Over the years I have found myself following Big Sis’ lead in many things (remember the photo with us both wearing the same dress😬). After all she is the older wiser sister. I was quite intrigued with her “smile at a stranger” experiment and decided to try it myself and see what happened. Here for you is a description of some of my more interesting, unexpected interactions with strangers. Cooking Things Up When I was checking out at the grocery store I smiled at the cashier and asked him what he was hearing from customers about cookware that the store was offering on a promotion. He said that he had…

One of the many things I appreciate about retirement is not having to wear makeup every day. I went from a full face – foundation, concealer, blush, eyeshadow, mascara and lipstick, to being fresh faced; at least as fresh faced as a 55 year old could be. Moisturizer, lip balm and maybe some mascara was the new regime. As the years passed and the inevitable wrinkles, age spots and disappearing eyelashes became more noticeable, I decided maybe there was something to be said for a bit of help, just to freshen the look. Nothing drastic or permanent, me but just a little brighter. Things Have Definitely Changed Of course I…

Recently our normally temperate climate experienced an unusual cold snap, complete with lots of snow and high winds. Unfortunately, our furnace chose to give out during said cold snap and our house temperature dropped precipitously. Even more unfortunate was the fact that there must have been several such furnace issues in our immediate vicinity because I was forced to wait a full 24 hours before a heating technician would be available. The final indignity? My hubby was on a golf trip and I was on my own. At first I was resigned to bravely stick it out. You know, chin up and all that sort of thing. It didn’t take…

With potential retirement on the horizon, I have started thinking about what I would do with all this new found freedom from work. I thought I should try and pick a hobby, but I am just not sure what I would be good at or enjoy, so I set out to try a few activities that might work for me. Big and Middle have been giving me valuable pre retirement advice and constantly bugging me to make a plan so I finally gave in. Here are some of my more interesting possibilities. Beauty Is In The Eye Of The Beholder When I was a young kid I doodled all the…

You may remember a few months ago, after a night at the Sleep Clinic that will live in my memory forever, I was diagnosed with sleep apnea. Once I came to terms with this I decided that the dreaded CPAP machine was not going to be in my future, no matter how loudly I was snoring. So what was I to do? What’s Up Doc? Luckily my Dentist came to the rescue. He said there is an appliance that has an 80-90 % success rate in treating sleep apnea. After I hugged him (not really but I was so happy I should have) I said sign me up. The catch…

It happened a few months ago, but occasionally it resurfaces and always brings a smile. What is “It”, you might ask? Well, I was out for a leisurely walk on a beautiful sunny day and a man approached in my direction. As our paths crossed, he smiled and said,” I just have to tell you that you’re looking great today.” I was stopped dead in my tracks…metaphorically speaking anyway. 😉I did, however, manage a rather weak “thank you” as he kept on walking. I suspect I am one of very few people who have ever had such an encounter. People simply don’t interact with strangers, and I am sure you…

We face many milestones in our lives. We can get a drivers license at 16, drink at 18 or 21 depending on where you live, and we can vote when we reach the age of majority, but nobody really talks about the other end of the spectrum – the 55+ milestone. This is the milestone that you reach when you tick the last box on a form when it asks your age. I have officially this reached this milestone, and will be wholeheartedly celebrating with Big and Middle Sis who have both been in the senior category for some time now.🤣 How Much? Things are expensive today, but as a…

We dedicate this post to our dear Auntie Lana, our most loyal reader, who is dealing with some significant health challenges right now. We love you.❤️ As Christmas approaches I start looking forward to my two favourite things, and perhaps they’re not what you might expect. No, they’re not shopping and Christmas carols, but rather, making a gingerbread village and gift wrapping. While the gift wrapping waits until closer to the big day, work on the gingerbread village starts early… In the Beginning One of our family Christmas traditions is making gingerbread houses. We started this when our kids were young and carried it on with grand kids. I have…

It was a normal Friday in July of this year. When I say “normal” I mean that I had just finished my normal workout and as usual I was a bit tired, a bit pumped and quite a bit “sweaty.” But as I made my way back to the car, I experienced a sudden, sharp pain in my left foot. This was not normal. And this is where my story begins. The pain passed quite quickly so of course I ignored it. (I read somewhere that redheads have a higher than normal pain threshold, but don’t quote me. It could just as easily be the opposite.) Besides,The Sisterhood was on…

As you may know this was a big year for me, celebrating 50 years of marriage and turning 70. I feel very fortunate to have reached both of these milestones and so, if you’ll indulge me, I think a little navel gazing is in order. And rest assured dear reader that, if you recognized the first couple of titles here as the Dionne Warwick song from the 70s, my story does not involve “a guy with a pin to burst your bubble…” but rather is a happy, grateful one. When You Fall In Love (and are married 50 years) Firstly, you are not wrong if you calculated that I was…