I admit it; I have been watching the weather channel a lot, following Hurricane Sandy. I am thinking of Amelia, holed up in her apartment in NY. We were able to stay in touch. She hasn't lost power and filled her time by baking, a chip off the old block, if there ever was one. She did lose internet and the TV, and she doesn't know anyone in her building. Her main dangers are boredom and loneliness and I think she'll be okay. It was scary last night, though, as the wind was bowing the windows of her apartment on the 9th floor and she was wondering whether to sleep in the bathtub (no windows in the bathroom).

It was windy here and cold, but sunny, so very pleasant in our wonderful house: about 70. I had lab work done before breakfast, one of my least favorite things to do. Then I rushed back to get Ray and Dan to work. For the next fun activity, I had my gynecological exam, which involved also having blood taken (just a finger prick) and a urine sample. And those were the easy parts.

After that, I went home and hurriedly wrote my assignment for yesterday's class. I try to do it early most weeks, but here I am behind schedule with a huge assignment due next week. I remind myself I will not have to do three graduate classes in one semester ever again (next semester involves two classes and a practicum).

Then I was fortunate enough to meet my friend Becky for a lovely lunch. Because it was cold, I treated myself to a rich creamy potato soup, a dish my Mom loved at Transmet, followed by a nice healthy salad with baked chicken.

Class was a little long, with some interesting things and some more tedious parts. You may be interested in a book called Successful Aging, based on a study by the MacArthur Foundation. It's a little outdated and not representative, but there are some interesting ideas. Not surprisingly, the strongest predictor of cognitive health in old age is education. The second one was kind of a shock at first: lung capacity. If you think about it, though, getting enough oxygen to the brain is probably important. It is also something we can work on, closely tied to physical exercise and exertion.

It was a relief to come home and hunker down. We ate chili for supper and I made some bread. We watched a lot of TV, including coverage of the amazing storm.