Confessions of a Grandma

When I was working, one thing I could count on was a miserable cold from late September into October.  An advantage to retirement is that I am no longer exposed to that concentration of germs in a confined space as one typically finds in a classroom.   Colds have become a rare thing for me.  The sound you hear now is me knocking on wood so as to not jinx myself be making a statement like that. In the working days I bought tissues for the softness on my nose, but I was never immune to the look of the box.  This designer development  would indicate that I am not the only one to use tissue boxes as a piece of room decoration.  None of my tissue boxes are designer originals as far as I know, but I did think about what might go in each spot when I shopped for them. Then, of course, there is the tall, round box designed to fit in my car cup holder.  I think it would do with some design work myself, but it is convenient.  Even though I ...

We got back from camping this afternoon.  Once again, we managed to spend three days of record breaking heat in the mountains, sitting next to and occasionally dunking ourselves into a cool mountain pond  I'll write about the experience later.  I've had a chance to get a pile of laundry done (almost), dispatch the truly monster weeds in the vegetable garden, and pick pounds of tomatoes and cucumbers.  I froze a gallon of stewed tomatoes, but I just don't know what I'll do with the cucumbers.  I read the newspapers to catch up on the latest doings of Washington, tea party people, Earl, and skimmed through the back log of blogs I follow.  Tomorrow it's pack up once again and head to Connecticut for a family reunion--so I'll miss Justin Beiber at the Champlain Valley Fair.  Right now, I'm pouring myself an extra large ice water--HEY, HERE'S AN IDEA...DROP IN A SLICE OR TWO OF CUCUMBER--and go watch Project Runway, which holds a strange but compe...

Linda, in A Slower Pace post, mentioned the need for changes in make-up as we age.  This is something I have been thinking about.  I've given up (finally!) the hopeless quest to find that magical product that will erase wrinkles and age spots, returning my visage to a former youthful glow.  Looking young is for young people.  The thing is, I never was much of a make-up user--a dash on of mascara and maybe a dusting of powder or a tinted moisturizer.  Now, if I don't feather on some eyebrows it looks exactly like I have none, but mascara just serves to emphasize my sparse eyelashes.  I think I'm better off without it.  I can definitely see that I need a little lipstick, but I cannot seem to remember to put it on. Then, of course, there is all the information about changing clothing styles as we age. This seems harder to do than the make-up thing--probably because I would have to actually have a style before I could change it. I rea...

I was interested to read the post "Style--You Must be Kidding" in A Slower Pace . I picked up a copy of Dress Your Best: The Complete Guide to Finding the Style That's Right for Your Body by Clinton Kelly and Stacy London, the duo who does the TLC show, "What Not to Wear." Yes, I admit that I watch that show on occasion and when I saw the book at the local library, I checked it out and have spent some time skimming through it. Now, Stacy and Clinton, it seems to me, do not seem to fully understand that the metropolitan New York life style and fashion demands do not necessarily translate to life in, say, rural Vermont or retirement living near the beach in Florida. I have never in my life been to an event that required a cocktail dress or anything like a formal, full length gown, so the emphasis on "evening wear" just goes over my head. On the other hand, the styles that they picked out to flatter different body types really did show flattering fit. I...