Retire In Style Blog Too

I had deep-fried salt with gravy on it for dinner tonight and now I'm drinking wine out of a brown paper bag. Don't let it be said that we don't travel in style. You have to love southern cooking. b+

See I really am very proud. When I fell two weeks ago I went into denial. I returned a cane that was lent to me within two days and absolutely refused to even consider buying another. I put on such a good suffering act for everyone and did not take ANYONE'S advice. I was just fine I kept telling them. Then one day I limped into Target and noticed those red handicapped shopping cart. It had been over a week of pain and no one was looking that day. I qualified for one of those I told myself and I sat down. Still, I was not sure if I was ready to do the cart thing so it didn't happen without a fight..."the cart will not go" I said sounding like a spoiled child. I stood up wincing as I put weight on that wounded knee. I was such a good sufferer. My husband reached over and unplugged the cart giving me that look because then it ran just fine. As I drove off toward the curtains I had set out to buy, I realized what a wonderful thing those red carts are. They can turn on a ...

Image from Amazon Book available here:  Return to Viet Nam: One Veteran's Journey of Healing . Yesterday I finished reading  Return to Viet Nam: One Veteran's Journey of Healing  written by Linda Myers and her husband Art Myers. Art is a Vietnam War Vet and served in the USMC. The story of Art's battlefield in Vietnam   took my breath away. His account guided me step by step through the one day of battle he experienced during the 1968 Tet Offensive was that compelling.  As a result of that one day, he suffered from PTSD at what the US government finally recognized as the 60% level. His disability lead to alcoholism, divorce and 35 years of nightmares and anxiety. His is a story that could be told a thousand times over by other veterans like himself from all those wars past.   The books takes the reader on a day by day journey through the countryside, into the hills and across the Mekong Delta . You will visit the homes and learn about traditions, the Viet...

OK, here it is...the room is very nearly completed. A few details will have to wait until next fall but it is looking beautiful! My husband is a dear man that makes my dreams come true. I love that guy. Remember I told you that I was working along side him working long hours and feeling great. I am stronger than ever and, of course, very proud of what we have accomplished. The door leading out of the back of the room to a patio was the last thing to be done so we are glad that is finished. Unfortunately, that was when I stumbled over building debris and whacked my knee...s. Now after a week of healing, the bruise is moving down my leg and I am sitting up in bed giving my k-nee some rest.  So what does one do when you are a week away from a months vacation in Europe and the Dubai? You tell me! I do know that after I fell I said sh*t, sh*t, sh*t all day. Since then I have just powered through. Staying off the leg has not been possible for most of the time but now I don't think I have...

Michael Graves passed away this last week. I didn't know Graves personally...well I did hear a little tidbit of gossip about him 20 years ago but I don't suppose that counts. Yet that man is a hero of mine in a way. This postmodernist architect understood that the elderly and handicapped may be limited in their movement but they are not limited in their appreciation of all things beautiful. I always thought he knew that even the most mundane object could use a little humor and glitz. I liked that a lot. A Graves coffee pot on display in 2010 at the exhibition Tea & Coffee Piazza 1983 for the Grassi Museum of Applied Arts in Leipzig , Germany   Photograph: Eckehard Schulz/AP Michael Graves Design™ Spinner Whistle Teakettle Amazon Link See Graves was afflicted with an infection several years ago that left him wheelchair bound. His world became all about getting into the shower or moving from room to room. Instead of curling up into a ball and dying he set about making that ne...

The floor is now up to the level of the bottom of this small door. The wood paneling hid more metal siding. First of all you need to know that we live in a very small space during the winter months. We own a park model in an RV resort. The park model is 12 feet wide and about 36 feet long. It also has an Arizona room attached. It is only 7'9" wide and about 16' long. We are restoring that old Arizona room this winter. We have raised the floor to park model height, torn down warped paneling and removed the park model exterior siding and exposed the studs so we could attach bead board. The "room" had become our virtual basement and things we did not want or couldn't decide if we wanted went there to live. I cleaned it about once a season, ironed occasionally and generally ignored the fact that it existed. Then one day about a month ago my husband gave in to my nagging and we began the job of making the room livable. We bought lumber, had it delivered and he sta...

Even the cactus sprouts a new idea once in a while! I wrote this beautiful long post the other day and almost published it when I realized I had said it all before. Do you do that? Blogging is an ongoing sharing of personal experiences, opinions and knowledge acquired. At least it is for me. I am beginning to wonder if I have drawn all the water from that well. Am I out of things to say? I have vowed to stop talking about retirement because I didn't feel like talking about it any more. The same applied to aging. Now I have worn out all my insightful wisdom about travel, open mindedness and even all things beautiful. The fact may be that my creative nature will have to look for new things to write about. Do you have any ideas? Let me know! b+