Week.  Members of The Society of American Magicians do free shows at hospitals around the country. Sometimes we all meet in a room and magicians take turns presenting to a group. At other hospitals, we go room to room.


At Children’s Hospital we had some wonderful skeptics… Read full post »

OCTOBER 23, 2010 12:20PM

Conjoined Gingerbread Men

conjoined gingerbread man

The Mütter Museum in Philadelphia is where medical science in the United States started. These early doctors were not fascinated with normal.  

They concentrated their early studies on what made them curious. Conjoined twins, shrunken heads, deformities and severe injuries.  M… Read full post »

OCTOBER 20, 2010 12:07PM

X-Ray the Thinking

Over the past year, I’ve been to 3 physical therapists and 3 chiropractors, one rehab doc and a massage therapist. I go to yoga and Pilates and Feldenkrais classes every week. I do Egoscue exercises every morning. I’m the most active person I know. I have a little more mobility than… Read full post »

OCTOBER 16, 2010 12:28PM

Playing Games

I have not played board games for decades.  I never liked Monopoly.  I figured the name was because the game monopolized the players’ time. Checkers, Chinese Checkers, and Clue intrigued me. Especially Clue because in a sense, it was always my turn. Either I was hunting for clues or h… Read full post »

At first, I liked my mother-in-law.  That was before I married her son. She was on good behavior. She was civil to me, at first, after our marriage – until I refused to name our first daughter Laura.  She always wanted a daughter to name Laura.  I don’t like the name… Read full post »

OCTOBER 7, 2010 2:36PM

Sharing my Grand Daughters

I’m a long-distance grandma – about 3000 miles distant. I get out to CA to see my grand twins once or twice a year.  I was about to give up on corrupting them.


My mother gets along great with my daughters – they agree that I’m a hopeless hippie.  I… Read full post »

OCTOBER 6, 2010 11:57AM

A Mom Wins Because Her Horse Wins

First the acknowledgment – I got free tickets from BlogHer to see the movie Secretariat. I’m sure they gave out the free tickets because they hoped people would blog about the movie before it is released.


Second, the caveat – I don’t see the point of watching horses, dogs, ca… Read full post »

OCTOBER 3, 2010 11:51AM

Why Does a Boy Want a Woman's Bicycle?

Philadelphia has distinct neighborhoods.  I live in a primarily Polish, Italian, Lithuanian neighborhood with an influx of educated out-of-towners. Yesterday I rode my bike through a middle class African American to a less-well-off neighborhood with a well-stocked hardware store.  To get to… Read full post »

 schnecken

Don’t take my word for anything, if you can do an experiment.  


That was my rule when I taught chemistry.  And that’s the rule in my kitchen.


I was showing my niece how to make RoRo’s Schnecken, a treasured family treat that RoRo said is… Read full post »

SEPTEMBER 28, 2010 7:01AM

My Husband is Sleeping Through the Night

I thought about writing an ode, but this information is too important to wait until I count syllables and perfect the meter.  My husband, the alien, is sleeping through the night. This is not just since his escape from the hospital. He’s sleeping through the night for the first time in… Read full post »

SEPTEMBER 25, 2010 8:58AM

Why I'm Not Suing

I’m getting angry emails from a reader who is sure that if I don’t sue the hospital that nearly killed my husband that the hospital will endanger future patients.


She imagines that a lawsuit will make them rethink their policies, and change their evil ways.


Instead, mal-practice lawsuit… Read full post »

SEPTEMBER 24, 2010 10:36AM

Dancing With Pilates Students

I’m getting pretty good at mat Pilates. Roll-ups. Seal. I can even sort-of do Teaser, which is a kind of sit-up where you pretend you have helium balloons attached to your chest that pull you up to sitting from lying flat on the floor.


Mat Pilates is primarily work with… Read full post »