2011 November | Oops50

Archive for November, 2011

Sadhvi Sez: Save the Delaware River Basin and Abigail Washburn

Saturday, November 12th, 2011

SADHVI

These days I am increasingly aware of how much information I take in while not reading newspapers nor having any TV to watch. It’s all from the internet.

So, with this post, I want to share a personal sigh of relief:

President Obama has delayed the Keystone XL Pipeline! Say thanks, and ask him to reject it once and for all.

And to bring awareness to another MAJOR issue that is going to affect a whole lot of people. People who happen to be my family. My friends. Maybe yours too?

It’s about a decision to start drilling in land that will affect the Delaware River basin after a long moratorium. Not just one drill, but a LOT of drilling. Just the idea that lots and lots of fracking is about to occur, and that the Delaware River basin is going to be affected by all the chemicals that will flow into it makes me nauseous.

I could pretend that it’s all awesome and that it won’t be that bad, but instead, I choose to bring awareness to it. And for those of you who are afraid of awareness, don’t be. Because in times like this, it’s OK to to notice and say that the Emperor is not exactly fully clothed.

You might not be able to physically participate, but you can call to say something.

Call the Governors from the member states and President Obama Monday – Friday from 8-6pm.

Just tell them,

“Hello, I am calling you to express my serious concerns about hydrofracking. Please Don’t Drill the Delaware!”

Governor Christie’s office:609-292-6000

Governor Cuomo’s office: 518-474-8390

Gov Corbett’s office: 717-787-2500

Gov Markell’s Wilmington Office: 302-577-3210

And the White House comment line: 202-456-1111

In case you don’t really feel like it, you might after you watch Josh Fox‘s video of what is at stake.

SAVE THE DELAWARE from JFOX on Vimeo.

And lastly, I was listening to some NPR on the radio in my car the other night, and a singer came on and spoke, and then sang and played. She is not a newbie to the music scene, but she is new to me.

Abigail Washburn. I really liked what I heard. I felt comforted.

And these days, it is about finding the balance between being aware of how fragile it all is, and moments of comfort and joy.

Wishing you Well,

Sadhvi

Tags: abigailwashburn, boomerwomenblogs, fracking, gasland, joshfox, oops50fracking, oprah, sadhvisez, womenwhoblog
Posted in Environment, Main, Politics, Sadhvi Sez, The Environment, World | 2 Comments »

10 Thoughts on Learning that I am going to be a Grandmother!

Thursday, November 10th, 2011

JULIA

My thoughts on learning that I am going to be a Grandmother are as follows:

1. Blank.

2. Blank.

3. Gasp. Breathe, girl!

4. Searching…

5. What will my new name (the name that will stick to me for the rest of my life on earth) be? Please not anything with “aw” on the end.

6. Am I really old enough for this to be happening to me? I knew my husband was getting older, but…

7. She will love IT more than she loves me (pout).

8. How can SHE have a baby? She’s still MY baby!

9. Look at her. Her face is shining. I know that feeling…my face must look like my mother’s face did when I told her for the first time.

10. I will love it instantly. At first because it’s part of her. Then just because I love it.

11. Life has become infinitely more complicated–and interesting–in the last 7 seconds.

Okay, so I had more than 10 thoughts in a row. This doesn’t happen every day. I just had to write them all!

Julia Coward lives in Asheville, NC with her husband, in a house made entirely of dog hair. She has held many varied and interesting jobs in her career as a person, but her favorite has always been raising and caring for people and pets in all different ages and stages of life. Plants have to fend for themselves.

Tags: becoming a grandparent, children, Dogs, Humor, mothers, on being a grandma, women over 50
Posted in Aging, Beautiful Women >50, Family, Getting Older, Humor, Main, Parenting, Relationships | 9 Comments »

Aging & Gratitude

Monday, November 7th, 2011

Dee Charlton

I’m grateful to be one of the lucky, reunion re-connections that formed over the past 18 months with Annice, one of the co-founders of this wonderful blog Oops50.com. Our friendship goes back to 6^th grade summer camp, and if my math is right, that’s 47 years ago. The camp was devised by the school district to facilitate kids from several grade-schools to meet and spend time together prior to the major transition into the adult world of 7^th grade! We became fast friends. We were 12 years old.

October 23, 2011 – I turned 59. How strange it feels to be writing for this blog and and saying, I’m almost 60 !! How did that happen? The Bonnie Raitt song; “Nick of Time” keeps playing over and over in my head, especially the lyric; “… no matter how I tell myself – it’s what we all go through, those lines are pretty hard to take when they’re staring back at you..” In the Nick of Time You ain’t never lied sister Bonnie!

My husband, Scott and I have been traveling the country in our motor coach since April. We just returned to beautiful Sarasota, Florida Nov. 1^st, and I’m sitting in front of the computer looking at our wedding photo taken in Italy.

Dee's wedding in Italy

Next to that is the photo we had taken last month in Las Vegas, it was our 5^th anniversary – wow. What a life, what a journey this has been! I can’t say I remember what I wanted my life to be when I was younger except that I wanted to be independent and travel, and now I can say yes to both of those goals.

I’m also feeling how fortunate I’ve been to experience the wonder of this country – the canyons, the mountains, the Bad Lands, Death Valley, White Sands, Alaska and hot air balloon festivals. I’ve even jumped out of an airplane and para-glided off a mountain. I’m grateful for it all, and for Scott.

Next - Pilot's license

Back to my birthday – it was harder than I expected it to be. All day, I was fighting back tears. I know I’m not afraid of death, I’ve been faced with it on more than one occasion. So what was tearing me up? Aging? Vanity? Am I that vain? I guess I am, but is that worse than death??

I think it finally hit me when I texted Fran (my wonderful step-daughter) something my mother said to me on my birthday: “Welcome to the last year of your 50s!” Thanks Mom. Her stand-up routine could use a little refining, but I love her anyway. And thank you Fran for letting me cry on your long distance shoulder. For every year that passes me by, I come one more year closer to losing my Mom, and that hurts a lot.

Dee with Mom

Honestly, I’ve just gotten to know my mother well about seven years ago, and I cherish her as my real best friend. I am a lucky 59 year old woman in so many ways!

Born in Collinwood (Cleveland) OH, Dee’s family followed what she likes to refer to as the Italian Migratory Route from Little Italy in Cleveland to the ‘burbs where her mother still resides.

After graduating from high school, she struck out on her own in her first apartment, later to be hired by the same people who built, owned and managed the complex.

Her career in Property Management took her to New York, New Hampshire, and finally Florida, a place she wanted to stay. In the early 90’s, Dee was hired by a national company and traveled the country promoting motivational speakers to help people get rich quick – just like they did. It wasn’t unusual for her to come home with half a million dollars in her briefcase. Eventually, Dee settled down in Sarasota.where she met her husband, Scott, and married in Santa Maria di Castellabati, Italy, just south of the Amalfi coast. Today, they live in Sarasota during the winter months and travel the rest of the year in their motor coach.

Tags: aging gracefully, beautifulwomenover50, bonnieraitt, midlife journey, women over 50, women over fifty, women's journeys, womenbabyboomers, womenwritersover50
Posted in Aging, Family, Journey, Living, Love, Main, Other Voices, Relationships, Spirituality, Travel, World | 4 Comments »

Farmer Nancy on Aging Horses

Friday, November 4th, 2011

My horse vet had called to say he’d be late. There was an old horse that couldn’t get up, and he needed to go put it down. When he arrived at our barn, he said a curious thing: ‘That old horse was 38! I don’t want my horses to live to be 38!” I looked down at the medical report I’d dug up on my mare and glanced at her age: 28. I started doing a mental census of our 27 horses’ ages—but quickly stopped before depression set in. Yes, aging horses can be tough, and they certainly are living longer these days. Just last year, out of frustration at always guesstimating our herd’s ages, I made a definitive list of everyone’s age. It was shocking. How could Moe and Sunny be 28? That little pony that we got for my daughter when she was about 7! He’s nearly 30?? (Of course, my daughter’s almost 22, so I suppose that’s right.)

Farmer Nancy

College Boyfriend's Horse Pic

There are the people who go through a horse period, when their child is taking lessons. Maybe they even buy a horse. But as soon as the child loses interest or the horse becomes unusable, they’re done with it. That horse may get passed along to the next brief enthusiast and the next, then maybe to a riding stable, but eventually there’s no real use for it—other than just being a horse. What happens then? More than likely, the horse ends up in a bad situation, gets put down or goes to the slaughter house.

One of our horses came with a long line of impressive show wins, and with a little notoriety from his time at a local barn, so, after having him for about 10 years, I called the previous owners to let them know how he was doing. I could tell from their response that they thought I was nuts. Like a lot of other people, they had no interest in finding out what had happened to their horse after they were finished with it.

I’m fortunate in that we have a farm, so we have never had to board our horses. Of course, that is a double-edged sword—because if we had had to board them, we’d have never ended up with so many horses. Some we got as sad-story rescues, such as the horse show jumper who wasn’t ever supposed to jump again who was being used as a jumping lesson horse, or the retired thoroughbred with the bent leg, or the little Arab, “Rosie”, we found on the side of the road. (When I was little, my parents accused me of yelling “pick me up!” every time we passed some unfortunate creature on the side of the road. I guess they never imagined I’d find a horse that way.)

Jackson

Rosie was a mess. She was loose that day, grazing beside the road, but she normally lived in a muddy garage with a piece of barbed wire across it, right next to a busy road. She’d gotten out in an ice storm and fallen. There were wounds all over her. When I found the owners, I offered to pay them $200 for her or to call Animal Control. We brought her home that day. Local men that came to help us pick up hay that season knew her. They said she was always in a local parade. One day I put a saddle on her. It felt unnatural. I wasn’t used to her high-head Arab carriage. It was unnatural for her, too: she associated riding with fear, noise, and stress. I never road her again, and that was ok. To see her put on weight and just be a horse in the pasture was payment enough. She has arthritis now, and one leg is bending at an odd angle. When it gets cold outside, I blanket her, but every morning she’s there with her ears perked up, waiting for her food. I doubt she’d be alive if we hadn’t brought her here. (more…)

Tags: aging, animals, Horses, pets, taking care of animals, women and horses, womenwritersover50
Posted in Aging, Beautiful Women >50, Main, Other Voices, Pets | 5 Comments »

Sadhvi’s Secret Red Cabbage Recipe

Tuesday, November 1st, 2011

THE LIGHT OF AUTUMN

We belong to the local “Swiss Club”, where we get together every so often to eat good, traditional Swiss food, chat, watch a movie, and generally have a good time.

One of our friends is a cook in one of the resorts here, and we started to talk about “Rot Kraut”, a favorite fall dish.

Then the whole table took turns telling how they make their version.

Every person had a different way to make it, and everyone was excited and thrilled to hear how. I love those kind of conversations…so much better than trying to top each other on the latest bizarre news of the moment!

I don’t remember eating “Red Cabbage” while growing up in Cleveland. I did eat it in Switzerland though, where people went crazy over it, as a side dish to other fall specialties, like homemade “spaetzli” served with wild boar sausages.

MITSOUKO by Guerlain

So if you like “Red Cabbage”, I think you will love this “recipe” I got from a French house guest we had staying with us. She also was the one who introduced me to the Guerlain perfume house, and my favorite perfume, Mitsouko. I can’t remember her name, it was over 20 years ago, but I will always remember her.

She got this recipe from her great-great grandmother that is absolutely delicious. Funny, but when I told the friend who’s a cook about how I make it, he said he had never heard of doing it like this before with garlic.

By the way, he uses apple sauce…something I will be sure to try in the months to come.

Sadhvi’s Red Cabbage Recipe

1. Take a head of red cabbage and wash, remove any outer leaves that don’t look good, core it, and cut it up into the desired size.

2. If you use a pressure cooker for everything like I do, then you know how to do the timing, etc. If not, throw the cabbage into a big pot with a tight fitting lid.

3. Take a whole head of garlic (or so), peel, and put one or two whole cloves into each piece. This makes taking them out very easy after cooking, because you don’t want the cloves after it’s done. Place them amongst the cabbage in the pot.

4. Now sprinkle some good balsamic vinegar over the cabbage. It’s maybe a cup, maybe a bit more? It doesn’t matter! We have a store around here that has really cheap prices on really good condiments. So I understand if you don’t want to use your really expensive Italian Balsamic Vinegar. Use whatever you have on hand. No need to go out and buy anything special for this recipe.

5. Now sprinkle some salt over the cabbage. And now some nice olive oil.

6. Cook. Voila! Enjoy…now wasn’t that easy? It’s even better the next day, by the way.

"ROT KRAUT"

Tags: babyboomers, Beautiful Women >50, cleveland, easy red cabbage recipe, mitsouko, Ohio, redcabbagerecipe, rot kraut recipe, sadhvi's red cabbage recipe, secretcrecipesredcabbage, women's journeys, womenover50recipes
Posted in Beauty, Living, Main, Products, Recipes/Food, Sadhvi Sez | 9 Comments »