Hanging On For Dear Life...

I have flabby thighs, but fortunately my stomach covers them.

~ Joan Rivers

Yesterday while sitting in line at a car wash, I glanced in the rear view mirror and suddenly realized I am in desperate need of an earlobe lift! When did this happen? My poor (obviously) strained lobe is now paper thin and my earring is in imminent danger of literally falling through!!! Gravity, combined with many years of wearing heavy earrings has taken it's toll folks. I'm falling apart; crumbling (or should I say melting) from the top downwards. In the words of Kramer, "Don't look at me, I'm hideous!!!"

Realistically, we have to make certain concessions every few years as we age and I'm guessing my days of dangling earrings are soon to be behind me. In the meantime, I've worked out a compromise. The above are very light and camouflage my 'problem area' quite nicely. Pretty soon though, I'll be wearing stud or button earrings and then probably the dreaded clip-on, if my lobes even last that long...

Stumbling across this pic made me feel a whole lot better about my predicament. 

Angelina has obviously had to make the same difficult choice - and she's younger than me!

The thing is, I never had much lobe to begin with - you may recall I previously discussed my condition here. Woe is me, I should have taken better care of what little I had, lol!! But isn't that just the way - you never truly appreciate what you have until it's gone?!!

Makes me wonder what's next to go - perhaps some of you older readers (I'm 49 - and barely holding) would care to enlighten me. To any younger readers - quickly now, form a line - there may still be a chance we can save you!

Excuses begone!

Wednesday's word of wisdom is that it's never too late. I wasn't planning to post today, but after stumbling upon the following story this morning in my 'travels', I couldn't wait to share it with you.

Captain James Arrudra Henry only learned to read and write two years ago, now he's written his first book "In A Fisherman's Language." More amazing than that... he's 98!  Here's the link to a short bio.

48 and holding...!

Yesterday I endured celebrated another birthday. Wouldn't it be fun to go back in time to the years when our birthdays were eagerly anticipated? I truly wonder what I'll be thinking two years from now after having passed the big 5-0... I have a number of friends already in their fifties and they seem to have survived the shock!

 Here's my little pity party!

Part of the afternoon was spent in my office drinking coffee, reading, contemplating life and eating chocolate (hehe - it was my birthday afterall). We've been enjoying gorgeous weather, although we are still in desperate need of rain. To answer those who are wondering: yes, rain or shine I wear my rubber boots when I am in the backyard - that way I don't have to worry about something crawling up my leg or biting an ankle lol! 

Last night we went to a Bachman-Turner/Paul Rodgers concert. These rockers are in their 60's - Randy and Fred are actually closer to 70 - so there's a bit of encouragement for us all. 

This pic was in the Edmonton Journal this morning -

they were fantastic - I don't see retirement in their near futures.

Are gifts important as we get older? They aren't to me, but they are appreciated :) Especially when they are the very thing you are drooling over. A dear friend surprised me with this trinket box from a local antique mall - she had been with me when I tore myself away from it a few weekends ago. 

 The fronts of each drawer are slate.

They're quite deep, wonder what I'll end up storing in them?

I'm currently reading through the Harry Potter series;

perhaps some Horehound, Lemon Balm & Hyssop...

one never knows when a spell might come in handy!

Some of my birthday money was spent on two of these, my tastes are simple: rustic and used lol! 

I plan to house seasonal displays in them. 

I don't know about you, but the outside of my place could use something

to help brighten it up during the long winter months.

Here's Emma eagerly inspecting ;)

I stumbled across this new release today in my travels.

Too funny! I happen to be one of the last people in North America who doesn't have a cell phone, so I am definitely not a "texting parent". Perhaps I should get one - how am I going to remain 'hip' as I get older? Realistically though, I recognize it's probably already too late! That's okay; different priorities are now in place. You know, getting older is actually a very liberating experience:

WHEN I AM AN OLD WOMAN I SHALL WEAR PURPLE

With a red hat which doesn’t go, and doesn’t suit me.

And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves

And satin sandals, and say we’ve no money for butter.

I shall sit down on the pavement when I’m tired

And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells

And run my stick along the public railings

And make up for the sobriety of my youth.

I shall go out in my slippers in the rain

And pick the flowers in other people’s gardens

And learn to spit

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat

And eat three pounds of sausages at a go

Or only bread and pickles for a week

And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry

And pay our rent and not swear in the street

And set a good example for the children.

We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practice a little now?

So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised

When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

Cheers!

Will You Still Need Me, Will You Still Feed Me?

I came across this hilarious video on the Huffington Post today.

This couple is so cute!

I can certainly understand their confusion:

I'm much younger and most days I feel like I don't have a clue 

about how to run all the gadgets in my life :)

Love their playful exchanges - he is quite a character.

Glimpses Into a Tiny World...

This video is amazing and I love the musical accompaniment.

The above were all taken one afternoon last week.
I have really been admiring the beauty in the ordinary of late;
the stunning combinations of form, light, shadow, color and texture...

I spent the better part of this afternoon reading in my office garden shed,
the leaves are very rustley this time of year and I found I'd dozed off a number of times!

I'm now halfway through this book.

Just as summer turns to fall and then fall to winter;

our lives are also made up of seasons.

This has been a fascinating, thought-provoking read.

I look forward to reading this next.

My new-years resolution was "to actively read more non-fiction"

A resolution I'm glad I made - and actually kept.

Hoping you are enjoying a very relaxing long-weekend.

Cheers!

"I do not know how anyone can live 

without some small place of enchantment to turn to."

Tuesday greetings! I hope you're enjoying the summer and getting out there every chance you get. The days are flying by - it's hard to believe we are halfway through July already. I thought I'd start off today with a peep in my garden...

This is a small corner of my front bed - I don't have a lot of flowers up front,

preferring instead the low-maintenance of cedar, flowering bushes and grasses.

Beauty is everywhere...

Sometimes you just need to get low and look up...

A week for the pinks :)

Some flowers are just coming into bloom...

While others have already gone to seed...

This is the lane directly behind my home,

there is a field to the right and a highway beyond that.

When you're back here, you could almost swear you're in the country.

Now that it's summer, these are the shoes I quite often wear when going for a walk. I took this pic when we were driving to Winnipeg a few weeks ago. At the time I was reflecting on how much my decision last summer to stop wearing high-heels has changed my life. I am a new woman!

Yikes - does the 'D' stand for Dumb... lol!

This was a huge decision for me (I repeat, huge) and I owe it all to a pair of skinny jeans I'd purchased and then of course needed the proper shoes to wear with. Up to that point I wore only high heels: adamantly and exclusively! I would have worn them to exercise in, if at all possible... Anyways, the instant I slipped my tender tootsies into the above soft-as-butter ballerina flats, something magical happened and the evil spell I'd been under since I was sixteen was broken - it was my own personal Cinderella moment! A few weeks later I bought black leather riding boots and I've never looked back. I can now walk, talk, shop, and chew gum all at the same time: pain and blister free lol! As well, I'm way more relaxed - why I'm practically laid-back at times ;) Additionally, according to a very interesting article I read on Sunday, I'm also doing my bones a huge favor. Here's the link - every woman should read this.

Another healthy choice I've been making lately, is to incorporate more meat-less meals into our diet. (Good for us and the planet.) Here's a light, very healthy meal we had on Saturday night. Homemade hummus and butternut squash soup - two of my favorites and relatively quick to make. 

Butternut squash soup

1 lb. butternut squash, peeled and diced into 1-inch cubes

2 medium onions, chopped

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil 

1 tsp coriander

1 tsp cumin

1 tbsp fresh ginger very finely chopped 

1.2 liters vegetable stock

salt and pepper to taste

coconut milk

nutmeg

Slowly saute your onion in olive oil on low-medium heat, stirring occasionally until it is softened. Add butternut chunks and continue to cook until they also soften and just begin to lightly brown (watch your heat). Add your spices and continue to cook, stirring throughout, for another 2 minutes. Add in vegetable stock, bring to the boil, turn down and simmer covered for 1/2 hour. Mash and then blend smooth with a hand blender. Salt and pepper to taste. I add a big dollop of coconut milk and a sprinkle of nutmeg to each bowl, which tastes great and looks lovely when serving :) 

Hummus

I originally found this recipe in "The Mediterranean Diet" book, but have changed it up quite a bit over the years. Hummus is so easy to make yourself, I don't know why people buy it.

1 14 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed well 

1/2 cup tahini (sesame paste)

2 cloves fresh garlic

Juice from 1.5 lemons (the other half I use later)

1/4 cup milk (I've used cow, soy, unsweetened almond)

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon fresh parsley

In blender add the following: sesame paste, garlic, lemon juice, milk, olive oil and 1/2 of the chick peas. I use the chop feature here at first, then blend, add rest of chick peas and chop and blend until you get the consistency you like. 

Ladle into your serving bowl - at this point you can either heat the hummus slightly in the microwave (be careful, it heats up very quickly) which really brings out the flavor, or enjoy at room temperature. Drizzle additional olive oil and reserved lemon juice on top to your liking and garnish with parsley. Enjoy!

I finally got around to another chapter in The Sound of Paper. You may recall I profiled the first chapter and accompanying exercise a few weeks ago (link) This book has turned out to be one of my great 'finds' - it contains practical methods and musings designed to help discover and boost your creativity.

Try this: Set aside one hour's writing time. You may wish to take yourself to neutral territory, a cafe or coffee shop. Once there, settle in to write and to describe yourself as you would a literary character, in the third person. Describe your looks, your attitudes, your perceptions. Try to draw a clear portrait of yourself, filled with telling details. In other words, pay attention to how you are and how you are doing. 

Personally, I would find a coffee shop very distracting - I am too much of a people-watcher to concentrate in such a public arena, so I holed up in my office on Saturday and worked on this. I found it quite challenging to look at myself objectively: Who am I? Perhaps describing oneself as the person they see themselves becoming could be another way of approaching this exercise. 

I love visiting new blogs and stumbled across a very interesting one this week. In one post, Sherrie of Little Home in the Country, discussed the practicality and joys of repurposing items. I was reminded of something I'd repurposed a few weeks ago and have been meaning to show you. This concrete fountain had been languishing in my garden shed for the past five years. A few times I almost got rid of it when we were doing our annual spring clean-up, but now I'm glad I didn't. Turns out it's perfect as a planter. A few vines, some amethyst and tada! Not sure if you are aware of this, but amethyst is Ontario's official gemstone. We used to live in Thunder Bay just prior to moving out west and a 'dig-your-own' amethyst mine is located right outside the city.

That's all for now, thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a great week :)

I leave you with a very odd work of art.

If you are a Pastafarian, you are likely still celebrating this week's victory!

What's a Pastafarian you may ask?

Follow this link and find out...

Cheers!

Greetings! I receive the Posit Science Brain Fitness newsletter and find the articles in it sooo interesting. Everything health-related fascinates me, especially anything concerning The Brain and it's inner workings. This month's newsletter reports a study which indicates musician's brains have stronger auditory processing and working memory than non-musicians. Drawing on decades of musical training, the musicians had sharper hearing and thinking skills than their non-musician peers and may be at a lower risk for impediments of aging, such as some age-related memory decline and hearing problems. Learn more.

This makes me wish I had taken my piano lessons more seriously...! I tried out numerous instruments when I was younger, but only dabbled before giving up; the trick is to persevere and get in that 10,000 hours they say it takes before you can get good at anything. It's never too late though, I've read numerous articles stating that one of best things you can do for yourself as you age is learn a new skill - be it ballroom dance, knitting or another language. The important thing is that it be a completely unique challenge.

As for musicians, we've seen way too many rockers going strong far into their 60's and 70's not to recognize this study may indeed hold some merit; Neil Young, Mick Jagger, Paul McCartney to name a few. Here's two finely preserved relics, Daryl Hall (64) and Peter Frampton (61) to help prove my point. Enjoy :)

How long will you live? Scientists have recently announced that they are finally able to answer that age old question by means of a blood test, which measures how fast an individual is aging, thereby giving a true biological age. What they are looking at are Telomeres; structures on the tips of all chromosomes which gradually shorten as we age. 

The real burning question now is... would you pay to know your life expectancy? If you answered yes, you may be interested to know that an over-the-counter test will soon be available. Critics (rightly) worry that this technology will open a whole Pandora's box of ramifications. Imagine how much insurance companies would like to get their hands on this data? Or potential employers? 

The good news is that it looks like we can proactively lengthen our telomeres through exercise, vitamin/enzyme therapy and stress reduction.

Expand this graphic for a closer look at Telomeres

If interested, more here.

A recipe for you later today :)

What a difference a day makes! After our horrible weather on Thursday the sun managed to peek in and out on Friday (clear skies by early evening) and we made it to +1C. Late afternoon the robins were out in full force, industriously taking advantage of a small exposed strip of grass. Please excuse the quality of these photos, they were snapped surreptitiously from inside.

Loving the bright green grass shoots :)

At some points there were up to a dozen robins - all jostling for position!

Did you know that if you shop 'till you drop: you'll live longer? 

... I'll bet that got your attention lol!

Besides subscribing to the Posit Science newsletter, I also look forward to a regular update from Dr. Andrew Weil. Perhaps you've heard of him? He's authored quite a number of books, including Healthy Aging which I purchased a few years ago. This week's newsletter reported the rather humorous results from a nine-year study conducted in Taiwan, which showed that seniors who shopped several times a week (or even daily) lived longer than those who never or rarely shopped. I find studies like this so interesting and while I am not (yet!) a senior, I believe it's never too early to take positive steps towards more healthy living.

The investigators said that shopping may provide an opportunity for additional physical activity which is considered more 'heart-healthy' when compared to formal exercise programs. How many times have we heard it said that walking is one of the best forms of exercise? Going to a mall is at least a lot safer for us northerners than trying to maneuver our sidewalks in the winter! 

As well, the shopper may seize the opportunity to purchase more fresh, healthy food seeing as they are already out and about. I would also surmise that getting out on a regular basis could help ward off depression and alzheimer's. 

Unfortunately, except for the grocery store, I am one of those people who rarely shop retail: unless I need something and then it's in-and-out as fast as possible. Quite the departure from how I was in my twenties and thirties. At this point in my life I thankfully have everything I need and like what I have. On the other hand, I find fleamarkets and second-hand shops more of an adventure, and I'm guessing they would also qualify as long as you go often enough... so I'm thinking I'll be ok :) 

The Benefits of Walking

Even these gnomes are smart enough to get their daily constitutional!

Here is another article from the Posit Science Brain Fitness newsletter (see this past Friday's post). I will admit that I do not get out for a walk everyday in the winter. I'd like to, but sometimes it's just too darn cold and at times treacherous to venture out. I do aerobics/free weights two to three times a week though. With spring approaching, I'm looking forward to getting out once again for a daily jaunt. Besides benefiting the brain, walking can help to lower LDL ('bad' cholesterol), raise HDL ('good' cholesterol), lower blood pressure, manage type-2 diabetes, manage weight and improve our mood! (Mayo Clinic)

Walking for a heftier hippocampus....A new study on adults 55+ showed that regular aerobic activity—in this case, walking around a track three times a week for 40 minutes—increased the size of the hippocampus, a brain structure associated with memory and reasoning. They did better on memory tests, too. The adults who participated in the study were recovering couch potatoes, suggesting that it's never too late to gain brain benefits from exercise. The full article is here.

Is the Pen Mightier than the Keyboard?

The article below was from a link in the Posit Science Brain News monthly newsletter which is chock full of links to interesting articles. The website is of course selling their products, however the newsletter is not - it's just a lot of great information.

Pen Mightier Than Keyboard

As keyboards increasingly replace pens, new research cautions that the switch may come with an unforeseen price: the loss of critical brain activity central to learning that is uniquely tied to the old-fashioned act of handwriting.

The concern stems from the results of a number of experiments recently reviewed by a pair of researchers in France and Norway, who concluded that writing by hand is actually a very different sensory experience than typing on a keyboard, with each activating distinctly different parts of the brain.

"Our bodies are designed to interact with the world which surrounds us," co-author associate professor Anne Mangen from the University of Stavangers Reading Centre in Stavanger, Norway, said in a university news release. "We are living creatures, geared toward using physical objects -- be it a book, a keyboard or a pen -- to perform certain tasks."

This is evidenced, she said, in tests that reveal that the act of handwriting -- literally the feeling of touching a pen to paper -- appears to imprint a "motor memory" in the sensorimotor region of the brain.

In turn, this process promotes the visual recognition of letters and words, suggesting that the two seemingly separate acts of reading and writing are, in fact, linked, Mangen explained.

Mangen and colleague Jean-Luc Velay of the University of Marseille together reported their observations in the journal Advances in Haptics.

Haptics, the team explained, is a term that references the sense of touch and the integral role it plays in aiding people's ability to communicate and explore their surroundings, both actively and passively, particularly with regards to the use of the fingers and hands.

Focusing on the role haptics plays in the ergonomics of both reading and writing, the authors discuss the findings of a study in which two groups of adults were asked to learn a previously unknown alphabet.

Those who studied the alphabet by writing the letters out by hand performed better on all subsequent recall tests than those who studied solely on computers, the investigators found.

What's more, brain scans revealed that while learning by handwriting prompted activity in a particular part of the brain known as Broca's area, learning by keyboarding prompted little or no such activity.

The authors also pointed to another basic reason why writing may facilitate learning more readily than keyboarding: handwriting simply takes more time.

How Long Will You Wait?

Why am I so fascinated with stories of amazing seniors? Do I fear death or old age? Only my psychologist knows; and if I had one I could finally get some answers... lol! I really think I just love to celebrate that life can continue to be exciting and rewarding, no matter what the calendar says. I am 47 and truly feel that in many ways I am only just coming into the best years of my life. A few days ago I stumbled across this story of a woman publishing her poetry at 99. If that isn't amazing enough, she only started composing at 92. Of course, it doesn't have to be something as lofty as a book (although that would be fun), I am finally learning to crochet (my dearest daughter is instructing me) and am finding a great deal of pleasure in it. I think that the main thing is not to resist taking on something new, lifelong learning is important. 

"Grandma next door" poet a Japan bestseller at 99

A 99-year-old woman writing about love, dreams and hanging onto hope has touched the hearts of Japanese worn out by years of a lagging economy, propelling her self-published poetry book onto bestseller lists. Toyo Shibata's success with her first anthology, titled "Don't be Too Frustrated," is all the more surprising because she only picked up her pen at the age of 92.

"I'm alive to this age thanks to support from my families, friends, care-givers and doctors and am transforming my gratitude into poetry to tell them, 'Thank you. I'm really happy,'" said Shibata, who turns 100 in June, in written answers to questions.

Her collection of 42 poems, which include messages such as "Everyone is equally free to dream" and "Don't try too hard," has been the most popular book on the closely-watched Oricon charts for the last two weeks and was one of the top 10 sellers for 2010, according to Touhan, one of Japan's biggest publishers.

"Although 98, I still fall in love. I do have dreams; one like riding on a cloud," Shibata confesses in one poem with the title of "Secret." You can read the full story here

Wrinkles? Wear them proudly!

Looking Older Than Your Age May Not Be a Sign of Poor Health
ScienceDaily (Nov. 7, 2010)

Even though most adults want to avoid looking older than their actual age, research led by St. Michael's Hospital shows that looking older does not necessarily point to poor health. The study found that a person needed to look at least 10 years older than their actual age before assumptions about their health could be made.

"Few people are aware that when physicians describe their patients to other physicians, they often include an assessment of whether the patient looks older than his or her actual age," says Dr. Stephen Hwang, a research scientist at St. Michael's Hospital and an associate professor at the University of Toronto. "This long standing medical practice assumes that people who look older than their actual age are likely to be in poor health, but our study shows this isn't always true."

For patients, it means looking a few years older than their age does not always indicate poor health status. The study found that when a physician rated an individual as looking up to five years older than their actual age, it had little value in predicting whether or not the person was in poor health. However, when a physician thought that a person looked 10 or more years older than their actual age, 99 per cent of these individuals had very poor physical or mental health.

"Physicians have simply assumed that their quick assessment of how old a person looks has diagnostic value," explains Dr. Hwang. "We were really surprised to find that people have to look a decade older than their actual age before it's a reliable sign that they're in poor health. It was also very interesting to discover that many people who look their age are in poor health. Doctors need to remember that even if patients look their age, we shouldn't assume that their health is fine."

The researchers studied 126 people between the ages of 30 to 70 who were visiting a doctor's office. Participants completed a survey that accurately determined whether they had poor physical or mental health. Each person was photographed, and the photographs were shown to 58 physicians who were told each person's actual age and asked to rate how old the person looked.

The study, published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, provides new insights and questions into the value and limitations of a long standing medical practice of judging a person's health by how old they appear.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101105124239.htm