We city slickers don’t get out much. As small as this earth is, there are many beauties and creations that we aren’t able to experience in our lifetime. I am grateful for an opportunity to expand my scope, to see among other things this young bear grazing at dinner time.

Learning keeps us fresh. It enlightens the mind and energizes the soul. I was grateful today to be reminded of this when I met with this most delightful patient. She is in her 90th year. She is bright and upbeat and happy. She recently learned to play bridge and plays one or twice a week. One of her most recent purchases was a laptop computer- the first computer of her life. She uses it to do email but the thing she was most excited about was Skype. She loves to Skype with her best friend who lives overseas. What a great example of loving life and making the very most of available opportunities. Many thanks to V.C. for her example.

Our family was able to spend a few hours on the water this weekend. It was great fun with jet skis, a small motor boat, and an innertube. It was a good memory for all. 

Today I give another shout out for chocolate. It is the almost universal balm that can temporarily aid about any troubled situation. In our travels this weekend we ran across this fun little chocolatier shop named Chuao. Chocolate can be served up in many creative ways.

Wikipedia refers to downtime as a period when a system is not available. Yet human downtime is an important element of life. It brings contrast to the hectic pace of our heavy, daily demands. I was glad to spend a short time with my family at the beach this weekend. We rested on the grass of the small park adjacent to the sand. The birds were friendly and the late-afternoon sky was beautiful.