Mid-Summer Days

It's no news that most of the country is experiencing a sorching, sweltering heat-wave; and here in the South is no exception. Most days are around 100 degrees, so I stay indoors during the worst of the heat - shutters/shades and doors closed. While I prefer an open, sunny house, this is necessary to save on the power bills. Fortunately I had a small air conditioner installed on my cat's sunporch but only run it during the worst heat of the day; otherwise, I keep the windows up with a big fan on.

Being inside has one advantage: I've been working on my past novels, planning to post those online at Amazon at some point. It's amazing how rereading my first novel brought back so many happy memories; I remember how I learned as I wrote, the characters taking over and my surprise at how easily the words flowed. I've reworked this novel, "The Dark Fire" many times; it's nothing like the first rough draft, but still the same storyline. Therefore, I've been busy.

I decided the only way to keep my yard mowed was to get up very early, mow before the heat of the day. I got up at 5 AM this morning, was mowing by 6 AM and had it done by 7:30. It was humid, and I still got sweaty-hot, but nothing like the terrible heat of later day.

Every afternoon I let the cats outside to prowl, and yesterday afternoon, I took some photos. Here's their adventures in pictures (click to enlarge):
 


           Shadow stalks a squirrel on the ground nearby...

                Bitty Kitty watches closely, interested...

          The squirrel suspects something is going on....

 
          A mocking bird squeaks and squawks at the cats

  

 
         Slinky is oblivious, scenting something in the grass
                (Look at those dry, dead fallen leaves!)

         
               Squirrel retreats to the fence, just in case....

                     All's well that ends well...Shadow didn't get the squirrel!

And this is my fresh mown lawn this morning!

What else? Not much happening here due to the extreme heat. Everyone hibernates during the day (even kids!) and tries to get anything necessary done either early in the morning or very late afternoon.

Climate change, anyone?

Guest post: 10 Great Hobbies for Retirees

You have all this free time on your hands, now what?  Take advantage of your open schedule and spend your time cultivating hobbies that are not only fun but bring with them a sense of joy and fulfillment.
Art
Now is a time in your life when you actually have the extra hours in the day to focus on technique and creativity.  If you are interested in the visual arts, you have the time, and hopefully the money, to spend on taking a few classes, learning the techniques necessary to feel comfortable expressing yourself visually.  Creating your masterpiece will help keep your thinking sharp as art uses both the left and right sides respectively, helping you to exercise it completely.
Exercise
Hiking, kayaking, and swimming are all excellent forms of exercise that have fantastic benefits for the mind and the body.  Seniors should make hobbies of physical activities that require rhythmic activities because it helps the brain stay sharp by keeping it working.  Finding activities that can be done outdoors will help to reduce the risk of depression by getting you outdoors and out into the sunshine.
Gardening
Gardening is a therapeutic hobby that can produce some excellent and beautiful results that one can continue to enjoy for some time.  Also, there is a sense of pride and accomplishment that is felt when you see your flowers or vegetables growing.  An added bonus to this particular activity is having fresh cut flowers to enjoy and brighten your day, or being able to cook and enjoy fresh organic healthy food you have grown yourself.
Volunteering
Spending your free hours volunteering at the library, your local YMCA, community center, or animal shelter is a great way to spend a few hours of your time.  Programs that depend on their volunteer support often suffer when there is a lack of dedicated souls to help them maintain their vision and bring their services to the community.  Not only does volunteering help your community, but while doing work that benefits others, it is therapeutic to you as well, and is an excellent way to get out of the house and develop new relationships.
Going back to school
Now that you have all this free time on your hands and a little extra cash in your pocket, it is a great opportunity for you to take a course or two at your local community college or university.  Did you ever want to learn about anthropology or did you want to maybe learn to speak Spanish or French?  Now is your chance.  Take advantage of your open schedule and further your education.
Extreme sports
In a time when nearly everyone at every age is working on creating and checking off their bucket lists, seniors are being encouraged to participate in more extreme sports than ever before.  It is almost common place to see a 60 or 70 year old bungee jumping or water skiing these days.  Why not, what an exciting and exhilarating hobby to have, you can guarantee it will never be boring.  Just be careful not to push yourself past your physical limits and risk injury.
Traveling
If you are lucky, by the time you are considered a “senior,” you will have a small bit of expendable funds that you may be able to designate towards traveling.  I suppose through your lifetime you have accumulated a list of places you wish to see at some point or would like to visit.  Traveling is a fantastic hobby to have ads it will continue to teach you and challenge your mind and spirit as you experience new cultures and people.
Dance
Dancing is a classic sport and is great for the soul as well as your physical well being.  The fact that it is an activity that requires focus, memory and attention to rhythmic activity will help to keep your mind sharp.  It is also a great way to meet other people with similar interests, and learn about other cultures as you study different styles and their history.
Cooking
There are few hobbies that are quite as satisfying as cooking.  There are always new developments in the culinary world and its technology, and it is a field completely dependent on creativity, so there is no limit to what you can do with food if you have the time to try.  You can also share the fruits of your labor with your family and share your love through your food.
Crafting
There is a new trend in upcycling and crafting these days, and this particular hobby provides you with the wonderful opportunity to turn your hobby into a small business by selling your items on sites like Etsy, or simply using what you create to decorate your own personal space.

George Shaw works with nursing homes in California to keep retired seniors happy, active and healthy.

Worst Times, Best Times

The is the latest I've ever written a year's end review...but this time I do have a reason. I was sick, sick, sick for a couple weeks, starting on New Year's Eve night. It was my first illness since late DH died, and while truly awful, at least I learned a lot about how to cope alone. The main lesson was not to wait till I'm too sick to get myself to a doctor, which is what happened. My sisters had to take me to Urgent Care.

I'm not sure how a stomach virus caused such consequences for me, but according to the doctor at the Urgent Care, it's a bad virus and many people here have had it. I became almost dehydrated, and that caused a separate issue. Alas, I'm better now -- well enough that I actually took the dogs on a long walk today.

As for the past year, it was one of the worst in my life since we had the EF4 tornado that destroyed most of my neighborhood. Fortunately, the damage to my house/property wasn't as bad as many surrounding homes. But it's been a long year since last spring, and I really dread the onset of tornado season this year.

As for the best news, I qualified for my late DH's SSI...and the first check should be deposited this month. I'll be glad to have that extra income, and I'm hoping to save most of it.

Because the tornado so overwhelmed everything, it almost seems as if nothing else occurred. I know it did, but honestly, nothing stands out enough to even write about it. With the exception of getting reacquainted with my grand-nieces-nephew and enjoying their company more often. That's been rewarding and fun. I hope it continues this year.

My dogs are well, my cats are well. That is something I'm grateful for; they truly enrich my life every day.

Now for a few photos of our Christmas family gathering:

The baby is my newest grand-niece; my other grand-niece that visits is next, and that's my nephew's wife and nephew watching the baby rip into her many presents!

This is my grand-niece showing off her "Fijit" robot doll; she loves it!

Oscar showing off his new sweater, standing by his & Rambo's other presents.

Rambo sniffing the present with some treats in it!

Rambo in his new sweater; he doesn't like wearing clothes as much as Oscar.

Oscar recently after a long walk, snoozing in the sunshine on the back porch.

Oh, I've lost 6 pounds since that stomach virus. NOT a way I'd recommend losing weight, but I needed to lose a few pounds so my clothes wouldn't get uncomfortable.

And that's about it for now. Not much of a year end entry, but since it's delayed, about the best I can do now.

Life in November

Bad as I hate to admit it, seems I can only update this blog about once a month. Lately it's not even that nothing is happening, I just can't seem to get in the writing mood. And oh how I always loved writing; it was the heart and soul of myself. I'm not sure how it came to this: rarely any writing. I guess it's due to not "just doing it" ... instead of procrastinating, writing in my mind, not onscreen or paper. Wish I could promise to do better, but the older I get, the fewer promises I make to myself. Life is just happening...without many plans by myself.

To give you an example: My nephew's wife and my two grand-nieces have lived near me since I moved back here. I would sometimes see the kids out playing, stop with the dogs, talk and then be on my way. I always invited them over, but they never came by -- except when the tornado struck, they did check on me. Part of my hesitancy and theirs was probably due to the fact that my nephew is divorced from A., and with due cause (he got seriously messed up on meth). A. has since developed a good relationship with a very nice guy, and they are planning to marry soon. They have been living together for a year or so, and he brought his two young children to live with them.

At any rate, several months ago, my grand-niece, S., started dropping by. At first she only stayed a little while, but then gradually she came more often and stayed longer. She is ten, so it was like getting acquainted with this entirely amazing little girl with her own unique personality. We'd never been very close, and I became more and more intrigued. Anyone who knows me would be quick to tell you I'm not overly fond of small children...say, less than seven or eight. And infants, uh, no...just never had that particular mothering gene. Still, over the months, I've grown fond of S. and her sister, H., as well as the other two kids, age eight (girl) and (boy) nine. Oddly enough, S. and I never run out of things to talk about. She's a little chatterbox, and of course, ever the writer, I have a million questions to ask her. This whole experience has been truly remarkable, and something I never expected -- knowing my loner tendencies. And though I have no idea why, S. seems extremely fond of me; her mom says she talks about me all the time. As I stated, I don't plan, I'm just going to roll with this...see how it progresses as I visit them and they visit with me, share activities together.

One weekend recently I invited all the kids over for a movie. I made popcorn, gave them each a piece of chocolate candy with fruit drink and we all watched the movie on my big-screen TV. It was a revelation for me during the children's movie, since they all like "Big Foot" and were quick to assure me that he is REAL! And most important, it was fun.

I've just returned from several days with my sister in Huntsville; had a great time. We took the dogs to the "Galaxy of Lights" on the "bring your dog" night. Mostly they sniffed every inch of the path, marking here and there, trotting along with the many other dogs. Beautiful lit Christmas attractions, friendly crowd (dog owners always friendly with each other!), unbelievably mild night, light wind...perfect.

The second day my sister and I took the dogs to a wilderness park near their home. Even though we knew rain was predicted, we thought we had time to get in a walk...but about halfway along the path, it started to rain. At least it was unseasonably warm, and it just made us walk faster and put the hoods of our rain-jackets up. Here's a couple photos of the park:

Look at those dark clouds...we should have known it was about to rain!

This is the path, truly scenic area.

Some photos of the dogs at my sister's house:

Oscar covered himself in this old quilt we had put across the car seats!

Rambo takes over the softest chair!

We had our family Thanksgiving a day early, met at a local restaurant and enjoyed the food without actually having to cook it ourselves. None of us really like cooking, so since mother died, we opt for a restaurant. It was nice get-together, and our last living uncle (mother's youngest brother) was able to be there; he lives in Arkansas.

I do cook sometimes however, and here's a recent veggie pizza with homemade crust I made:

Here's some photos of the cats on the prowl late one afternoon in the backyard.

Bitty Kitty on the garage. She'd just been stalking a squirrel in the tree.

Slinky stalking the grass...

As seen above, my two indoor cats continue to thrive. I don't often let them out into the backyard, but before it started getting dark so early, I would sit on the porch and read while letting them roam in the yard. The stray cats I feed are also present and accounted for. While I was away on my trip, I got the neighbor guy to feed my cats and the strays (couldn't let the strays go hungry!)

This is my backyard in mid-October before the leaves fell, and after I had a damaged pine cut. The top of the big pine was wrenched out during the tornado, and had I not gotten it cut, beetles would have taken over.

A recent foggy morning in late November.

I've got quite a shopping list this year for Christmas, but haven't bought a thing yet. I know what I'll be doing in December.

The new Sheriff has declared that this year the Sheriff's Rodeo (in a couple weeks) will be dedicated to my late husband as a Memorial. I'll be there for the opening ceremonies, of course. Late husband got the rodeo started, so it's only fitting he be remembered. It raises a lot of money for the Sheriff's Department too.

I guess that about rounds out the latest for November. I'll turn 60 next Saturday, hurrah! Contrary to how many people feel about hitting 60, I'm just happy I made it to this age. After all, the doctors told me at age 25 I'd never live to see 30. Shows how much doctors know, ha!

I'm outta here!