I was on Facebook today, updating comments to friends and family, when I came across a health test that I chose to take. It is called the 'Real age' test that many people have seen on Oprah. Well, I haven't seen Oprah in years, but I did want to find out about this age test. The main question to be answered by taking it is, "What is your biological age?" You might be forty, but physically you could be older or younger. I have heard of the potential difference between our biological and chronological clocks. So, of course, I was curious about mine. I'm forty two, but biologically how old am I? Thirty, forty, fifty? Eek, the thought of being older didn't please me. I clicked on the link and got on to the Real age page. There were some very simple questions to answer: my age, height, weight, my eating, driving, and exercise habits, and general lifestyle. I was thrilled to find out that I'm only thirty four biologically. Well, perhaps it's true. This Real age thing started at the Cooper clinic longevity center, and Dr. Michael Roizen examines patients with the aim of them changing a few things in their lifestyle to increase their longevity. An improvement can always be made. From the information I put into the test, apparently I don't eat enough whole grains. Okay, I agree. I buy lots of whole grain food for the family, but I don't necessarily eat it myself. I could probably eat more fruit as well. So, a good result of taking the test is that I will make a few changes. I also spent a short while on a yoga website, as I'm thinking of adding more gentle exercise to my daily routine. Whatever I do has to be doable, if you know what I mean. Something that easily fits into my day. Do you do anything for health each day? Let me know and I'll mention it on a podcast.

Related vocabulary: to update, chronological, longevity, improvement.

1. I need to update my address book. I have a lot of friends who are not yet on the list.

2. The video was in chronological order; it showed my grandfather from when he was a baby to his present birthday.

3. Taking a daily vitamin supplement is a key to longevity.

4. Improvement is proactive; it is something getting better, or making an effort to do something better.

Something has been happening recently that pleases me a lot. My newly planted roses have been flowering. For some reason I didn't expect them to make such a show this year, with them being new. My entryway project has continued, and I ended up planting two scented roses right next to a row of lavender. My idea was to get a mixture of sweet smells and color altogether. I wasn't a rose fanatic when I was younger, but I am quickly becoming one. It's the smelly ones that I love, and by that I mean, of course, the ones that smell wonderful. I look forward to the day when my floribunda roses have grown substantially, and fill the area with perfume. Having horses across the street, and goats right next door, the smells in this area can become a bit....um...shall we say overpowering. So I'm going to combat evil with good, stinky with sweet smelling. Another one of my plants that is healthy and has a heavy perfume is my honeysuckle. This Spring, it has been loaded with flowers. The humming birds and butterflies love it. As I was looking around a garden center the other day, I noticed that they had some bougainvilleas. Now there is a plant that I would love to have. I have seen some in Sevilla in Spain that were spectacular, and must have been very old because they were huge. Here, however, our winters are very harsh, and I don't believe that they would do very well. I'm on a mission to find wonderful smelling plants, and beautiful creeping plants to transform my garden. Give me a few years, and I will have done it.

Related expressions: to make a show, to end up, to look forward to..., they had (as in a shop).

1. My dogwood made a spectacular show of white flowers this year.

2. I went to the florist to buy flowers, and ended up talking to an old friend who was in there.

3. I look forward to the day when my sister and I can travel together.

4. They didn't have any sneakers in the shoe shop, but they had them in the department store.

A badly broken arm.

It was championship night on Monday. My son Cass and his team were through to the baseball finals. They had worked hard all season, and were about to face an equally good team. It was going to be the Blacks against the Greens. The game started at five thirty. My husband had already taken Cass to the team's warm-up session before the game, so I arranged to meet them at the baseball field at the start of the game. As I entered the ball park, I saw my father-in-law, already situated comfortably to watch the game. I chatted with him a little, but was interrupted by my phone ringing. "Anna, it's Doreen. I've broken my arm. I've broken it badly," I heard my neighbor say with difficulty, and then she hung up. I had to leave. There was no one else to help her. Her son, who lives in town, had a stroke last year and can't drive or talk. Her daughter lives in California, and most of her friends are in their eighties, so it was up to me to help. I told my father-in-law what was going on, and he agreed to look after my kids. I ran off to the car and got to her house as soon as possible. The door to Doreen's house was open, as was her car. There were shopping bags full of groceries here and there; she had obviously fallen whilst trying to unload the car. She was standing in the kitchen crying, and holding on to her arm. After easing her into her car, off we went to the hospital. The nurses cut off her sweater; it was too painful to move her arms and to take off her top. They gave her pain medicine, and then x-rayed her arm. It turned out to be a very bad break, in three places, with one of the little bones in fractures. Doreen looked exhausted. She was tired and hungry, drowsy from the medicine, and now, suddenly, nauseous. She has a delicate stomach, and does not take medicine easily. "I'm going to be sick!" she said covering her mouth. I held a plastic bowl under her chin and held her forehead; that's what my mother used to do when I was little. "Fan her!" I said in a bit of a panic to a lady in the room. After a while she felt better. Poor, poor lady; I felt sorry for her. At least she was in the right place, and arrangements were being made for her surgery in the morning. Her daughter-in-law turned up and said that she would take her home. Of course she wouldn't be able to drive herself, not even for a few months.

Related vocabulary: to warm up, the ball park, stroke, nausea.

1. The athletes need to warm up otherwise they might get an injury.

2. The championship game will take place in the local ball park.

3. She recovered from her stroke; with therapy, she has learned to walk and talk again.

4. That boat ride will cause a lot of nausea.

The bell rang today while I was tidying up after dinner. I wondered who it could be at eight o'clock at night. As I approached the door, the bell started ringing very fast, which made me guess that it was one of my children. When I opened the door, I found three boxes on the doorstep. One was a box lid full of dry cut grass, one was a similar box full of tree bark, and the third was the baseball box emptied out and filled with pine cones and pine needles. My son Robert was standing there with a big grin on his face, "D'you see what I did, mum?" His hands and torso were filthy. He had gathered all of these things from the front garden, and had got a lot of the stuff on himself rather than in the boxes. I have been saying for a long time that we should gather up the debris from a tree that we cut down, because it would make great burning material for the Winter. Pine cones catch fire quickly, and keep burning nicely, helping to set the wood on fire. We have two large pines that give a lot of cones each year, so I would like to make the most of this resource that is in our own garden. I am a hunter-gatherer at heart. I have been putting off this task for months, procrastinating, and doing other things instead. So, Robert took the initiative, and did the hard work for me. If we are smart, we will gather the pine cones from the many little pine trees that we have. Though they are small, they have already produced a lot. All together, we will have at least three huge garden bags full of fuel for the Winter. It's funny to think of stocking up for the Winter now that the season is getting warmer and warmer.

Use of '(even) though...,...' plus related vocabulary: pine cones, torso, to procrastinate.

1. Even though I had collected lots of pine cones, they were too wet to burn.

2. Even though her torso is very toned, her legs have cellulite.

3. Even though I reminded the students every day about the vocabulary test, they procrastinated and didn't study until the night before.

I don't know if any of you are into photography or not, but it is becoming a passion of mine. I have a cheapo digital camera, but it serves me well. I find myself feeling lost without it. I try to take it with me wherever I go, because you never know when a fabulous photo opportunity will present itself. One such opportunity did the other day, after a heavy rain shower. Most people I know had been complaining about the unusual amount of rain we have had recently. However, one day, after one of those showers, my husband called to me from outside, "Hey, babe, come and see this." When I went out, he was standing by our honeysuckle which grows up and over the fence. It is covered in sweet smelling flowers this time of year. The leaves are waxy and smooth and form a cup shape around the younger flowers. Tom stood quietly and pointed to something down inside the bush. It was a little pool of water that had gathered in the leaves, forming a shiny mound, that sparkled like a diamond. It took my breath away. I immediately ran into the kitchen and grabbed the camera. You'll see on the blog page the result. Later, Tom and I talked about the value of water, the amazing combination of hydrogen and oxygen that we completely rely on, and yet which we take for granted. Water was all around me in England, and here, in the North West there is also an abundance of it. A water shortage for me seems bizarre because I have never had to work hard to obtain it. And yet I know that for much of the planet, a lack of safe drinking water is normal. I remember when I was little, my father would tell me to turn the tap off while I brushed my teeth. He had worked in Nigeria for many years, and was familiar with water preservation. He understood the need to take care of this resource. And now, in many ways, the weather seems to be upside down, with floods in rainy nations, and droughts where water is always short. How can we bring back a balance of water for all? It is, surely, after air, the most precious resource we have.

Grammar notes.

Related vocabulary: cheapo, resource, to rely on, precious.

1. This cheapo umbrella broke the first day I had it.

2. Electricity is a resource that that village really needs.

3. I hope the bus drivers' strike stops soon; I don't have a car, and I rely on the buses to get around.

4. Look after that watch; it was your grandmothers, and is very precious.

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What do you do at the weekends? Do you do anything special to let off steam or to get inspired? I suppose it depends where you live and what is available. After a hard week's work, it is nice sometimes to not do anything. If you look around, though, sometimes you can find entertainment that is designed to attract the public at the weekend. I went shopping on Sunday, and as I pulled into the parking lot in front of the mall, I saw a large, fenced off area where cars are usually parked. I could hear a lot of noise, as well, even though the car windows were closed. I parked, and looked over to see what was going on. A large go-kart track had been set up inside of the fence, with stacks of tires here and there making the shape of the course. All of the diesel run go-karts were running at top speed. It looked like great fun. I contemplated bringing my kids over later. The trouble is, my youngest two wouldn't be allowed to, and would, therefore, feel left out. It would cause more problems that it was worth. Infact, I didn't even mention what I had seen, because I knew that if I did, they would beg me to take them. So, I just stood there and watched as the drivers zoomed around the track, having a great time. Each person wore a white helmet, and was given about twenty minutes to ride freely. There was a smell in the air of rubber, and an atmosphere of excitement. It was an unusual thing to see in front of a beauty store and a sushi bar. But, I suppose, if the parking area is available, why not? When my youngest are a little older, I might let them put on the gear and race eachother.

Related vocabulary: to let off steam, a fence, a stack, to contemplate.

1. My friend bounces on a trampoline to let off steam. She has such a good time when she does it.

2. We put up a fence so the dogs wouldn't escape.

3. After I chopped up the wood, I stacked it next to the garage.

4. We had dinner out on the deck last night, and contemplated the stars.