Geezers @ Sea: Barcelona Edition

The geezers might have had great plans to get off the ship today and look around Barcelona but sleep overtook us. The nap was good and very much needed. 

So, we saw Barcelona by the ship and we saw the ship by Barcelona.

We found the infinity pool and neighboring hot tub. We were told the pool was COLD but the hot tub was perfect. We found the indoor/outdoor pool and neighboring hot tub too. We had plans to visit one of the hot tubs, but you already know what happened. In the spa there is an ice-tub...we had no plans to visit that.

We looked at the yachts parked nearby. Now that's the way to travel...but since we are not gazillionaires, the Viking Jupiter will have to do.

Unlike many of the ships that ply the oceans, the Jupiter is small--965 pax. In port we were "parked" near a Royal Caribbean mega-ship, the Allure of the Seas. Jupiter looked like a toy boat next to that 5000 pax-er. We might not have as much real estate but we have Scandinavian Elegance. 

Scandinavian Elegance is clean, light, spare, and calming. There's no extra noise on the ship. During the day there is live piano music; at night there are all kinds of music venues. In addition to music, there is food. Lots of food. Lots of drink. Lots of places to sit and relax and enjoy the ambience. Viking Jupiter is a nice place to be and it's a good little home for the next couple of weeks.

Geezers @ Sea: Flight Edition

A wall of glass and metal at Heathrow 

"They" let some geezers out of Geezerville this week. Four of us are now in Barcelona awaiting a high seas adventure around the Mediterranean and North Seas. It will be a good time. Of course, the hardest part is in the details. Consider some of our details: 4 people, 1 electric wheelchair, 1 walker, and 2 "normies" who can't walk long distances anymore. Before we left the ground, we were asked "How much does the wheelchair weigh?" And, "How much does the walker weigh? Since we were at the airline counter that was equipped with a scale, I said, put them on the scale and weigh them...but that was the wrong answer so we guessed at the weights. Logic, was thrown out the window. Would you believe we had to answer the same exact questions in Heathrow? The info was not filed away I guess???

The long flight from Vegas to Heathrow was very nice. We were seated a sweet little cubicle (BTW the airlines have the audacity to call it a suite)  with a TV screen and thousands of movies, TV shows, games and tunes to keep us entertained during our flight. Along the way we were served 2 meals. I had mystery chicken for dinner and a strange English Breakfast with Irish bacon, tasteless tater tots, and a vulcanized scrambled egg. Breakfast did come with a delicious fruit plate so all was not lost. BTW the coffee was lousy.

At Heathrow we were dumped (I mean we exited) at gate 37B with no assistance from the handicap helpers. The flight attendants took mercy on us and were able to get us the help we needed. We were frustrated the whole time we were at Heathrow. Gates were not posted until 5 minutes before boarding...not normally a big deal, but we are 4 people and 2 sets of extra wheels and it was a big deal as we could not plan. We finally left the quagmire of Heathrow and landed in Barcelona.

The "traveler's nickname" for Barcelona is Bark. We landed in Bark and the wheelchair brigade was wonderful. They picked us up, whisked us through the airport, collected our luggage, got us thru endless hallways till we were handed off to the folks from Viking, who took us to the cruise port and our ship. It worked as it was supposed to work. Kudos to Bark!

By the time we arrived at the cruise terminal, there were no other geezers waiting to board the ship. In fact, the check-in folks were expediting us through the hurdles. We checked in and walked about a mile (I exaggerate only a little, but it was a long way) to get to the ship. We were given the life-jacket lecture, told about muster stations and then we were free to find food. We hadn't eaten since we had English Breakfast on the plane. 

We dragged our tired and hungry bodies to the dining room. The waiter seated us and gave us our napkins, and brought out fresh yummy breads and cooling sparkling water and wine...we could finally sit down and relax and enjoy a good meal in peace and quiet. We toasted each other on surviving the adventure of flying while handicapped.

We've not had time nor energy to explore our digs for the next 17 days, but we have17 days to do that. After we found our rooms and unpacked, we crashed on our soft white beds...it's time for a good night's sleep in Bark. Tomorrow we might (or might not) explore Bark before we sail away to our next port of call in Spain. 

Life in Geezerville: It's Good in the 'Hood Edition

Geezerville is a special place. As I was driving to town this morning I looked at the folks walking their dogs or riding their electric bicycles, going uphill no less or driving their golf carts....all going about their business on a sunshiny day. Folks were playing pickleball. Others were golfing, while the resident geese were honking their expert advice to the golfers.  Once again, I thought  how wonderful it is to live in this little community. It's a pretty great place. The community is active. Folks are kind and helpful and we get along with each other well. Does it get any better? 

The answer is YES! Just ten minutes later, waiting for my appointment to start, I search my pocket for my car key and it's not there.  It's not in my purse either! That's when I realize I did something silly--I left it in the ignition of the car and locked the door. My car is a perfectly wonderful 22 year old Jeep Liberty, named Libby. Libby is great for going around town, but she lacks a few modern conveniences and today I needed one of them. Libby uses an old-fashioned KEY to be started. She does not have a fancy fob that sits in my purse sending a signal that does everything from starting a vehicle to setting off an alarm. Libby has a key and a small fob for locking and unlocking the car and that's it. I did not have a way to get into Libby and I could not get home. What to do?

Normally, the other DrC is with me, and he has his key, but today he stayed home. How to get that key? It sounds easy...but there's a fly in the ointment. When I left he did not have his hearing aids on, so if I call him, he would not hear the phone. That's when I called one of my friends in the 'hood and asked her for help. She has a key to my house in case there are problems...and I had a problem. She lets herself in and finds the other DrC and tells him about the issue. He gives her his key and she takes it to my appointment. I use the key, get into Libby and sure enough, the key is in the ignition. How great is that!

So this will never happen again, I had a spare key made this afternoon. The new spare will open a locked door (but it will not start the car) which is just what I needed. The spare now resides in my wallet. I will have my own spare key from now on. This is good. 

What is better? Having a friend in the 'hood who is willing to drop everything and help me out. That's the best. I know how lucky I am to live here. We help each other out! What a place! What a friend! Remember, we're all in this together. 

Life in Geezerville: Trip Edition

 No...this is not about a trip but a TRIP...there's a difference. One is a lot of fun...the other is tripping over something and falling down. I had a TRIP the other night and it was NOT any fun.

It all started with plugging in my iPad. Not a big deal. BUT, the cable somehow got caught between my foot and my sandal and that was a big deal. By the time I realized that the cable was caught I was starting to fall. The fall happened in slow motion. I was aware of everything that was going on and I was desperately trying to fall ON the bed to cushion the blow. Instead I missed the bed and fell hard on the floor.

This house has a slab foundation. The whole house has a solid surface floor covering called "Luxury Vinyl Plank." Well the LVP is not soft and the cement underneath is not soft, and I slammed onto the floor. I landed on a knee, a shoulder, an elbow before hitting the rest of my body on the floor. I turned over and started wiggling different parts of my body to see if anything was broken and yelled HELP hoping the other DrC would hear me. He heard my scream, and came to my rescue. I was pretty confident I had not broken anything as nothing was so painful I couldn't move it (unlike the time the doctor accidentally broke my ankle...I knew immediately it was broken).

Imagine a beached whale. Now imagine that whale trying to get up on 2 artificial hips without dislocating them? All the while in pain? It's not a pretty picture. Between the 2 of us, we figured out a way for me to get off the floor. It was over. The aftermath was a big bruise on my knee, an achy shoulder and a laceration on my left forearm (I must have hit something but I don't know what). 

Since this was right before bedtime, it took awhile to calm down and get to sleep. The next morning I could barely move. I played wounded slug and took it easy assessing the damage and found a silver lining. I had NOT broken anything. I know I have age-related low bone density, but it must be dense enough not to break. That's good news. The bad news is I still tripped. Bottom line, don't get caught in cables and fall. Remember, we're all in this together.

Life in Geezerville: Anniversary Edition

On Valentine's Day I wrote about getting engaged. Seven weeks later we were married on a Saturday that was the first day of Easter Break. We thought we had a very unique wedding date, where we could have a honeymoon during Easter Break instead of later. Turns out the date was not that unique. Over the years, we've met a lot of couples who were married on the Saturday before Easter/Spring Break too. It's a good idea! 

The only hitch with the date was I had to get my report cards finished before we left. My principal let me take Friday afternoon off so I could finish them. By the end of the day, the report cards were done and I left school on time. It was a busy day. 

Today was not hectic at all. The hardest part was getting dressed up.The other DrC even wore a tie! We celebrated with friends at a nice restaurant in town. Next week, we will celebrate again on a cruise from Barcelona to Oslo. You know us, we gotta keep moving!

The last 54 years have gone by quickly. We wonder where the time went? We tried to fill the time well, and I think we've succeeded. To that end, we wish our married friends a happy anniversary too. Remember, we're all in this together. 

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.

Life in Geezerville: Hummingbird Edition

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The following was told to me by Karen...a special friend in the 'hood...and I hope you are touched by the story as I am.

It starts on a typical morning with Karen walking into her garden to see if the hummingbird feeders need to be filled, when she sees a tiny hummingbird on the ground, belly-up. She's sure the little bird is dead, so she goes into the house for a tissue to wrap up the bird. As she picked up the colorful little bird, it moved. Karen said to the little bird, "You're alive! Would you like some water?" 

She carefully wrapped the hummer in the tissue, making a tiny nest,  and brought "her" inside. Karen was convinced the bird was a girl, as she was super tiny. Karen put a drop of water on her fingertip and gently put it onto her beak. The bird moved her tiny head to get some more water and Karen continued to give her drops of water. Soon the bird looked at Karen and started to move some in the tissue. 

Karen placed the tissue with the bird on her counter and started talking to her in a calm, soothing voice and the little bird responded by moving back and forth. Then, Karen turned her head away from the bird, and suddenly she flew out of the tissue and toward the light of the window, but she fell to the floor. Karen told the little bird that she would take her outside and lo and behold, the bird let Karen pick her up in her hand. Karen said the tiny bird weighed less than a penny it was so light. 

She brought the bird back to the garden and placed her on the "hummingbird bush" (the bush the other hummingbirds like to hang out on). Karen thought the little bird would fly away, but she stayed on the bush for several minutes, all the while Karen talked to her. Finally, she stretched her wings and flew away. 

Can you imagine holding a hummingbird in the palm of your hand? Can you imagine dripping water on the hummingbird's long beak? For a bird that's smaller than a second and faster than light, Karen touched a hummingbird--and the hummingbird touched her too. What an amazing tale to tell.

When Karen told me this story she said that was the second time she had saved a hummingbird. That's so special. 

Hummingbirds are native to the Americas. They are brave, long distance flyers, with an attitude...that's how they survive...and every so often a friendly human helps one out. That's the important part--helping out. Remember, we're all in this together.  

Life in Geezerville: Going to School Edition

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Today I went back to school--and I was not the teacher. Like most teachers, I'm not a good student, as teachers are used to being in the driver's seat. Today I was a good student. I was learning a new skill and I enjoyed the process. You might wonder what I was doing? Well...I was doodling. Don't get me wrong,  I've doodled  most of my life, but this was different. I was learning how to make my doodles look good and interesting...like the sample above...something my doodles have never done. 

Our group is named "Desert Doodlers" and our teacher is a fireball of energy and talent. I went with 2 other women in my 'hood...and the three of us had a grand time. There were about 20 other women in the class in addition to us 3 newbies. Our Instructor, took us in hand and gave us a private lesson overviewing what had been taught in previous sessions. We learned about shape, shading and form while having a good time. We not only learned the basics, we were given an assignment, which we have one month to complete. In the meantime, we've planned some practice sessions in the 'hood. We want to do our instructor proud.

I had fun learning something new. Doodling is certainly out of my milieu. It's definitely not writing an academic article, nor is it crocheting.  It's about time I started doing something different. Doodling with the Desert Doodlers is going to be fun. To that end, if you have an opportunity to learn a new skill, go for it. Not only is it good to get out and meet new people, it's a chance to learn a new skill. Doodling seems to be great fun. Remember, we're all in this together.

Life in Geezerville: Valentine Edition

 

Fifty-too-many years ago, the other DrC and I became officially engaged. He had asked me to marry him before February 14, but--that was the day he gave me a diamond solitaire engagement ring. I knew a ring was coming but I did not know when, so I was surprised on that very special Valentine's Day. 

We had shopped for rings and decided upon a particular diamond for me, and a special wedding ring for him. I did not know what my ring would look like, as he was going to design it. When the ring arrived, it was not what he planned, but he gave it to me with the proviso that we would take it back and get it "done right."  So, we took the ring back the next day, and had it remade to his design. No matter what--WOW! I was officially engaged to be married. 

At the time, I was teaching elementary school and all of the kids at school were so excited to see my new ring and hear of my new status. I don't think they had ever had a teacher get engaged before. It was a special event. The hard part was HE wanted to get married ASAP and I wanted to wait so I could plan an event. Turns out we got married 7 weeks later, not a lot of time for planning. It was a busy 7 weeks but everything got done on time. 

Since then, we've spent a lot of Valentine Days together. Does it get any better? So, on this Valentine's Day, I wish my hunny a Happy Valentine's Day...and I wish you and your hunny a Happy Valentine's Day too. Love does make the world go round. Remember, we're all in this together.

Life in Geezerville: Pink Tutu Edition

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Many years ago when I was a university administrator, I found lots of things about the job wonderful and controllable...but there were "things" or "people" I had no control over...and they were annoying. When one of them "went off" there was not much I could do. This was more than stressful because, like so many other people, I like to be in control. In an effort to reduce that stress, I learned biofeedback which has continued to be an important tool in my tool belt. 

Derek, my biofeedback teacher, was calm and patient with me. In every session, he outfitted me in a set of electrodes on my head and a thermometer between my thumb and index finger. He would have me visualize ways to relieve stress when I was confronted with an annoying and uncontrollable situation. The most effective tool for ME was to visualize the "annoyer" in a pink tutu dancing a merry ballet. It was an absurdly ridiculous visualization, but it worked. All the electrodes connected to me would twinkle light blue and my temperature would increase (indicating calmness) when I thought of that annoying person or thing dancing in a bright pink tutu.

Nowadays, I'm not dealing with lot of annoying people, but I learned there are things I can control and things I cannot control (like the news?). If I cannot control what is happening, I visualize that "thing," being person or object, wearing a bright pink tutu doing a pirouette. It does the trick every time. That visualization takes my mind off the problem, and makes me think of the tutu, and voila I calm down. I learned how to fight the battles I could win...and the others were not worth fighting. 

It took awhile to find the pink tutu...there were other visualizations that Derek recommended like a favorite location, or a magical moment, or a favorite person or car...but the absurdity of the pink tutu did the trick. I'm a believer in the pink tutu.

So, if you feel that things are spiraling out of control, find your inner pink tutu. It just might make things better for you. For things you can control, you can take other actions...but, when stuff gets out of your control, find your inner pink tutu and start visualizing away. It works for me. Remember, we're all in this together. 

*copied

Life in Geezerville: Funnies Edition

Sometimes I see funnies (which other folks call memes) that strike my funny bone. Here are few of them

Need I say more? I bet you know a few of these zombies

 

There seems to be an app for everything, why not the toilet?

It's good to be multilingual? 

This is the truth

Hahaha

A cat lover knows this is true

...and I'm still not asleep.

A little laughter makes things a little easier. I hope you enjoyed them. Remember, we're all in this together. 

Life in Geezerville: Super Bowl Edition

Guess what? The geezers in the hood are having a pre-Super Bowl party. That's what geezers do....we love to party. There's going to be food and drinks and fun warm-up games to play and did I say there were going to be lots of snacks, and lot's of talk as we get in the mood for the big game on Sunday. That Super Bowl party will be even bigger.  Our pre-party is on Saturday night....and I have a confession to make...you have to be ready for this... ... ... I'm not a football fan. I know, that's almost unAmerican to say, but it's the truth. I know about sports don't get me wrong, but my life does not revolve around sports. Am I the only person out there who is not a true sports aficionado? Am I lacking something in my DNA? NO. You might think that's kinda sad, but it's not. Football just does not float my boat.

Will I go to the pre-party? Yes. Will I stay for the action? NO. I can't do it. My back can't handle the pain nor can my brain. It's not entertainment for me. I will love the party...just not the game. I'm a geezer and I'm old enough and brave enough to say that. I don't like seeing people inflict pain on each other for the love of football. I don't understand it. Gees...I think I said something really weird! Can I say stuff like that? I just did...and it's all right. Remember, we're all in this together.

Zion 2.0

The glory that is Zion. Around here you see names like "Crimson Desert" or "Coral Dunes" or 

"Red Rock Canyon" -- because that's the color you see. The huge mountains are shades of red, gold, tan, brown, white, and pink. Many of them are splashed with  black or white desert varnish, adding definition  to their rocky forms, making the reds deeper, the golds shinier, the whites whiter.

The mountains caress the sky...and in the winter, that sky is a wonderful clear blue. See that white patch in the middle of the picture--that's a frozen waterfall. It's that cold right now. On the west side of the park, there's not any snow, but there is snow on the east side. It's cold outside.

That's just one of the frozen falls in the Canyon

The tip of the "Great White Throne" can be seen here...part of the color of the place.

Later in the day, we went to Springdale, UT. In 1973, the first time we camped at Zion, we stayed in a very small 4 space RV park in what was then a tiny town. The Blue Moon campground was named after an old Blue Moon trailer that served as the office for the campground. We liked that little camp except for the ants--thousands of ants wanted to invade our little motorhome--one of the "joys of camping." We learned, and the next year we brought ant spray and were not bothered by them. I mention this, because we can't find where that campground was located. Springdale has changed from a sleepy hamlet to a tourist spot. Blue Moon CG was near the border between Springdale and Zion. Today, that same spot, is a very nice "tourist" mall with a market, gift shops, galleries, museums, paved "trails" a parking lot, etc. Very civilized and a far cry from "ant-camp" of over 50 years ago.  But, we did see something that harkens back even farther in time.. 

One of a pair of Mexican ox-cart wheels displayed outside the market. Long before we came to Zion as children, goods were hauled in two-wheeled ox-carts pulled by either one or two oxen. I see an artifact like this wheel, and I wonder about its "story?" What it hauled, what it "saw," who made it, and who worked the oxen?  I will never know, but I can imagine.

Some parting shots of Zion...our time in this gorgeous red rock canyon is coming to a close for this little vacation as we are leaving soon.

We had a great (little) escape!

 

Zion National Park

We are at Zion National Park in southern Utah. It's a magical place. It's one of nature's cathedrals. Peaceful and beautiful and one step toward heaven. It's that good. Because it's a National Park, it has not been over-developed--but it has been over-loved. In the summertime, this place is alive with people and more people...but in the chill of winter, it's a quiet park with a few folks and lots of gorgeous red rocks.

I love this arch...as there's an old native cache hidden in it. Every time we come to Zion, we look for the cache and wonder what the ancient ones hid inside of it. It's high on the cliff and not easy to get too, so I'm sure it was protected from animals invading the yumminess inside. Can you find the cache? Stretch the picture and you might find it on the left hand side of the arch. Happy hunting.

One of our favorite walks in the park starts here and goes to the Narrows of the Virgin river. It's a mile long and filled with beauty. When you are here, plan to walk the Narrows Trail. It's relatively easy and you won't be disappointed.

Hidden in the back of forest was a lone deer dressed in her winter coat. We saw about 6 deer--all are dark brown and shaggy...they get swallowed into the background and are hard to find...but if you look carefully you will see a ear twitch or a jaw munch on something...and then you'll see the deer hiding in the brush keeping safe from the tourons.

The Virgin River flows thru the park and this time of year it is frigid. There were patches of ice on the riverbanks telling us it was not a good place to take a hike. One of the good things to do in Zion is look at the mountains and listen to the babbling river.

I've been coming to Zion since the early 50s, and the other DrC has been coming since the late 40s. We've seen the park thru the eyes of a child, teenager, young adult and now as seniors. The scenery always amazes us. We think of Zion as an "upside down Grand Canyon." At the Grand, you look at the canyon from the top--it's truly grand but way too much to comprehend. At Zion, you are at the bottom of the canyon looking up and it's easier to understand. These mountains are HUGE and we people are Teeny-tiny. The mountains are painted with desert varnish and the colors change to the time of day and the season. The park changes and yet it never changes. It's just a wonderful place to be.