Category Archives: mixed media

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

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

Feb28

What Mother Didn’t Tell Us…

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Your arces are going to fall!

As I sit here in my office chair pondering life’s changes. I realize there were so many things Mother never told me . Who else would, or could tell us things no-one else would venture telling us?

Things like, as you age your nose, and ears grow…..what? That’s right, haven’t you seen a little old man with a nose bigger than his feet? Well, next time you’re out and about check it out.

I pick on old men because, well I don’t want to pick on women. We are sensitive, and we try our best to keep ourselves as lovely, and beautiful as possible, and we do. Men just don’t care if their nose its larger than their feet, or they are aging without grace! Their bellies hang out! Their nose hangs out! Their shoes are falling apart! Their clothes might be stained and dirty, they just don’t care!

On a different note, what’s with the scales all over the body? That’s right scales! It starts with just one or two on one of your legs or arms, then…..all of a sudden there are a dozen more all over the place. I can’t tell you what the final place will be until the end. I can tell you I now have one on my forehead. At least this one is under bangs. It seems that I’ve gotten these so called scales only in places that have been effected by the sun. And a few that haven’t even seen the sun.

Maybe you don’t have any scales, but you might have something else just as annoying. Note to the young women, Make sure to use sunscreen everywhere!

Now this is something I’ve learned through experience. Always wear good supportive shoes. It seems that if your shoes don’t support your frame properly, after a while your knees start to turn in. If your knees are turning in, your toes are moving to one side. This has only one meaning, your arches are falling! If your arches are falling, everything else is probably starting to fall as well. This is not good! I’m sure someone somewhere is laughing like crazy. But it isn’t funny, especially if it’s happening to you….

Remember when an old car is falling apart? There are so many things going wrong with it that you don’t know where to start fixing it. They are all important things, and that’s why it’s so difficult to decide where to start!

Well it’s the same with your body. So when your arches start to fall, don’t think it’s just your arches because it isn’t just your arches! It’s everything connected to the arches that fall as well! So along with the arches are your knees, hips, back, and everything else even the boobs! They are all going to fall!

Never think you will escape any of this. If it isn’t this, it will be something else just as bad. This is not a threat, but a warning in advance from someone who knows!

There are so many other things Mother didn’t tell me. In regards to pain, having children, getting married, compromising in ways you never thought would be necessary. Don’t get me wrong, none of this is easy, or even fun. But to keep from being in tears 24/7, you have to see the humor in it. When you finally retire you’d better hope and pray…..pray that you can still have the energy, health, and desire to step outside your home to go anywhere.

It sounds grim, and for some it is, but I choose to laugh it off. Think of it as a puzzle game. It’s all hit and miss. If you don’t get any of these things, you’re lucky.

If you do get some of these things, you need to learn how to think of the ride as an adventure. Good luck on your trip!

Thank you for stopping to read my blog, I wish for you health, happiness, and the energy to laugh at yourself. Much love to all of you. Karen

Feb14

Cookies, Cookies, And More Cookies!

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Do you ever have an off day? A day that for whatever reason doesn’t go smoothly. No matter what you do, try as you may, nothing goes right.

Well, that kind of a day makes you want to go back to bed….for the rest of the day. Am I right? A wasted day without a solution, or any hope. It sounds so grim, but I have a solution for those ugly days!

Cookies, any kind of cookie will do. I say go back to bed with a large box of yummy cookies of your choice. You also must grab a cup of tea or coffee to wash down the crumbs just in case there are crumbs.

There isn’t anyone in your household that will understand, not even the dog or cat. But who cares, it’s your Personal Day for care and recuperation.

You may feel guilty, but don’t. Ask yourself how many times you have put someone else first and yourself last. You deserve it.

You could also send yourself flowers….just because you deserve it! Who else will?

Well, I appreciate you reading my blog, and putting up with my silliness.

Take good care of yourself, I’ll see you soon. Karen