Create your own masterpiece

The blog was in the paper today! Thanks, Tim! I found out while I was painting pottery. One of the ladies who was waiting saw the article and asked if it was me! Poor Cindy, who was in the blog in the paper, was with me. It was a surprise to her! She had the grace to not be too shocked or upset then. We picked up Andrew to take him to lunch and I read it to her in the car. She SAID she liked it. I hope!

I am on vacation this week. Really spending too much time running around rather than staying home and relaxing. I did join Cindy for some mother-in-law/daughter-in-law bonding time today. (Okay, so we've known each other for years - she just became my daughter-in-law 6 months ago.) We went to Uniquely Yours Pottery & Glass. It is a nifty store in the Pavillions shopping center. One wall is lined with samples of all the different pieces you can choose from. There are quite a few painted items to give you ideas. I especially liked the platter that said "Everything tastes better with cat hair in it." So true in this house!

We wandered around looking. I had picked out two Christmas items and then as I went to our table, I spotted the kids items! WHOA! They had the cutest things! I chose a monkey to paint. :-) We chose our colors and got set up at one of the tables. We spent the next two hours painting away. Being somewhat of a perfectionist, I suspect I would have been there until they closed painting and repainting spots where I went "outside the line". It was quite a soothing time!

The store is really quite charming. Besides the displays, they have a section with tiles of colors available. They have high and low tables with placemats in case you spill. The ladies were very helpful asking if we needed anything, adding more colors when needed, finding me a toothpick for those tiny spaces! They also offered a variety of drinks while we were working. What a delightful place to be! Best of all, I found out they offer a SENIOR DICOUNT! You get 15% off on Tuesday and Thursday. (Just my luck we went on Wednesday!) I was thrilled! Visions of all the things I can paint have been dancing around in my brain....

If you are a closet artist or a wannabe, try your hand at painting something. The concentration will keep your mind off your troubles, you'll enjoy the atmosphere and you end up with a finished "masterpiece." I can't wait to see mine!

Tomorrow is the holiday - have a good one!

Sleepy Sunday

Sunday is always a mixed day for me. It's the day to do laundry and dishes and all that stuff but it's also the day to watch movies and read my weeks worth of newspapers. Been subscribing to the Journal & Courier for years. Besides getting the news and - best of all - the comics, I also get the sales ads and coupons. Food prices are up and apparently coupon cutting is getting popular again. There are always quite a few each week for products I use. Watch the store ads, too. Macys often has percent off coupons in the paper. Hobby Lobby and Michaels have them in the Sunday paper on a regular basis. Many of the restaurants have inserts with coupons and you can also find them in the Friday entertainment section. Target, Kroger, Kmart and the drugstores periodically give you a gift card if you transfer or bring in a new prescription. Lots of ways to save money! I think I save more than my subscription costs most months.

Anyway... My friend, Pam, wanted to go out to dinner. Olive Garden sounded good. I love their spaghetti and meatballs. We shared some pumpkin cheesecake and it was heavenly! Only one bad thing - I asked about a senior menu or discount and they don't do that. Too bad! I might go there more often if they did.

My friend, Carol, emailed with the tip of the day. Kohls is offering seniors an extra 15% discount on Nov. 26th.

I ate all those carbs and am falling asleep now. So my sleepy Sunday ends. Hope yours was just as nice as mine! Take care!

Friday Giggles

One of my coworkers stopped by laughing and said she had to share what she'd just done. She was going to do a screen print of a page of information and wanted to cover up her salary so the other person couldn't see it. So she stuck a sticky note on the monitor..... Really!

I can't make too much fun because I well recall the time when I had to change my work password while I was on vacation. I emailed it to my work address just in case I got to work and couldn't remember what it was. Hello! How did I expect to sign in to get it out of the mail? It took me until that morning to realize what I had done...

It's Friday - yay! Hope you had a good week. Take care!

Sing like no one can hear you!

While on the scenic route last Sunday I had the joy of watching Cindy sing along with the radio. She really really likes "Chicken Fried". If you know country music and the song, you understand why. It has a refrain that just begs you to sing along. "I like my chicken fried, cold beer on a Friday night..." The more she sang, the more she got into it - it was a blast watching her!

I can't say a word because I know just how Jimmy Buffett likes his cheeseburgers "...with lettuce and tomato, Heinz 57 and french fried potatoes, big kosher pickle and a cold glass of beer..." When that comes on the radio, the volume goes up and I am happily singing along! Toby Keith's "Shoulda Been A Cowboy" is another favorite.

Singing is a great release! So why are so many of us hesitant to sing in our cars lest the people around us think we are nuts? Who cares? I bet they will smile watching you and who knows? Maybe they will sing, too! I have to say that it is quite funny to pull up alongside someone and realize you are both singing along to the same song on the radio. We need to do that more often!

So having "Chicken Fried" stuck in my brain since Sunday, I met my friend, Jo Anne, for dinner at Kentucky Fried Chicken. I'm trying to find out all these discounts so I asked if they offer a senior dicount and was told yes. They don't post it but if you ask, they will give you 10% off! Excellent! Again, this was a local KFC so check yours to see if they do. I guess the lesson learned there is it never hurts to ask!

It's almost Friday which means it's almost the weekend. YAY! Hope you all are having a good week. Take care!

Taking the Scenic Route

Today being Sunday and a decent day - no rain! - I was invited by my two favorite people to go on a ride for lunch and shopping in Crawfordsville. I can't identify them as they said they'd sue me for defamation of character but let's just say I've known one his entire (including prebirth) life and the other one just came into the family 5 months and 3 weeks ago...

Many years ago I had a near death experience driving on 231 when a box truck decided to swerve into my lane. Ever since then I have moments when that road just freaks me out! Today was one so they humored me and we took the scenic route. Took about 15 minutes longer but we got to see small towns, winding roads, and lots of farmland. They decided maybe the scenic route wasn't so bad. Really! In Indiana you would be surprised at what all you see on the scenic route - gas tanks painted like pigs, giant gorillas on top of car dealerships, 8 feet tall pumpkins... One of my favorite spots is on SR 32 between Lebanon and Carmel/Westfield. There is a spot along the road where I'm assuming a former farmer has filled his yard with colorful farm equipment and sculptures. He (she) is always adding something new. In the last year or so we've seen a dinosaur hatching from an egg, a tree filled with hearts, a pterodactyl (hope I spelled THAT right!) and more. It is always fun to drive by and see what's new. You might get there faster on I 65 but you sure won't see half as much as you do the back way.

Isn't that what our lives should be like now? Slow down and enjoy the scenery! It's much more relaxing and a lot more fun!

Didn't get any discounts today. We did support some local businesses. Johnny Provolone's is a pizza place with the best appetizer! Called Provolone Puffs they are like mini rolls with garlic and cheese melted on top. Yummy! Across the street is the store "Whatever". They are filled with unique, thoughtful, funny and colorful items. You'll have a blast just reading all the magnets and notes! They are having a storewide 20% off sale right now. A perfect excuse to get some Christmas presnts and a few goodies for yourself!

Hope you enjoyed your weekend. Have a good week!

The Joy Is In The Starting

I love to do needlework especially needlepoint and cross stitch. Well, I should say I love to START needlework projects. After many attempted projects that never quite got done or - horrors! - never made it past the first 100 stitches, I've come to a conclusion. The joy is in the starting!

It's so much fun to gather all your pattern books and magazines and look through them until you find the perfect picture. Next you need the supplies - fabric and floss or yarn. I have a large container full of floss colors. Not sorted - stop shuddering you organized people! It is a soothing hour's work to go through all the different colors looking for the ones I need. In the end, I usually need to go to the craft store to buy 2 or 3 that I am missing. What a great reason to add to my collection!

If you are someone who always has to finish a project, stop and ask yourself if you are really enjoying it. If not, stop and pass it on or donate it. Life is too short to spend time doing things you aren't enjoying!

Take care!

Need extra cash? Try eBay!

Even though gas is amazingly cheap now, so are many of our retirement funds. =:0

One of the things that I have done for 9 years is sell on eBay. I'm sure most of you are not as fanatical about it as I am but it can come in handy if you want/need some extra cash. Got stuff around the house that you no longer need? Someone out there may want it.

Getting started is pretty easy. You'll need to have a scanner or digital camera for pictures but that's about all the equipment you need. Go to www.ebay.com and check out the seller advice. They walk you through all the details in fairly easy to follow instructions so you can get going pretty quick. Start out slow and get a feel for it. Once you havge an account you can look up the selling price of items like yours so you get an idea of how to price yours. Buyer pays for shipping unless you are shipping free. And don't ship until you are paid! Pack carefully - that is really important. I have moved away from breakable items for now just because they are so much more difficult to ship.

Check into the USPS priority shipping rates - they offer free packaging materials if you ship priority.

As with any sales you will get some crabby customers. But the majority are wonderful and I myself enjoy talking to them. I have heard some sweet and silly stories about why they bought an item and what they did with it once they got it.

I recommend it to anyone who is willing to put in the time and effort!

If you are in Indiana or some of the other midwestern states, today's discounts are from stores that are more typical of this area. My son saw a sign announcing that Marsh groceries has 5% off on Thursdays. Rural King has senior days every few weeks (watch for their ad or check in the store.) Gordman's also has senior day on a regular basis.

Hope you all had a good Monday! Take care!

A High School Musical

Last night I went to see a high school musical. No, not that one - a REAL high school musical. The Catholic school nearby put on "Crazy For You". It's a musical with Gershwin tunes that you probably know but don't know the origin.

I went because my favorite starlet, Hannah, was one of the Follies tappers. She learned to tap for this role! As did many of the students. They also learned many dances and it seemed they learned to do an awful lot of pratfalls. This show had a large cast, large sets and a relatively small stage. I really thought I'd see some minor catastrophes when they all got on there dancing away. I did not. They sang, danced, tapped and did goofy acting to fit the parts. Why some of the male parts had to be played by females because they didn't have enought guys to fill them!

Watching the students on stage showed what a talented group of kids could do. Okay, not all of them were as talented... there were some missteps and missed tunes. But they made me want to get up and tap! I left the school feeling happy and cheered from having watched a fun two hours with silliness, dancing and loads of smiles. Before I left I stopped to hug Hannah and tell her she did a great job. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Cost of tickets was $5 in advance or $6 at the door. Intermission had cookies and pop or water for a free will donation. This is my senior tip of the day - support your local high school(s) and enjoy a night on the town for little cost. Go with an open mind and don't expect perfection. As I told the friend who went with me, criticism is not allowed but laughing (between the two of us) is part of the fun!

Hope your day is quiet or fun - just what you want it to be. Take care!

Bugs Bunny Bandaids on my Butt

Talk about regressing...

Along with my normal aging health changes, I suffer from fibromyalgia. This started in my 30s though - not a senior ailment. If you don't know, fibro is usually diagnosed in part by testing a series of trigger points or tender spots on your body. Two of my worst are at the base of my spine.

Yesterday I saw my rheumatologist - one of the "good" doctors. Gentle, thorough and with a dry sense of humor. We talked about options to handle the pain and one thing I asked about was shots in trigger points. He said he could do that and I'm all for relief of some of that lower back pain. So after my exam, he had me bend over the examining table. He told me the shot would have a painkiller and cortisone and could cause a reaction or infection. You know - all the stuff they HAVE to tell you. All of a sudden he pressed on one of the tender spots. Remember the old fashioned receipt holders that look like a giant nail pointing out of a block of wood? It felt like he jabbed me with one of those! I jerked up and he said "Now you have to stay still or I will have to mark this again." Guess he was drawing on me.... Anyway, he pressed on the other side and I was good and stayed bent over but have to admit I almost cried.

Next came the actual procedure. He said "I am going to put some stuff (okay that's my term not his) on you to make the area numb." I'm not sure how to describe it - maybe freon escaping from a can? A blast of snow from an artificial snow machine hitting you on your butt? At that point I said "Gee, I can't remember the last time I had this much fun!" Then came the needles - at that point they were low on the pain scale. Once he was done with that he wiped me off and said "I'm giving you Bugs Bunny bandaids." I said "Bugs Bunny? COOL!" I'd been bent over, poked, frozen and jabbed. I probably should have asked for my lollipop but hey, Bugs Bunny bandaids on my butt was pretty darn exciting!

Nothing like an exciting event to make you feel young again!

For today's tip on discounts I have to refer to one of the ads I saw on my own blog. It was from Hartford about auto insurance. I entered all my information and it came up with a quote. The quote was about $160 a year cheaper than what I have now. Not bad! It is for AARP members so again, if you are in AARP, you get many bonuses. Go AARP! Keep watching out for us seniors!

Take care and happy Friday!

Health Insurance

I seem to be having a run of misunderstandings with my insurance company lately. I had PT a few months ago. I went to a place that had just officially split off from its original group. It's still part of the parent company so I was certain it was in-network. Well, try explaining that to your insurance company! We have gone around and around on this one.

The owner said they were trying to get it straightened out and to not pay the bill until they did. Guess what? Yesterday I got a letter saying I was overdue and pay up or go to collections. Sigh. I called and explained what was going on to the person on the phone. I said I had talked to Dave. She said "Well, he's a therapist - he can't say anything." I told her actually he is the owner. Then she told me that the onwers and doctors have no say about their billing. This got weirder and weirder. She did finally get me to the insurance person who assured me that yes, there was a problem and it was being resolved. Sigh.

I don't know if insurance companies are getting tougher or things are so complicated that it's hard to get it all right! How about you?

If you like reading my ramblings, please sign up as a follower. There is a box on the right hand side of the page. That way you can find me again! And I'd sure like you to!

Today's senior discount tip: Golden Corral has Senior Special weekdays between 2 and 4 - reduced prices and a free drink with your meal. Such a deal! And great food at that buffet! Again, always check your local site - not everyone follows the same policy.

It's hump day! Hope you are having a good one!

Take care!

Knee replacement

Are you thinking about or have you had knee replacement?

One of the other things I do is run a support group called TippecaKnees. The web site is www.tippecaknees.org

The site contains questions and answers about knee replacement from the patient's perspective. It also has some helpful links to other web sites and a couple of recommendations for books to read. The Brugioni book is VERY helpful!

Knee replacement is a scary thing but it's really not too bad. It makes such a difference in your life!

Take care!

A 500 Mile Road Trip and a GPS named Tillie

My friend Ann and I are avid "thrifters" - we LOVE to find bargains! We've been wandering central Indiana for a couple of years and decided to branch out. We checked for some key stores on their web sites, printed maps, reserved a room, gassed up and headed out for our first long adventure!

Ann borrowed her son-in-law's GPS. He gave us a short training session but it was the first time either one of us had used one. He had programmed "her" to speak in an Australian female voice. Shortly after she began speaking, we decided she needed a name. Being Australian, we decided a good name would be Matilda - or Tillie.

We followed Tillie's instructions until we got into Cincinnati and started shopping. We quickly learned that Tillie didn't tell us which way to turn out of a shopping center until we got on the road. It was always a 50/50 change we would get it right. Tillie soon began informing us she was "recalculating" and began to tell us to "Make a U Turn" on a regular basis. We weren't sure if Tillie knew the local laws regarding U-turns or not.... We hit 10 stores, two restaurants and a gas station that first day with Tillie ably getting us everywhere we had told her to take us. Of course we learned she has some eccentricities such as not recognizing obstacles or lack thereof. We arrived at the stop sign in front of our hotel only to be told to make a right turn. We said "Sorry, Tillie, but it's right in front os us and we're going straight!" (If you have a GPS, do YOU talk to it? It's kind of hard to resist....)

Day two brought more fun with Tillie as she recalculated and ordered us to make U-turns on a regular basis. One of our early favorites was when we went to find the Joe's Crab Shack where we planned to eat lunch. She took us through the scenic route of Louisville down to the river. Eventually she informed us that we had arrived at our destination. We looked and looked and saw no Joe's. Tillie kept insisting that we turn right into our destination. Talk about confusing! We began to turn in right angles (at street corners...), still completely perplexed. About the time we pulled over to ask a friendly couple if they could help us, I saw the big "JOE'S" up ahead. Apparently Tillie didn't know Joe's was on the OTHER SIDE of the park and not right there on our right. Tillie wasn't recognizing curbs and strips of grass between us and our destination and kept insisting we turn right to get there. Good thing we were having too much fun enjoying her!

One of our final challenges was on the way home. Apparently she'd been programmed to get us there by what she thought was the fastest way. Once we got close to home, I pulled out a paper map and said "No, if we stay on this road, we can get to our next two destinations and head home from there." We got to where we were supposed to turn eagerly anticipating what Tillie would do. We passed the turn and Tillie quickly said "Recalcualting". Then she began to try to save us with her "Drive 200 feet and make a U-turn." We were betting on how long it would be before she gave up. Seemed like a mile or 5 times - whichever came first.

As we approached home, we jokingly said that Tillie was no longer speaking to us as she had had to tell us at least 42 times to "Make a U-turn" and had probably had to recalculate at least 75 times! The GPS was certainly a wonderful tool in getting us around unfamiliar territory. We figured without her, we never would have been able to cover 500 miles AND hit 24 stores, 4 restaurants, 2 gas stations and the hotel in 2 days. If you have the patience and humor to work with its quirks, it is a delight.

For those of you who recognize it, I called her "Lola" for about the first quarter of the trip. For those who don't recognize it, I highly recommend watching Robin Williams in the movie RV. It is a hoot!

One last thing for today.... the discounts. I learned that Hampton Inn gives a discount to AARP members - ours was about 11%. Perkins Pancake House and IHOP both have senior menus which are smaller, sometimes healtier and cheaper than the regular menu.

Hope you are enjoying a peaceful Sunday! Take care!