This is a great story about the relationship of a woman and her car. The two have been together for decades and have logged over 540,000 miles traveling across this county. Rachel is a testiment to those of us who hear the call of the open road and grab it..
Every year, as I get older, this cold winter weather seems to settle deeper and deeper into my bones. My muscles tense up and my joints sometimes ache when I want them to flex. I’m used to stiffness setting in once in a while and can usually eliminate it with a few stretches or a hot shower. But for some reason, winter stiffness stays with me until the snow melts and the tulips break the ground. I feel it deep in my bones, it goes with me to work and it’s even with me when I crawl into bed at night. The perpetual soreness made me crabby and the stiffness made me want to be sedentary but sitting around only aggravated the soreness so I decided to find a solution short of moving south during the winter months. Turning to the Internet, I soon realized that the problem was not in the fact that I wasn’t putting forth enough effort to improve the problem, but the fact was that most stretching techniques simply don’t work to cure stiffness. Read more »
During the winter months, every other Saturnday night, I get together with three other friends, we rent a movie or two, make popcorn and fudge brownies and spend the night in. It’s an inexpensive way to entertain ourselves and a great way to bond with dear old friends. The local video store has a plethora of movies to choose from and we have a chance to enjoy the warmth of each other’s homes thus avoiding the one dank and dreary movie theater our little town has to offer. I have found that the warmth of our friendship staves off the bitter winter cold and makes living in this clime much more bearable. I always look forward to these evenings, but this Saturday night was even more special. Read more »
In my goal to be totally organized before the year’s end, I spent this morning sorting through old photographs; reminiscing over some and baffled by others. What caught my eye for the first time however, are the pictures of my grandmother. When I was a child, I never thought of her as being old and yet, every picture I have of her is of a shriveled up little white-haired woman. I remember her as a hard-working, farmer’s wife; one who always had time to tell me stories or let me help her gather eggs from the chicken coop. My memories are not of how she looked, but of the way she treated me and the time she spent with me. They are good memories with the “world’s best grandma” and I treasure them. I think of her in comparison with some of the elderly women I know now. This made me realize that there are two types of elderly people: old ones who live their age, and gently-aging citizens who really enjoy life. Read more »
As we get ready to ring in the new year yet one more time, set a few minutes aside to view this video and think about the vast sea of humanity that we live in. It amazes me how fast the world around me continues to change and yet I feel like I am moving in slow motion. When I was younger, I used to feel bigger than life. I could take on any challenge (I am woman; hear me roar). I was the center of the universe and all life revolved around me. As I grew older, possibly even wiser, I began to move from that center and found myself moving in a new cycle, one that revolved around my children. As every year passed, I found myself growing farther away as I gave them the space to be independent; and then, finally I reached an orbital path that was close enough to be there if they needed me, but far enough away to encourage them to go off on their own. I was comfortable orbiting there and wanted it to last forever, but nothing stays the same for long. Read more »
On this joyous holiday season, I have to share this video with you because I love it and because it is a part of Baby Boomer history I’m sure you will all remember. This rendition of White Christmas was recorded by Clyde McPhatter and the Drifters in 1953. It was #2 on the charts in 1954. Animation is by Joshua Held in 2002. White Christmas was written by Irving Berlin for the Movie “Holiday Inn” and recorded by Bing Crosby in 1942, and received the Academy Award in that year. Crosby recorded it again in 1947, and that recording has become the standard. It was also featured in the 1954 movie White Christmas with Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, and Vera-Ellen. White Christmas is the biggest selling Christmas song of all time. Thank you for reading my blog and may this Christmas bring you everything you wish for and may it be the first of many more to come your way.
As I was cruising through my favorite selection of blogs, I came across the amazing story of Ruth Hamilton, a 109-year-old woman who died too soon. She was truly a life-long learner and simply amazing. Just some of the highlights in her live included being married to a Major League Baseball player and being one of the first women to host a radio show. In fact, in 1937 when she came face to face with Hitler she tried to warn the world. She was also the first woman elected to the Legislature from New Hampshire. These are just a few of the things that made Ruth a national treasure. However, what really interested me about Ruth was that with the purpose of passing some of her wisdom along to others, she filed dozens of video blogs on GrowingBolder.com, making her the oldest person ever to blog and the oldest person to be a member of a social network web site. At 109 she is definitely a pre-Baby Boomer, but she sets a great example for the rest of us. I hope you take some time to view Ruth’s blogs because there is so much to explore, discover and enjoy about this woman. She proves that the journey of life holds many adventures.
It isn’t always easy to get into the gym and have productive workouts even when things are going well and you have good intentions of taking care of yourself. But now, the holidays are upon us and we think we have a good excuse to kick back and put our exercise routine on hold for a while. But, according to Dr. Peter Snell, the major benefits of exercise come from regular workouts so we need to find time to stick with our exercise routine despite the excuses. Dr. Snell offers several suggestions that might help. For instance, we can combine exercise with socializing. Grab your friends and go skating, take a hike in the woods or build a snowman together. It will bring out the kid in you and what fun a change of scenery can add to both spending time with friends and getting exercise; not to mention the memories you are creating. Another idea is to change up your exercise routine. Try alternating high and low intensity workouts to get more exercise in in a shorter period of time. And finally, use stress as an excuse to get that exercise routine in. Taking some time at the gym will help relieve tension and help make it easier to sit back, relax and enjoy the holiday offerings. Remember, these days we have with friends and family are treasures and it would be a shame to tarnish them because we are too stressed to fully enjoy them. Read more »
NEVER SAY NEVER - Ten years ago, I moved to a very rural northern town. Isolated from friends and family, my children worried about me, especially driving at night and so they gave me a cell phone for Christmas. I never wanted a cell phone, and I definitely wasn’t going to get hooked on one, After all, I had done without one for my first 50 plus years so why would I need one now? Boy was I off base on that one! My first “mobile” phone was a one piece, black “Nokia” brand phone - it didn’t flip open, had no “sliding feature”, it didn’t offer texting, didn’t have the Internet, it had no camera, no fancy downloadable ring tones – it was just a newer, smaller, portable version of the simple old ma bell phone I grew up with. I didn’t have the heart to tell my children that service was iffy at best this far north making reception pour even on clear days; but, I used the rationale that it would be handy to have in case of EMERGENCIES. So, I threw it in my purse along with the other non-essentials I carry and tried to forget about it. However, like most rural areas, time eventually catches up up with us and signal towers began popping up among the trees and along our highways. My phone began to ring on occasion and the more I talked on it, the more I grew addicted to this wireless “demon” and soon we became one! It became a semi-permanent attachment to my ear and it was never far from reach – I learned to drive, shop and walk one-handed! I was content and all was right with the world. But my coming of age in this techno-phase didn’t end there. The cell phone industry created new and better, faster, more hi-tech phones that my children felt necessary to bestow upon me. Alas, I was left in the wireless dust! I was lucky to be able to program in the names and phone numbers of friends and family, but all of a sudden there were more options on my phone: display options, screen saver choices, ring tones, text messaging, etc. - all too overwhelming for a novice such as me. Read more »
Every day should have some laughter in it, so If you feel like you could use a little laugh today, you might get a chuckle out of the following article I found on the Internet.
The Clown Scientists have found that all our problems can be placed under one main causal heading: Seriousity. It is the leading cause of everything from Cancer to Reincarnation. Top scientists from the National Clown Research Institute have now discovered a new source of healing, a psychic energy point located between the heart Chakra and the throat Chakra. This remarkable point is called the Clown Chakra.
If people are feeling miserable, if they have financial problems, if their relationship situation is the pits, if they are in ill health, if they have a need to sue people, if they find fault with their brother, then obviously, their Clown Chakrais closed. When this happens, the scientists have observed under a high-powered microscope that the cells of every organ display a sad face, and when the Clown Chakra is open and functioning normally, the cells display a happy face.
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