Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Snowbirds Behaving Badly...again!

ArizonaNear my home in TucsonCOMMENTS 

I received a comment the other day on an old blog called How to be a Snowbird.  The comment said:
The number one thing that snowbirds need to do is to polish up their good manners. As a former resident of Yuma, AZ -- and yes, one of the 5 top reasons we left was because of winter visitors -- we were appalled by the "Ugly American" mentality and behavior of way too many snowbirds. Remember -- when you pull into some town, you are pulling into somebodies hometown -- their home. Be courteous. 
I could only imagine what these people had experienced.  It seems to me that any group of old people or snow birds or even young people will have a few bad apples.  As I have said before if a human is rude, unethical or even criminal when they are young, they will be just the same when they are old.  Truly, there is no such thing as a cute little old man/woman when they behave themselves in a way that makes those around them uncomfortable. The same standard that applies to those of us that are young must apply to those of us that are old.


For example, I give you a very bad old person that lived in this RV resort.  Some thought he was "cute".  He  received porno in the mail daily.  He was prosecuted just before he died for molesting a young girl.  He was a very wicked young person and did not get over it when he was old.  Cute does not now nor every has applies to a person like this.  But he was only one bad apple.  A little over a year ago I wrote a post called Old People Behaving Badly.  This is what I said to snow birds:
 ...you cannot behave badly or break laws or put other people in danger or "swear in the streets" or do any of the other things that you might think you can get away with because you are old. First of all, yesterday's old is today's middle age.  You may not be old at all.   Secondly, there are getting to be a huge number of old people so we need to remain civilized as long as possible. Thirdly, the laws applies to old people too. You really should not drive if you need oxygen to stay alive or cross three lanes of traffic at one gulp. But most importantly, acting as though we have license to behave badly [because we are old] just makes you and everyone else miserable.


So I would say to you, encourage that seniors are held to the same standard of the law and behavior as everyone.  If a senior or a young person is rude to you, remember what goes around comes around.  Generally, karma will come back and bite the person that is rude so you don't need to.

But here is a lesson in life.  No group of people should be painted with the brush of guilt just because some behave themselves very badly.  That is what we call bigotry.  To the commenter from Yuma I will give an apology in so far as I can.  But I do want you to all know that my friends volunteer in our community when they come south.  They cook meals for the homeless, attend church and spend their money freely.  They are law abiding and well meaning. 

Tucson welcomed the snow birds and their money this year.  The city begans to thrive as it should even though traffic becomes heavier and restaurants are full when people come to eat.  Snow birds are sustaining this community in the only way they know how.  They are living here.


Every snowbird should realize that if you are guest in a community, behave yourself appropriately.  As the commenter said "This is someones hometown."  If you become a resident for part of the year,  do your part...no one owes you anything. 

b
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Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Advanced Style Mention and the Advanced Generation!

ADVANCE STYLE MENTION
Retire In Style Blog has been mentioned on the popular blog for beautiful older people.  Advance Style thank you very much.
Screen shot of Advanced Style!

The Story
A week ago my blog reader count went up to levels I had never seen before.  I had no idea what I had done to deserve the attention.   I began doing the back scene information search...if you are a blogger you will understand.  There are Stat Counters and Google Analytics, etc.   I could not find a pattern that would explain all the interest.  I did notice that a lot of people were coming from Advanced Style but there did not seem to be a reason.  Then I found it...a post about people that write for "advanced humans", you know, those of us that have lived past a certain age.  The article was called Over 50 Blogging.  It is amazing what just a mention will do.  They did their part...now I need to do mine.

Thank you so much for stopping by.  I would appreciate it if you would become a follower and tell you friends about the blog.  Why? you ask.  Well I think it is important that we promote the image of this Advance Generation as a vibrant living active community of people.  Help me out.  Please!!!

b
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Sunday, November 14, 2010

Wine of the Week...Zinfandels

Note:  I had the bright idea to share this on Sunday Scribblings...I hope they don't mind.

Let me explain...I do not drink really expensive wines because it is not practical nor is it possible.  I am an experiences wine taster but I am not obsessed by all those things that a wine snob would be.  In other words if it is good it is good!  If I don't like it...well enough said.  Actually, I am more interested in the story behind the wine.  All I can hope is that you will like my recommendations enough to share them with company at your next informal dinner party.
Maryhille Castle Image from NW Council Org

ZINFANDEL in the Northwest...
The first Zin I ever tasted was in a small restaurant in Eastern Oregon.  The little community had one restaurant and on a big Saturday night the place only had only two tables with customers.  I doubt it is still in business.  BUT they did have a local Zinfandel on the wine list.  Because this little place is very close to the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon, they have access to some very high classes wineries.
At the time I thought the wine was very good and it still may be.  If I could find a bottle of it now, I would serve it at dinner because I think the location of the winery and the story behind the it is so interesting.

The Zinfandel we ordered that night came from the Maryhill Winery on the Washington side of the Columbia River across from Biggs Junction, Oregon.  When you cross over the river at Biggs you will see a castle on the hill and near the castle is a replica of the Stonehenge.  Honestly, it is a very cool place.  A railroad magnate built the place in the early 20th century for love.  The woman spurned the offering but the builder did manage to get the Queen of Romania to visit in 1926.  The castle now boasts an art museum with some world class exhibits.  I am not sure what the Stonehenge was all about and never did really care! The man's name was Sam Hill...a name we used to use in vain as children when we were not allowed to swear!  Down the road a few miles sits the Maryhille Winery.
Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book 2011
Pomegranate
Pomegranate Tree
Olive, Rose, Grapes, Wine
Grapes vines are in the background.

CALIFORNIA ZIN...Dry Creek Valley


Several years ago the Napa and Sonoma Valley wineries embraces the old vine Zinfandels with a passion.  They have a lot of "old vines" it seems.  The year we visited it was the very trendy to taste and buy Zin.  We generally only spend one day tasting when we visit.   So on this year we decided to take a drive up Dry Creek Valley...north of Sonoma I think. We were using a current Pocket Wine Book as our guide.   Our plan was to only taste Zins...no full round of wines from white to red.  We wanted to enjoy the Zin experience without getting drunk!  That is always a good plan.

Believe it or not the reason we stopped at the first winery was because of a Pomegranate tree...the first I had ever seen.  The fruit was ripe and this beautiful  tree just stopped us in our tracks!  As it happened there was a wine tasting room next door.  A few grape vines with a rose at the end of each row decorated the perimeter of the driveway.  For those of you that don't know, back before the science of viticulture was perfected, the rose would show signs of problems before the grape vines experiences the same problems.  So growers watched the roses very carefully. I thought it said a lot about the way the wine was crafted here.

Zuchichi Family Winery was located next door to our beautiful Pomagranate tree.  It seems the family bought this winery in the year 2000 and constructed the beautiful tasting room that overlooks the valley. The day we were there they were offering tasting directly out of the barrel!  As I recall the wine was very near to being ready to be bottled.  On this occasion the owner was selling shares in casks that would be bottled during the next year.  If we had been a little more daring we would have bought that option.  This was very good Zin...very, very good.  The owner/winemaker was a retired physician from New Orleans and evidently knew what he was doing. 

BELLA WINERY...the cave!
Picnic Ready Winery...blanket and all!
The Gift Cave?
Bella Winery Gift Shop
As we progressed up the valley we came to a winery named Bella Winery...beautiful winery in Italian I think.  It was at the end of the road.  I cannot tell you how gorgeous the setting for this winery is.  It is worth the drive on a sunny fall day! We were greeted by a beautiful sprawling lawn.  Adirondack  chairs with shawls thrown over the arms welcomed visitors to sit and visit over a bottle of wine.  It was enchanting.  In the early 2000 they dug a cave they now use as a tasting room, gift shop and dining room.  The Zins we tasted were $50+ a bottle...but with a small fee you were given the opportunity to sample their wonderful wines.  I see they have a bottle of late harvest Zinfandel for $25.  I assume this would be like ice wine in many ways.  It is 11% sugar content.

This is the type of thing we like to do.  It gives us a taste of the finer things in life...we've retired in style...and is affordable.  It is all a learning experience.   While we do not buy really expensive wine, we do know what good wine tastes like.

If you are in the market for a fine wine with a wonderful story behind it, I would suggest any wine that Bella Winery crafts.

So there you have...the story behind the wine.  Hopefully, you are building your own stories and sharing the wine that goes with it. 
b
Exploring Wine: The Culinary Institute of America's Guide to Wines of the WorldWe have eaten at the 
Culinary Institute of America several times.
It is an experience you should
not miss if you are
in the Napa Valley
The book is
published by the
Culinary Institute of America.
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Saturday, November 13, 2010

Makeup Tip of the Week...Tinted Moisturizer My Way!

Youth Dew by Estee Lauder for Women 2.2 oz Eau de Parfum Spray (Unboxed)
Este Lauder Youth Dew?  I need some of that!
     Do you wear makeup every day?  I was just a little surprised at the question.  Really, I didn't think of my morning routine as "putting on make-up".  I have used a trick for years to arrive at the final destination in the face reconstruction part of my day.  I did not even realize that it made my face look a little made up...in a good way!
     I discovered early on that makeup was very expensive.  Cheap cosmetics did not give good results and actually made my skin feel creepy and dirty.  So I began buying very expensive "foundation" as they so logically call that stuff with the color in it.  I have used Este Lauder with good results for several years.  The bottle of makeup you see at the right is such a good deal compared to what I pay at the local department store...wow! 
     I know, you can now buy tinted moisturizer from vendors.  But I prefer to do it my way.  Now here is the trick...buy the moisturizer you would normally buy.  In the morning put a very small squirt of the makeup in your hand the with your moisturizer and mix them together. I think an all natural skin care product is a good choice for both the foundation and the moisturizer.  Remember, just enough makeup to tint the lotion.  You can use less or more depending on how "madeup" you need to look on that day.  (I don't waste the good stuff on a day when I wash and iron.)  Then apply the mixture like you would your moisturizer.  Wa la...you have accomplished two thing with one simple step.  When I am going to be in the sun I even add a little sunscreen to the mixture.  If you do this you can tint your moisturizer with different shades of makeup if you want to do that.  This is such an inexpensive quick way to start the day.  The foundation may cost you more than cheap stuff but it will last FOREVER!  Add a small amount of mascara, lip gloss and you will look wonderful...every day.
     So for the woman that asked me Do you wear makeup every day? the answer is yes...I guess I do!  A friend told me today that it is our responsibility to keep America beautiful...one tube of lipstick at a time!  I am just doing my part!  :) 
b

PS I have to go now and order some of these products I have shown you today...I think I have been paying too much for good makeup...these prices are great!
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Thursday, November 11, 2010

Road Test - Touchback Marker...Gray Hair Solutions

Remember that gray hair I was talking about the other day....well here is a quick solution for touching up be coloring you hair. Road Test - Touchback Marker

Park Model Life...Maintaining our home!

There are things that need to be done when we return from our summer home.  This little doll house (park model) needs some love and attention.  Part we do because we want to and part we do because the park requires it.  When we wash and wax the outside it is not because we want to...but we love it when it is nice and clean.
     No park wants the resort to turn into a mini-slum.  Making the residents wash, pull weeds and clean up is part of their plan to keep up appearances.  And, you know what, it really does work.  Even the oldest of the park model trailers look appealing when they are clean and shiny.
I really do live in a little 1987 Park Model!
     So this is what we did today.  We own a long handle chenille washing tool that will fit inside a bucket.  We also have a large bottle of car wash/wax.  We made a solution of this with hot water.  We washed, rinsed dried what we could reach, squeegeed the windows and our park model looked like a brand new 1982 model with a few hail dents...but still looked like brand new!!!  We are done for another year!  
     The beauty of a resort like this is there is always someone that will do these things for you for a small fee.  We have retired plumbers, electrician, builders and technology geniuses.   House keepers, window washing, even furnace repair people round out the list...if we have a problem there probably will be someone that can fix it.
     So how many calories to you suppose I burned today?  I even went for a long walk. Staying busy keep us mentally and physically happy too.   Gosh, I love this life.   Smile!

b
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Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Day of the Dead...Tucson's Way

Women dancing...faces painted white!
I think we have known about All Souls Day/Day of the Dead celebrations in communities in Mexico for many years.  The travel channel and National Geographic have images and stories about travelers going to remote places to eat and enjoy the company of people in a different country.  But little did we realize that we could experience these very things only a few miles from where we live here in Tucson.

Tucson is home to a very large Hispanic community and is just a little over an hours drive from the Mexican border.  The people bring a very different flavor to our city...different in that it is authentic and environmental.  This is not a "Mexican Restaurant on the corner" kind of place...a place that people have come to find a new life.  This is a place where the indigenous and Hispanic people lived long before the migration of northern Europeans and snow birds to the warm climate.  It is in many ways similar to visiting a more prosperous Mexico without ever going across the border.
Shops on 4th Street display traditional Day of the Dead collectibles.
Last night we drove to the University of Arizona district where the artsy 4th Street quietly became home to a procession the may have had up to 15,000 or more participants.  Many, many more lined the street to watch families walk by dressed in beautiful clothes with faces painted like skeletons.

This custom of celebrating death has been embraced by the Catholic church but actually dates back to 1800 BC when the indigenous people of Mexico began celebrating the "Day of the Dead."  Traditionally the celebration begins after midnight on October 31 at around 2:00 am when the families descend on cemeteries to clean graves and share food with the departed.  Because Mexico is a country of blended traditions, the Hispanic population has developed their own version of the prehistoric indigenous festival.  The All Souls Procession here in Tucson has borrowed from both celebrations.

It was not a "Mardi Gras" atmosphere in anyway.  But there was music, dancing and many types of puppets.  In a handout from San Antonio Missions National Park the tradition of making toys, especially puppets for children on this day was explained.
A thriving tradition of toy-making plays a central role in the Day of the Dead.  The popular skeleton puppet figure  may depict everyday subjects such as brides,and grooms, bicycle riders, or specific professions.
Living Puppet on Strings
...Who knows what makes skeleton toys funnier than toys that depict the living?  Maybe it's the surprise to the viewer of seeing the dead doing something lively and spirited that brings a chuckle to the most sober face.
Perhaps by making death more approachable through friendly images, like a dancing skeleton, people may begin to lose their fear of death at an early age and accept it as part of life.
The building of altars (offrenda) is a tradition practiced by many.  We see small altars in the front of homes as we drive through the countryside here in Arizona.  These altars usually display a picture of the deceased, brightly colored tissue paper with cut out designs, candles and perhaps food or items that symbolize the life of their loved one.  We actually saw one in the procession surrounded by what was probably family and friends.  
All forms of celebration denoted the act of remembering the departed loved ones.  A huge Aids Ribbon was carried by the gay community and other groups remember lives lost to violence and military deaths. Families pushed baby strollers and others carried pictures.  The procession wound it's way to the center of the city where the Grand Finale of Tucson's month long celebration was held.  We were one of the few that did not follow it to it's conclusion.  It was amazing!
 
I stopped and asked permission  to take a photo of a pair standing by the street.  I had to know...why do you do this?  The young couple said in unison, "For our lost family members".  I brought friends with us to see this event. We didn't quite believed what we were told about this unusual (in our world) procession until we heard the words come out of the couple's mouths.

Don't always be a tourist.  Blend in, participate, help.  Seeing yourself as a part of a community, even if you only stay for a part of the year, will give you a new perspective.  We are trying very hard to understand the city we come to live in for 6-7 month out of each year.  Tucson AZ is our other home.

We are coming to love this place more and more.  The culture of Tucson's people is becoming a part of our lives and we are richer for it.
Have a wonderful day.
b
I received this small book for children from my daughter on the day after we had attended the procession.  It is beautifully done with poetry in both English and Spanish.  It includes explanation about the tradition as well as how-to pages of things for children to do.  The Festival of Bones by Luis San Vicente.

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