Benny and Scott got the cork installed in the master bedroom and the office yesterday, and are working on the living room floor today. (Cara, I am making your mom's chicken casserole for their lunch, thanks for the recipe.)

I inspected and admired, then went out to the garden and realized I will never keep up with the weeds. Never. Damn.

Scott has hired his niece's boyfriend for the summer, and put him to work washing out the kitchen cupboards with some kind of chemical cleaner so the paint will stick. Everett and I had already scrubbed them out once but not well enough, so here is Derek, doing a fine job.

***

Katherine has given permission to post her letter about the Tibetan Rites, so here it is:

"a year ago, shortly after my 73 birthday i was given a book by Peter Kelder: Ancient Secrets of the Fountain of Youth, a small pamphlet published in the 80's

despite having successfully overcome a number of health issues like cancer, cataracts, anemia, high blood pressure, and a heart condition i was beginning to accept the idea that as i aged i wd become decrepit

not anymore!

the five tibetan rites described in the book seemed simple enough and i saw that i cd do them more or less plus the book was permissive about them / do the ones you can and you'll be able to do the ones you cant later on plus you are encouraged to be slow about it / just the thing!

testimonials to the benefits from them were skeptical inducing but at the same time i was curious and so i began slowly / in a day or two i promised myself i wd do them for at least a year / they seemed to suit me so much more than any other exercise program i had done before (yoga, pilates, canadian air force, etc)

also you dont need a coach or a class / in fact, they can be performed in 15 minutes or less / also right for me

you do each movement three times to start and add two more times each succeeding week until you get to 21 times each / this takes ten weeks / i followed this program and did them every morning after my walk (two miles early with the dogs)

in a way the tibetans are not exactly an exercise program / the movements (five of them) are designed to stimulate your endocrine (ductless glands) system which pumps our hormones directly into the blood stream / ageing diminishes the production of hormones and also throws the system out of balance

wow, i cd hardly have anticipated what came to pass !

well, let's see, in no particular order the benefits (so far) have been : strengthened back and abdominal muscles, lowered my blood pressure, removed my liver spots, bristly chin whiskers disappeared, lost 15 pounds*, carpal tunnel symptoms diminished considerably, body movements youthful and
flexible, and more

my bone density test showed i had osteoporousis in my arms / my wrists were very week and bone spurs had formed on my wrist joints / these bone spurs have now gone away completely!

i had a painful condtion in my right knee / all gone ! no back pain either / i am almost completely pain free

friends and family tell me i look ten, even 20 years younger, many of them have begun doing the rites too / i am also told my grey hair is going un-gray

you see, my aging process has had a monkey wrench thrown into it

the books by Peter Kelder are now in hardcover, Book One which duplicates the original and Book Two which is an expanded version covering warmups and alternates

so, that's my story and i'm sticking to it / smile

*can wear my size ten jeans and they are loose ! yay / farewell to Killer Belly Fat / stimulating the thyroid (one of the endocrines) increases metabolism

today i began my second year / who knows what will happen next / heh"