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Cover Your Bases is #badass.

After a long pause, Cover Your Bases is back in a weekly format. 

 In 2020, when CYB launched, a big focus was getting through COVID, plus things to do, see, read, make, and occasional big thoughts, like my reflection on breaking up with my sourdough after 70 days.

 In 2023, we’ll skip past the COVID, though it’s still around. Instead, CYB will focus more on my current interests and obsessions (right now those are becoming an expert user of Generative AI, lifting heavy weights, and making a life as an over-60 trying to reform workaholic.) Every edition will also offer a selection of interesting things to read, watch, cook, and do.

I’m excited to restart CYB; in 2022, I made the decision to retire from my full-time arts administration job. In February 2023, I stopped working–and have taken the past 7 months off.

This fall, I am starting up a part-time consulting practice focused on non-profit development and fundraising, and plan to do monthly blog posts for that.  Since I am going to be writing again, it makes sense to also create a space to talk about other interests and ideas.

If you’re new to CYB, here’s a little bit about me, from a more informal perspective than my LinkedIn profile or website will offer: I am an incredibly curious person who has retained the capacity to learn new things well into the third stage of my life, as some folks call the Over-60s.

One of the reasons I retired from full-time work was to have more time to be a better family member and friend to a wider circle of people.  I got to act on this during the past 7 months with opportunities to spend a month in Europe hosting various family members in a house I rented (amazing!), a trip back east to see beloved friends I hadn’t since 2019, before the pandemic, and reunions with both my ex-husband’s cousin, whom I had always loved but not spend time with,  and a dear friend from my old-school blogging days with whom I’d fallen out of touch. 

Another reason was to have time to really exercise and work on my health. Since January, I’ve been lifting weights and going to the gym 3 times a week; I’ve discovered that I love working with barbells and lifting heavy weights.  This month I deadlifted 165 lbs, 3X5, and squatted 145 lbs, no problem.  This new-found strength also translates into function fitness, meaning it’s so much easier to carry to toddler grandson around, move a loaded cooler into a car, and sweep behind the refrigerator. I’ve also begun an Iyengar yoga practice, which I love; my goal is to do yoga 3-4 times a week; I am succeeding about 50% of the time, but I love it and it’s so motivating.  My latest health effort is to lose a chunk of weight I put on by following a low-carb diet; I am seeing a nutritionist, and her approach includes really big breakfasts, no dairy, no potatoes, and no alcohol.  I am a week in and still sticking with it.

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In 2023, we’ll skip past the COVID, though it’s still around. Instead, CYB will focus more on my current interests and obsessions (right now those are becoming an expert user of Generative AI, lifting heavy weights, and making a life as an over-60 trying

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