Retire In Style Blog Too

Image: Kathleen Chalfant Justice for Lynn Steward The Red Suitcase is a film that is being made by young filmmaker, Dana White, and her husband. She is the writer, producer and star. Her mother is the story.  The idea for the film came after White and her mother had taken the road trip from her mother's home in the East to White's home in California. White had to convince her mother that she needed to leave the past behind and come to live with her.   The movie will star Broadway stage actress,   Kathleen   Chalfant   and White who has also worked on Broadway. Sometime during the month of October, White and her husband will be starting a crowdsourcing campaign with   Indiegogo   to raise funds for completion of the film. I was given an opportunity to talk with White a few days ago.  The Red Suitcase...the perfect symbol Have you ever thought about the perfect symbolic container for your past? What size would it be? What would you fill it with? I...

My iphone screen! I was reading  Gypsy  Nesters  again today. I love reading their blog because it is a blast from the past for me. They are living the life in a place that I once occupied. They feel what I felt back in the days before grandchildren or even son/daughter-in-laws. Veronica James and her husband David sold their home and travel full time these days. They are poster children for the boomer's dream life. Travel, adult children, free to live the adventure. But, as with all things, they are finding that as time passes, their peers are beginning to move into the grandparent mode. Their children are even wondering why their parents aren't demanding the next generation be born and soon.  I remember back in the days when my children were leaving home how excited I was for them. The adventure they were embarking on was so full of promise and success. We were close to our children in a lot of ways so we were invited to share in their life just enough. It was a ha...

This Grandma is not spilling the beans! I was having dinner with my daughter and her friends the other evening and the issue of Grandma Spilling the Beans came up in the conversation. What do I mean by that? Well it seems that some grandparents find it necessary to tell their grandchildren about their parents misdeeds as teens or even as young children. Why would they do that? the young parents asked. We don't want our children think that just because we were stupid they can be too. I could see why they were upset. One of the grandchildren had been caught driving with younger people in the car before it was legal. When asked why they thought it was okay to do that, the response was that "all the kids sorta ignored that rule". The grandmother that was having the conversation snickered and proceeded to tell all their dad's misdeeds, what trouble he was in and how simply driving with a young person in the car seemed pretty minor in comparison. Now, I am sure that you wo...

I always thought that Theodor Seuss Geisel, aka Dr. Suess, knew more about reinvention that anyone around. Our children learned about reading and adventure and laughing from him. He taught them that they were perfect just the way they were. For those of us that were not raised with Dr. Suess, the lessons were just as meaningful. Hidden between the words and in the poetry were lesson on courage and enduring adversity and finding adventure. But best of all there were lessons on challenging ourselves to be the very best we could be. I have always thought that one of his very early books, Happy Birthday to You , taught the most important lesson of all. Here is the much quoted phrase that has managed to survive for over 50 years: Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you! (  Dr. Suess1959) In his book Oh, the Places You'll Go , the good Dr. Suess led the reader down the garden path of possibilities and adventure. He told us “It's opene...

I am ready to move on. The blog header is not the one my readers liked but I could not put the misty Oregon coast up this time. I had become used to the Orange Shoes and the grey misty ocean air was kind of depressing...so I made MYSELF happy. As you all know, it is all about ME. The picture that I created for the header is very abstract...the bright colors are the ones we see in Arizona. They light the winter months when the northwest is so dark. We are leaving soon. It is a good thing. b+ I am storing this one away to use on another day...because that is what I want to do!  The Old Pueblo (Tucson Az) Colors New blog header?...here are some possibilities! Just a FEW 1000 friends and me...at the Oregon coast! Related articles

I have spent the morning editing and creating 4 new headers for my blog. Maybe you have a favorite.  Comment and let me know what you think. I am having a very hard time deciding. b+ The Old Pueblo Desert Crossing At the Beach Valley in the Fall

When the seasons change so does the look of my blog.  Here are some possible images that could have possibilities. Let me know what you think. Fall is slowly approaching here in Oregon. We had lunch at Red Tail Golf Course located in Progress in the Portland Metro area. The haze the fills the sky is one of the signs we see that fall is getting closer. We visited Cannon Beach earlier in the summer and the air always hangs heavy over the shore there. The picture here tells a story of life going on and on. My husband is dressed in red on the left side of the picture. A bride in her wedding dress is repeating her vows as we watch. My friend Betty Lowry is checking to see if her shot was as good as she hoped. All around us people played and walked and reveled in the beauty of it all. I love this picture. We took the back road home after an evening with friends. As the sun set haze settled in on fields just recently harvested. I took this picture with my iPhone through the windshield o...

My Desk...no advice from me! I know where I belong. The big topic of conversation over at Generation Fabulous Midlife Bloggers is an article that is being featured online by the Wall Street Journal. Should You Bring Mom and Dad to the Office? is all about how large companies are encouraging involvement by the parents of their college interns. They arrange social occasions and are even sending notes to Helicopter Parents about their child's progress as an intern. This is a concept that most of us that are little older have never even considered. Companies like Northwest Mutual are encouraging parents to take part in open houses to see what their college aged interns are doing. The companies that are pushing this are seeing a difference in the way Millennials are growing up and have seen an improvement in the performance of their interns since implementing the ideas. It seems that children born after 1980 are different that say those born in 1971. How so you ask? Well according to ...

An article I wrote this last week has been published on Generation Fabulous. Date Night Keeps the Romance Alive is a tongue in cheek discription of what date night looks like as we grow older.  I think you will like it a lot. "My husband and I have been married for 53 (almost) years. I know things have changed a lot since we were teens but don’t tell me the romance is not still alive! My husband and I are going on a date." Generation Fabulous I just love it when reality makes me laugh...a lot. Just a little lie here and a little bent truth there...voila I have a story.  I hope you enjoy it. b+ Story post on Generation Fabulous 

On Opening Pandora's Box My grandchildren have always loved to come to our house. They wanted to come before my daughter brought her son's collection of toy cars and her daughter's Polly Pockets. They loved my house before the Imaginext Dino appeared. Before I made four bags of sugar cookie dough that can be rolled out at a moments notice, they counted the sleeps until they could spend the day with with us. We have two pairs of small digging gloves, one trowel, one old spoon, a patch of dirt and a plastic bucket that serves as a truck/bucket/water container. The toys in the toy basket came from my classroom I taught in over 15 years ago. Life was good and they were satisfied. Then... Dump Truck And Wheel Loader Hot Wheels Race Rally Water Park Playset ...we decided that Grandpa and I should have a day alone with each child. That was when we opened Pandora's Box. A single child, the oldest sibling, came with us first. We went to the book store and bought a Where's ...

There is a song that Pink Martini sings called Splendor in the Grass. The lyrics touched me because it seemed to reflect my life from beginning to end. The words go like this: I can see you're thinking baby I've been thinking too about the way we used to be and how to start anew. Maybe I'm a hopeless dreamer maybe I've got it wrong but I'm going where the grass is green if you'd like to come along. Back when I was starting out I always wanted more but every time I got it I still felt just like before. Fortune is a fickle friend I'm tired of chasing fate and when I look into your eyes I know you feel the same. All these years of living large are starting to do us in I won't say it wasn't fun but now it has to end. Life is moving oh so fast I think we should take it slow rest our heads upon the grass and listen to it grow. Going where the hills are green and the cars are few and far days are full of splendor and at night you can see the stars. Read mo...