Ham balls are a Midwest holiday tradition. And maybe an acquired taste. The first time a friend from Iowa tried to describe the deliciousness of ham balls, I nearly threw up in my mouth. I could not imagine that mixing ground ham and ground beef with graham cracker crumbs would be anything but disgusting. Yet […]
Holidays are happier (but maybe not healthier) with ham balls Read More »
The arrival of autumn signals a fresh season of scammers. Besides their greed, this cadre of low-life scum has become much more sophisticated in the past few years. Maybe we can blame the pandemic for putting us on our phones and computers in our quest for connection through social media. Seniors seem more susceptible to
It’s scam season and seniors are often targets Read More »
I know I’m finally recovering from double knee replacement surgeries this winter because I’m regaining my morbid sense of humor. I asked my husband today, “What happens to new knee joints when people are cremated? Does titanium melt?” He thought for a minute and surmised that what doesn’t melt in a crematorium is pulled out
My new knees will outlive me, or things to put in your pre-need funeral plan Read More »
Goodbye to sexy: A short course in shopping for elder-wear After months of isolation during the initial days of the pandemic in 2020, guess what my radar settled on for that first shopping trip in a mall? Underwear. Elder underwear I was so exhausted upon returning from the big bra expedition, I had to take
Goodbye to sexy: A short course in shopping for elder-wear Read More »
Blogger’s note: According to folks posting on a gardening site I follow, it’s time for the invasion of Japanese beetles again. I’ve learned a lot since this post was originally written. No longer do I use pheromone traps to keep the nasty critters away from my flowers and veggies. And about those green tomatoes I
Pandemic gardening: Beetles and green tomatoes Read More »
My first eyebrow wax “How about an eyebrow wax today?” “Say wha…?” With my head immersed in the salon sink, those words offered casually by my stylist were a total shock after a relaxing scalp massage during my bi-monthly color and cut. She must have been taken aback by the look of pure panic above
Living life at large at 71… Read More »
Yesterday’s double-take headline Thirty-eight percent of Americans would give up sex for a year, just to travel again. And 80 percent of us feel that travel is part of a well-rounded life. Wait a minute! Did I hear that right? Yesterday’s newscast headline made me stop in my tracks and investigate the soundbite in detail.
Would you give up sex if it meant you could travel again? Read More »
We said goodbye to my cousin Larry this week. Covid-19 did not do him in, but it sure did a number on his funeral plans. Those of us who knew and loved him watched the family drama unfold. I vowed to record the story for posterity and to maybe help others who have to bury
Savor the family stories: Handling grief and funerals during a pandemic Read More »
A Facebook post on the last day of 2020 hit me hard. Still in pandemic holiday mode, my husband and I were sitting on the loveseat together, getting ready to escape into another mind-numbing Netflix series. A scant 15 minutes prior to casting the show to our family room television, I had shared news of
The death of a community newspaper hits home . . . and hard Read More »
Do we all need to do a reset on our defaults? Just when we got a little more comfortable in our living rooms, they rearranged the furniture. The metaphor here refers to digital technology…you know, the stuff we’ve become addicted to and rely on now to keep us from total isolation. And ignorance. But digital
How to preserve your sanity while keeping up with digital technology Read More »
