Retire In Style Blog Too

Caballeros Museum  Exhibit, Wickenburg, Arizona "Cowgirl Up 2011"      We live in Arizona 6 months out of every year. We love the aura of a cowboy society.  Each year as we travel home we pass through Wickenburg, Az. If you are looking for a real cowboy, this may be where they live.     Today when we drove into town, we stopped for lunch at The Cowboy Cafe.  The food was okay but the memorabilia and western art on the walls made the stop worth while.  It reflected the cowboy feel of this little community.      Here in Wickenburg there is a beautiful "Caballero Western Museum".  For a period of time each spring they feature an exhibit of western art by renowned women artists.  I love the name, "Cowgirl Up 2011".  Those of us that live in the land of cowgirls understand the significance of the name. When our men get wimpy or decide that they want us to serve them we will say "Cowgirl Up".  It means get to...

2009 Hoover Dam bypass construction 2009 Storm over the Colorado River 2010      Note:  Check out the pictures from my Hub Pages Post called 11 Picture of a Man Made Marvel .  Be sure to click on the images I have posted here and look at them in full size on your computer screen.  It is amazing1      Going home is always an adventure. We have traveled from Tucson to Portland Oregon in the spring for many years. We try to make each trip a new adventure but it is getting harder with each passing year. Are we missing some new way home? I cannot imagine.        Sometimes we go through Palm Springs, then through Los Angeles and up I-5. We have gone all the way to the Pacific Ocean and up the coast on 101.  We have stopped in the Napa Valley on the way home. One year we stopped at Lake Taho after spending some time in Death Valley and taking a route on the east side of the Sierra Nevadas.  We have also gone to Reno fro...

One of 10 Tiny Getaways on Apartment Therapy       I have been a fan of the teeny tiny cottages for quite some time. Imagine my surprise when I realized that I have not given this concept in housing much time on this retire in style blog.  THEN I see that Apartment Style had a feature about the tiny houses this week. I want to be Apartment Style anyway and when I saw they had usurped my love of the tiny cottage, I was just miffed! Okay, I admit there is a blog called " Tiny House Blog " and Apartment Therapy is all about small spaces so I cannot lay claim to the small house exclusively. But still!      You can buy a tiny house prefab...there is actually a company that sells them to consumers.  The company is called Tumbleweed Houses .  The small houses they sell prebuilt are on wheels so you can put them almost anywhere.  If you are a DIY kind of person, they sell the plans too.       I received a question the o...

Image via Wikipedia Yesterday's post gave you the personality quiz for your mother/grandmother.  Now it is time to shop.  Here is a list of gifts that no mother will turn down.  Take a look. #11...a little bling!!! Aveda Lotions (yummy) Herb Basket  A cool baseball hat Trip to the Day Spa A make-up makeover + lunch Flowers...on a silk scarf Flowers...on jewelry A Kindle Reader Corsage pin (jewelry) A subscription to a Magazine (go to A Frugal Friend ) Your time! Time to go shopping....3 day left! b

Image via Wikipedia           I have learned a few trick for buying gifts over the years. What you need to do is get a picture of what the Mother you are buying a gift for will enjoy. After all, you do want to give her something that she will remember for a long time.  Here are some hints that will help. Answer the following questions: How old is Mom/Grandma? What is she doing this weekend? Is she vain? What is her favorite store? What is the weather? How often do you spend time with her? Is she a girly girl? How many siblings do you have? How does she treat herself? How long has she been married or is she single?      These are not the usual questions but you will know more when you answer these than when you answer the hobby related questions. For example, if your mother is elderly and a girly girl, a corsage is perfect. However, if she active and spent the week end hiking, you can be assured that she will not want ...

A room full of couponeers and their wives!      " What do you do for a hobby ," they asked.      " I clip coupons.  We can save lots of money that way ," he answered.  His wife just rolled her eyes.  She changed her mind when he began finding coupons online for the stuff she liked.  Golf coupons, Overstock Promo Codes and home decorating coupons.  He finally had her attention!      Retirement is not the end by any means. Even though someone is not bossing you around anymore does not mean that you can sleep for the rest of your life....even if that is what you have been dreaming about. I know. Lack of sleep was a demon that pursued you all through your working years. One day you wake up rested and want to do something.  Boredom is not a child's thing. Boredom lurks around every corner in a life of total leisure.      Hobbies always seem to be the perfect answer. Young people studying about old peopl...

      This is the best news I have had in an age.  The little Kindle e-reader that I traded for is going to be allowed to tap into the local library!  The is wonderful news for senior citizens with compromised vision on a limited income!  Listen up AARP!        Mother's Day is coming and this affordable gift could be something that your mom should have in her hands.  Reading keeps our mind active and might ward off the effects of dementia.  Give it a thought!      I've given you the idea...now you go do something about it! b    Related articles Amazon plans Kindle Library Lending (mobile-ent.biz) Amazon To Offer Library eBooks on Kindle (mediabistro.com)

     I don't ride horses but I do love to dress up in cowboy boots, jeans and a beautiful white blouse. Cowgirls are a little tough, a little girly and a lot glamorous. Here in the Old West horses, girls and sunny open spaces blend together like chocolate and cream. Here is the problem. I am a wannbe cow girl but I am oldish!      The rules have changed a bit for me over the years. Now, at the age of 69+, I am more conscious of make-up, sun screen and I use a 10x mirror. Yes you heard me...I look at my face 10x's bigger than normal.  A friend with very good vision has been after me for two years to buy one. She could see things I could not but did not want to be the one to give me the bad news. She was always asking "Do you want to look in my 10x mirror?" I just ignored her.      When I turned 69 I gave in.  So I went on a hunt for a 10x mirror.  Simple? Not even close. Mirrors, it turns out, come in many gr...

Tubac Golf Resort Casita Tubac Golf Resort    Tubac Event:   The Tucson Autism Community Center is hosting its annual Autism Charity Golf Classic on Tubac’s beautiful golf course on Saturday, April 30.       Sonoita Wine Festival:   Sonoita Vineyards in southern Arizona is hosting its 33 rd  Annual Blessing of Sonoita Vineyards Festival on Saturday, April 30.        Sunday Drive:   When we leave Tucson to head south toward Mexico on the way to Tubac for a day of golf, I am always struck by the beauty of this place in the world. While the freeway from Tucson to Mexico is wide and the speed limit is 70 mph the pace of life slows down the closer you come to the border. Mountains surround the broad open valley. Elephant Rock looms in the East as you pass Green Valley. On down the road a very old ranch owned my the Amado family has become home to a lovely resort.  Situated on the east side of the freeway, the ...

Image via Wikipedia John Dillinger Poster          Do you believe in ghosts?  I have had some ghostly experiences I cannot explain but a believer? I don't know. However, there are places that seem to be perfect for ghosts and the Old Pueblo (Tucson AZ) is one of them. I suppose that is why we like to wander down to the Congress Hotel in the city center. Some very famous bad guys have met their demise there.     Last Saturday we had breakfast on the shaded patio of the Little Cup Restaurant located in the hotel.  It was very crowded all the time we were there. This little restaurant has been featured on Racheal Ray's $40 a day tv show. I thought it was lots of fun and the food tasted very good to me.        The Congress is located just across the street from the old Southern Pacific train station built in 1909 and very near to the historical site when Wyatt Earp and Doc Holiday killed Frank Stilwell in 1...

     We eat together a lot. Our life style is very much like a co-housing development.  The one big difference is our location...we live in an RV Resort for 6-7 month of the year. Our little park model, circa 1987, has been the scene for many parties and small dinners for friends. Cooking in a very small space like a motor home or a park model requires some careful thought.   But even my small gas stove oven will accomodate a baking dish quite large.  There is no excuse for not baking a cake.      I have found that a crock pot can be moved outdoors when the temperatures go up.  I use the one shown at the side.The lid clips on and the crock can be removed for easy cleaning.  I love this kitchen gadget!        Each season we find that a few recipes reappear over and over.  This year has been no different.  I am including the recipe for a crockpot pork loin that is just delicious.  The chocolate ...

Apartment Therapy " Madeline"s Colorful Studio "      Apartment Therapy is running a contest sponsored by Benjamin Moore.  The contest is called "Small and Cool".  How wonderful is that?  People submit their pictures, Apartment Therapy screens them and then selects the ones that are the best.  Best of all we get to vote for a winner.  The contest rules are here .  I check the pages every few days to see what is new.  I suppose that is why my conversations are all about decor these days.      My friends and I were talking about our young married life the other day.  We recall days when only "acceptable" decor was allowed.  Grandma's dining table and Aunt Lulu's sofa moved into our tiny apartment living room.  We left the walls bare because the only "real" picture we owned was the one that had hung in our childhood bedroom!  How times have changed!        Today living in a sm...

Family in Our Home!  They were invited and they came. Just what I wanted!!!      A couple of years ago my husband and I forgot our daughters birthday. Yes, I know. We are very bad-bad people!  Our daughter is one of three siblings and their birthdays are happy occasions for us and always have been. I plan months ahead, buy gifts, and visualize the day they get their prize. But, on that one horrible occasion, we made our daughter cry! We forgot. Thankfully, our son-in-law gave us a heads up and we were able to at least redeem ourselves to a point. WHAT GOES WRONG!        This particular incident made me take a good long look at what I was doing when I wanted  a gift basket or the perfect piece of jewelry.  I was shocked to find that I was setting the people I loved up to fail. And my family was learning from me. We positioned ourselves to be victims. Deep down in our hearts we suspected that no one loved us or we felt depressed ...

      I need the opinion of people that have lived long enough to understand the news.  Tell me what you think. Are we becoming to simple and fun loving that everything must be a game?       I noticed an article on TechCrunch.com yesterday I thought you might find interesting. The title was "War, What is it good for? [if you know the answer you get] Three Points". The article was about a movement to make the news more fun and entertaining. Have you ever heard of "newgames"? That would be a way of learning about the news by playing a game.  Imagine news made more exciting for those people that...well...don't like to watch the news. It seems that people are just plain too lazy to watch the news and they need to have a game so they can comprehend what is going on. The writer of the article used the example of that period of time during the 1980's when our government dilly dallied over the budget and our government nearly shut down. I was a...

In the New York Times: At the very top of page this morning there was an article about Arizona, restrictive covenants in neighborhoods and grass.  It seems that here in Arizona where water is at a premium, if you own a home with a lawn, you have to keep it green!  There is no choice according to the NYTimes article: Homeowners’ associations in this arid region typically have rules requiring residents to maintain either desert landscaping or green grass, with brown lawns not an option.      I have had experience with all the rules that living in a "modern" community involve. The community I live in back in Oregon has rules for everything.  I am sure the color of our lawn is important to them.  But back in Oregon it rains a lot so water is not a huge problem. In the past, homeowners in the Willamette Valley have let their lawns go brown in the summer when the rains decreased. They would keep it mowed very short so when the lawns catch on fire, the house...