Article: If you don't use your cognitive abilities and practice them routinely, you will eventually lose those abilities.If you can, try to learn something new, like a language, a musical instrument, or even a new skill set. If you can't pick up something new, you can alter your daily routine in simpler ways to strengthen your cognitive abilities, like doing a word puzzle, reading parts of the newspaper you normally don't read, or taking an alternate route you wouldn't normally take while driving. Other ways to use your cognitive abilities include reading, joining a book club (which incorporates social interaction), playing strategy games like chess, or taking classes to learn something new. When people are alone for long periods of time, they become prone to depression, stress, and anxiety, and these symptoms can contribute to confusion and memory loss over time. A great way to ward off confusion is to spend time with other people. Being around others encourages you to recall past events and process current events to carry on a conversation, which is a great way to stay mentally sharp while also enjoying other people's company. Having great social support is especially important when dealing with confusion in elderly people. Try spending time with friends, relatives, or even strangers through volunteer work. Do not isolate yourself. Stay engaged with life and your social surroundings. Try writing down appointments, errands, chores, and things you'll need to pick up when you're at the store. Make a habit of carrying that list with you everywhere you go and checking it on a daily basis. Try keeping these lists on your smartphone for a convenient way to check them. Journaling may be a good way to keep your thoughts organized and keep track of your day-to-day life and obligations. Stash items like your wallet, keys, and mobile phone (if you carry one) in the same location in your home every day. That way you'll never waste time looking for the things you need before you leave the house. Organizing your environment will help you avoid confusion about your immediate surroundings while also strengthening your memory and thinking skills. If you're not hyper-organized, that's okay you can start in little ways. Studies show that taking the guesswork out of day-to-day chores and events can help you focus and concentrate more on learning new things and remembering important events/memories. Tidying up your home, especially by reducing clutter, can help to make it easier to find things and accomplish tasks. Go through old papers, notes, and to-do lists and throw them away if you no longer need them. Ask friends or family members to help you tidy up if you are overwhelmed by the process. Using more than one sense when you learn or experience something new helps keep multiple parts of your brain active and may help retain memories and learning abilities. Studies have shown that experiencing something with only 1 sense makes you less likely to remember or retain that information/experience than experiencing it with 2 or more senses. Try challenging your senses in little ways every day. When you try an unfamiliar dish at a restaurant, notice the smell before and after you taste the food. Challenge yourself to identify certain ingredients, or practice your cognitive abilities by reading a newspaper or book while you savor the smells and tastes of an unfamiliar dish. Having a routine can help with memory and cognitive ability. Any time you maintain a routine, your brain has an easier time making connections and recognizing patterns of your own behavior. It sounds simple, but just having a regular day-to-day routine may help reduce the effects of confusion and memory loss over time. For instance, make sure you get up and go to bed at the same time each day, which can help improve your sleep and overall health. Mnemonic devices are used to help you remember lists, orders of operation, and musical scales, but you can also make your own mnemonic devices to help you remember anything from your daily life. Try writing out the steps of something you need to do, then take the first letter of each word and try to put it in a related word or phrase. For example, the musical notes E, G, B, D, and F is easily remembered with the sentence, "Every Good Boy Does Fine." Creating and using mnemonic devices helps you strengthen both your thinking abilities and your memory. Finding ways to remember the steps of a certain process may also help free up your memory to process and retain new information.
Question: What is a summary of what this article is about?
Learn a new skill or challenge your brain to keep it stimulated. Be socially active to promote long-term memory. Write down important information so it is easy to access. Choose a designated place for items you need every day. Tidy up your home to make it easier to navigate. Use all of your senses to better stimulate your brain. Develop a routine and stick with it for improved memory and cognition. Use mnemonic devices to strengthen the connections in your brain.

Problem: Article: If a male dog is very full, he may not have the energy to breed. You want to make sure your male is as energetic and enthusiastic as possible. Withhold food until your dog has successfully bred with the female on the day you allow the dogs to mate. Make sure to feed the male the day before mating and after he finishes mating with the female dog as well. If you want natural mating, you need both dogs to remain calm. If dogs are agitated or nervous, mating is less likely to occur. If the male and female dogs do not already know each other, make sure they meet a few days prior to the mating day. You should also keep the environment calm. Choose an area that's not prone to loud noises or other interruptions. If your dogs get startled or scared, this may halt breeding. before the day of mating. It will likely be easier to get your dogs to mate if you introduce them to each other before the mating day. This will help to ensure that they like each other. Dogs are capable of breeding naturally. However, males may sometimes be unsure what to do, especially if this is their first time breeding. Do not hesitate to direct the dogs when necessary. Use your hands to gently guide the dog towards the right area when he attempts to mount the female. Try to keep your distance and allow the dogs to mate naturally and do not interrupt them or try to break them apart. This will stress them out and may even harm them. A little privacy may also make it easier for your dogs to breed successfully. A garage, shed, or basement is a good area to place your dogs so they feel they have some privacy. It may take the male dog awhile to mount the female, especially if he is inexperienced. Do not be surprised if the dogs do not mate immediately. Try to minimize intervention and allow the dogs to breed on their own time. After the dogs have mated, there are a few things you can do to encourage conception. Care for both the male and female dogs after the mating process. You may have to confine the female to a cage for half an hour after she mates. You want to prevent urination, as this will help with conception. Make sure the male's penis retracts after mating. In most cases, it will retract naturally after 30 minutes. If this does not happen, you may have to try to retract the penis yourself.
Summary: Keep the male from eating the day of mating. Keep the dogs calm. Introduce the dogs to each other Help the dogs when necessary. Give the dogs some privacy and do not break them up after mating begins. Have patience. Care for the dogs after mating.

Rinse the asparagus under cool to lukewarm running water. Gently scrub the spears with your fingers to remove any excess dirt. Alternatively, place the asparagus in a colander and rinse the entire bunch at once. Gently shake the colander as you work to stir the spears and loosen any dirt. Remove the woody, white bottom portion of each spear by snapping or cutting it. To break the end off by hand, firmly hold the asparagus spear in one hand, approximately 1 inch (2.5 cm) above the end of the white section. Grasp onto the white end with your other hand and yank it in a downward movement. To cut the end off, use a sharp serrate knife and saw at the spear just above the end of the white portion. Use a serrated knife to cut the asparagus spears into 2-inch (5-cm) sections, slicing each spear at a slight angle.
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One-sentence summary --
Clean the asparagus. Break off the bottoms. Cut the asparagus into pieces.