The cellar where Edgar Allan Poe wrote many of his works __________________ I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity. --Edgar Allan Poe Yesterday, my husband and I took a day trip to Philadelphia. For years, I had it in my head that I just had to see the Mutter Museum. Okay, done that, don't want to do it again. What a surreal experience--viewing all those damaged fetuses in jars was kind of upsetting, and there seemed to be a faint smell of formaldehyde in the air (or maybe it was my imagination?). Also, it was kind of warm in the museum, so I was feeling a bit off, like maybe I might pass out. Well, I didn't, but someone else did; evidently, this is a fairly common occurrence at this museum. I do not mean to be disrespectful. After all, this museum offers an important collection of abnormal physical oddities, which occur in nature and shouldn't be swept under the rug and denied. Also, this museum was set up in 1787 by The College of Physicians to advance th

If someone you know is working hard to achieve any kind of lifestyle change, such as losing weight or quitting smoking or drinking, please be supportive. Do not give your dieter high-calorie food as a gift, for such a gift will not serve his or her body well. Your loved one is trying hard to manage what is often an addiction to certain foods, such as sweets and high fat carbs, and your "gift" may be seen as a form of enabling and/or sabotage. You would not give a bottle of booze to a recovering alcoholic or a carton of cigarettes to a former pack-a-day smoker, now would you? Hmmm?

Measure success and progress in terms of time, not in pounds and inches; the longer one stays with a healthy lifestyle, the most likely one will stick with it for life.