In two weeks, it will be a new year — the traditional time to make your New Year’s resolutions that are full of optimism and hope. But do any of you make New Year’s resolutions anymore? And do you really need to? I mean at our age, we’ve experienced enough that we should have it all figured out, right?
Some of you may think New Year’s resolutions are just a waste of time, setting us up for disappointment, but New Year’s resolutions can be an opportunity to imagine what new goals you want to accomplish in the upcoming year: Walking a new trail in the Gorge, finishing reading that book you were given two Christmases ago, or getting in shape so you can spend more time with your grandkids!
There is much we can’t control — medical emergencies, the size of our social security check, or whether it is going to rain or snow. But there are many aspects of our lives we can at least influence. So here we are, about to enter a new year, when we can look ahead and decide what we want to do to make our lives the best they can be. What is important to you this coming year? What are your New Year’s resolutions?
If you can’t think of any resolutions, consider these suggestions from the Medium website.
1. Become a mystery pineapple giver: Secretly leave pineapples at neighbors’ doors to spread tropical cheer all year.
2. Hold daily conversations with houseplants: Provide motivational speeches to boost their growth and document their responses in a journal.
3. Write a soap opera for cats: Script dramatic adventures for feline actors, complete with love triangles and cliffhangers.
4. Hold weekly disco parties for houseplants: Play “groovy” music and use disco lights to create a fun atmosphere for plants.
5. Train to become a professional cloud interpreter: Develop skills to interpret and narrate the stories behind cloud formations.
6. Start a band using only kitchen utensils: Form a musical group that uses pots, pans, and spoons as instruments.
7. Start a collection of invisible art: Curate an impressive gallery of art that only you can see and describe.
8. Build a time machine from cardboard boxes: Attempt to visit the past or future from the comfort of your living room.
So, take out a pencil and paper. And hurry, you don’t have much time. Sooner than you think, it will be Dec. 18, 2025.
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Brain Tease: You are on your way to visit your grandchild who lives at the end of the valley. It’s her birthday, and you want to give her the cakes you’ve made. Between your house and her house, you have to cross seven bridges, and as it goes in the land of make-believe, there is a troll under every bridge! Each troll, quite rightly, insists that you pay a troll toll. Before you can cross their bridge, you have to give them half of the cakes you are carrying, but as they are kind trolls, they each give you back a single cake.
How many cakes do you have to leave home with to make sure that when you arrive to visit your grandchild you have exactly two cakes?
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The American musician, singer, and actor who recorded the Christmas classic “A Holly, Jolly Christmas” was Burl Ives. I received correct answers from Steven Woolpert, Mike McFarlane, Judy Kiser, Dave Lutgens, Rhonda Spies, Jim Tindall, Rebecca Abrams, Paul and Maria Kollas, Donna Mollet, Rose Schulz, Lana Tepfer, Craig Terry, Doug Nelson, Bruce Johnson, Keith Clymer, Eva Summers, Kathy Bullack, Becky Podvent and this week we had two folks join the “Remember When” family for the first time: Kathy Hannen-Smith and Paul Amerding. And being it’s the “Holly, Jolly Christmas” season, they both receive a free quilt raffle ticket. And last week I missed Donna Mollet.
This toy brand was first introduced in the 1950s and because it was inexpensive enough for children to afford, it became the household word for small model toy cars. For this week’s “Remember When” question, what was the biggest-selling brand of small diecast model cars and trucks until Mattel introduced the Hot Wheels series in 1968? Email your answer to mcseniorcenter@gmail.com, leave a message at 541-296-4788, or mail it with a Superfast No 9 AMX Javelin in Blue.
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Well, it’s been another week, wondering which way is ahead. Until we meet again, when it’s slippery outside don’t forget to walk like a penguin!
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“There are three stages of man: he believes in Santa Claus; he does not believe in Santa Claus; he is Santa Claus.”
— Bob Phillips
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Nutritious home-delivered and in-person meals are available at noon Monday through Friday unless otherwise noted.
Seniors of Mosier Valley (541-980-1157) — Wednesdays with music on second and fourth Wednesdays; Mt. Hood Town Hall (541-308-5997) — Tuesdays; Hood River Valley Adult Center (541-386-2060); Sherman County Senior and Community Center (541-565-3191); The Dalles Meals-on-Wheels (541-298-8333).
For meal sites in Washington, call Klickitat County Senior Services: Goldendale office (509-773-3757) or the White Salmon office (509-493-3068), and in Skamania County call Senior Services (509-427-3990).
Answer:
Two. At each bridge you are required to give half of your cakes, and you receive one back. Which leaves you with two cakes after every bridge.
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