Life in Geezerville: Girls in the 'Hood Shopping Edition

One day this past week, some of the girls in the 'hood went to big-bad-Las Vegas to do some serious shopping. You have to realize there's not a lot of shopping near the 'hood...we have 2 "big" stores: Walmart and Smith's. Forty miles up the road there's shopping...but 90 miles down the road there's Las Vegas shopping. That's a whole 'nuther ball-of-wax.

Talking about the 'nuther ball-of-wax, we ventured into a sequin store (for lack of a better name) because the sparkly shininess caught our collective attention. Everything in the store was plastered with sequins, or "diamonds," or sparkles or shiny studs or some other sparkly substance. From colorful sequined blazers, tuxedos, shoes, boots, hats, underwear (it is Las Vegas afterall) and so much more, we were bedazzled. There were shiny, sparkly 5 inch platform stilettos right next to loafers covered in shiny barbs. The window said they were featuring spring prom dresses, but I swear, if I ever came home with a prom dress that looked like some of the ones they had, my mother would have grounded me until next week. There's absolutely nothing like the sparkle store in the 'hood!

Moving right along. we found the store we wanted. We staked out dressing rooms and filled them with possibles. We tried our possibles on, heard honest opinions and selected what we wanted. We bought some neat clothes, and one of us even went back for seconds when she found another dress that had her name on it. While our stuff was not sparkly, it fit our tastes to a tee--and we had a lot of fun.

From there we had lunch in a restaurant that actually served good food. That's another problem with our 'hood--not many good restaurants. We have the golf course cafes/restaurants, but not much more.

From lunch, we found yet another store--this time we were looking for outdoor decor items. None of us had much luck, but we looked at everything! You have to remember that Walmart, while extensive, does NOT have everything we want or need...nor does Amazon. 

By now, we were tired and started our drive home--until a voice from the back seat said "who wants ice cream?" At first I said "no" because it was close to dinnertime, but the others said YES. Guess what? I'm weak! We had ice cream--yummy-yummy ice cream. It was a good way to end our shopping adventure.

Once home, we showed off our new stuff and put it away. We didn't get all that we wanted, but we made a good stab at it. It was great to get away from the 'hood and spend girl-time together. OK...none of us are girls, but...that's as far as I'll go. We had lots of fun, food, conversation, and shopping...sounds good in my opinion. I hope y'all get a chance to have some girl-time and shop with your friends too. Remember, we're all in this together.

More Bunbies: Grant, Goldy and their baby Pip

 

Like I said in my last post, the critters keep on coming. This trio is a mom, dad and baby. Mom is Goldy--she has long eyelashes and a yellow bow on one of her ears; Dad is Grant; and their baby is Pip. At first I was going to call the baby Gino (so all their names would start with G) but it just did not sound right...then I thought of Pip, and I imagined the little bunby hopped when he heard it...and I knew that was the perfect name for this little boy bunby.

These bunbies are birthday presents for my friend in Salt Lake. 

This afternoon, two "Pocket Princesses," Aurora and Betty Blue, found homes too. The best part of making critters is seeing smiles when they go to a new home. I hope these little critters bring smiles, joy and bit of happiness too.

Meet Mattie, Aurora and Betty Blue

The dollies are taking over my house! They are fun to create. Each one ends up a little bit different from the last...and they all have a different personality. To the end, meet Betty Blue, Aurora and Mattie, my latest trio of dollies. As you know I like to name my dollies and give them a story. That's part of the creative process. But, along with the bunnies I'm making, I'm finding I have too much of a good thing. What to do with all of them?

But, I'm finding out that I'm not the only one who has "too much" of a good thing. I have neighbors who quilt and they need to divest themselves of extra quilts...I mean, how many quilts does one need. Other neighbors with creative-type hobbies are ending up with more stuff than they need too. It's sorta like, how many dollies or bunnies or piggies or kitties or quilts or paintings or photos do you have room for? What to do with them?

If you have any clues, please let me know? In the meantime, they are taking over my house.
 

Life in Geezerville: Walk on Water Edition

Photo Courtesy of Sun City

You read the title right--but that's not what really happens around here in Geezerville--we water walk...but one of my friends called it walking on water once by mistake and the name stuck. (However, having a few miracles around is a welcome addition to the 'hood....but, I digress.) Geezerville is mainly a golf community, but we have all sorts of other activities available for geezers who want to participate. While my home overlooks a portion of the 7th hole, I don't golf--but I partake in the other Geezerville stuff.

I enjoy "easy sports" and that means a visit to the Pioneer Center which is Sun City's clubhouse/rec center/community hall/gathering room/etc.--it's our place to get involved in a lot of different things. Today we saw folks lifting weights, working out on the various "healthy" machines, walking the indoor track, singing in the choir, as well as doing what most of us geezers do best--just sitting around talking to each other and drinking coffee in the large gathering space. There are about 50 clubs to join--with everything from pickleball to cameras to cards to crochet/knitting to creating stained glass delights. The Pioneer Center is our hub. It has one catch--you have to get there. You would think that everyone would go to the Pioneer Center, but they don't

Today we skipped all of the "other stuff" and went straight to the pool for walking on water time. There are at least 3 ways to get into the indoor pool. The brave way is to jump in "cold turkey" (I'm not brave). The second way is to take the 5 steps down into the pool slowly acclimating to the water. The last, and for me the best, is to take the long ramp and slowly walk into the pool first getting your feet wet, then your ankles, then your shins, then your knees, then your tummy, and when you think you can handle it, experience the whole 4 feet of water all on your own. Frankly, I want to enjoy my water walking so I gradually adapt my body to the water and it's all good. Within a few minutes the water feels warm and that's even better. We walked on water for about an hour. By then we were tired and ready to emerge from the warmth of the indoor pool. Along the way we talked to a fellow water walker who was originally from Alaska. Two folks were actually swimming laps, but we just walked on water. We did laps walking forward, backwards, and sideways. It was a good way to get some exercise, have a long friendly chat, and get to know some fellow geezers. Altogether, five folks shared the big pool. And that's normal...it's rare to see more than a dozen folks in the pool. 

So today we walked on water and had a good time. I hope you did something that was fun and healthy too. It's important for geezers to keep moving. Remember, we're all in this together.

Life in Geezerville: Sin City Edition

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Yesterday "they" let us sheltered girlz out of the 'hood to go to Sin City itself. Vegas is so different from our sleepy little community, it's hard to fathom the 2 places are only 90 minutes away from each other.

Did you know there are TALL buildings there?

And traffic? 

 even a giant sphere which flashes pictures 24/7 to distract you even more

Our little community is nothing like Vegas, but I don't think there's any place in the world like Vegas. It's bigger than life and filled with surprises not to mention people and cars and casinos and stadia -- even a pyramid. That's Vegas. While you might think of Vegas as casinos and gambling, it's far more--there's a lot of entertainment in Vegas and that's what we came to enjoy -- some good old-fashioned Vegas entertainment.

For fact, two busloads of us blithely left our quiet community, to be entertained in Sin City. As we sat in our chauffeured bus talking to our friends a mile a minute we were whisked to Harrah's Club. My little group had lunch at a sports bar in the Club then we wandered our way to the Cabaret Theater where we laughed and smiled and clapped for the next couple of hours. We were entertained. 

We saw "Menopause the Musical." 

What a kick that was. Four woman entertained us with such classic hits as "Change, Change, Change" or "Hot Flash I'm having a Hot Flash" "Can't get any sleep" -- and so much more. The musical takes each distressing part of menopause, exaggerates it and brings home the point that menopause is not for sissies. We all laughed till we cried. The show is a kick! We had a grand time.

The audience is mostly women of a certain age, and a few brave men. Everybody enjoyed the show. It was good entertainment in a tiny cabaret-type theater plopped into the middle of  big, bad, Vegas. The show has been playing in Vegas for 19 years. It's the longest running show in Vegas. It will be there next week...next year. Whatever the case, if you are a woman, (or a man) of a "certain age," you need to see it, if for nothing else than a good laugh. Remember, we're all in this together.

Meet the Bunbies

Meet the Bunbies. Like all rabbit families, the Bunbies are a rather large, growing family. They seem to increase by 2 a night--maybe more when I get really good at making them. Bunbies are cheerful bunnies. They are polite and they don't talk back. So far, the thing they like best is to hop your pocket and peak out at the world and watch people smile at them. Bunbies live to make you smile. 

They are a colorful group of critters,

Right now, the Bunbies share their home with their own little girl, Mattie and KitKat the kitty. Two nights ago there was one Bunbie, now there are five. This time next week, there's no telling how many Bunbies there will be. They seem to multiply like Tribbles. (You have to be a certain age...and a Star Trek fan to know what a Trimble is.) If you would like a Bunbie, just ask.

 

Life in Geezerville: Almost Spring Edition

It's March 6 and some blossoms have popped out. What a treat. Spring officially begins around the 21st of March. I wonder if spring is here now, a couple of weeks early. To me that's good news. That means that soon, our coral mountains and red deserts will be decorated in the pastels of spring. Then I wonder when spring will arrive at the higher elevations, as I know there's still snow on the ground there. For snowbirds, like us, we get two springs every year, and that means I get 2 allergy seasons. About the time spring leaves the desert, we're on our way to the high country where spring is just beginning.

Blossoms are so ephemeral. They last such a short amount of time...and today, it's windy, so they will be blown away before we get to enjoy them fully. Given that, we need to enjoy the blossoms and subsequent flowers even more. Spring does not last long in the desert. The Palo Verde, a tree that looks like dried sticks most of the year, is starting to feel the changing season, as the trunks and limbs are shaded spring green, like its name implies. (FYI: Palo Verde means "Tall Green" but in the wintertime, it's more like tall brown.) I have not seen any cacti blooming, but their prickles are changing color, so flowers might appear soon. Spring is in the air.

What do you think about when spring arrives? I hope it not cleaning! To me spring brings thoughts of birthdays and travel. Most of my family was born in the spring; and April and May are perfect times to "hit the road." To that end we have several birthdays and anniversaries to celebrate, and 2 little cruises planned which I'll write about later. What are your plans for the spring? I hope you have something exciting in mind. Remember, we're all in this together.

Life in Geezerville: Pinterest Edition

Meet BunBun, Mattie and KitKat. I was going to start this edition with "once upon a time" but no matter how hard I tried, I could not come up with a "good enough" story for my 3 little critters. All I could think about was how they came to be. They are all figments of my imagination...with the help of  some well placed pictures on Pinterest.

Pinterest is an app and a website that is filled with thousands of pages of pictures on just about any topic you can imagine. If you need inspiration for a project, click on Pinterest, search for your topic, and pictures will appear. More pictures than you can imagine on your topic. Needless to say, there are a gazillion pages on crochet; but if you are looking for anything from aardvarks, to cleaning your stove, to zebras, there will be a lot of pictures on your topic. I get a lot of ideas from Pinterest pages. It's my go-to place when I'm looking for ideas.

Sometimes the ideas are fantastic...sometimes not so much. When I search for crochet patterns for cats, I'll find hundreds of hits, but there is a catch. People from all over the world post on Pinterest, so there are patterns written in Russian or Chinese or Greek. Sometimes, there is not a pattern, only a picture. Sometimes, the picture is free, the pattern is not. BUT, I have a trick up my sleeve. I learned to visualize patterns and I can create my own. I look at the pictures and I say to myself...I think I see the pattern. 

Sometimes I copy the picture and I "stretch" it so I can see each stitch...then I count the stitches and start creating a pattern. Other times, I look at the picture and I take yarn to hook and make what I see. It's great fun for me, but if you should ask if I can show you a printed pattern, I cannot do that. These are patterns in my head just for me. 

That takes us to BunBun, Mattie and KitKat. I saw them on Pinterest and they popped out of my yarn and hook. I've made a lot of kitties over the last couple of years, and I've discovered Kitty is a "basic pattern" that can be modified into other "kitty-shaped" critters...and that's how BunBun came into existence. You can see they are somewhat similar.

But, there are 2 differences--the ears, the tail and the body shape--but I think you can see they are "related" (crochet-wise, that is). Mattie on the other hand is another "ball of wax." I saw pictures of little dolls and I just started to fiddle around, and after trial and error, I now have a mental pattern for a dolly.

Slowly, I'm  starting another hobby. The other day I took a class on doodling. Needless to say I went to Pinterest for inspiration and once again, Pinterest gave me lots of ideas. What fun...I still get to create the pattern, but now my imagination is sparked by what other folks have done. What a treat. The "wheel" has already been invented--all I need to do is make modification of the wheel--there's no need to reinvent the wheel. 

I always end each edition of my Geezerville blogs with a bit of whimsy or wisdom...and once again, I don't know which way I'm going to end this one. So, here goes...If you want to start a project and don't know where to begin, try Pinterest. You might find an answer--and if you don't you'll find a bunch of fun pictures, both on- and off-topic, that you can peruse and maybe, one of them will spark your interest and send you on your way to a new experience. Remember, we're all in this together.