Jun6

June Gloom…..

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June Gloom…..
Current image: Foggy coastal beach with ocean waves, cliffs, and people walking on sand

As we start the beginning of the end of the half way point in 2026, I am surprised at the amount of cold, breezy weather we are having here in California. Yes, here in San Diego County at the base of California.

The sunny state that never rains here, and always has great weather! That’s what we were told when we moved here in the olden days. Yup, I moved here with my family when I was only three years old.

It was our first plane trip, and what an experience it was for a small child. I was allowed to walk the isles, and pretend I was serving water to the passengers. Would the airlines allow that now? I really don’t know.

My father was transferred to Los Angeles from Detroit, Michigan. It was a huge change from the snow, and ice we had in winter to rainy, gloomy days in California. Never the less, it was to be our home from now on.

From now on means to me seventy nine years ago. Yikes! I guess I am that old, but I usually don’t feel that old. Even though I can no longer do many of the things I had been use to doing, I’m still painting, and still writing. My kids have all grown up leaving us with an empty nest long ago. Their kids are now leaving their nest, and that seems very odd to me. Where did the time go? How is it time flies when we get old, but drags when we are younger?

What this means to me is this….We spend a few short years growing up, and thinking we know it all. Then because we know so much we find a partner, and have a gaggle of kids. Some find themselves with more, some with less. After those sweet, wonderful kids peck you to death, they leave the nest.

Leaving the nest doesn’t mean they are totally on their own because we all still feel responsible for their success. Emotionally, we continue to worry about their future. Financially we also continue to worry about their future. If we are able, we help out. If we aren’t able, we really suffer with them. Somehow we all survive!

But our nest is still empty, and if we aren’t careful we allow ourselves to hang our happiness of the children that have left, and are busy trying to find their own way.. In short, we need something to do to keep us happy in our Golden Years.

Most towns have senior centers and this is a place that often has a gym, occasional movie night or afternoon. There are many things the centers offer to help keep us engaged. This is a good thing even though we don’t consider ourselves a senior.

There are also many groups to get involved with through those centers. Many have lots of younger people taking classes as well. Also Community Colleges have programs for continuing education, classes for fun, and some are even free. Check into those if your interested, you may be surprised at what is offered.

Let me know what you find, and how it fits for you.

Thank you for reading my blog, it is much appreciated.

Until next time, keep busy and don’t forget to be happy! Karen


May30

Man’s or Woman’s Best Friend

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How many of you have given up the privilege of caring for a pet? It doesn’t have to be a dog or cat. It can actually be a bird, fish or anything else you can think of…

In our home we’ve had spiders, snakes, parrots, bunnies, lizards, skunks, and just about anything else you could think of. If you are wondering why, four words…I have Two boys! As the last child, my daughter was a Tom Boy (go figure), and was into anything her brothers were.

We have lost many animals, as many of you have. It’s always sad when you loose a companion regardless of what it looks like. Sometimes it takes longer to get over the loss of a pet than it does a family member. (Remember, You can’t choose family, but you can choose a pet!) Family can be very critical, but our animals give us unconditional love. I’m sure our families do as well, but they seem to be adept at surrounding that love with criticism.

Peppa meditating

How many of you still have pets for companionship? Are they birds, cats, dogs, or something else that gives you pleasure? Many people love little birds like canaries, or parakeets. In my eyes, as long as they bring you joy, it’s a wonderful way to get pleasure, and be happy. After all, it gives us something to get up for, take care of, and have purpose for.

We just adopted a French Bull Dog, or a Frenchie. She is stubborn, a little crazy, loving, and a couch potato. Perfect for anyone not having a lot of energy! Perfect for Us!

Peppa and Papa being lazy!

Let me know what kind of companion you have, or that runs your household. I find all our pets are not for us, we are for them. And to prove it, they run our households.

I appreciate you taking time to read my blog, and hope you are all well.

Until next time, with Gratitude, Karen

May16

Essential Tips for Staying Cool this Summer

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Yes, and although I love the warmth, the sunny skies, the long days, I am a Goldie Locks Girl! Meaning, for me to be comfortable, I need to have the temperature just right! It can’t be too cold or I get stiff, and lock up. It can’t be too hot, or I get heat stroke. I told you I was a Goldie locks girl!

For me a perfect temperature is in the high 60’s or the low to mid 70’s. Now, here in Southern California. it is in my range a lot of the time. But, much of the time I’m either freezing, or melting like chocolate on concrete during a heat wave.

What is the answer to the heat problem?

Older adults we are at risk of heat stroke. Although California isn’t as hot, or as cold as much of the country, I think here in the Southern part of California we have thinner blood and are pansies. We seem to have more colds, and more illness because we have lost our ability to stand up to harsh winters, and blazing summers. So we are pansies!

Since we are now into Spring, we should talk about the heat. We are also at risk being older, and should be very careful about things like hydration, staying out of the hot sun, wearing hats, and sunscreen to protect us from the suns rays. Of course, this should have been done from the beginning, but who could have told us?

Remember the day when we would lie in the sun slathered in Baby Oil, and Mercurochrome. That mixture gave us a stained false tan, along with a severe burn to go with it. It was also so much fun pealing our skin after the burn healed. It was almost worth getting the sunburn for.

Today of course most of us use a sunscreen for protection. The kind of sunscreen is subjective, but we are needing it more and more as things warm up!

My doctor tells me to stay out of the sun, but wear lots of sunscreen, and hydrate.

I have found that closing windows, drapes, and doors seem to be the best way to keep the house cool. Fans help a great deal, and don’t cost much to run. Some of us have air conditioning, we are the lucky ones.

Again, I would go to YouTube for info on keeping cool in summer heat. Although most likely all of us at our age already know how to protect ourselves for heat.

I hope all of you stay cool, healthy, and out of the sun this summer.

I thank you all for stopping to read my blog. Gratefully, Karen

Apr18

Finding Comfort: The Best Pants for Every Age

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I promised you pants this time, so here we go!

Most of my life I’ve worn jeans for my go to pants. And yes, I did have other types of pants, but working in an office all day, I loved coming home and changing into my jeans. We also had a small ranch for a while, so jeans were a must.

Fast forward….. I still love my jeans, especially after I found stretch jeans. If you haven’t tried them, you really should.

As time went on, getting in and out of pants with buttons, zippers, or anything else constricting became a very bad idea.

I’m sure you all know this, but as we age and become more vintage, the importance of being able to rip off your pants becomes of the upmost importance. (But not for the same reason as before).This is why I now wear anything that falls to the floor at the mere suggestion. I wish I’d bought stock in the elastic industry early on, but then again who knew elastic would be so important?

Don’t get me wrong, I still have regular jeans, and they aren’t even stretch. I just couldn’t resist, they are so cute. But every time I put them on, I wonder why I bought them.

Today pants are so different than years ago, or maybe I just resolved myself to needing a quick escape upon necessity. I also have found Yoga pants that work just fine for everyday wear. They stretch, slide off and on with ease, and look half way decent with a cute top.

Everyone has a different style, and that’s ok! We can’t all look alike, nor would we want to. So let me know what you prefer to wear. Tight, skinny, loose, baggy? There are so many different styles that are current these days. Don’t let anyone tell you your clothes need to be any different than you’re comfortable with.

After all we are in the “Golden Years” and we have earned the right to be comfortable, and wear exactly what makes us feel good. So I say, put on some feel good pants, and a top of choice! Now the next step is optional, but never the less, important…..dress the whole outfit with a scarf, neckless, and embellish the entire ensemble with a blingie anklet!

Of course all these things can be picked up at…….AMAZON! Aren’t they convenient? I just love Amazon.

Also, tips, and tricks can be viewed on You Tube.

Thank you for stopping to read my blog. As always, see you next time, Karen

Apr4

Chins Up!

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That’s right, Chins UP!

It has come to my attention that as we season, we seem to walk looking down. Not only does this mean that we can fall easier, but as we do this, we tend to slump. Now, I don’t know about you, but when I slump I seem to encourage a spare tire around my entire midsection. And I am not happy about spare tires! I’ll bet you aren’t any happier than I am about spare tires either.

The other thing that happens is looking down seems to encourage an unwanted “chicken neck.” I have never been excited about chicken necks even on chickens. So now that I’m realizing how easy it is to get one of my own, I’m definitely going to walk with my chin up!

Since not one of us needs to fall, and not one of us wants a spare tire, or a chicken neck, I’m sure we will all be walking with our heads up from now on.

This is a good thing because we will look twenty years younger due to the slight shift in our habits. As we walk straight with our heads up, we will be walking with confidence, and the knowledge that we are vital, beautiful, and worthy. And in doing so, we will look twenty years younger. Now the next thing to work on are our pants….

I won’t get into that this time, but I have some ideas about how to handle this problem.

Oh, you didn’t know that pants were a problem? Well they can be, and we are going to solve the pants problem on this blog next time.

Thank you for taking time to read my blog. I hope this one helped with a couple of vintage related problems. We really have to stick together as we go from vital to vintage without even realizing it.

Until next time, Karen

Mar28

Embracing Kindness in Today’s World

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Do you remember being a kid and playing outside until dark all summer long. We drank out of a hose, ate fruit off the ground, and off the trees. We laid under the stars at night just watching for a shooting star so we could make a wish?

We even watched the clouds and tried to find shapes we recognized. That’s called pareidolia, and I still look for shapes in everything. Roots from the trees sometimes have the most interesting shapes.

We walked all over the place with friends, and many times we were alone. We even rode our bikes everywhere, probably to places that if our parents knew they would be shocked!

Did you ever do any of these things? How did we survive childhood? How did you survive?

Today it isn’t safe for the kids to do any of these things. Why is drinking from a faucet so bad now, and wasn’t in the olden days? We clearly have more people, more traffic, more congestion….and even more germs!

We sure are living in an interesting age. One where there are more cars and more grumpy people trying to get to their destinations. With all that comes road rage, people pushing their way around. Neglecting to be courteous on the road. How about the people that push their way around with shopping carts in the grocery stores? Ignoring children patiently waiting to get to the front of the line to pay for something they have saved up for? I’ve witnessed so many people shoving aside a child in line so they could be first.

Suffice to say, a perfect world would be less traffic, more space, more parks and trees, and more people to be positive regardless of their surroundings. Wouldn’t all that be nice?

We need to start a Happy Movement! That’s right, we all need to be more courteous, more forgiving, and definitely more Kind! Smile at strangers, help one another, maybe if one person is kind to someone, that someone will be kind to someone else. Maybe kindness will spread…. We can only hope!

Maybe I’m ranting, and just maybe I’m fed up with all the angry people that want everyone else to be angry too! I’m not angry, I’m always happy and I love people. Even the grumpiest person can find a bit of happiness in themselves. Sometimes they just need to be reminded.

I could go on and on, but that isn’t healthy either. I want to stay healthy by not buying into the grumpy hole.

Thank you for reading my post, be positive and live longer.

You’ll hear from me soon, Karen