Are You Nurturing Your Intellectual Wellness?

I did a couple of weeks of Japanese in December. I’m actually terrible at languages, but did at one time speak both French and German fluently thanks to living in both countries. I think it’s quite good at getting oral fluency with a good accent, but it drives me crazy that they really barely touched on grammar.

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My work often reminds a hunt for a diamond in a sea of shiny glass. Keeps my brain plenty busy. :slight_smile:

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I taught myself upholstery during the pandemic and reopholstered 3 dining chair sets. One set of six chairs was Danish modern with upholstered backs as well as seats. That was challenging. I make quilts and some clothes. I sing in 3-4 concerts a year, three of them memorized, one with music. I read a lot. But I also like to watch TV and do needlepoint so that might obviate some of my intellectual efforts.

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Nonsense! A balance of activities is good!

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I happily admit that I enjoy watching tv!

I do a bunch of puzzles–Spelling Bee (H and I share it, taking turns to be the starter–we always get Genius and often QB), Wordle, Worldle, Waffle, and sometimes other -ordles (dordle, quordle et al).

I read a lot, and lean to fairly challenging books. Most of the fiction is literary-ish. though I dabble in sheer genre fiction too, and I like nonfiction on esoteric subjects. I read a lot of online articles on all kinds of stuff. Love thinking about abstract ideas.

I’m also a writer of fiction and essays, so that keeps my brain pretty active.

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I consider my Candy Crush time as meditation. ; )

I’m doing French via Duolingo, play Wordle/Quordle/Octordle every day, and regularly work jigsaw puzzles. Those are all sort of “safe” activities, though. I’m also trying to challenge myself to learn and try new things (new computer skills, etc.).

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I’m far off from retirement, but I love this topic! I do Wordle and Octordle each day. Outside of work, I serve on an advisory board for a conference that I help with each year. I read avidly and follow the Tournament of Books long and short lists each year for fun and to discover a variety of new books. I also use my work tuition benefits to take classes–my big pandemic project was starting up a degree program to earn a second terminal degree (but that one is feeling a bit stressful at the moment and maybe not currently adding to my intellectual wellness :rofl:) I would like to get back to language learning once I am done with my current degree.

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I am a member of our church handbell choir. We are a fun group of non-musicians who enjoy the dual challenge of reading music and playing our notes at the right time on beat (and with the correct hand!) We joke that our weekly rehearsals are our Alzheimer prevention activity, as it does require a great deal of concentration.

I also sing in the church choir. The intellectual challenge is highest when we perform major works for Christmas and Easter, which are often classical and sometimes in Latin. As a non-musician (new to singing within the past 10 years), learning these pieces takes some real effort and extra at-home practice. Currently we are working on Vivaldi’s “Gloria” (Latin), which we will perform on Palm Sunday. My two weekly choir rehearsals are back-to-back on the same night, from 6:30-9 pm. My brain is tired when I get home!!

I really want to learn another language (besides music, which is a foreign language to me!), probably Spanish as that is what I took in HS and college. I tried Italian on Duolingo a few years back, but struggled with it.

My H has been doing sodukos every night before bed for the past 5+ years.

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I don’t partake but I think any type of
Musical performance is definitely intellectual stimulation! :notes:

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Every morning when I get home from the gym, I sit on my porch with a cup of coffee and do Wordle, Quordle, Octordle and a Sudoku. I then feel ready to start my day. I also read a lot and we usually have a jigsaw puzzle going, on the dining room table.

I think Duolingo may be in my future.

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In addition to Pimsleur Spanish, I did grammar workbooks by Dorothy Richmond. The combo was perfect.

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I think about it a lot, especially now that I’m retired. Try to read a lot, do Wordle too. Also I chair our church committee, where there is a lot to learn.

Inspired by my Dad (an avid crossword puzzler), I do also do some physical fitness activities. At age 95, he still goes out on walks and reads the New York Times. Recently he had a list of new terms he encounters in his reading… had me try to explain “Reddit” (which I sometimes see via google searches, but yesterday I learned it is short for “I read it”), “Bots” (when I said software automated robots, he could relate) and “Woke” (that was more challenging).

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Thanks - I learned something new this morning (Reddit)!

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I play Wordle, Quordle, and Octordle daily. I also do at least one of the daily puzzles on Jigsaw Explorer.

I am an avid reader and like to vary genres. I’ve learned that book club discussions expand my understanding and knowledge of a book; in truth, book club choices often expand my choice of book also. CC book club is the best.

My neighborhood has a Senior Outreach program. I’m not all that active but I do go weekly to yoga and on various day trips. I’ve met so many people in my own neighborhood through various activities.

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i retired from being a housewife! went back to work - i’m learning new things everyday on my job. I find i have to write things down, and do them repeatedly for them to sink in; but i’ve enjoyed the process (eg: learning website management. and i am NOT a techie!).

I also have started playing mahjong which makes my mind constantly think through patterns and combinations.

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I love the Duolingo idea! Our D might be studying abroad next year so, once she knows where she’s going, I should try to learn a little of the language! I let my German lapse years and years ago so I’m game for learning any new language.

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Me too! I just went back to work last week after years of being a SAHM. Completely unrelated to anything I have done in the past so I have a huge learning curve but I am really enjoying it. I have a small notebook I keep with me to take notes so I can review and reinforce what I’m learning.

To answer the OP, I play Wordle daily and sometimes Worldle. H and I occasionally have a large jigsaw puzzle going but haven’t done one recently.

I read a ton, both print and audiobooks. I walk an hour a day so listen while I walk. I read about 80 books a year. I mostly enjoy literary novels, historical fiction and nonfiction. I like to read novels that teach me about other cultures/areas of the world and often find myself going down the rabbit hole of Google, looking up things that come up in books I read.

At some point, I want to take a refresher course (either online or in person) to brush up and strengthen my Spanish and Italian skills.

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i need to walk an hour a day. how do you listen to audiobooks? i like that idea. . . .

@bgbg4us my library offers audiobooks via the Libby app. I just check them out via the app, they download to my phone and I can listen anywhere. I mostly listen while walking my dog but also when I’m in the car, sometimes while cooking dinner or doing other mindless tasks around the house.

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