Musings
About retirement… and random other things!
These blogs first appear as weekly columns in the Red Deer Advocate
Stupid stuff we did as kids
Didn’t we all do ridiculous things back in the day when we were free roaming kids in the 60s and 70s? Novels could be written about the shenanigans, but when I narrow it down to things that were downright dangerous the list gets shorter. Thankfully. When we were really little and most of the mayhem took place inside, many of the casualties seemed...
I’m grounded enough, thank you
After watching a documentary on Grounding, I thought it might be just the ticket for my old pug. The concept is that by planting your bare feet on the ground you can start to heal yourself from all of the earth’s manmade electrical energy and reduce inflammation. We have disconnected from the earth, they declared, and just 15 minutes of bare skin...
There is still great optimism in volunteering
I had the privilege of attending the ‘International Year of Volunteers’ world conference in Amsterdam in January 2001. It was a monumental event – national committees from countries all over the world were there. Amazing guest speakers from the United Nations, Kings from small European countries, and thousands of delegates gathered to ‘prepare to...
Challenge to self: slow down
My second ‘65th year challenge to myself’ dawned on me slowly. Mostly because I was rushing around finishing projects before I met my friend for dinner prior to heading over to an antique typewriter display together – before all of which I had stopped for coffee with a different friend along the way. I’ve always dashed around from task to task,...
Lessons in lingerie
I’m not exactly sure that what I purchase now is still considered lingerie. There was a long stretch of time in my life when acquiring comfortable undergarments was the last thing on my mind! I used to succumb to marketing and wore itchy uncomfortable lacy items for years. Then I discovered yoga and, in so doing, found that yoga bras are...
The hills are still alive
I was excited to pick up a copy of the recent Life magazine that was celebrating the 60th anniversary of The Sound of Music. Seeing that movie for the first time sixty years ago had broadened my tiny world ever so slightly. It was 1965, I was four years old, and my family was making a rare foray into a movie theatre to see the new Hollywood hit,...
The long and winding road to The Bay
“Meet you at The Bay” was a regular refrain for me growing up. As a young teenager it was to the Market Mall location, where me and my friends would scrutinize the make-up aisle and spritz on their free perfume samples. Then there was always a mission to some other store in the mall where someone wanted to spend their allowance or babysitting...
Challenge to self: don’t be stuck in my ways
My friend from yoga showed me what my first ‘65th year challenge to myself’ should be. When I wrote the column about spending my 65th year putting forth a little monthly challenge to myself, I started wondering what the heck that would look like and what I would do. But the very next day, my friend asked me if I had time for a quick lunch after...
Oh, how my view of aging has changed
You know when you have a spare bit of time and you devote it to clearing out one of the storage bins so your kids don’t have to deal with all of it when you die? Sounds harsh, but that’s sort of how I view organizing the clutter these days. Thing is, statistically I won’t die for a few more decades, so there’s certainly no rush. But I stumbled...