Friday, October 26, 2018

I hear you are retiring...I have news for you!


Our library house was one of my husbands "retirement " projects. 

I noticed that you are retiring in a little while. The time has come at long last. And let me tell you all those things you have been reading about retirement probably are true especially if you got the information from an experienced retiree. Those of us have been writing about retirement and are out here where the rubber meets the road usually know what we’re talking about.

The first few months of being at home with a man who has been retired for quite a while will be a little stressful maybe. I for one had a husband that retired on the same day I did and we had to work out who is in charge of the dishwasher and where the silverware would be stored. He had a really bad habit in my mind of moving the things around in the kitchen to become more "ergonomically correct". I will never get the time back I spent looking for stuff. We have been retired over 20 years now and I realize that he has the same problems finding thing as I do. It was just that I was not used to sharing my world. 

In today’s world, most of us come from a position that gives us a lot of power in our jobs. Our husbands have risen in their work life to be either the supervisor or boss of a lot of people. They’re not used to taking orders from their wife and that makes them a little cranky.

I suppose it was only the delight of waking up in the morning and knowing we were retired and even though we did not work we would still be paid that eased the frustration we both felt.

We all have so many dreams. A second home, endless travel, many games of golf with guys or gals...I have been watching and listening to retiree for a long time. Every story is about the same with variations on the theme. Second careers and volunteering compete with people’s need to just do absolutely nothing. Guilt about idle hours seem to prey on people’s mind.

And then there is the inevitable boredom. Once all the ‘fun’ things have been exhausted and the need to remain "useful" is satisfied that the retiree realizes that what they do with the rest of their life is a choice. They will need to find a new routine of their own making. 

If you put the tag Retirement 2018 in the search space at the top left hand corner of this blog, you will find a series of blog posts on every thing from being a a snowbird to how retirees spend their days. Change the year to see what information is available from previous years going back to 2010 and earlier. 

Let me help you get get a grip on what you are in for. Retirement is so much fun. You can make the reality better than the dream. 

Do you have a retirement story?

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20 Awkward Steps To Our Happy Retirement or There Wasn’t a Guidebook is one of my favorite posts. Look it up.

Wednesday, October 17, 2018

Do you read the medical warning?

I for one do not read the medication warnings on perscription bottles. I would be going deaf or blind or suffering from pain in my big toe right away. Those warnings can turn a person into a hypochondriac.
  • Muscle pain or soreness
  • Leg pain
  • Muscle weakness
  • Generalized pain and weakness
  • Vomiting
  • Stomach cramps
  • Brown discolored urine caused by breakdown of muscles cells being passed in the urine
So, when I began taking a statin again after going to something else because of a bad reaction, I forgot to pay attention. For over two years now my legs have been hurting and affecting my balance. Why it finally dawned on me that I might be having a problem I just don’t know. Thankfully it did.

After two weeks of no statins I feel strong, well balanced and sane. I can get up for the table and walk across the room without staggering. I a grateful for that.

Now I have to tell my doctor! Darn.

Have you ever had that happen.

Monday, October 15, 2018

Getting Caught with my Snopes Down

See, the thing is all of those people that figure out a way to ruin a politician with misinformation can be liberal too. I was caught yesterday while roaming around on Facebook.

That share button is so tempting when you see words that you do not want to see ever. So, share I did. (Snopes info here.)

I woke up during the night wondering if that guy really did say that and who in the world is he. As I sat down with my green smoothies this morning, I began doing a Snopes check on the post. What did I find?

  1. The accusation was made several years ago so is out of date.
  2. The politician, a Republican, was forced to drop out of the race.
  3. His Facebook page was probably hacked.
  4. He claimed he did not say what was posted.
So, people don't do what I did without checking first. 

I shared a video of a man telling a young person to sit down when they questioned his statement that global warming was probably caused my bodies heat (said in jest I am sure.) That one did make me mad because politician forget that those young people are future voters and have parents. I will not take that one down.

So, what is the point? Be sure to check and be very careful. What we share usually involves REAL people that may be damaged by something that is untrue.

Oh, and I did take that post down...deleted I hope forever.

Have a wonderful day.

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Sunday, October 14, 2018

More and More Like a Pregnant Mother

Am I getting ready to have a baby? Honestly, I am going through a period where I want to clean out that extra bedroom and put in bunk beds and make it beautiful for children.

It started with the closet in our dining room. That closet is our "basement" of sorts. We don't have a real one so it has to do.  In the past week I have gone through boxes of art supplies and laid my hand on all that I own. I love owning that stuff.

Then I opened a kitchen cabinet and began dragging out antique kitchen stuff that was gifted to my husband (of 80 years) when he was a little boy by a long dead sister. I just set it on the kitchen counter wondering...why?

Last night I was telling my daughter-in-law that we needed more beds.

What is going on here. I am not pregnant and there will be no baby. Do all people my age go through this need to get ready for heaven only knows what?

I wonder.

How is your life going?

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Saturday, October 13, 2018

"Declan: Just put 'em the wash; they'll be grand." movie Leap Year or How-to Fix your iWatch

I did love that Leap Year movie. There were so many memorable quips to be quoted and a darling couple finding their way to love.

The joke line I loved best of all was "Just give 'em the wash, they'll be grand." In fact I suppose I have used that line more than any other I have ever heard from a movie.
I even washed the band.
Amazing!

Why? you ask. Well, I am the queen of spilled things. Once a waitress asked me how I could be standing beside the table in a booth before my full spilled glass of milked could run off the edge.

The answer was simple enough..."practice".  There you have it.

I cannot use bleach in the wash because a good "wash" will not take bleach marks out. In fact, most cleaning products contain bleach and I avoid those too.

But this last week I found out that giving my iWATCH, of all things, the wash can repair it. Did you know that?

My iWatch would not let me use what I called the stem on the side of the watch. I later found out that "stem" is not the right term. Apple calls that thing a "digital crown" ... I have no idea why. Searching for the totally wrong term on Google really does not work.

After a bit I notice that under all the recommendations that I call the Genius Bar at Apple or a certified Apple iWatch repair shop was a website that said "Fix your Apple iWatch yourself."  Could it be possible to fix it on my own? Really wouldn't that involve taking off the back and fiddling with whatever or whoever is inside there?

Reluctantly I found the website and read the article. Maybe I could save myself a trip to the Apple store and well, more money.

Imagine my surprise when I read the very short piece that explained that removing a leather watch band and holding the watch under warm tap water while turning the "digital crown" for about 15 second would cure the problem. Could it really be that easy?

People, you read it here...my watch is shiny, looking almost new and works perfectly. How wonderful is that. It seems that giving "'em' the wash" really does solve lots of problems.

Come to think of it the watch is waterproof and can be worn in the shower. Hmmmm, maybe I could wash it more than once every 2 years.

Have a wonderful day.

Oh, and Google, it would be nice if, "self help" appeared
closer to the top of the page. It may tick off you advertisers but your users would like it a lot..

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Thursday, October 11, 2018

Stand Up and Be Counted...thoughts on President Trump and H.L. Mencken


I am sure I used this quote when George W. Bush was president and here I am again. H.L. Mencken foretold our future...again we have our "downright fool and a complete narcissistic moron".


I often wonder if we can understand what is wrong with our president and then forgive him for being...well...who he is. If he were not in charge of my world, maybe. But since he is, I am struggling to understand him so maybe I can defend myself when I stand up and be counted among my conservative friends. 

I honestly think he is a very sick man...clever, perhaps evil and very sick. In the style of others in our history that have manipulated people to do unforgivable things, he is leading even some very smart people down a path that I think they or generations to follow will greatly regret.
But what is it he is afflicted with? Is there a pattern that he follows that we can name and actually understand? I thought I knew but I needed to see it in print from a reliable source.

Then I asked Siri on my computer to see if she could help me confirm my belief.

The question was, "Siri can you tell what making yourself feel important by making someone else feel unimportant is called." She sent me over to Psychology Today to look up what a narcissistic personality disorder is. Wow, it fit like a glove.
The Mayo Clinic research group defines narcissistic personality disorder as “a mental disorder in which people have an inflated sense of their own importance and a deep need for admiration. Those with narcissistic personality disorder believe that they're superior to others and have little regard for other people's feelings. But behind this mask of ultra-confidence lies a fragile self-esteem, vulnerable to the slightest criticism.”
In an article called 5 Ways a Narcissists Compensates for their Inferiority  I found a road map to what we have all been experiencing on a daily basis that is truly driving us mad. See what you think.

The narcissist...
  1. Over inflates their sense of self by a) exaggerating with self flattering statements, b) often does this at the expense of others, c) in an effort to make others admire them.
  2. Reacts poorly to criticism with statements like "How dare they criticise me. They are a nobody (have no talent, are a bad actress, etc)."
  3. Are jealous of others. "How did they get picked. They must have cheated." 
  4. Uses manipulation to get what they want. a) gains advantage by causing the victim to feel inferior. b) bribes emotionally, c) uses deception (lies) d) acts helpless, e) is hateful and abusive.
  5. They are not able to face their real self so they do not see us and our concerns either.
I restated to my husband again today that this guy just makes me so mad EVERYDAY that it is not healthy. Oh my goodness, now I am doing research and reading a H.L. Mencken's biography. A little history always does a whole lot of good. I am often reassured by the fact that we have gone through this before and survived it. 

But, in this case, I am very afraid that we have never seen this in our country but that does not mean that another country's history has and is not being repeated here.

Sorry about this...but WHAT DO YOU SEE THAT I DON'T?

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p.s. I think we all have a little narcissist personality lurking inside. Thankfully, most of us can control it. When it becomes an illness, we need help.




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