Monday, November 30, 2009

Simplicity...the best medicine of all!


Our senior life style keeps us busy with friends.  We travel to Arizona in the winter where we have founds friends from around the United States, Canada and even Ireland.  We are just in heaven!

I have many, many friends here.  Several are close friends, others dear to my heart.  I cannot separate the two.  Today I decided that I could not wait to give my gift to two of my walking, golfing, talking, girl friends.  Mary and Carole are just a miracle for me...late in life I actually have found women that could have been sisters.  My friend, Virginia is spending Christmas in Portland with her family.  Her apron is waiting on her.  I am an only child so I am sure you can understand how amazed I am.

My gifts were aprons I made this summer.  Now let me tell you, I am not a seamstress...my sewing is very imperfect but every stitch has a little bit of me in it...and there were lots of stitches put in, torn out and then put in again.  Mary and Carole were so thrilled it just made me want to cry...how could any two people make me feel so special?  It was wonderful.

My friend Carole is recovering from back surgery so we walked this morninng.  Her right hip had hurt all last winter.  Today, when we walked, it was her left hip that hurt!  The "walking wounded" is what we are now.  We laughed, shared stories and enjoyed the cool but sunny day.  Then, when we returned to my home, my husband made coffee, served pumpkin bread donated by Mary and we talked for a very long time.  Gosh, I love my life! 

If you are reading this and wondering where I am going, here is the bottom line...come on down and heal in the sunshine.  Bring a trailer or what ever you have, join in the fun.  I even told a friend to come and live like "trailer trash" for a while.  It is good for the soul!  For the "walking wounded" simplicity is the best medicine of all.

Have a great week.

b
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Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Tucson, Arizona Day on the Golf Course



Sometimes the ghost of the moon peeks over the top of the Rincon Mountains during daylight hours.  When you click on the image and it appears in full scale, you will be able to see the moon in the middle just above the horizon.  Today it was just too beautiful not to photograph.  I would love to catch it at sunset when the mountains have that beautiful pink hue.  Erika Jean has one on her blog and I am very envious.

In Tucson the mountains that surround us are listed in alphabetical order going clockwise around beginning with the Catalinas in the north.  The list reads like this:  Catalina, Rincon, Santa Ritas and the Tucson Mountains.  The views are gorgeous as the sun goes down.  The mountains turn from pink to purple.  Even though it may be very warm in the afternoon, by the time the sunsets this time of year, it will be in the low 60s. 
Today we played golf at the Forty Niner Country Club on the east side of Tucson.  This course was once home to the Tucson Open. While not a pristine resort course like that found at Arizona National, it is still a wonderfully challenging course.  We have a Wildcat Card and the one we purchased gives us 7 rounds of golf plus one for my husband's birthday.  We can use the card at a number of courses in Tucson and in Green Valley during November through January and again later in the spring.

The pictures I have posted here today were taken on the golf course.   Houses that have been built on the course are for the most part in the Santa Fe style.  The one your see pictured above was  beautiful.

I hope you are having a wonderful holiday week...Happy Thanksgiving to all.

b

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Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Happiness Paradox: When less makes us happier!

The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree in New Y...

Nancy Gibbs over at Time.com asked the question:

So why is it that at least some aspects of the Great Recession of 2009 appear to have made people feel better.

Gibbs posted an article yesterday saying that people are feeling very positive about their lives!  It seems that bad time are not dampening the spirits of people.  Could it be that when the "expectation bubble" burst people were relieved?    Even though people might be spending less for gifts this Christmas, it may be they are ready to return to the true meaning of our holiday spirit .  In the past expectations for more and more "things" under the tree had put pressure on the pocket books of families and credit cards had become their only choice.  Now they may find that expectations are less and therefore the pressure to spend more than they have has decreased.  I loved what  Gibbs had to say at the end of her article on the Happiness Paradox and the American Dream:
It [happiness] gets bigger when we don't care if it [American Dream] gets smaller; we stopped buying all the stuff we didn't need that was supposed to make us happier, and we seem to be happier for it. And who would have expected that.


Those if us that are senior citizens feel the same pressure to keep grandchildren happy and live up to the expectations of our family.  While the seniors I know are less likely to spend more than they have, they are more likely to sacrifice in order to give gifts to family members.  In today's climate of lessening expectations they will feel more comfortable with what they are able to give.  Hopefully, this year of reality check will bring about more appreciation for personal contact and less emphasis on financial rewards.

We can only hope.

b

This blog was posted on Right Health.com
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Sunday, November 22, 2009

Lifestyle Lift ....my thoughts!



I am interested in seeing what might be good stuff for those of us that sag, wrinkle and leak from over use.  As we grow older we tend to find that more maintenance is required to keep us working.  Beauty treatments take up our time and beauty products and treatment promise miracles.   Sigh!

I for one am only a beginner at eyebrow waxes and pedicures.  Both of these procedure spa treatments have become necessary because my glasses don't work like they should.  The need for a pedicure may also have something to do with my need to check and see if there is anything else I need to do while I am bent over to tie my shoes.  It is hard to bend over anymore.  These are both pretty harmless and inexpensive luxuries considering what "miracles" doctors are claiming to perform these days.  If you have enough money the sky is the limit.

So when I saw a website with a review on a "Lifestyle Lift" I was very interested.  A very old, wrinkled and used up woman looked like an absolutely new woman...and only after one hour!!!  Doesn't that sound just too good to be true?  Cathy Walden at Beauty Reports had some thoughts on whether it was a good product. When I looked further, I found several blogs with more information on  the cost and results.  One post in particular from a woman in Illinois voiced a Lifestyle Lift customer's dissatisfies. Words like "pain" and "don't do it" just jumped out at me from the page.  You can find her review at RealSelf.com.  

The official website for Lifestyle Lifts claims to have been mentioned on every major TV channel.  I still am very skeptical but you can judge for yourself.  Lifestyle Lift-Home Page has a phone number you can call.  If you decided this is for you or have already had the lift done, we would love to hear from you.  

My mother always said that getting old was hard work and I am seeing how very wise she was.  However,  it seems to me that taking care of ourselves and aging with grace is far better than looking 15 year younger.  In the Elizabeth Strout's book Olive Kitteridge one of the character meets an old friend that has had "her eyes done".  All  Strout's character could think was how scary an old woman looks with 16 year old eyes.  We are what we are...there is no changing somethings.  Even a Lifestyle Lift can't roll back the calendar! As for me, I don't want to look scary!

b
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Arizona Thanksgiving Week...Senior Life Style + Buddhist Metta

(for me)
May you be at peace.
May your heart remain open.
May you awaken to the light of your own... true nature.
May you be healed.

May you be a source of healing for all beings.


I just love November!  It is without a doubt the best month of the year.  Birthdays and Anniversaries and Thanksgiving and Christmas shopping....  Then there are golden leaves and chilly nights and snuggle up sweaters under the evening stars. 

Actually June and December are not bad but November is my favorite.  My birthday is in  November.   Our anniversary is in November. 

We celebrate in our family....a lot.  There are celebrations before, after, during and sometimes we celebrate one festivity on top of the other.  We love to celebrate.  We love to even THINK about celebrating. 


This will be a busy week for us.  Tomorrow there will be golf on the Robert Trent Jones, Sr. designed course at the Rio Rico Country Club.  This course is located in Rio Rico just north of Nogales, AZ.  Espendor Resort (video above) located across Highway 19 boast a hotel, restaurant with facilities for weddings and retreats.   After golf we will drive a short distance north toward Tucson to a restaurant called Wisdoms.  Wisdoms is located near the Tumacacori Mission National Historic Park  and the Santa Cruz Chili and Spice Company factory.   Before dinner we will visit the spice company and pick up a few things. 

Today we shopped for Thankgiving dinner.  Our celebration takes place with a whole banquet room full of people but we sit at a table with 16 of our closet friends!  Living in a 55+ RV Resort allows us to do that sort of thing.  Then later in the afternoon, between football games, a group of us will go to see a movie.  Men Who Stare at Goats is at the top of our list.

Friends arrive back on Saturday so we will all have our evening meal outside on the patio.   I think you will have to agree this week has to be the epitome of the senior life style in Arizona.

Have a wonderful week!

b
(for you)
May you be at peace.
May your heart remain open.
May you awaken to the light of your own... true nature.
May you be healed.

May you be a source of healing for all beings.

(for someone someone you hold in judgement)
May you be at peace.
May your heart remain open.
May you awaken to the light of your own... true nature.
May you be healed.

May you be a source of healing for all beings.


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Friday, November 20, 2009

Breakfast in the Sun...Park Model Living


My husband and I ate breakfast in the sun this morning. While our small park model does get the morning sun through the windows, lawn chairs on that side of the house are protected from the breeze so we eat there. You really cannot imagine how quiet it is here at that time of day. The air is cool (mid 50's) but the sun is very warm.

We are located on one of the large washes here in Tucson. Pantano Wash runs for miles through the city and we are told it can be a raging torrent in the summer . Wild life is a very real part of our life and we live in peace with Road Runners, Rattle Snakes, Humming Birds, Cactus Wrens and Javalinas (Peccaries). Desert rats are a problem for vacant houses so we make sure they stay on the outside where they belong. Taking a kinder approach to those things that are dangerous or dirty is not easy for us. But we do try!

The weather is getting cooler everyday. In spite of what those that live in colder climates believe, we do dress in blue jeans or long slacks most of the winter months. There is just enough of a chill in the air and the temperature lingers in the low to mid 60 in the day light hours. As soon as the sun falls lower in the sky our desert chills returns immediately. The only people you will see in shorts are tourist or snow birds that are new to this experience. Our nod to warmer weather is the absence of coats in our closets. Light jackets are enough most of the time. If it gets too cold, we just wear everything we own!!!

We grow flowers here in the winter. My front flower bed has petunias and melon sage interspersed with agave and cactus. Most things that grow naturally here have thorns so we love plants that don't bite back. Our flowers are a great source of enjoyment for us. My husband even has a tomato plant that is blooming. The plant tried blooming when we first bought it 5 weeks ago but the Javelina's dined on it one night while we were sleeping! That plant has gone through more than is necessary to provide us with patio tomatoes!

We will eat fish at the Elk's Club tonight. It is almost expected here in Tucson that you will eat fish on Friday nights. Seniors vacated the park at supper time to head out for their favorite restaurant. I smile at the quirky things we do just because everyone else does. In Oregon we would never do the fish thing on just one night of the week. But when in Rome....

So life goes here in our RV park...The Waiting Room for Heaven! Have a lovely day and do come down to visit sometime!

b

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Monday, November 16, 2009

A Simple Life...the best kind!





I just wanted to share a couple of pictures from our little park model here in the desert of Arizona. The bouganvilla grow all the year without any water at all. Even the blossoms that fall in our carport are beautiful.

The saguaro is treasure worth it's weight in gold. Moving or touching these huge treasures would be against the law. Birds nest in it's arms and a wood pecker has made a hole in the side and babies are hatched there each year. We can hear them practicing their pecking even before they leave the nest.

Have a wonderful day.

b

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Wednesday, November 4, 2009

SOLD Mid-Century Mobile Home, 55+ Resort Mesa, AZ P




I just visited with a mobile home park manager this morning. My husband and I took a mobile home in on a trade for our Motor Home. We will be selling it soon. The manager said that the company that operates the park will be moving new manufactured home in soon so we think the park will get a new look which will be good for the value .

Vintage Mobile home looks like
this inside. Stove, refrigerator, sleeper sofa,
small table, washer/dryer
and 1 double and one twin bed. 2 bedroom.
Sorry...no Lucy! 1964 Star Craft




















Awing on both side offer shade and the mobile home faces south for warm summer sun.




The idea that we would be able to use the mobile home somehow had been incubating in our head for a few weeks. The mobile home is in wonderful condition...I am the one that is feeling very old!!Bedroom has two windows and two closets.















The mobile home is 10x54' and was built in 1964...can anyone say Lucille Ball??? It is very clean. The refrigerator is very nice...looks like new. The stove is the cutest shade of pink you ever saw and it too looks like it is almost new. And it matches the kitchen sink, bathroom wash basin and toilet. A dining room table of the 1964 vintage sits under ruffled curtains. When the curtains are open it is very light inside. The bedrooms are just the right size to house a double/queen bed and a twin. A new shower and hardware have been installed. All the walls are covered with real wood paneling stained naturally gold...something I had not seen in many years. There is even a darling transistor intercom/radio on the kitchen wall with speakers in every room. I just think it could be so much fun to own. If mid century is your interest then you have found a home...let you creativity run wild!!!!

The thing that really surprised me was the fact that it apparently has never been home to a smoker. It smells as fresh as if it were brand new! There are so many second hand stores in the area that I probably could even pick up mid-century furniture to furnish it. If I were younger I would lay new carpet (Lowes has installation specials going now...$139 for the whole house if you install what they have on the rolls or $39 if you buy an upgraded carpet.) and furnish it in keeping with the vintage structure. Then I could enjoy living in the solid structure for many many years. But I am not young and I like where I am now. (So does my husband...that is a good thing.)

I have listed it on Craig's List (listing here.) in Phoenix.

Note: For more information on owning this piece of Americana contact me at orencoopinions@gmail.com. My phone number is on the Craig's List ad. As the pitch man Billy Mays would have said "It is an opportunity to own this little baby for an incredibly low price and sit in the sun for part of each year! Rent on the space is less than $400 per month plus utilities. Or, since it has a large Carrier air conditioner and storm windows, so you can be comfortable living there year around."

Let me know if you need more information.

b
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