Retire In Style Blog Too

Lochsa facing upstream in the afternoon light. Picture by Barbara Torris Retire In Style has been on the road for almost a week.  We have been visiting friends in Great Falls Montana and have not been able to connect with the internet. Believe it or not, not every one has a wireless system in their home!  Surprise! Autumn haze hangs over the Lochsa! Picture by Barbara Torris We left Great Falls this morning. This Montana city is located in the north central part of the state on the eastern side of the continental divide.  We decided that we would come home by traveling south of Missoula through Idaho via Lolo Pass and down the Lochsa River to Lewiston Idaho.  I took pictures and reveled in the beauty of the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness area.  While the Lochsa River ran like a well behaved stream along the side of the road I know that this same river would be a raging torrent earlier in the summer as the snow melted in the Bitterroots .  I somehow missed t...

Traveling here in the Northwest can be as inexpensive or expensive as you want to make it.  I think that Coeur D Alene, Id is a perfect example.  This community located on the northern shore of Lake Coeur D Alene is just a few short miles east of Spokane Wa.  It is a destination resort area and boast one of the premier golf courses in the nation.  Coeur D Alene Resort Golf Course is the Pacific Northwest's answer to Pebble Beach.  The famous island green as stymied many a golfer over the years.  The resort rates can come it at around $500 a night for two people using a special package deal. On the other hand if you want to stay on the northside of town in a very plain motel with clean beds and recently painted walls you can get a room for $79 including taxes both city and state.  It is your choice. We are staying at a Guesthouse Inn booked through Orbitz.  We have one bed and get a breakfast in the morning.  The bed is fine and the bathroo...

Ingenious Full Length Mirror Shopping online or using what you have to recreate that oh so new look...it is a way of life for me.  Take the mirrors.  I was watching a show on HGTV yesterday filmed in NYC.  The designers had a blank brick wall to decorate.  So they went to a thrift store and bought several mirrors to display.  Not a new idea but still....  I just moved and left behind the best full length mirror I have ever owned.  It was glued to the closet door or I would have brought it with.  So instead of buying a full length mirror my husband suggested I just hang two of the mirrors we own, one over the other.  It is mirror magic! Grandmother Chevron Throw The latest trend in graphic design is the chevron pattern.  The medal worn by military men for a long time has found it's way onto pillows, sheets, rugs and wooden balls.  I really don't need anything like that right now but I do own a bit of my own chevron design...I have th...

I am always on the lookout for the perfect hostess gift.  They have to be inexpensive yet unique enough to let the host and hostess know that you appreciate their attention.  I think I have found four five that you will like. moontea artwork block print moontea artwork linens ipop refrigerator magnet More Info Here Spices ...There is a cute little spice shop here in the Pearl District of Portland.  You can buy boxed sets of spices for barbecues or salads.  You can even buy the box and make your own gift box.  I bought salad spices, barbecue and curry.  These will be included in a hostess gift box.  Penzeys Spices is the name of the business and their online shop can be found here .  Refrigerator Magnets ... ipop has darling magnets, paperweights and jewelry all designed with artwork under a glass dome.  The ones I chose came in a small plastic box and feature bird's nests.  They are beautiful. Linen Towels ...We are very lucky that ...

Courtesy of PDE,  New York City Real Estate  Agents. It’s refreshing to hear some good news about retirement. Erik Braunitzer is an invited guest writer for Retire In Style Blog. He writes for Elliman Real Estate in NYC and has a degree in Philosophy. I think you will be interested in what he has to say. Just a Few Good Reasons to Retire For a majority of people, owning a home is considered to be one of the most important assets. To those who’ve recently retired, their home may be much more than just a financial asset, but rather a sentimental one at that. This is where retirement and the urge to relocate can become tricky. It’s a tough choice, but one that should be made carefully. More commonly found in first time homebuyers, there comes regret, or what I like to call RRR (retirement relocation remorse.) But before you go drowning yourself in a pool of your own sympathy, remember that there are plenty of good reasons to get off your butt; call the most ...

Image by marcopako  via Flickr My computer has decided that it does not like to be shut down.  It lets me close all the applications and very nicely allows me to look at the choices available for putting the baby to bed.  It will even tell me that this or that is not closed properly like all good little Apple computer will.  Then I can click the shut down icon and it will shut down, the screen goes blank and everything will be very quiet for a few second. That is when I begin to sneak away from my desk.  I roll the desk chair back quietly and turn to the left so I won't bump the desk or touch the track pad.  Just as I am rising from my chair it will suddenly spring back to life.  I will hear a BONG and the computer will reopen as though it has been asleep for the required 10 hours.  Like a wakeful two year old I swear it would get up and follow me out of the room if it could. On a few occasions I have actually unplugged the naughty machine, forcing i...

I was delighted when I received an offer to publish a guest post from a person in the business of helping people improve their vision.  I hope you enjoy and use the information she has been willing share. Here is what Maggie Thistleton had to say. Healthy eyes enjoying the view! We’re told all the time that we should eat healthy: it’s good for maintaining a healthy weight, it’s good for the heart, and it’s also good for overall well-being. But what many don’t realize is that eating well can protect your vision. Several foods are rich in vitamins in minerals that have been medically proven to promote good eyesight. Vitamin A Foods that are rich in Vitamin A have a number of health benefits. Vitamin A acts as an immune system booster, while at the same time helps with eye function. Vitamin A also aids in protecting the surface of the eye against eye infections by reinforcing the membrane layer of the outer eye. Beta carotene, the compound that makes carrots orange, is converted to Vi...

Image via Wikipedia My two grandsons were visiting the other day. All play dates involve toys, outdoor play and books. The routine is pretty predictable. They come in the door hungry...I fix "maccy cheese" and they eat. We drag out the big box of toys and they play with every item in the box and then we move on to the books. They have the drill down and so do I. But it always surprises me which book they will find interesting. Sometimes it is If You Give a Mouse a Cookie  and another time it will be Chicka Chicka Boom Boom .  The Chicka book is a favorite just because they love to say the title. The Secret Garden This visit turned out to be a little different.  The smallest boy picked up my Country Gardens book put out by Country Living magazine.  This grandson is only 20 month old.  We went through the book page by page exclaiming over all the beautiful flowers.  His big brother aged 3 1/2 joined in the fun as we flipped through the book.  When ...

 Do you ever dream that you will actually win in a drawing?  Me too.  In this particular case, I am dreaming of a vacation at a dude ranch in Idaho .  The location is enough to make me swoon and adding the $1600 vacation at a dude ranch called Red Horse Mountain Ranch for sure has me ready to faint.  But that is not all...there is wine tasting, log cabin suites, world class cusine, adventures like horse back riding and evening entertainment.  What do you think?  Could you handle all that?  You really should hop on over to Fab Over Fifty , register if you are not already a member and enter the contest.  This cowgirl is recommending it! b

You know that ad selling storage boxes.  They suggest you clean everything out so you will have more space.  Then you can buy all those beautiful baskets and boxes that look gorgeous on your shelve.  The last and final chapter in the story is...you need to fill the boxes with lots of new stuff. Well, selling your old house and buying a new one is a lot like that.  We sorted and disposed of all the old stuff.  We bought a beautiful new storage unit (house) and now we really need new stuff.  Some of it can wait but some things just will not wait for even a month.  The list goes like this for us: Pot rack for the kitchen Gadget hooks for the kitchen Curtains and Blinds for the windows Some plants for the window box A new TV (you saw this one coming didn't you?) My husband made the kitchen stuff for me...he is very handy.  Then today we went out shopping for curtains and blinds.  I decided on curtains from  Target  for our two bedrooms ...

     I wanted you to know how important it is for you to leave your very small space and go for a walk.  Go out and get coffee or just visit with the neighbors.  I don't care where you go...just go!       Why?  Well, the thing is your mind needs the exercise almost as much as your body.  You know I am a great proponent of small space living.  We don't need huge houses to wander around in.  But, it turns out, restricting our whole life to that small space or even that big house will lead to some pretty bad stuff.  For example, here what I read this morning in MD News:  An individual with a life space restricted to their immediate home environment had almost twice the likelihood of developing AD (Alzheimers Disease) compared to an individual with the largest life space.       The definition of "the largest life space" would be all those spaces OUTSIDE your home.  Social interaction is evid...

My husband and I after 50 years of MARRIAGE! I do try to keep up with the times!  In fact, I think that you will find that the older people get the harder they try to stay in touch with what is trendy.  But sometimes there is no hiding our age.  Here is what is happening to me. My husband and I moved from a beautiful lofty condo with spectacular views born of youthful dreams.  We loved that home for the 10 years we lived there.  This last winter I woke with the thought that we needed to find a home we could enjoy now but would still carry us into our senior years...whenever that is. We put our condo on the market, sold it at the asking price and found a beautiful home in a 50+ community.  You would think that we could let ourselves act a "little" old in this setting.  But no!!! The stumbling block seems to be my habit is assuming that if you live together, have a family together and love each other you might by some remote chance be married.  Not ...

Conversion (retrofit) kit from Lowes transformed can light! We just moved into a different house...new to us!  But it was built 15 years ago.   We are very impressed with the quality material but it is just a little bit out of style.  All it needs is some paint, cleaning and a few cosmetic changes.  You know...a light fixture here and a can light there.  So, instead of buying new stuff right off the bat, we went and bought a can of silver spray paint and a pot light conversion kit (a light fixture retrofit kit.) My husband disconnected the light fixture from the ceiling and removed the decorative glass shades.  He taped the sockets with blue painter tape and hung the light fixture from the ceiling of our garage.  He took great care and time to apply light coats to cover the light fixture and chain completely.  When the old brassy light fixture was rehung with it's new silver paint we were very pleased.  Now the chain needs to be longer but th...

Reader's Favorites: Renewing my Grandparents Liscense...Humor How to Deal With Grumpy Old Men Decorating a Tiny House/Apartment...links to links! The Perfect Dripless Candles (Trader Joes) Inexpensive (vacation home) Ownership 10 Tips from Experienced Grandparents 10 Great (graduation) Gifts for Young Men in 2011 Tucson to Tubac...where the old west meet the modern golfer! Astoria Oregon and the New York Times 10 Links for Family Friendly Seaside Oregon My personal favorite: How to Get that Gift Basket You Wanted Welcome       Is this the first time you have visited?  Well, welcome to my life.  I am retired and have been for 14 years. I guess that makes me an experienced retiree.  I have been writing this blog for about 6 years.  It is my favorite "job" in a life that really required no honest labor.  I would have done this for a job in my pervious life if I could have.  It has been a wonderful gift. About the blog!  Thing I love. ...

Fab/50      I am sorry for me and all others like me...I have bat-wings!  Really, this is not a cool thing.  In case you didn't know, those flabs that hang down under your arms as you grow older are not attractive.  The trick is to cover them up still feel cool and relaxed in the summer heat...or at least appear to feel cool and relaxed.  There is nothing worse that sweating in public!  Yuck!  So what do we do? Image from Macy's      I was doing some research for an article on cardigans last week and discovered the beautiful waterfall or shawl design so many women are wearing now.  The front falls loosely in gentle folds.  These sweaters are lovely in a very sheer fabrics.  Worn with a camisole or a tank top they can be the perfect addition to the antibat-wing wardrobe.  The one shown is from the Macy's online web page.  I love the sleeves.      A sheer white blouse with a sleevele...

Brayden with his 3-D glasses Finding just the right thing to do with your grandchildren can be a trick.  I know, we do have a television and we can plop those babies down in front of it.  After all, who needs to be exhausted at the end of the day.  Right? Then we remember that playing with the grandchildren can be as much fun for us as it is for the children. Mine are little and big, boys and girls, active and quiet.  There is no perfect toys for these guys.  I have to be very creative to keep them happy for an extended period of time.  I have three things for you today...well maybe four.  Who knows. Crayola 3-D Chalk:  This is the best new play thing I have seen in a great while.  After the child draws a picture they can look through the glasses and see their image pop into 3-D.  My 14 year old granddaughter played with her little cousins on our drive-way yesterday.  The little one scribbled and then watcher her draw.  They wo...