Tag Archives: ideas

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


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

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

Nov15

On A Day Like Today….

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It’s rainy, it’s cold, it’s a curl up with a book, a blanket, and a pillow day. It’s a curl up with your dog day.

We recently adopted a dog. And after only three months we are still getting use to each other. She recently had puppies, and then when all was said and done, the people that owned her whisked her off to the animal shelter. We still can’t figure that out! Both of us think we were so lucky to be able to find her.

I had seen her on the shelter web page for quite a while, but after a few weeks she wasn’t there. I wanted to rescue a dog from the cold, hard life that a shelter would offer her. Luckily she was sent to another shelter closer to home. And, I spotted her on their website. The Rancho Coastal Humane Society. I can’t say enough good things about them, I was truly impressed with how clean, and caring they are.

This is our newest addition to our family. Peppa, a four year old French Bulldog.

Have you ever adopted a pet? Or, do you only get puppies from a breeder? I’ve done both, and I have to tell you I prefer rescuing a dog instead of paying for a purebred. It’s not that I don’t love getting a purebred puppy, it’s more about giving a forever home to an animal less fortunate. I can do that!

But there is a downside to all the goodness rescuing holds, the downside seems to be that we haven’t any idea what these sweet little animals have been through. These are the issues we have to deal with when giving them a forever home. Then there is the issue of personality. Frenchies are stubborn, they will outsmart you, and don’t like to be yelled at. But they will push you over the edge if you let them, and they need attention, and are high maintenance. I happen to be very calm these days, and don’t get pushed easily!

Our dear little Peppa was probably used for the puppies she could give them. Maybe this was their main form of income. Maybe they had other breeders also. We will never know, but Peppa did have some good habits I’m grateful for. I guess it doesn’t matter that she is wicked smart. She knows how to manipulate us, but we think we are smarter than she is. But are we?

She sits, stays, and comes when she is called. Could this be because I give her a training treat when she does these things, or did her previous parents teach her this? See what I mean by her being smarter than we are? We are still working on the word “Potty,” and what that means. She also gets a treat after she potties. Motivation is the name of the game.

I want you to know that our home as sweat as it is, was empty without a companion in it. My husband didn’t want another dog, or cat, but I convinced him it was important to me, and he kindly gave in. Now we both love her and get great amounts of joy from her.

She has made herself at home, and loves her back yard. She’ll even go out by herself now.

So if you ever wondered if you wanted a dog or cat to liven up your home, I’d say yes. They do bring you so much joy, and laughter. It gives us purpose, gets us up and moving. All that is a good thing, and probably it will keep all of us younger!

Thank you for stopping to read my blog, Have a Happy Thanksgiving from our home to your home, and from our Peppa to yours.

Oct18

Confessions of a 99 Year Old!

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I thought this was interesting, and a bit humorous at the same time. It is 18 minutes long, so sit down when you need a break to watch it.

Thank you for stopping to watch this little video. As always United we Stand.. Karen

Oct4

If I Could Live My Life Over Again…

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“If I could live my life over again,
I would have gone to bed to rest when I felt sick instead of pretending the earth would stop if I wasn’t at work for a day…
I would have burned the pink candle carved like a rose instead of letting it melt in the pantry…
I would have talked less and listened more…
I would have invited friends to the table even if there is a stain on the carpet and the couch needs to be cleaned.
I would have eaten popcorn in the “good” room and wouldn’t have worried so much about dust when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.— with Esme Kopelowitz.
I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather telling stories from his youth.
I would never have insisted on driving with the car windows down on a beautiful summer day, just because my hair was freshly styled and fixed.
I would have been lying on the meadow with my head on the grass.
I would have cried and laughed less watching TV and more watching life.
But, most of all, to have a second chance at life, I would cherish every moment, I would really look at it… I would live it…
I wouldn’t get so worked up over petty and petty things anymore…
Don’t worry about those who don’t like you, or rather, you shouldn’t care who does what…
Instead, let’s cherish the friends we have and the people who love us…
And to what we do every day to improve our mind, body, soul, emotions.”
Written by Erma Bombeck 1979.

Thank you for taking time out to read my blog. I thought this was worth the read.
As always, we stand together! Karen