Every day is a holiday.

Hubby and I celebrating our 45th! Where did the time go?
Only our children have grown in our eyes, reminding us we too have grown.
Two of them, and their loved ones are here at Redfish breaking bread with us.
Life is good!

(From left-I, my son Brian, Jeanette, his fiance, my daughter Pia and her husband Jason, and my Hubby.)

Detritus

I gave up this blog back in April, thinking that I had no business here.  I missed coming to this quiet place, trim my vegetables here, clear my thoughts, take stock of the detritus of life that can only be seen from this vantage point.

So, when does that occur?

Most likely, after you have reached a time when you can see the end in sight.  I'm betting on ten more years in my case. In ten more years, even this simple task of trimming leeks and artichokes will become too hard to do. My mother had rheumatoid arthritis in her hands and arms early on, starting in her fifties.

My hands have served me valiantly for about seventy years now. My eyes too. My legs not so well. My heart, my other vital organs have kept me going. But I can tell that I'm growing weaker because after a small hike, I need to rest.  Often, I feel  deep pains in my joints  that just seem to pop up from nowhere. Something is wrong with my shoulders, after exercising them, after sitting down on the computer, after sweeping.  My shoulders and my hip joints are harbingers of what will become of this body.

Some of you are turning away from these thoughts, feigning ignorance, or deliberate denial.
Machines have a life cycle; houses have a life cycle. So do people.
Some of us are eager to renovate parts.  I'm not looking forward to going under a knife, not even for getting cataract surgery, though I have heard nothing but good things from my hubby who had both eyes operated on.

I think sharing our fears and our conditions will help us find a good balance in our lives at this age.
Getting to know people who have gone through these stages helps to have the right information.
So, go on, share away.
Tell us what conditions worry you.
Are you doing the renovations of your body, or are you just postponing the inevitable?

End of this trail.

You see, I opened this blog when my main blog was hijacked.
Now that I have my main blog back, this blog seems superflous. I end up talking about the same things.

So, if you are still interested in how old age will affect you, come on over to my main spot and settle in with me to learn more about aging and thriving in our new surroundings.
See you there, hopefully.

Follow this link: Rosaria/Lakeviewer

or go to: http://sixtyfivewhatnow.blogspot.com/

If you are a fiction writer, you may want to check out my other blog:
http://schoolnotes-rosaria.blogspot.com/

If you like to get really comfortable in the kitchen:
http://lovingrealfood.blogspot.com/

Hope to see you at any one of these places.

Thank you so much for visiting with me here.

We're all on the same path.

No matter where you live, how big your house is, how much income you have, how old you are today, you and I are bobbing on the ocean of life in the same way, looking to land at  comfortable ports-of-call where the food is great, the accomodations are cheap, and the natives are friendly.

Everyone of us will reach old age, will acquire old-age spots, will become grey and feeble-minded.
The difference between those of us who have a wonderful retirement or a lousy end of life situation will be luck and preparation.

We have no control over luck.
We do have some control over preparations.

The  preparations for this journey are the same as for other journey:
1. Find out what will be expected.
2. Purchase the necessary tools and safety items.
3. Prepare yourself physically and mentally for the new circumstances.

If you have never talked to old people, never visited them, never cared for them, you have a long way to go to understand what's required of you.
I began reading the AARP Mmagazine a few years  before I retired. While the writers did their best to acquaint me with the situations I'd encounter, I had nothing in my past to truly attach the information to.  I had no context.

So, my advice today is to begin to venture out and visit a senior center in your neighborhood and then come back and read my next posts.  They will make more sense to you; they will inspire you to continue learning about this last journey of yours.

(to be continued...)

Games everyone can play.

'Chess' is Chess in any language.
Here in Santa Monica, right at the beach, young and old play chess across from each other.
No conversation is required.
No vocabulary explained.

For the price of parking, one can be entertained for hours on this boardwalk. Characters for all seasons.

If my friends could see me now..

Since I dropped out of the rat race, life has slowed down to a pleasant pace. Somehow, Hubby and I know when we need to throw a party, reconnect with those we don't see often, when we need to join a work party to get things done, when we need to leave town and indulge in city sights.

The point is that now we go or stay, work or play at our own pace.  Whatever we like to do, we do.

When was the last time you said that?

We have an easy routine. I wake up around 7:00, prepare coffee and breakfast, and return to bed.  There, I drink my coffee while sitting up, enjoying the views, waiting for Hubby to wake.  From our bedroom door/windows we see the lake, the ocean, the dunes, the hills on the side.  Ducks and birds and deer roam, swim, fly by. Sometimes, they get really close and we can hear them as well. 

By 8:30, we are up, at our computers, each writing and researching independently.   Our meetings and committments are usually set for  afternoons, or evenings, so our mornings are mostly ours with a couple of exceptions. I attend a writers' group on Monday mornings, and Hubby takes a painting class on Thursday mornings.  Sometimes, medical and dental appointments can change this routine.

By noon, we are hungry and ready to change to some other thing. We eat,  take walks,  catch up with our neighbors also walking, and then get to some household chores.

My committments and Hubby's committments are usually on different days now that we are down to one car. We also try to do things together whenever possible.

When sunny days reappear, we'll be spending time in the gardens, mowing and weeding and planting. There is a lot to do, and we enjoy the physical exercise gardening provides.

What if we want to sit and read all day? It can happen.
What if we want to leave town and spend the day golfing or shopping? It does happen.
What if we have company? The visitors do change our routine just a bit, I must admit. But, we are happy to have changes at this age.  Change brings new stimulation and lots of new interpretations.

Having a pleasant routine, identified committments, interests and social outlets are all important to our quality of life.  Also, living in a town where old people are not isolated from other age groups helps all of us live fruitful and rewarding lives.

Connect.

We're social beings, I was saying just the other day, and to continue to thrive, we need to stay connected. If your family isn't around, if you friends aren't around, your first job to stay vibrant and in good spirits, which will improve your health, is to stay connected.

So, how do you manage to do that with the resources you have?

Take an inventory of who you know and how often you meet and shoot the breeze. Yes, shoot the breeze, talk about the weather, old times, what you watched on t.v., what you bought at the store, what you'll have for lunch, whose funeral you heard about......No aiming at anything in particular, just be around someone else other than your constant companion(s).

People who have a good social life live healthier and longer. 
It might be that you have to join a group. Check your church, your city's clubs, your YMCA, your old school alumni association.

And if you still can't get into a routinely rich social environment, ask your neighbor if you could tag along when he goes to Rotary, or the Garden Club.  Still not sure?  Start taking a class in something you always wanted to learn.

I joined the Garden Club, the political party of my choice, the Writers' Group, a reading group, the Smart Program.  Then, as I became more comfortable, I ran for the office of trustee of the local school board, presently serving in my second term.

If your family and old friends keep you hopping, then you are fine, and need to do nothing.

The rest of us, though, could all use a bit of a hand in this area.
How about you?  How do you stay connected?

Banish all Diets.

Eating is a social activity. Dieting is not!

Remember when you were little and the family gathered for a picnic?
You played with your siblings and your cousins chasing each other, and daring each other.
You listened to a community orchestra.
You ate predictable  foods that your family enjoyed, an al fresco menu you came to look forward to.  You expected certain foods at certain events: hot dogs at the Fourth of July, fried chicken at the birthday bash.

Food is the anchor of family gatherings.
You don't show up at one of these events and declare yourself on a diet. 
You are expected to be your old self, full of fun and mischief and enjoying everybody's contribution.

So, how do you show up at these events when you are consciously trying to eat better?

You bring updated recipes that use real food, no preservatives, fresh and delicious ingredients.
Your fried chicken becomes lemon-marinated chicken grilled to perfection.
Your potato salad is dressed with lots of diced green onions,olives  and olive oil instead of mayonnaise.

And your dessert? Fresh fruit and home made ice-cream the kids helped you assemble.

And your diet?  You tell everyone that you fill up on greens, eat a moderate diet of carbs and protein, and your ice cream is just for family picnics.

At the end of the day...

I hardly ever thought of growing old when I was young.
Dah....
We only miss things when they are gone.
Sure...
Holding our image to the ideal self of youth is unwise.
Ah....
But, living well, at any age is doable.

And that's the focus of this blog, more so than my old blog. 
This blog is about focusing on living well today.

So, take an inventory of what's great in your life Now.
Go on, list five things.
I'll start:

1. I look great in this picture, a casual day, a respite during the Southern Cal holiday. Same pic on Facebook.)

2. I feel great. Nothing hurts.

3. All my systems are go.

4. I have a wonderful meal planned for today, St. Patrick's and Italy's 150 years Celebration.  If you are curious, visit me at my cooking blog, lovingrealfood.blogspot.com/

5. I feel loved and cared for.

And lastly, I feel appreciative of your visits, your sharing with me. So, how about you?

How do I begin...

Like any thing we do daily, including making this minestrone, we are most familiar with how it should look.

If it looks unusual,
If it smells unusual,
If it tastes unusual,
If something doesn't sit right,

Then, talk to somebody and get an explanation. This minestrone just needs more cooking time, by the way!

 Yes, most of our health issues start way in our forties and fifties. We just ignore them. We think that the anomaly will just go away.

Write that anomaly down and get yourself to the doctor.  Let him/her tell you that it is nothing.

But I have no time!
I have no money!
I have more important things to do!

Get going to the doctor. Nothing is more important than your health.

(p.s. I will return to post once a week or so. You can visit me more often at my other blogs which I recovered. Yeahhhh! My main blog is http://sixtyfivewhatnow.blogspot.com/

What life is all about.

Life  is about surviving challenges.
First challenge:
Deal with a blog that has been hijacked!
Yes, my previous blog, sixtyfivewhatnow has been hijacked and I'm heart-broken.

Someone stole my house and locked me out!

Well, it's a challenge; not the end of the world.