Just in case you’re looking for Christmas gift ideas:

I begin with a story because that’s what I do. My mother was hospitalized last January. While she was there, I took the puzzle book that my son and daughter-in-law bought me from my Amazon Wish List last Christmas. It promised to help keep your brain young, or make it like a younger brain if you used it everyday. Quite a claim, you’re thinking, right? Well, in the bed beside my mother’s was a woman who was non-communicative. Her family had not been able to get her to respond in a coherent way for quite some time. My mother and I were doing one of the puzzles when to our great surprise, her roommate answered. We thought it was a fluke at first, then it happened again, and again. When her family came in, they were overjoyed. The next day, she still had moments of clarity. We were both school teachers, so we talked about where she taught. It was such an amazing experience her niece took the name of the book so she could buy a copy too.

Here’s the link to the 399 Games, Puzzles and Trivia Challenges Especially Designed to Keep your Brain Young:

This the best tea kettle I ever owned! It’s electric. It looks nice, and you can control how hot the water gets.

If you, like me, hate housecleaning and need a great easy, efficient way to clean your floors. Here’s the steam mop I bought. I LOVE it!!!

I can’t seem to get my husband to remember to put the toilet seat down, so I bought him a reminder. It makes me laugh every time I see it.