Mary Lou Morris
Retired after 30 years in environmental impact assessment - policy practice and legislation for government and industry. Raised in USA, last 45 years in Australia. Love reading, music, gardening.
Location Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Activity
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
The Aboriginal people and their ancient culture would be the greatest historical treasure of Australia, notwithstanding the continuing imbalance in socio-political rights, representation and well being throughout modern settlement here. Enormous progress has been achieved but still a long way to go.
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
As part of a community visitor program I once met an elderly woman who had been transferred to an urban area residential care centre, far away from the rural township that had been her home from birth.
She was not an easy person in conversation and had definitely retreated to her own headspace given nothing in her surroundings was familiar. The town she came... -
Mary Lou Morris made a comment
Greetings to all. I have been a volunteer 'community visitor' with a local government council and have met lovely people and shared wonderful moments while meeting new folks of varying ages and communication abilities. I will appreciate and use the new ideas that are bound to spring from participating in this course.
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
I understand that 'live' performance can now mean different things depending on the medium employed. However, attending a live, in person, real performers, real audience performance is my preference for opera and theatre and, whenever possible, visiting musicians/artists. Video recordings and other media methods can make it possible to experience the joy of...
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
An additional comment that I should have mentioned previously. Thank you for expressing your love of opera in every session of the course. It has been contagiously conveyed by all presenters and it shines through.
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
So much comfortably and temptingly packed into just 4 weeks. Thank you to all and I have no doubt your efforts and expertise have been widely appreciated. The open-air screening you have cited would require enormous organisation but to have it so widely available is a truely wonderful event for everyone. That alone may do wonders to keep opera front-of-mind...
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
Yes opera matters, perhaps increasingly so. It is the coming together to share music and emotion that provides a welcome pause in the more predictable aspects of our lives. Transporting our selves to a different reality temporarily, giving our full attention to the music and drama of opera, must surely be good for all so engaged.
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Twenty years ago I had the good fortune to attend 'Opera in the Outback', held in the Flinders Ranges of South Australia. Dame Kiri Te Kanawa was the Diva. It was not a full opera but selections from Puccini's Tosca and Madame Butterfly as well as more contemporary music. The setting was magical and the overall experience excellent. Somehow just knowing that...
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
Thank you for a wonderfully informative and compellingly presented lecture.
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
Another wonderful week of learning and full marks, again, for compelling presentation. I enjoyed each interview and had a good laugh at my abysmal quiz score. No doubt I absorbed quite a lot of new information and I am looking forward to the coming final sessions as well. Having said that, I concur with previous comments made about wishing this course would...
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
Even with my lack of experience in all things opera to date, I still would like to have the option of seeing and hearing performances that retain close to original intent of classical art works. However, the creative landscape for entirely new productions and variations on classical themes must also exist. The continued existence and attraction of opera to...
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
Yet another fascinating line of work. This kind of editing would certainly involve substantial musical sleuthing and then making decisions that could well alter the operatic composition as inherited by subsequent audiences. The tricky bit is, as Professor Parker highlights, is to detect and retain the essence in a way that would indicate scope for considered...
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
What a frenetic few hours ahead for the Deputy Stage Director. However she was clearly in control and ready for all contingencies. Amazing that she could speak in a seemingly normal or slightly raised voice even though positioned so close to the open stage. The music volume and theatrical effects must cover any sound leakage, plus those aspects are basic to...
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Excellent presentation and yet more fascinating aspects of the history and present day aspects of the quite enormous topic of opera.
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Thank you so much for making this whole topic so enjoyable to learn. The lead times for productions are very long but I can imagine that professional commitments must be scheduled well in advance. It was also interesting to note the extensive role of the impresario in times past.
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
Wonderful to know of the collaboration between this playwright and composer, including details of how to look for a way in or a likely starting place for composition.
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
Wow, yet another exacting role and not for the faint hearted!
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
I was fascinated by the enormous and crucial role of time in every aspect of the Director's work.
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
The scale of behind the scenes production work is most interesting. It would be a fascinating lifestyle and one that wouldn't be normally visible to the general community, even those who attend an occasional performance.
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
I continue to appreciate and enjoy both the content and production of this action-packed course.
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
Great discussion, thank you!
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
I am already plotting how I will manage to attend a few operas in this new year, having been inspired by Week 1. Roll on Week 2.
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
An excellent first week and thank you for the time and effort that went into preparing these introductory sessions. I particularly appreciated the variety in presentation and the obvious level of expertise incorporated into each step of the course.
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
It is really the people and spaces of opera that create the unique 'buzz' of this art form. Massive productions must generate the ambience of a small city and how wonderful that we the audience can be absorbed into whatever tale is unfolding.
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This is a very effective demonstration of the vast spectrum/potential for staging an opera. My own preference is for the first traditional method but I find the second staging a clever presentation; and, one that probably would not occur as even possible to many of us. I find myself drawn into the Zambello production but not the kaleidoscopic Holten.
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
I associate opera with tales of living during the era in which the music was first written. It waves a musical and historical tale of social mores and gives lively voice, costume and drama in performance.
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
Greetings to all participants and I am looking forward to learning much from this course. While I love the music of opera and the tales told, I have very little knowledge of individual operas. I am located in Adelaide, South Australia and greatly appreciate the depth of experience and variety of subject matter offered globally by FutureLearn. Cheers!
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
Here in Australia, and particularly in the state of South Australia, energy production and supply is the leading political/environmental/social issue right now. During the just past summer season there were numerous power failures and one that lasted for almost a week for some folks. Major storms destroyed electricity towers and it was not easy to rebuild...
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
At first meeting/greeting there are usually several signposts to a person's general health: complexion colour and clarity, eye colouring and brightness, nose and eye colouring and wetness regarding flu or respiratory illness, posture indicating mental alertness and possible heavy or light heartedness, voice strength and all of that in just a passing greeting!
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
It was a fascinating trip to ancient worlds and thank you for making it so widely and easily available.
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
I found the varied and sometimes precarious approach to berthing and early infant care, while numerous objects and some early texts exist, still difficult to generalise when applied to the greater population, not just wealthy and/or military families. Thus, I greatly admire the enormous amount of research and study that has resulted in the considerable amount...
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
What we term ptsd is, of necessity, a very wide spectrum of cause and effect and I would think that even without a specific medical category or reference there would have been similar suffering in ancient times. It is a very inexact area of illness and treatment; and I would think that would make it similar in all historic settings.
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
Disability might be defined as some measure of inability, whether physical mental or social, that requires the individual to find and employ extra ingenuity, assistance and/or medical treatment to fully function in all aspects of daily life. It may have been even more challenging as a disabled person in ancient times as more options exist now and yet the...
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
The practice of massage sounds very beneficial but swaddling for a couple of months seems claustrophobic and possibly damaging in not allowing free movement to healthy young limbs.
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
I would think the social situation of the individual would greatly influence whether such bone injuries and diseases would lead to good treatment or a life of misery in mobility, employment and family status or contribution. Fascinating studies and so revealing regarding health and lifestyle implications.
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
The ancient statues of physically perfect bodies are in keeping with the constant sales and marketing material that surrounds us in advertising marketing and health information/depiction every day and arguably throughout the ages of history.
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
The role of a midwife was surely daunting and yet so very powerful.
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
Quite fascinating to read the early medical and philosophical ideas surrounding the working of the human body but certainly many erroneous notions that would have made life a daily challenge for women in particular.
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
These notes are from a related topic in that this site discovery happened as the result of an Archaeologist (Giles Hamm) on a field trip and stopping for a toilet break by the roadside, In the remote outback of South Australia, 450 km north of Adelaide, in Flinders Ranges, he noticed a rock shelter that subsequently yielded 4,300 ancient artefacts. These...
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
I believe that modern medical practices do not entirely escape trial and error or 'fingers crossed' approach in dire cases or even to confirm the efficacy of particular 'concoctions'. Perhaps one example would be: specialist issued medicines that treat one illness in isolation from total body impact.
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
If I had a choice, then I would most likely try for a healthier life in rural areas knowing that had its own pitfalls.
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
Lemon and garlic are widely used, raw and cooked, for general good health. Numerous herbal teas and extracts are used to season food, assist digestion and provide positive stimulation to various organs of the body. Specific fruits and vegetables are recommended to ease discomfort or illness and an endless array of books exist providing dietary steps to...
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
It is truely amazing to gain so much information from skeletal remains and even to find such a complete young former resident of the London region. So much information is gathered from dental evidence and such a young person still had a full set of teeth to assist research efforts. Genetic lines from a European mother might have given dietary influences at...
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
Apple cider vinegar has always been regarded as an excellent aid to health in my household and this belief has been handed down in the family for several generations. A brief look online shows quite a bit of discussion surrounding health claims by vinegar producers and connecting this to ancient medicine of Greece and Hippocrates. If it is correct that...
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
Thank you for a varied presentation and it is really good to see both connections with the past in terms of a balanced approach to food and yet differences in our focus today. I look forward to the coming weeks.
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
Very brave of Laurence Totelin and no doubt that would have been part of the reaction to early remedies as well.
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
What a fascinating discussion on votive offerings, I never would have guessed the range of body parts selected for example and then the variation in regions or countries. Thank you.
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
I would imagine that the general population did not have access to, or maybe even interest in, eye examinations given the daily demands of life as a labourer or servant. Would hats have been an ordinary part of everyday costumes or uniforms? Yes for battle but what of protection for eyes in work or play against weather elements?
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
As a current example (2016) of the marvels of cataract surgery, a friend of mine was astounded at the subsequent brilliance of colour. I believe the eye are crucial in everyday social communication and evaluation of a person's health. They can be clear and alert, puffy and swollen, damaged in some respect, radiating discomfort or other signals that convey...
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
I agree that the word 'complete' immediately sounds out of place in the 1948 definition. However, I also find the 2011 suggested inclusion rather vague. No doubt it would take a lot of wordplay to find the most appropriate terms and even those would require periodic update.
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
Notwithstanding his lengthy career as soldier and mercenary, Xenophon contributed to the philosophical debates of the time and managed to live a long if somewhat controversial life. With respect to health his own needs would emphasise physical strength to suit battle readiness but not be inclusive of medical or ordinary citizen health needs and resources.
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
It is somehow comforting to note the quite broad spectrum of factors acknowledged so long ago as the major components to human health. Our enormous change in lifestyle provides plenty of scope for examining all causal elements of specific present day disease.
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
Many popular religions of today continue to make a strong connection between health and their respective gods as in praying for good health, finding a 'god's will' link to trauma or disease and thus assisting the believer in surviving periods of illness.
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
Taking my pulse is something I learned as part of a previous training session but I don't take a count regularly. At present my pulse seems very regular and of moderate strength.
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
Greetings all, I'm Mary Lou and I live in Adelaide, South Australia. Comparison of ancient and current states of health is a bit of apples vs oranges and yet I imagine many points of commonality as well. Was life simpler in earlier times, as well as shorter, in that illness or violence accounted for brief lifespans and diseases that claimed many lives for...
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
Ciao tutti. Mi chiamo Mary Lou e sono Australiana, di Adelaide.
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Mary Lou Morris replied to Kate Edwards
Thanks from me also, Agsha. Very glad I spotted your advice.
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
I also had trouble with the sound but followed the advice to download. Thank you and will now try half speed to absorb as much as possible.
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
A very full program for the six weeks. No doubt we will all be challenged by this exciting approach, so, here goes!!
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
A big thank you to future learn and I intend to keep on keeping on. Lots of positive messages to take away and I wish all participants the very best in staying healthy and happy.
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
Simple but powerful, the initial circle in the infographic bring together arts, leisure and culture makes an immediate positive impression for me. I have enjoyed week 5 very much and have certainly appreciated the entire course. One small quibble would be directed at the very awkward term 'generatively' but that is purely semantic and I do love language. Thank...
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
For a couple of years I was a volunteer mentor at a primary school in the trial of a new program to assist students who might benefit from one-on-one attention for an hour each week. Class sizes are rather large and in two instances, for example, I was able to challenge very capable students, but otherwise bored and disruptive for it, by introducing projects...
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
Have very recently seen a TV show demonstrating incredible benefits from listening to music and the potential to make life so much more bearable for those in advanced stages of dementia and those suffering severe stages of parkinson's disease. The most dramatic and positive changes occurred when the music was tailor-made to the known preferences of the...
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
Global politics seem uppermost in my mind right now. My first thought was the earth painted either on the brink of sinking into a rather dark morass or continuing to make strides in rising above the forces of darkness. Then I saw a sense of unity in colour but uneven or patchy with troubled times. Thus, positive and negative side by side. If I was fortunate...
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
Forgot to address the topic of ageing in society generally. First hand experience as a volunteer indicates that vast changes are urgently needed to address the often less than happy circumstances of people left by family in residential care centres. There are challenges on all fronts: governments, society, medical professions, program and facility operators....
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
Each day I become more aware of my own good health and the need to contribute as much as possible to local and wider community well-being. It is something continually mulling away in my brain and I feel certain I will connect with a specific direction very soon. In the meantime I continue volunteer efforts and take advantage of time available to spend with...
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
Melt some wax into middle of tack box
With melted wax affix candle bottom to wall directly over box, which is on table
Use tacks to create metal 'floor' in box as far as possible and up the sides if enough tacks
Drips will fall onto 'floor' of box and not damage table
If lighted candle falls it will also be ok in box, falling on metal and wet wax to... -
Mary Lou Morris made a comment
PS: I am definitely creative in cookery and love to mix unusual ingredients, mostly to good effect.
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
While not particularly adept at drawing or playing a musical instrument, I am an excellent audience for such endeavours, very appreciative and having the experience of many years of enjoyment of those talents. My own creativity is in writing, brain-storming an issue or almost instantly seeing the best way forward (an inveterate manager). I can also usually...
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
More available time is a key factor and being able to select your own preferences in music film and other activities is a particular bonus that comes with ageing. Just being able to appreciate a broader range of community offerings is enjoyable. Fortunately there is really something for most interests and often with very little financial outlay. A wonderful...
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
Very much looking forward to this week and hope to gain lots of new ideas.
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
I will keep plan for success and it's never too late upper most in my mind as positive messages from this week of the course.
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
Along with my volunteer work I believe continually learning about a variety of topics is very important. It is invariably a social experience, even online study, because it becomes a regular part of everyday interaction and knowledge sharing with friends and family.
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
Yes, I have volunteered in different roles for the past 15 years. The benefits are enormous for all concerned. Meeting and regularly interacting with new people who quickly become part of your regular weekly activities is wonderful. Most of my friends do some sort of volunteer work and the variety is quite good. I believe Australia has quite a good percentage...
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
As I have lived in the neighbourhood for quite a long time it has been easy to converse frequently and share local information, gardening progress, pet welfare, development plans etc. Weather is always a topic of interest because increasingly it arrives in extremes. For example, this week we are hovering around the 100 degree F. or 38 C. and yet is should be...
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
Regular get togethers with friends, usually one or two each week, for just an hour or two is good for building strong connections and exchanging information. I participate in a local council community visitor program as a volunteer seeing people in residential care. Our neighbourhood is a friendly one and usually we keep track of local activities in short...
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
I do not agree with everyone working longer. We all age differently and for many people extending their full-on employment would equate to eliminating any period of enjoyment following decades of non-stop work. Dictating varied ages to down tools by occupation type would be fraught with difficulty and perhaps create additional social problems for a world that...
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I must agree that the issues are vastly complex and not solvable any time soon. However, their importance is increasing exponentially with each passing year and gradually our socio-economic policies and practices will be forced to become more creative and particular to community need.
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
Volunteering has been a crucial part of my post full-time work life. I have met wonderful people that I never would have otherwise and have been challenged many times in finding creative paths to reaching the goals of various programs. I have also had occasional part-time work in one-off roles such as: federal/state elections, census taking, caring and...
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
Bingo! Intention planning appeals to me also, and it was my immediate reaction. Tune in for periodic updates...................
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
It would be worth repeating this snapshot on a regular basis. In every category I have room to improve, some more than others. I interpreted occupation, as a retired or redirected person, to mean the level of productivity or regular business-like activity in my life. My audit shows that I need more satisfaction in this area.
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
Friends and family are absolutely essential to my life and I believe my awareness of this vital interconnectedness grows with each passing year. I am fortunate in that I am reasonably gregarious and enjoy conversation, whether with friends or total strangers. You might see me having talks with stall holders at the local market, neighbours, fellow dog walkers,...
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
There are whole-of-person dangers in loneliness and isolation. Losing any motivation to greet each day would very quickly lead to lethargy, illness and deterioration in overall health. We all need the regular stimulation of conversation and in-person contact to stay connected to the planet we inhabit.
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
Roll on week four!
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
The 7 secrets of mental sharpness are the outstanding feature on the infographic for me, although the total content is of great value. Thank you so much for another valuable week of learning and communicating.
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
Study when courses of interest are available. This is my fourth with FutureLearn. I love code word puzzles and always have a couple of those booklets on hand. Regular rounds of scrabble are also a lot of fun and get the brain ticking over. Reading is a favourite and the local library always has a wide range of tempting tomes. I regularly keep up with a few...
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Very promising research and associated game development, it augurs well for the future. I do find multi=sensory perception changes as I age with slight hesitations where there used to be none noticed. It is perhaps a more conscious noticing of that multi-stream information as it is received, and probably taking time to appreciate that diversity.
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good on you Martin!
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
Hello moderators, please indicate if this is still the right section, 3.9, to keep looking for answers to the questions previously required in advance of Dr O'Sullivan and Ms O'Connor providing their expertise. This would help the confusion evidenced in comments so far.
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Hi Joy, I found that whenever my nails start to get slight ridges on top it is a sign of needing to drink a lot more water each day. When you find the right balance the nails become smooth on top again. There isn't any drink as effective as just plain water. Hope that helps and even so it's worth a try.
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
Footpath deterioration can even prevent a short walk to the local postbox and this is evident in many of the older suburbs where infrastructure maintenance is costly and a low priority in council budgets. Selecting appropriate street trees also determines walking ease as some trees shed slippery foliage, nuts, berries that can be very hazardous. Having to...
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Mary Lou Morris replied to Anne V
Thanks and point well taken!
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Christina, we have a few innovative traffic light systems in South Australia which I have described in my comment above. They are probably not widespread yet but do offer added security in crossing very busy intersections. Cheers
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Recently there have been a few helpful innovations that give far greater security to pedestrian crosswalks in selected very busy shopping precincts. The normal colour sequence occurs but there is an extra 18 seconds given, allowing most people to walk no matter what their circumstances. Drivers are aware of these locations and must accept the corresponding...
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Mary Lou Morris replied to Anne V
What does a walking app provide? Is it a list of places to walk or does it measure your heart rate etc?
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
Having a dog helps. We walk to and from the designated dog park plus I am fortunate in living near walking tracks along a riverside. I try to ensure brisk walking and there are steep steps to negotiate along the way. My challenge is to ensure more regularity in the longer walks to meet a good weekly total. Having a large garden also contributes to daily totals...
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
Attitude is so important and I must confess to feeling young. Having fun is very important in my life and perhaps it is one reason why I get along so very well with young people. I find the seven secrets a great checklist and I can tick most boxes but need to give greater attention to the new learning.
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
Sounds like an excellent week ahead and I look forward to the information and ideas that will be presented.
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
I would also have asked about milk and whether it is a plus or minus, in general, for older aged folks? That is assuming there isn't a serious weight problem but just a fondness for full cream milk. Realising that some people must have a gluten free diet is it also advisable for most of us? It seems to suddenly be 'the thing' at every eatery and market place.
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Mary Lou Morris made a comment
Mindfulness in whatever I am doing is my takeaway item from week 2 and I have already started. I am also selecting a new pursuit that will challenge me mentally and physically. It will most likely be of a musical nature but still deciding.