Granny basketball

Just ‘cause we’re old, don’t mean we can’t com-pete,
And moving keeps us up u-pon our feet.
We still can pass and guard and shoot and we can e-ven score,
But we just don’t look good na-ked a-ny-more.

–Joyce Kitson, from the song We Just Don’t Look Good Naked Anymore
Granny basketball
Photo from Granny Basketball website

According to the official website of the Granny Basketball League, Inc., granny teams began forming in 2005.  Now, there are “more than 450 players on 41 teams in 10 states:  14 teams in Iowa, 9 in Kansas, 5 in Texas, 3 each in Missouri and Oklahoma, 2 each in Minnesota and Wisconsin, and 1 each in Louisiana, Virginia and California. New teams are continuing to form.” My youngest sister plays on a championship Iowa team. I never knew granny basketball existed until she started playing.

A very good player in high school, my sister started playing granny basketball a few years ago in her 50’s. The team she plays on, the Cedar Rapids Sizzlers, won the 2022 National Granny Basketball Tournament.

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She shed structure’s progress – window view

It has been nearly two years since I began my she shed project at my mountain cabin property. The she shed structure’s progress has encountered several road blocks along the way. That first summer it took several months, instead of days, to improve the build site and complete the custom designed Tuff Shed properly. Last fall, improvements to Sherry’s She Shed were halted due to the Cameron Peak wildfire evacuation. Then, winter set in. Now, I’m back at it with some help and the she shed structure’s (say that three times fast) progressing again.

she shed structures progress
Adding a window view, Photo by slc

I recently hired a family friend and master carpenter, Matt Tanner, to install a window I purchased at Home Depot last fall. I asked him to install it with the bottom sill about 32″ from the floor so my desk can sit right underneath it. Matt also added 2″ x 4″ bracing around the small windows on two sides of the shed. Little did I know at the time, but I saved a ton of money since I purchased the materials last fall. Building materials are now outrageously expensive.

she shed structures progress
Added 2×4 window blocking, Photo by slc

Once Matt finished installing the window and bracing, I was able to complete the insulation installation. Finally, the she shed structure’s progressing and now it has a window view.

she shed structures progress
New She Shed Structure with a Window View, Photo by slc
she shed structure's progress
Window View, Photo by slc

neighbor's rubbish pile
Neighbor’s Rubbish Pile, Photo by slc

P.S. A hiccup I’m dealing with now is the neighbor’s new rubbish pile on their property but is also near the entrance to mine:

Traveling solo in Van-Geaux

Traveling solo has been around for years. Many articles and books have been written about it. Tour companies cater to the solo traveler. Senior solo travel expert Janice Waugh of Solo Traveler World “…estimates that probably 75 percent of solo-traveling seniors opt for a tour, but there are certainly some who choose to explore completely independently. ‘I think that as long as you’re fit and healthy and adventurous, then it works well,’ Waugh says. ‘Those who go independently, it’s very interesting to see the response of the world to them. It’s very welcoming.'”*

traveling solo
Cyndy Miller-Hughes and Van-Geaux

Cyndy Miller-Hughes, a friend and former colleague of mine, retired in 2018 after 32 years as an educator. She has been traveling independently since. I met up with her recently to examine her “new” way of traveling solo in Van-Geaux.

Sherry: What were you most looking forward to in retirement?

Cyndy: Travel

Sherry: I understand you purchased a small van for traveling.  Why this particular van?

Cyndy: It is just the right size, drives like a car, and has everything I need.

Sherry: Did you have it customized? 

Cyndy: It was built out by Cascade Campers in Nevada City, California.

Sherry: Does it have a name?

Cyndy: Van-Geaux…I went to grad school at LSU…Geaux Tigers! 

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Motivation for the new year

Have you ever wanted to do something you thought would be fun but didn’t do it because you couldn’t find someone to join you? Let’s agree to not let that happen again. There’s no reason that the lack of a companion should stop us from visiting someplace new.

Heidi Herman
motivation for the new year

Many times I would like to go to a concert or try out a new restaurant but I don’t because I don’t want to go alone. After reading Heidi Herman’s book On With the Butter! Spread More Living onto Everyday Life, I resolve to “not let that happen again” in 2021. Her book is full of motivation for the new year.

“This book was inspired by my mother, who lived her life to the fullest,” says Heidi Herman. After my mom’s recovery from a stroke in 2016 at the age of 92, my mom began promoting the message of living life with vitality no matter what your age. I helped her achieve and log 93 new activities between her 93rd and 94th birthdays, just to show you’re never too old to have fun.”

This delightful read is full of personal stories of Heidi and her inspirational Icelandic mother, who passed away in 2019 at the age of 94. One of my favorite stories was the depiction of her mom’s microwave hop. Her morning exercise routine was unique but easy to do. The challenges at the end of each chapter, with easy to use checklists, makes this a practical motivational approach. Some of the ideas in the book we have heard before, such as stay active. It doesn’t hurt to hear them again along with numerous new ideas.

Have a friend or relative retiring this year? Consider this small but mighty book as a gift. They will enjoy the inspirational quotes sprinkled throughout the book. I love this one by Hans Christian Anderson, the author of The Little Mermaid and The Ugly Duckling:

Enjoy life. There’s plenty of time to be dead.

Hans Christian Anderson

Choose happiness and new lighting

“Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design for the future.”

–Jim Rohn

As you may know, I recently purchased and moved to a new home in a new town. The home I purchased was not what I was truly hunting for but it was in the right location. The night before closing I walked through the home, the “final walkthrough” they call it. I told my realtor I changed my mind and I didn’t want the house any more. The house was beat up. The trim was chipped, the overall paint job could have been done better by my grandchildren, it seemed darker than I remembered, drywall patch jobs were elementary at best, and the place was just dingy and dirty. Despite the condition, I closed on the home the next morning and got to work. I was determined to choose happiness.

Little by little, I am working to design this shell of a house into a happy home, a home with some class. One of the many things I learned from my past moves is not to wait until you sell a home to spruce it up. The sooner you make it yours the better. One major aesthetic change I made was the main floor lighting.

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Cabin update – waiting

It’s been awhile since I have written a cabin update on my mountain property. The reason is heartbreaking really. A year ago my son-in-law and I removed the tongue and groove pine and the rodent infested insulation from the cabin’s interior. We stripped it down to the studs. I signed a contract with a structural engineer to begin work on improving the cabin and adding a septic system. I also got a bid on refurbishing the original 1938 stone fireplace. Everything was working according to plan until I received an email from my ex-husband.

It read, “I am retiring in January.  40 years. Per previous communications, I will be filing to terminate maintenance. I am traveling for the next week.  If we can not come to an agreement, I anticipate we will file for maintenance termination in September with a January effective date.”

It could not have been worse timing. I made an appointment with an attorney to discuss options. His advice was to put off improvements until I knew what my income was going to be and whether I would be able to keep the property. So, I cancelled the contract with the structural engineer and put the fireplace work on hold. I was heartbroken. My childhood dream was possibly going to be taken from me. A dream possibly unfilled. I waited to be served court papers.

And waited.

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“If you want to end your isolation,…

end-your-isolation
riesphotography.net

you must be honest about what you want at a core level and decide to go after it.” —Martha Beck, best-selling author, life coach and speaker

It has been four years since I retired from teaching full time. Even after all this time, I still struggle with the lack of social interaction and isolation, but I’m working on it.

The high school I taught in was populated with 1500 people; more than many Wyoming towns. It was difficult to find alone time as a teacher. Now, in retirement, it’s just the opposite; lots of alone time. I long for something in between and end the isolation.

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