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.

Taking Care of Mom at Home

The Summer of the Ice Cream
By Guest Blogger: Henry Peter Gribbin

I am a home health care giver. I left my job and my life to take care of my 88 year old mother. She is riddled with arthritis and dementia, but she is a fighter, and over the course of these many months we have dodged many bullets. We are a team, and we manage.


Our main enemy is time. I try to fill in the hours the best I can. I try to overcome her sense of uselessness by devising little projects she can do. We also go for long rides whenever we can. For instance, every Sunday at 1 p.m. the two of us head out on the road. We started doing this in late spring of last year, and at the start we tried to go to the highest ground across the city trying to find the best views. As summer came on we changed our mission to find the best ice cream stand the city had to offer. I called our quest the "Summer of the Ice Cream."

But these little projects can only fill so much of the day. Like I said time, or too much time, is our enemy. We are lucky in that we have a big front porch. Our house sits atop a busy roadway so in the spring, summer and fall we utilize it to its full extent. Neighbors and family sometimes drop by to visit, not often enough for my liking (everybody is so busy these days, or so they say). But it is the winters that weigh down on us, and Pittsburgh winters can be long and hard. One can only do so many puzzles. One can only read so many books. But like I said, we are a team, and we manage. My only hope is that the next winter is a mild one.

After the Party

Following a fundraiser that featured polo matches, all that is left of the party at one of our local parks are white chairs and tables, waiting to be picked up. Gone are the ladies with their de riqueur garden hats, and the men in -- well, whatever it is that men wear to polo matches.

I walked by these party remnants today and thought they added a nice architecutral air to the otherwise rolling green hills at the park. I am guessing that as soon as these items are stored away that the county workers will begin installing the huge light displays for the annual light show at the park. Millions of lights will glow into the night from November to January to the delight of carloads of people. The holdiays seem like a long way away on this beautiful fall day.

Hangin' with My Buddies

These sea gulls look pretty relaxed as they each take a fence post to rest on at the beach. I have a feeling they are talking about how soon the warm weather will be gone and they will have to fight to keep themselves warm.

Our weather lately went from 95 and hot on Saturday to being in the 50s on Monday and Tuesday. Big change, but then big changes are coming. It's been raining off and on for four days with more to come. Can't help feeling that the last hot days are gone and we are headed into the cool part of the year at a runaway pace.