I received for  review this month a book called 52 Small Changes: One Year to a Happier, Healthier You. It has one small change each week, starting with little things like "Drink more water" and moving up to grand stuff like "Live with purpose." The theory is that in one year, you'll be better and better in every way (to paraphrase Émile Coué, the father of affirmations).

I'm not much on affirmations, but I'm very big on self-improvement. I'm always trying to learn more and do better and stuff like that. While this year I am being a dismal failure at the HGP, I figured I could make one small change a week in spite of the demands of my schedule.

That is, of course, the point of the book. We may not all be able to get our centerpieces ready, purchase and wrap 1/8 of our Christmas presents, put a meal and a batch of cookies in the freezer, spend an hour a day on homemade presents, and prepare a gift basket for our houseguests in the second week of November-- but we can all make one small change a week.

The first week I obediently drank more water, and I am glad to say that I have remained in the habit of doing so. The second week, I worked really hard on sleeping 7-8 hours every night. This isn't always in my power, but I went to bed earlier.

This week, we are to get off the couch. Specifically, we're supposed to move more in our daily lives, regardless of the amount of actual exercise we do. We're supposed to get up and walk to see our colleagues instead of IMing them, park further from the entrance to the shops, and generally waste energy.

I started off well enough yesterday with a three-hour stroll around the museum including a mile on their walking trail, and tonight I'll park at a distance from the music building and walk up three flights of stairs (we always do, La Bella and I).

The truth is, though, that I enjoy lolling on the couch. I spent nearly all day Saturday doing just that, even though I was working at the time on my laptop. When I have free time, I like to lie on the sofa with my feet up, reading, and curl up with knitting and a good book or a Netflix movie. My sister has assured me that this is something one just doesn't tire of, and she may be right. I don't get tired of it even if I loll around for hours on the weekend. If anything, I feel as though I don't get enough lolling time.

52 Small Changes reminds us that the WHO attributes 2 million deaths each year to a sedentary lifestyle. Thee author says we should get up and clean while we watch TV, take walks before breakfast and during lunch and after dinner, replace inactive relaxation with active hobbies, and stand while using the computer.

As I say, I did well with that change yesterday. We had a houseguest, so I was actively cooking and cleaning before church, I stand through much of the service since I'm in the choir, and then I went to the museum, and I followed that with further cooking and cleaning. I did a lot of walking in the previous week, as well, and enjoyed it. I should keep that in mind.

Perhaps, if I make this change, I will have a cleaner house as well as a better chance of living to a ripe and active old age.

The Art Trail to Crystal Bridges is lovely, an easy half mile from downtown Bentonville to the museum.

#1 son, #1 daughter, and I went there this afternoon. I rejoined the Presbyterian church and made a financial pledge, so I felt happy and settled when we arrived, and the walk added to the overall sense of wellbeing.

Looking back on that, it sounds rather odd, but I have been feeling unsettled in terms of my church and music life for some time. So it was a bit of a relief to have it settled.

So we set off cheerily down the path. There were lots of dogs and babies and people and a decidedly festival air.

We stopped into the amphitheater along the way. It has heated seats and they hold son et lumiere shows there in the evenings a couple of times a week.  The artist who created it has made similar installations elsewhere, but always in private settings. This is the only one in a public place.

From here it was a very short walk to the museum, with just a bit of waiting at a few sculptures along the way.

There were children climbing on there and having their pictures taken.

I loved it that kids were so welcome throughout the museum. We were allowed to take photos as well, and to get right up near to the artworks and gaze on them admiringly.

Everyone can go in for free right now, too.

The museum is still under construction, but it's a wonderful building and filled with wonderful things.

#1 son told us that there was bad feeling about the museum, and I did look around the internet and found some ill natured talk.

"Crystal Bridges," people said, sounded like a stripper's name, and I guess that's true, though that's not what the builders were thinking of.

There were also people who felt that art treasures by Wyeth and Grant and O'Keefe and Rockwell and Sargent and Cassatt and all shouldn't be out in the country like this. I think they're wrong. The setting is stunning, it's not far from the airport, and we deserve a museum as much as anyone else, don't we?

There are galleries for Colonial era paintings, 19th century, 20th century, and "World of Wonder," which has moatly 21st century, but more than just the time, things that are odd and remarkable. 

I enjoyed the collections of John La Farge and Thomas Hart Benton best, I think, but it's hard to choose.

#1 son said it was almost overwhelming. We walked for three hours through the galleries.

We'll need to go back soon, I think.

The last art museum I visited was the one at the Vatican, so I wasn't especially ready to be impressed, but I really was.

There's a cafe and a store, and the trail leads not only to the museum but also, at the other end, to a botanical garden. If you find yourself in the vicinity, you'll find that there's plenty to occupy you for the day. Then you can visit the battlefield parks and our very lovely woods and things. We have a couple of other botanical gardens, and some nice little historical museums as well.

In other news, our educational website has been wildly popular with Yahoo searches for "vampire babies." What's up with that?

This week included a lot of fun. Monday night I rehearsed the Poulenc Gloria. Tuesday La Bella and I went to hear a brass quintet.

Brass instruments are always less orderly than other instruments, but you don't usually notice it because they're in the middle of the orchestra.

They shake spit from their horns onto the floor. The French horn player puts his arm up his horn, vet-like, as though he's delivering the music. The tuba player spreads her legs and pulls the tuba into her crotch, while the floor around them becomes littered not only with spare saliva but also with mutes and extra instruments and stuff. They make flatulent noises in the lower register and grimace oddly as they play.

Nonetheless, the music was excellent.

Wednesday was choir practice, and Thursday was supposed to be the rehearsal of the choirlet -- well, I'm sure they had the rehearsal, but I wasn't there. I stayed home while my husband and #1 daughter went to their pool tournament. I watched Miss Marple and knitted. It was lovely. That was also the day #1 daughter and I went for a walk in the rain-washed autumn woods .

Friday night #1 son and #1 daughter came over and we had pizza and a movie. We watched Gnomeo & Juliet, and we were all able to compare it with Romeo and Juliet without having anyone behave as though we were being pretentious and geeky.

Today was a work day, but I worked on the sofa with Netflix in the background, so it certainly could be worse.

#2 son came back for a game this weekend. It was good to see him. He and I and #1 son went to see "The Importance of Being Ernest." It was very fun. We parked at #1 son's place and walked to the arts center and back, so it was a nice evening after having worked on Saturday.

We talked about healthy eating and sport and school, and I got to feel quite proud of my boys. I also made a wholesome meal for them. Tortelini Soup with lots of vegetables, zucchini and butternut squash and onions and peppers and mushrooms and spinach. Wholegrain rolls, too, with a nice sprinling of cracked wheat on the top.

For breakfast, we had fruit with yogurt and finished up the rolls.

Today has been relaxing. Some work, some knitting, some housework. The weather was perfect for it: a nice gray fall day that makes the colors of the leaves stand out.

I've definitely fallen off the HGP wagon, but there is still the Christmas Countdown. This is time to establish good health habits before the holidays make it hard to manage. This is the time to divide up the things on the holiday to-do list into five parts and to begin doing one section each week. How are you coming with your preparations?