Author: Steve Ainslie

My 86 year old girlfriend passed away this week. She was my neighbor who introduced herself to me the day I moved in and insisted I come up to her house to see “how the furniture was arranged so you can get ideas for your house.” When she learned I was widowed, she was sympathetic…

This morning Wiggles and Sparkles were lying on the back of the sofa soaking up the sun coming in through the side window. They take great pleasure in sun bathing – in all seasons. As I looked at them and thought “how cute!”, I was reminded of the last time my wife joined me to…

I just received my 5th vaccination this year. I’m not a vaccination fanatic by any stretch of the imagination. I received the standard array of childhood vaccines. I got a tetanus shot in my early teens when I stepped on a rusty nail. When I was 18, I was required to have several more. After…

Every home improvement project* I’ve ever done begins with a moment of frustration. Suddenly, after saying to myself “This is bullshit!”, it occurs to me that there’s gotta be a better way. There almost always is. Sometimes I can think about the problem for a while and come up with a better solution. Other times,…

After waiting 9 weeks for my new windows and doors I got an email Saturday from the contractor saying they could start on Monday morning. I knew it would take 8-12 weeks before they would schedule me, but I had expected they would give me more than 1 day’s notice. Nonetheless, I agreed because I’ve…

Optimizing sleep has become a trendy self-improvement topic. It’s pitched on podcast, in news stories, on wellness blogs and through social media. Companies are now trying to make money pitching “better, more effective sleep“. They might be selling a product: Or they might be selling services: There have been times in my life when I…

My dogs were quite accommodating during my convalescence this past week. Our routine, schedule and high level of activity was thrown completely off kilter. Walks were nonexistent for several days and then short and slow. Mealtimes were later. I couldn’t play with them much, nor even sit up between themon the sofa for mushing and…

Over the past week as I was grinding through a slow recovery from my back injury, I stopped using an alarm to wake up early in the morning (really early). In the past, even when I was recovering from my hernia surgeries and my ACL/MCL injury and couldn’t work out, I still woke up early…

Every day there’s a new headline of Trump’s latest 2024 cabinet pick. The accompanying articles often detail how his selection doesn’t have the necessary credentials, experience or qualifications for the role. The media uses hyperbole and anecdotes to echo each person’s worst characteristics. Don’t get me wrong here. I don’t disagree with some of the…

While mind-numbingly searching the Internet for distractions as I’ve been recuperating from my back injury, I found myself reading about testosterone replacement therapy this morning. TRT isn’t something new to me. I’ve read about steroids, HGH and TRT for at least 10 years. It explains how men over 40 suddenly achieve the muscularity & 6…