Before you go near Poison Ivy (PI), go to your drugstore and buy three products...one is a product called Ivy Guard or Ivy Shield...each brand is a cream which will shield treated exposed skin from getting a rash. Two, I recommend that you get Technu which is a waterless cleaner which can be used as soon as you know you've touched some part of Poison Ivy, it's good to use it if you suspect you didn't get all of your skin protected or if you're sweating. Reapply Ivy Shield after using Technu if you're still working and be careful to not touch anything which has touched PI like your gloves! You or someone around you will get a PI infection at some time, so while you're at the drug store, the third product you need to get is Calagel which can be used on a PI rash to quell pain and itching. Urishol is the oil in Poison Ivy which causes the irritation and it's very potent and stubborn which means it stays active even in dead parts of the plant, so don't take chances. When you're ready to take on your project to remove Poison Ivy, you will need to spread Ivy Guard or Ivy Shield cream on your hands, face, neck, wrists, arms, etc.....use it liberally. Then, put on a long sleeved shirt which has a sturdy fabric and button it to the top and button the cuffs. Put on jeans or heavy pants which can be washed in HOT water or you might consider trashing those clothes when you're finished! Wear well oiled boots which can be cleaned later, or long socks with shoes which can be washed with hot water and strong soap, or wear heavy plastic bags over your footwear. Wear a hat with a brim so vines, etc. won't drop to touch your face. Use a fresh pair of sturdy gloves which aren't likely to tear....some use two pair of cotton gloves. THEN, once you're properly creamed and covered and suited up, go out to start working on your Poison Ivy vines. Remember that EVERY PART of the plant, dead or alive, contains Urishol oil so you can get infected by a single leaf or a tiny bit of a vine or even a piece of the root...literally ANY and ALL parts of the vine can cause a rash year round, whether it's dead or alive. Once you finish working near the vine, place all parts of it in strong plastic bags and close them carefully so they won't open and infect anyone who handles the bags. Try to avoid any PI contact on the outside of the bags and do not touch the bags without wearing gloves. Do NOT stack the vines, branches, etc. unless you must, because they can fall or be blown around and some unsuspecting soul will get an infection by touching them. Also, be certain to NEVER burn the vines because the oil will activate and go airborn which means the infection will spread and it can even get into your eyes which could blind you! If you suspect that you've touched any part of your skin to any part of a PI plant, use Technu right away to clean the skin as best you can. Get to hot water and strong soap as quickly as you can and wash well and then reapply Ivy Guard if you are not finished. Until you are ready to disrobe, don't sit on a chair or car seat or anything which is absorbent or has fabric on it or you might get a secondary infection later! Yes...it's THAT bad...experience is a great teacher!! :-( Remember that if you are sweating, the cream is diluting or washing off so be careful! When you're finished working and are ready to clean up, peel your clothing off by turning it inside out as you remove it so that the infected part will be on the inside and you can safely place the items in your washer....or remember, you could throw them away! Don't put anything but your exposed clothing in the washer. Set the water temp at HOT and use a good strong detergent like Tide and wash everything really well. If your water is not hot, the soap may not be able to remove all of the oil, so hotter is better to break it down, and use a little more soap than you normally would. Your rinse cycle should remove all soap and residual oil, but you might want to run two wash cycles depending on how much contact your clothing had with the various parts of the plant. You need to shower your entire body from head to toe with very warm water and strong soap...lather and rinse several times to make certain that no oil can possibly remain and wash your hair carefully too. Once you leave the tub or shower stall, clean and rinse it carefully to be certain that no urishol oil can remain. Once you've gotten your body clean, you should use lotion or moisturizer to rehydrate your skin. IF a rash does appear, clean it well with Tecnu or warm water and soap, and apply Calagel which will remove the itch and pain from your rash. Don't scratch it or it will spread! Calagel is a relatively new product which blends the best aspects of Benedryl Gel and Calamine lotion which are two popular older remedies. It's clear and cool to the touch like Benedryl gel and soothing to the rash like Calamine lotion. Caladryl was a precurser to this newest version, but the new Calagel has an antiseptic, an antihistimine, and a skin protectant in it and so it seems to be the best product now. There are hundreds of products on the market, but I've worked around Poison Ivy for over 30 years and I'm very allergic to it, and these are the best products and methods which I know work! Good Luck!

You asked if we thought someone who had not exercised in a long time could get back in shape. well, think about this, if you DON"T exercise some, even a little, what kind of shape will you be in this time next year? You'll be worse. You want to start doing something, and walking is a good beginning, to just stay where you are. You may never get back to what you could do when you were a teenager, but you can certainly improve on what you are today. Give it a good try. It will be well worth it!!

I do crossword puzzles everyday, and on the weekend I do the large New York Times puzzle. It takes some thinking but I can usually figure it out! Scrabble is my game. I love to come up with obscure and archaic words that my friends don't know! My mother had a great mind, very intelligent and was great at math and doing puzzles, word searches, etc. No matter how much she used her brain she still got Alzheimers. Once in a while she would blurt out a number while we were watching television. It took me a while to figure out she was adding up the telephone numbers that were on commercials. She added these numbers up so fast that she beat me. I think she was testing her brain because she must have realized something was not right. Poor mom, it is so sad. I find myself testing my brain and try to remember things I thought were long forgotten. So far so good. Anne

Affection grows when you share activities. Sometimes you join their world and play CandyLand and video games. But it's just as valuable to teach them about your adult world like SteveJackson does: sharing a love of gardening and crossword puzzles. Kids love being let into the 'secret world' of adults. Share what's special to you, no matter what it is, is valuable and appreciated. I have a neighbor who collects military uniforms from the civil war on, specializing in WWII uniforms. You'd think that'd be boring, but his enthusiasm makes it fun for his grandchildren, and it makes him different from every other grandfather in the world. I had one grandmother who painted china. She loved it and shared it with me. I loved the smell of the paints and the tubes of powdered colors and smearing the paint on china. It never became my thing, but I loved doing it with her. Great memories. The other grandmother read books and redecorated her house over and over. She shared her current reading with me, drawing me up to her level, never talking down to me about the adult reading matter but finding ways to make whatever she was reading interesting. And she showed me paint samples and swatches and discussed them with me like I was an adult. That's the thing, sharing your hobby like the child was an adult. The painting grandma would get on the floor and play games and go swimming and be silly with us. The reading grandma NEVER, but she showed us how the organ worked with all the weird buttons that made strange sounds and even on rare occasions let us push some keys. Painting grandma was warm and laughing; reading grandma was reserved and introverted; I doubt she ever hugged me or even held my hand my whole life and I am certain she never once kissed me. I adored them both. I have wonderful memories of both. Painting grandma was my father's mother and we saw her less. Reserved grandma lived around the corner. Their best gifts were sharing themselves and being interested in whatever interested me. Share what you love most--it opens your grandchild's world and they will never forget it.