How not to lose your mind

Our northern New Jersey newspaper The Star-Ledger offered 20 ways to "Keep Your Mind Sharp". Since I constantly worry that my mind is becoming ever duller, the headline caught my eye. Professor Paul Nussbaum of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine lists various activities one can engage in to exercise the old gray matter.

Guess what No. 8 was? You got it: knitting! Evidently, using both hands works both sides of your brain which is a good thing. And as the journalist points out, knitting is a great stress reliever.

So if you can't remember where you put your car keys or, even worse, why you were looking for them in the first place, grab your needles and feel your mental muscles flexing.