November Beer Garden Outdoors

This photo wasn't taken in one of your Warm-in-The-Winter states, No sir, this was a scene in Harmony, PA, a small town north of Pittsburgh. Taken on Saturday, a bright, beautiful day, it shows that people can still enjoy the outdoors here even in November, to my mind the bleakest of months.

Of course it has been raining pretty much ever since but hey, we take what we can get.

Enjoy!

Fall is Here

Now that Halloween has passed, there is no denying it: Fall is here. For some reason I am not as happy about fall and winter coming this year. Usually I don't mind as I am one of those odd people who actually likes winter, at least some of the time.

But this year, I keep wanting to hold onto the brighter colors of fall, the sunny days and the warmer temperatures. I can't do that, I know, but I still try.

Yesterday I walked at the county park, and with the November sunlight, it felt like I had been transported to another place. It was beautiful, but different from what I have seen there in the winter, spring, summer and early fall. There was an abundance of clear and bright light shining on the landscape and bare trees.

I didn't see much wildlife yesterday, but I was walking a little later in the day than usual. There were a lot of people walking, running and biking, and often we had to move out of each other's way. There were also several high school students running along the path, training for cross country meets I suppose.

Good-bye to an Old Friend

End of an Era



We recently took down my first website, Teri's Serendipity (http://www.tflatley.com/), from the web. There were so many updates that had to be made to the site that I decided it wasn't economically smart to keep it up and running. Since I still have http://www.boomthis.com/ as a place to post articles for Baby Boomers, I decided that one site was enough. I also have two blogs so I think my cyber footprint is big enough!

Before we eliminated the site, I had to go in and copy each and every article and newsletter that had been  posted there for the past nearly ten years so I could archive them. That took some time but as I saw headlines flashing by as I right-clicked over and over again, I decided that there had been some really good stuff there. I plan to go back and read over some articles to see if I can reuse them after tweaking them a bit, and also to see if the information has changed much in the past few years.

When you type in http://www.tflatley.com/, you will be directed immediately to http://www.boomthis.com/ where I hope you will visit often.

I can't believe that the Serendipity site was up and running for that long. It brought me a lot of joy and inspiration. I think I will miss it.

Free Retirement? One Woman Does It

A friend of mine directed Barbara M. Traynor my way and I'm glad she did. Barbara has found a way to volunteer in places where she really wants to be in exchange for free room and board. She is able to do this by living on her Social Security only, so this is something that we all my want to explore. An interesting option for Baby Boomers.

To learn more, visit Barbara's website at http://www.secondcareervolunteer.com/ where you will also learn about her book: Second Career Volunteer: A Passionate, Penny-wise Approach to Retirement. Also, you can check out the article at BoomThis.com written by Barbara.

Kudos to Barbara for coming up with such a creative way to handle retirement.

Bought and Paid for

A phrase from my childhood found its way into my thoughts today. I was thinking about "mom" jeans and how they are being blacklisted by fashionistas in favor of the new slender ones.

If you are a mom, aren't all of your jeans "mom" jeans?

The childhood phrase came into play on playgrounds when we caught a glimpse of someone's underwear while she was jumping rope in the required skirt. The person being teased only had to say "So? They are clean and paid for" to stop the teasing in its tracks.

I feel the same way about the negative energy focused on other people's jeans: They are clean and paid for. Nothing wrong with that.

War on Stink Bugs

Some of our stink bug tools!

I don't know where you live, but here at my home in Western PA, we are  inundated with stink bugs, or as one Pittsburgher calls them, little terrorists.

We have developed some means of getting rid of them outside, but they are still making their way into the house. Last night there was one at eye level to me on my nightgown when I reached for it. Another one inside the closet and still another one on the beam which runs across our ceiling. (I knocked this one down with my new extendable duster which has come in handy for many tasks!)

Talking with others, some say they have millions too, and others are seeing very few. My neighbor whose back yard woods runs into mine is someone who has had only a couple. We share the same woods so I don't get this at all. We do get more sun on our house, though, which is what the bugs like -- to be warm before they come inside for the winter.

Not looking forward to shaking all of my clothes out for 6 months before I put them on, which I have already started to do. June won't be here for a long while yet.

Fall Great Time to Walk

Fall has arrived and it's a great time of year to get out and walk. The cooler temps make it pleasant to be out and about, spending time with friends and improving your health.

To encourage new walkers to get moving and stay healthy, many of the libraries in Alleheny County, Pennsylvania, are providing free ten-week Wise Walk Progranms beginning this month and next. The library's partners in this program are the Allegheny County Library Association, Highmark PALS and AARP. (Please check with your local organizations. Similar walking programs are being offered in other counties, states.)

Walkers over 50 can set their own goals and walk at their own pace using a complimentary walking guide provided to each walker by the local library. Supplies, walking materials such as pedomenters and healthy snacks and t-shirts are also provided for each participant through the program.

But beyond these supplies, this program gets boomers -- and seniors -- out walking with friends, enjoying nature, exercising as prescribed by their doctors, and a no-cost way to feel better. You just can't beat that.

For more information: please ontact Denise Hughes of Highmark at 412-544-7488 or Charity Leonette of the Allegheny County Library Association at 412-921-1123 ext. 304.