Information and Inspiration for the Solo Retirement Community
Sherry
Sherry L. Christensen is a retired high school teacher. She designed and built this blog site to inform and inspire others in an effort to build a community of solo retirees. You can reach her at livingliferetired16@gmail.com.
Baby boomers are expected to retire later and live longer than previous generations.
By Emily Brandon| Staff Writerfor U.S. News & World Report,Feb. 12, 2016
“Senior editor Emily Brandon tells you how to get ready financially for retirement and to make your golden years the best they can be.
Baby boomers, the unusually large generation born between 1946 and 1964, are entering their retirement years and reinventing what it means to be retired. A recent Urban Institute data project examined how retirement is changing in America. Here’s how retirement for the baby boomers will be different from the generation that came before them.
I love the outdoors, especially the Colorado outdoors. I am blessed to live within an hour of the Rocky Mountain National Park since hiking is one of my favorite hobbies. I feel closer to God when I hike and, besides the exercise and sense of accomplishment, I feel at peace. The following article may give you a reason to enjoy some outdoor therapy:
…a walk in the country reduced depression in 71 percent of participants…
Photo by Dennis Smith / Reporter-Herald
The peace of wild places makes us happier, healthier
By Dennis Smith, Loveland Reporter-Herald
January 4, 2017
“I don’t know how many other outdoor lovers feel it, but I’m sure most do — even if they don’t recognize it for what it is. ‘It’ is the peace of wild places. And, in my opinion, the grandest form of emotional and physical therapy.
The subject came up on a deer hunting trip to the Platte River bottoms in eastern Colorado last month, but invariably, it comes up almost every time the boys and I hit the open road to go hunting, fishing or camping.
And it always comes up just about the time we cross into that zone where the signs of civilization begin to thin and where mountains and trees, deer and elk, or farms and ranches, cattle and coyotes begin to appear and the nerve-grating cacophony of cars, trucks, train horns, shopping malls, traffic signals and city lights vanish in the rear-view mirror.”
Dennis Smith is a Loveland outdoors writer and photographer, and his freelance work is published nationally. Smith’s Home Waters column appears on the first and third Thursdays of the month. He can be reached at Dsmith7136@msn.com. Reprinted by permission.
Uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain in the center of your chest. It lasts more than a few minutes, or goes away and comes back.
Pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach.
Shortness of breath with or without chest discomfort.
Other signs such as breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness.
As with men, women’s most common heart attack symptom is chest pain or discomfort. But women are somewhat more likely than men to experience some of the other common symptoms, particularly shortness of breath, nausea/vomiting and back or jaw pain.
If you have any of these signs, call 9-1-1 and get to a hospital right away.
We’ve all seen the movie scenes where a man gasps, clutches his chest and falls to the ground. In reality, a heart attack victim could easily be a woman, and the scene may not be that dramatic.
‘Although men and women can experience chest pressure that feels like an elephant sitting across the chest, women can experience a heart attack without chest pressure,’ said Nieca Goldberg, M.D., medical director for the Joan H. Tisch Center for Women’s Health at NYU’s Langone Medical Center and an American Heart Association volunteer. ‘Instead they may experience shortness of breath, pressure or pain in the lower chest or upper abdomen, dizziness, lightheadedness or fainting, upper back pressure or extreme fatigue.’
Even when the signs are subtle, the consequences can be deadly, especially if the victim doesn’t get help right away.”
Since I have taken a break from dating and don’t have a special romantic valentine this year, I focused my celebration of Valentine’s Day instead on my family…specifically, my three grandchildren (ages 5, 3, and 1).
First, I purchased age appropriate Valentine’s Day cards and stickers for my grandchildren. They love getting mail. I mailed the cards through the Loveland, CO Chamber of Commerce Valentine Re-Mailing Program. The program volunteers stamp this cachet on the envelope before mailing it out:
travelinginheels.com
Next, I purchased 10″ chipboard hearts, 2″ chipboard letters and two cans of spray paint from Hobby Lobby. I wanted to mimic the hearts which hang from the light poles lining the streets of Loveland each year. I painted the hearts and attached them to a tree in my front yard. I had fun picking out the cards, stickers, and making the Valentine hearts. No regrets about not having a special valentine this year. I have three!
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My grandkids made me construction paper Valentine’s Day cards. They are precious!
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You don’t have to have a romantic valentine to celebrate this great day of love. I think this year’s Valentine’s Day has been one of my all time favorites because I can feel the love.
Please share your special time with your significant others this Valentine’s Day in the comment section below. I’d love to hear from you.
We’ve all heard of giving a loved one roses, a box of chocolates, perfume or cologne, jewelry, or even a stuffed animal for Valentine’s Day. But have you ever heard of giving a loved one a purely practical gift for Valentine’s Day?
I had been divorced for over four years when I started dating again in my 40’s. It was not something I looked forward to but my daughter and friends were persuasive. I signed up for eHarmony and answered all of their probing questions while enjoying a glass of wine to make the process less of a chore. I was hopeful.
Proper exercise not only helps weight management, but also with blood sugar, mental health and more.
“You are probably aware that approximately 70 percent of American adults are overweight or obese. However, you may not know that almost 70 percent of our adult population are presently attempting to lose weight through dieting. It would therefore appear that dieting alone is not an effective weight loss strategy, and research clearly supports this observation by concluding that dieters who maintain weight loss are rare exceptions.
Weight Management
The problem with dieting is that it results in both fat loss, which is desirable, and muscle loss, which is undesirable. Muscles are the engines of the body, so muscle loss is always accompanied by metabolic rate reduction, which invariably leads to fat regain. So what is the solution? Strength training. Dieters who do 20 minutes of resistance exercise (weights, pushups, pull-ups, etc.) twice a week concurrently lose fat and gain muscle. Our weight loss studies have demonstrated that dieters who perform basic resistance exercises lose about 8 pounds of fat and add about 2 pounds of muscle over a 10-week training period. Therefore, people who want to attain and maintain a desirable body weight should follow a sensible diet plan and perform regular strength training.”
In 1955, when I rode in his black, Fairlane Ford on wet, dark, hilly Berkeley streets, Bill swerved and lurched the car when yellow/green cat eyes darted across city streets.
And this was before seat belts.
Every Sunday evening, he gave a ride across town to a black musician. These were years when such things were not done–when minds and municipalities were still segregated.
After our wedding, Bill worked so I could finish college.
Who could not love a man with such a generous soul?
