Retire In Style Blog Too

Back in the day when I was just beginning to blog, interesting senior bloggers were hard to find. I searched for connections so I could build some kind of a community of my own but all I could find was AARP and stuff about being a grandmother. I was a not interested in either of those.That was more than 10 years ago. Not so long before that a young man named Ari Seth Cohen began a blog called Advanced Style here on blogspot. Ari was simply fascinated with old women and the unusual style worn by those that ventured out. He photographed women on the streets of New York City everyday. It was a very good day when I found his blog. As his audience grew the parade of beautiful ladies emerged and I found it almost addicting. I checked on him several times a week. He even linked to a blog that I used to own called Always at Home. All I had to do was answer his call for senior bloggers. I was looking for connections too. It was lonely being the only "old" person out there. Now Ari has...

It seems these day that everywhere I turn, people are hungry for conversation. Gentle, warm, summery conversation about flowers or moving or children or even books. It doesn't take much to start the conversation it seems. A simple "HMMM!" in the produce department at my local grocery will start a conversation with someone I didn't even know was there. I love that friendly, connected feeling with those around me. There is nothing personal or even a commitment of time or space. Just simple lovely words that makes both the sayer and the listener happy. Are you hungry for conversation? Who did you talk to today? b+

It all began with a antique window in front of a local shop. It had been painted yellow, the glass was loose and all of the hinges and latches were gone. My old friend Betty would have approved...she would tell me it was just broken enough and damaged enough for me to drag it home. When my dear husband saw it, he wondered what he was meant to do with it. Imagine his surprise when he was presented with the plan to build a small neighborhood library exchange. It wasn't the first time he had heard me ask "How hard could it be?" Now it is six weeks later and we mounted the darling little library exchange on two posts in our front yard. I love it. Now the question is, will they come or has the time passed when people actually read something made of paper? Our association president stopped by and admired the box but left after telling me that he only read books on his Kindle. We will see. Would you bring a book and take a book? b+

You know that tiny house in the woods, at the lake or even near the beach that you dreamed about when you were young? It was the one you wanted to share with your growing children on the weekend or even just in the summer or the winter. You didn't spend much on it if you actually bought it and eventually you sold it or turned it over to someone else in the family. Now you have retired and you dream of spending the winter in a warmer climate but when you go online and begin to look at renting you know that the expense will be just too much for your budget. Where is that tiny house, the easy to own not permanent but just what you want for the next few years?  Believe it or not, in the southwest USA there is an equivalent that may be just what you are looking for.   My husband and I spend our winters in Tucson Arizona. Here in the desert where the temperature are very mild in winter, a group of seniors gather in park models we call "doll houses".  They are tiny houses that...

This is another of those Just Shoot Me Now  posts! I am feeling discouraged because of an article written by a Ronna Benjamin about a visit to her grandmother's nursing home. The article, There is Nothing Fun about the Nursing Home , appeared in the Huffington Post Post50 blog. It was an indictment of a nursing home facility that housed her grandmother. She told a story of darkness and hopelessness. It was not what I needed to hear today or on any day for that matter. The last two paragraphs in the article left me wanting to cry: I leave after an hour, wondering why anyone would live in a nursing home if there were other options available. But unbelievably, with every marble intact, my grandmother in fact made that choice. "Writing is never 'fun,'" E.B White is quoted as saying. I generally don't agree; in this encore career, I wouldn't do it if it weren't fun. But there is nothing fun about a nursing home, and there was not much fun in the writing abo...

The original patent for a bra didn't have room for much, not even the boobs! USpatent494397a1893 (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) I had always wondered how my friends walked in tights with a yoga top and still have earbuds in their ears. In the Tucson where we spend the winter I see this all the time. They would merrily bob along to a tuney tune without any evidence of a device connected or anything. How did they do that? Others always had their keys at the drop of a hat or even money. No purse, no wallet, no shopping bags! Where was their invisible container that held all those important things? I wanted one of those. So one day I worked up my courage and I asked. What was going on? It turned out that it was all about their underwear. I learned that not all size D are containers for boobs. Some women have bras with room for other stuff. This morning when we were heading out for a walk we ran into my daughter and her friends returning for their Saturday morning walk. One is a "walle...

I have been reading  Louis Sachar's  book Sideways Stories from Wayside School to my grandson this summer. The Wayside School was built 30 stories high instead of 30 classroom long. The idea just makes me smile. Louis Sachar's book was the perfect choice for this eight year old. Even though the characters are odd and in many cases, impossible, the storyline somehow reaches him in ways I can't. We were reading the chapter about the little boy that came to school smiling from ear to ear. The classroom on the thirtieth floor needed someone to smile on that particular day. Even though no one could figure out why, they started smiling too, even the mean kid. But no one could get DJ, the smiling boy, to tell why he was so happy. They guessed and guessed but he could not answer. He was too busy smiling. Brayden's school is not sideways.  All 30 classroom are on the ground. We found the answer when DJ went to recess. Louis, the yard teacher, called, "Hey, DJ Come here....

My son and his family left this morning to go back home. They were staying in their condo close-by for a month so we spent a lot of time together. July is the month of a rejoining in our family. For almost 25 years I have been watching 12 grandchildren grow and change. Meelie, Age 4 or 5 Because we only see his two girls once a year, we notice the growing more noticeably. In my mind I mark the march of time. This year their youngest child is 8 (almost 9) going on 13 (like her sister). She is tall, physically strong and above all articulate and a great reader. But...she is 8 (almost 9)...not older, not younger, just 8 (almost 9)! Why do I say that even though she looks older? Well, here is the deal. Her real age is related to her emotional development. She responds and truly acts like an 8 (almost 9) year old. She wants to say she is older but I am not buying it! We had a big celebration because the oldest, Maddie, turned 13 this year and this is the first time we have ever cel...