• Malaprop's Bookstore/Cafe
  • Studio 88 web design, development, and online marketing
  • Advertise with Oops50.com
  • Tags
  • Categories
  •  

    Archive for September, 2011


    SadhviSez:: The Freedom from Not Keeping Up

    Saturday, September 17th, 2011

    SADHVI

    It’s almost Fall – again.  I find myself going through the pantry, going through my closets, taking stock of things.

    I am also making decisions on what I am willing to put up with for the sake of “keeping up” with the seemingly never-ending, new (and expensive) ways to be in touch and connected.

    Yes, menopause is the reason, and yes, it is the only thing I can think about right in this moment that I like about it.  Having weird hormones in funny places makes it easy to weed things out that don’t make sense in my life.

    If Facebook, and texting, and tweeting, and Linkedin, and Google+, and Pinterest, and of course, emailing and phones weren’t enough wonderful ways to “keep in touch” these days, I personally don’t think any more will help.

    It’s kind of interesting, the range and extremes of what people are doing these days with all these ways of connecting.

    For instance, I meet people who can’t imagine living without their computer.  Really.  And from the sound of their voice, I believe them.  I had several conversations with friends who ask me, how can I not text?  To which I answer, how can you possibly?  I don’t have kids, so that seems to be the major deciding factor.  I asked one Mom recently why she texted?  And she told me that it’s the only way to communicate with them.  Hmm.

    LATE SUMMER MORNING DRIVE VIEW

    On the other hand, I hear friends say things like, “I can’t do Facebook any more – it just sucks too much of my time”.  Or, “I can’t do Linkedin, it’s too much.”  I even have a few friends who have taken a big step and just deleted all their “InBox” and “Sent” messages in their main email account (the other ones they don’t even check!)!  Wow.  I often imagine doing that, but I just can’t.  I asked how it felt when they did that, and they said it felt really, really good.  Hmm.  Some of my younger friends don’t even have a cell phone.  They tell me they can’t afford one.  Double hmm.

    There seems to be all levels and extremes in this new world regime where technology rules all of us in some way or another.

    I am not into “keeping up” with it all any more.  I returned my “awesome” iPhone a few weeks ago and feel less irritated in general because I can actually HEAR what others are saying on my simple LG phone.  It’s not a smart phone, and believe me, it doesn’t have to be!  I feel like I was smart in giving it back though.  I already have to go through almost 200 emails every day so why would I want to have them downloaded on my phone?

    When I asked my Mac friend if he really, really, likes his iPhone, as a PHONE, and he said, “Well, no, it’s so much more than a phone.”  I repeated the question, and he said, “Well, no, there are lots of better phones out there.”  Geez!

    I am not against technology.  I use it.  I need a computer for work.  I enjoy flittering in and out of FaceBook.  I like YouTube.  I just don’t want to add anything more!

    I wonder how many of us are getting tired of all this technology that seems to be more troublesome and time-consuming than it’s worth?

    SUSUN WEED

    I create space and balance by being in the garden, and taking walks with my dog.  Or baking.  Or writing letters.  So as long as I can keep the balance, all is well.

    Here’s a clip below that I saw recently from Susun Weed, on how to make an easy vinegar to help us with Fall allergies, using Goldenrod.  I didn’t know that Goldenrod was such a powerful herb.  I just thought it was beautiful to look at. My Goldenrod is just starting to open, and I will make some.

    Well that’s it from me this week.

    Happy Fall!

     

    Three Women Over 50 on a Jaunt

    Tuesday, September 13th, 2011
    Last weekend I had the privilege of visiting with my two roommates from college.  We met in Minnesota, where one of them lives.  I was a little nervous before the weekend.  I worried that things might be awkward.  After all, we hadn’t seen each other in years (not one of us could remember exactly how many!).  What if we couldn’t relax around each other?  What if we didn’t like each other any more?  How I wish I had lost that extra 10 pounds I need to lose!  It’s funny how all that mess disappeared from my brain as soon as we were together.  And now that the weekend is over, the only thing I’m thinking about is why didn’t we do this sooner?
    We had a such a great time together, as if no time had even gone by.  Of course we had some disturbing things to talk and vent about, things that have happened in the interim:  Kippy has had to go through the horrors and trauma of cancer (but our readers know how courageous her fight has been–and she is in remission and looking magnificent!); Cindy has suffered through a painful divorce (once again, with flying colors).  Their two incredible spirits in the face of such struggles gave me the strength to deal with whatever may come in my life.
    But we didn’t let reality get us down.  We tootled around Minneapolis, went out on a boat ride on Big Fish Lake (with Kippy’s wonderful dog, Mozart), tried to stay up to watch “Sweet Home Alabama” on the television (but fell asleep–all 3 of us–before the ending), ate ice cream with Bailey’s Irish Cream on top, went out to a breakfast that included homemade blueberry pancakes, and played a version of “Name that Tune” with Kippy’s gracious-and-funny-husband Warren that kept us up till about 2 in the morning, laughing about songs that brought back college, such as “Heart of Gold” (playing loudly through the leaky walls of the dorm each night) or “Can’t Live if Living is Without You” (Nillson) or “Don’t Worry Baby” by the Beach Boys (that was the one I was trying to remember, Kip and Cindy–the one that always reminds me of our buddy Alice, who lived next door.)  It all brought back memories to my head–of things like playing Hearts in our dorm room, or going off campus in Cindy’s car (the one she had at school for one semester!) to eat a Peppermint Drizzle at Howard Johnson’s, or our trip to Disney World to celebrate graduation (with all of us and Alice–and our wonderful friend Beth).  I have to say:  some of us, who will remain nameless, remembered the details better than others!!  (Bless you, Cindy, for being a year younger!)
    We felt grateful for the time and space to be sitting in a room together or walking along a road by a beautiful Minnesota lake–and talking and laughing–and laughing some more.  Cindy, who is a dedicated veterinarian and carries the burdens of her animal patients on her shoulders, said she could feel her neck relaxing.  I could feel my heart filling up.
    My wonderful friend, Kippy, sent me an e-mail before I even boarded my plane, ending with, “at the end of the day, life is about faith, family, and friends.”
    I couldn’t say it better.

    SadhviSez: 9.9.2011: Make me an Angel from Montgomery

    Friday, September 9th, 2011

    SADHVI

    I know some folks who have had everything taken away from them recently.  They live in Pennsylvania.  Where there was an earthquake, a tropical storm, and now heavy rains and flooding that has hit their area in the last couple of weeks.  It’s unreal.

    I know a young family who live in Japan.  Dealing moment to moment with the reality of nuclear contamination in their food system, their water, and themselves.

    I don’t watch TV.  But I cannot help be connected to people.  People that I care about.  And sometimes, it just gets to me.

    I’ve always loved music.  From playing the flute to singing hymns in church to Christmas carols, music has always taken me away.  During these days when things seem intense and topsy-turvy, singing is a good thing.  And singing along to a song that you love is exactly what is the cure for what I got.  I leave you with one of my favorite songs written by one of my favorite songwriters, John Prine.  This one is sung by Bonnie Raitt with Jackson Browne (By the way Mr. Browne, my marriage proposal still stands).

     

    My New Red Shoes

    Wednesday, September 7th, 2011

    JANE

    I have a pair of new red shoes from a company that I want to highly recommend to our readers.  I didn’t think I’d ever write again about shoes, especially red ones, but I can’t help it.  I love my wonderful new shoes, “filled with millions of tiny air bubbles”  from a British company called Hotter Shoes.

    They approached us at Oops50 recently and asked if we would like to try out a pair of their shoes, and of course I agreed to be a guinea pig—who wouldn’t want a new pair of shoes with the emphasis on comfort, right?  I was a little worried though, that I might be signing up for what our mothers would have called “comfortable shoes.”  You know the type: big, wide shoes with thick soles that come in either white or black.  Well, I went tho their site and was pleasantly surprised; the shoes looked good, but they actually look even better in person.

    Jane's New Hotter Shoes!

    These are not ugly, comfort shoes of the variety worn by old ladies with bunions.  These are stylish and comfortable shoes—to tell you the truth, I didn’t believe those two words could go together.  And even though the company’s name brought immediately to mind the movie, “Kinky Boots,” while there is nothing kinky going on, these are definitely hot shoes!

    They come in all kinds of different designs.  And they are incredibly comfortable.  No aches and pains.  No sore toes.  And, they come in wide sizes without looking wide.  Check out their site, and if you order a pair, do let me know if you agree with me.  And if you have a moment or two, let me know what your most comfortable shoe is, Ok?

     

     

    The Zen of Pontoon Boating

    Monday, September 5th, 2011

    Annice

    Every August for the last four years, a group of us (women over 50) spend the day on one of the most beautiful lakes in this country.

    OUR LAKE

    Hope you don’t mind if I don’t share the name of that beautiful pristine lake in Tennessee, but we just don’t want all the tourists coming with their loud motor boats, radios, etc.  Even though we only spend one day on the lake, it becomes an event for us gals.  There is a core of us who embark on this journey every year, but sometimes friends drop out (usually because of family commitments) so others join in.  It’s always a surprise, and it always works out.

    Why is this day so special for us women over 50?   It’s simple.  It gives us one day where we can leave behind all the demands of our families – kids, aging parents, husbands, partners, meals, laundry, and on and on.

    TAKING OFF

    For one full day, our fearless captain Gwen, steers our Pontoon Boat so we can  just “be.” For some of us, it’s an escape from the everyday hassles of computers and technology that

    LIFE IS GOOD!

    sometimes overwhelm our modern and crazy life.  It allows us to bathe our bodies in the cool freshwater of the lake and feel the chill on our skin when we get out.  It allows us to anticipate the taste of a slice of juicy cold watermelon after a piece of tangy barbecued chicken.  It’s a time to visit with each other without interruptions, and it’s a time to say good-by to summer and agree to plan two visits to the lake next year even though we all know it won’t happen.  It just is.

    TOO MUCH FUN!

    Entries (RSS) | Comments (RSS).