Retire In Style Blog Too

When you are a senior with a hearing loss, technology and social networking can help you stay in touch with the world. We find that the use of a Zoola wireless bluetooth speaker can help us communicate with our family thus keeping the social part of our life active. When we spend months away from our family, Skype keeps us connected with their lives. For example, on Christmas Day we shared the opening of our gifts with our daughter and her family via Skype. We set the iPads so we could see the whole room but then, when we wanted a close-up or to move to another room, we just picked up the iPad and did a little walk around. However, there are a few problems with that plan. First of all, most iPads or laptops don't have speakers that can put out enough volume so you can hear across a room and if you have your device connected to a large speaker system, it cannot move around with you. While we like to see the people, we also want to hear what they are saying and carry on a conversatio...

Arizona Christmas Table Christmas Past (2012) My Oregon Home We are not going back to our home in Oregon this Christmas. It was a big decision for us because we miss our family. I personally don't want them to worry about me and I feel some hidden duty to supervise what is going on back there. Besides that we honestly have so much fun together. But if there are two things I learned this past year that are important to my family, they are: I am not in charge.  My family does not worry about my husband and I. I know, it just doesn't seem possible that some of the things that I miss are the very things that caused me so much worry. It is strange. Really, worry is not a happy companion on my daily walks and that is what the need for control brought me. It took me a while to understand that a huge load had been lifted from my shoulders. Now I am very grateful for that piece of news. The realization that my children were not worried that we would be lost if we didn't come home le...

We are watching less and less cable TV. I can actually see the day when we don't pay that huge bill to our cable company anymore and simply get everything we want using our Apple TV and our Amazon Prime membership. We keep asking ourselves if it is all worth it.   Amazon Prime Membership Here is what we all do. We subscribe to cable tv because we want to watch sports/news/HGTV. We have a thousand channels we never even turn on and pay a huge bill for a bunch of stuff we really don't care about and never have. In fact all of our friends have memberships with Netflix or Hulu and many have a Amazon Prime membership too. All of our favorite shows both domestic and foreign are available night and day. Cable tv is only used during the football season and for the news. What a huge waste of our money. I think we will be finding a way to do without. Do you have any suggestions? Apple TV Here are links for the Apple TV and Amazon Prime.  Please take a look and see if you don't agree....

In the year 2013 I discovered that there is no single reason for blogging.  The lines are blurred between good rants, efforts to sell a little of this or that and making money by providing a blog space. And of course there is the fact that I am retired and don't need any of the above to survive. The real reason I do this is because I like to write about my life as a retiree and I love to have other's opinions made visible here. In other words I do it all for fun! It is a wonderful hobbie. All of the sponsored posts here are published for a fee.  What is the fee? Well, in most cases I am paid according to an agreement I make with a business. But, because I can, I occasionally don't take a fee or take a reduced fee.  Why? Because the person comes back to me with a reason I should give them a chance AND they say " please ". The nuts of bolts of this blogging thing can be complicated but in most cases it is very simple. People that need my services are very nice and u...

Retirement is something many adults look forward to after years of working hard to provide for their families. Retiring from the workforce should be a happy time in a person’s life; however, an impending retirement is often a source of tremendous anxiety and uncertainty. Going from full-time work to retirement is a big adjustment, and many wonder how they  Golfing with friends...part of the joy of retirement! will fill the extra time that will suddenly be on their hands.  It is important for retired adults to continue experiencing a fulfilling life well into their retired years. If you are looking for ways to continue a meaningful and self-sufficient life after retirement, consider pursuing one or more of the following 10 hobbies. Join Senior Groups and Organizations Seniors and retirees who remain socially active throughout their later years can actually slow the aging process. Older people who become more withdrawn and antisocial over time have a faster progression o...

iClover - Bundle of 9 PCS SHORT Colorful Stylus Pen Set  It has occurred to me that we need to talk to our older grandchildren more.  They really are very nice people. And when it comes to gift giving they know what they want...that is a good thing. One of my teen grandsons asked for a longer cord for his iPad...who knew there even was such a thing.  That made me realize that maybe I was missing out by not just asking.  What do you think? Here are a few ideas that my conversation with Sam sparked: (1) 10 ft. iPad Charger Cable (2) iPad Cover 10 foot charger cords for iPhone and iPad Updated ipad covers Design Your Own Cell Phone Cases Stylus Pen Bundle - Three 3 in 1 Laser Pointer, LED Flashlight, and Stylus Pens - Compatible with All Touchscreen Devices including iPhone, iPad, Android Phones and Tablets / plus 1 ECO-FUSED Microfiber Cleaning Cloth (Black, Red and Silver) Anker Astro Mini 3000mAh Ultra-Compact Portable Charger Lipstick-Sized External Battery Power Ba...

I have had a very slow day...or maybe I should say I am very slow today. I cannot seem to get awake.  Why do I do that? It may be that I am bored  or it could be that I am just tired. I am hoping it is the latter because it is my belief that boredom is only for people too lazy to think about something to do and then get up and do it.  That is where you find me right now...doing something! http://retireinstyleblog.tumblr.com Tumblr is beginning to interest me more and more so I decided that I would give it a try.  It gives me a chance to post pictures with a little "flash" writing on a page of my own design.  Today I set up my page and gave it a name I think is perfect.  It all began when a search was made for the synonym for record.  One of the phrases Google gave me was "converting an event for future viewing". I liked that so I decided to call the page Converting Life .  It should be fun to keep a log of pictures taken each day as I record/conve...

We had a beautiful party last night. There were eight of us in my tiny park model living room but it was still very comfortable. I actually have everything I need for a party stashed away in items we use for other things. Everything in this small space must serve two purposes. My table is my desk most days. Our small Ottoman has a lid that opens for storage for wine glasses, chargers and other party supplies. The end tables serves as storage too. And the list goes on. Cocktail hours are very popular here in the park and most people like cheese, cracker, dips, etc.  I decided that we needed a change so I invite our friends to come for a chocolate martini and a small piece of cake between dinner hour and a dance we were having in the park. I decided to use Giada's  Chocolate Espresso Martini recipe....kinda. When you live in a small space and want to have a party without breaking the bank, you use what you have and hope for the best! This party was not any different. I own 4 mar...