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.

Sharing recipes and memories

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After publishing my last post about special cookbooks, I posted a recipe I found in one of my mom’s cookbooks. The recipe was for Pride of Iowa Cookies. I posted it to the I Grew Up in Iowa Facebook page on October 27th. Since then, the post has received 941 likes, 180 comments and 646 shares. A recipe! I did not realize sharing recipes and memories about recipes could be so important.

Sharing recipes
Recipe from Mom’s cookbook, Photo by slc

Some of the many different wonderful comments and memories I received after sharing this old recipe:

  • I made these cookies for the Hardin Co. Fair when I was in 4-H. And I did get a ribbon. Would have been late 40s, early 50.
  • Wow, those are a blast from the past. I made those for a 4-H fair project.
  • My Mom’s best cookie recipe. Of course she added chocolate chips or raisins.
  • My mother used to make these when I was growing up and they were delicious.
  • I also made those cookies as 4-H project. If I remember correctly I won a blue ribbon. Good chewy cookie.
  • Oh, man alive, those are good cookies! My friend’s grandma used to make those for us, & she sent them in a plastic lard bucket, so we always called them “Lard Cookies”, but I know they were “Pride of Iowa.” 
  • This post made this depressed person so happy. Seeing everyone light up with joy remembering these from their past. Really made my heart happy
  • I just found a recipe card with this from my mom 🤗
  • My favorite oatmeal cookie. A 4-H staple 50 years ago.
  • Great recipe! Was given this by my neighbor when we moved to Iowa And we still enjoy it !
  • My mom made these, and the recipe is in her recipe box. Yummy!!
  • Love these cookies, one of our families favorites!
  • I am going to make cookies for Christmas this year. Think I’ll try to remember to make these.
  • You know my grandma made these often.
  • I think this is the recipe my Mom uses that my Grandma used to make. Yum!
  • Thanks for sharing!! These were my favorite cookies growing up. My mom made them often.
  • If nothing else I need to try these just because of the name since I am a born & bred Iowan
  • One of my Grandma’s favorite recipes😊
  • My mother in law made these, they were so good!
  • Thank you for sharing!!! Mom’s always had the best!

Hard to believe one old recipe could bring so many joyful memories to so many. Many of you are probably going through your recipes today or tomorrow in preparation for a Thanksgiving meal. Maybe this holiday season you too can share an old family favorite and the memorable stories behind the recipe.

Thank God for our family and friends from the past and in the present. Happy Thanksgiving!

Family history in a cookbook

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cookbook
“Cook Book of Family Favorites,” Photo by Sue Kimball

Do you have a favorite cookbook? Did you receive it as a gift? The cookbook in the photo above was a wedding present to my oldest sister by our great aunt Frieda. It is a well used and much loved book. I also received cookbooks as wedding gifts. Searchlight from maternal grandmother and Sokol from my friend Dena. I still use them from time to time. Seems we weren’t the only ones who received cookbooks as gifts when we were starting out. They became a sort of family history of recipes prepared and meals eaten together.

cookbooks
Wedding gifts, Photo by slc

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Dirt therapy – does it work?

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We can never have enough of nature.

–Henry David Thoreau

Last fall, I found myself in an unfamiliar and stressful family situation. This situation made me feel extremely anxious and literally scared. I was afraid I might lose my job due to debilitating anxiety. After a couple of weeks of trying to tackle the feelings alone, I called my primary care physician and a therapist. Asking for help is not something I usually do, but I did not like how I was feeling.

I received a prescription for anxiety medication from my doctor and began weekly virtual counseling sessions. Both the medication and the therapy have helped tremendously, but I believe designing and creating xeriscaping in my yard this summer also helped. As a long time gardener and landscaper, I believe dirt therapy may help people who suffer from anxiety or other mental health issues.

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Satellite communication

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It’s better to be safe than sorry.

satellite communication device
inReach Mini, Photo by slc

We’ve all heard this common phrase over the years. I hear it from my friends a lot when I preparing to hike alone or when I go to my cabin property where I have no cell service. One of the most unnerving aspects of doing these solo activities is possibly not having contact with others if I get into trouble. I recently became “better safe than sorry” by purchasing a satellite communication device, to the delight of my worried friends.

The prospect of needing medical attention or just letting someone know I’m all right created a bit of anxiety in the past. After receiving a tax refund check from the state of Colorado, I decided to lessen that anxiety by purchasing a satellite communication device. Now, with the Garmin inReach Mini ($320 from Amazon), a subscription for service and the Garmin Earthmate app, I am more confident I can reach help if I need it.

Features of inReach Mini (From Garmin.com website):

  • GPS
  • Two-way messaging
  • Interactive SOS alerts
  • Location sharing
  • 100% global iridium satellite network
  • inReach weather forecast service
  • Compact, rugged design (only 3.5 oz)
  • Flexible satellite airtime plans
  • Cloud storage and trip planning
  • Battery life – up to 90 hrs (varies depending on use)
Garmin inReach Mini
SOS Button, Photo by slc

Monthly subscription safety plans in the US are $14.95/month or for a 12 month commitment it is just $11.95/month. Not much money for peace of mind when needing off-the-grid communication. After all, it’s better to safe than sorry.

Note: I am not receiving compensation from Garmin for endorsing this satellite communication device. It is just something I have purchased for myself and believe it may help others on their adventures.

Cabin property firsts on my birthday

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cabin property firsts
First fire in fire pit, Photo by slc

August 22, 2022 was a special day personally and for LivingLifeRetired.com (LLR).  We both had birthdays.  I turned 63 years old and LLR turned 6.  I celebrated this special day at my cabin property in Glen Haven, CO and it included several firsts.

First, I had a fire in the new fire pit.  Despite the county fire ban in place, a small fire burned just enough to heat up a couple of brats and some beans.   There is something to be said for cooking on an open fire.  Is it the fire or the natural outdoor environment you’re cooking in?  Either way, it just makes everything taste better.

cabin property firsts
Shooting tin cans, Photo by slc

The second first occurred when I loaded and fired the Glock 19 BB gun I purchased for target practice and to use on wildlife, if needed. Empty tin cans provided a fun shooting range for target practice. After only a couple of tries, I was able to hit several cans. It made me feel like a kid at the fair trying to win a prize.

Lastly, the third first was a really BIG deal. I stayed overnight in my “she shed” for the first time and I survived to tell about it.  I have owned this cabin property for five years and had never stayed overnight.  It was past time to try it out. 

cabin property firsts
Antique bed in she shed, Photo by slc

While the shed’s interior isn’t finished yet, I had the near comforts of home:  an antique twin bed with an inflatable mattress to sleep on, water to drink, food cooked on the open fire, music from the radio, a lantern, a bucket to pee in during the night, plenty of blankets, and my small dog, Goldi.  While I didn’t sleep at all, mostly due to the bed’s slats falling down off the bed rails when I moved, I “woke” to a beautiful and peaceful 50 degree morning. 

Then, I let Goldi out and I got dressed quickly.  I could not wait to get outside to explore and photograph the awakening light spreading across Crosier Mountain.  After several wild turkeys surveyed the property, I devoured the thick and gooey cinnamon roll (my birthday cake) I purchased the evening before at the Glen Haven General Store.  I paired it with a cup of Earl Grey tea I made from the thermos of hot water I brought from home. 

Reflecting back on the purchase of the cabin property five years ago, I am reminded of how blessed I am to have such a great place to explore, write, and hone some of my design and building skills.  I also look back on the six years  I’ve been dabbling with the LLR blog site. I hope and pray I can continue to have adventures to inspire you and more firsts to inform you.  At the beginning of LLR, I said I wanted to create a community of solo retirees who can inspire and inform one another.  I know I can with your support. 

Wild turkey, Photo by slc
Sunrise on Crosier Mtn, Photo by slc

Yearly mammogram – gotta love ‘em

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At my yearly or semi-yearly exam last year, my doctor, an internist, recommended a procedure I haven’t had for six years and have come to hate, the yearly mammogram.  The reason for my disdain is the excruciating pain the technicians put you through to get a “good enough” x-ray of your breasts.  I have had three of these vice-like gripping exams and did not want another.  I even asked my doctor if he had ever had one.  He of course answered, “No.”  I told him, “When you go and have one and see what it is like, then I will go and endure another one.”  That was last year.

breast diagnostic center
UC Health in Fort Collins, Photo by slc

Earlier this year, I discovered my oldest sister was diagnosed with early breast cancer due to a 2D mammogram.  Protocol was to have surgery and then chemo and radiation therapy.  Well, since my mother has had advanced breast cancer for over a decade, and now my sister, I felt it might be time to make that dreaded mammogram appointment.  When I called, the soonest I could get in was in three months. My appointment for my mammogram was scheduled for the end of August, two days after my 63rd birthday.

I did a little research and asked around at my Bible study coffee group about the difference between a 2D and a 3D mammogram.  One good friend and expert, former nurse and breast cancer survivor, recommended the 3D exam because it is more thorough so you would not need to go back for a retake if something looks suspicious.  My insurance would totally cover the 2D procedure.  Unfortunately, the 3D procedure costs more as insurance companies are not covering it fully yet.

yearly mammogram
Before mammogram, Photo by slc

So for $115 more out of pocket, I went for the 3D exam for the first time.  Wow, what a difference.  I felt very little pressure from the machine and the six pictures took less than 10 seconds each.  I was In and out of the x-ray room in only a couple of minutes. If I knew how to cartwheel I would have done one down the hall. 

With my family history of breast cancer, I will begin having my yearly 3D mammogram.  I think having it around my birthday each year is a great birthday present.  How about you?  Have you had your yearly mammogram?  You just gotta love ‘em.

By the way, my results were negative.  Woohoo!

(Update: My insurance paid for the 3D exam)

“Women ages 45 to 54 should have a mammogram each year and those 55 years and over should continue getting mammograms every 1 to 2 years. However, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends mammograms for women between the ages of 50 and 74 every two years.”      

 

“You have to be tough to get old”

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tough to get old
Photo by slc

Flora, my beautiful 92-year-old friend, spoke this truth during our recent visit.  Her husband of 36 years just passed away a few weeks before our visit, after a couple months of illness.  Reaching up to put some newly laundered sheets on a closet shelf, he had a heart attack and took his last breath.  Flora said her and her assisted living friends say, “You have to be tough to get old.”

It seems to me there is a lot of truth to their statement.  More illness, aches and pains, surgeries, death of loved ones, and just plain heartache, seem to be on the docket more than we’d like. 

So how do we get “tough” and live a life of hope and anticipation?  The only insight Flora and I have is to keep your focus on God.  He will help if we keep communication (prayer) open. He will “carry you,” “sustain you,” and “rescue you” if you ask him.

Here are some simple ideas to help you “be tough:”

  • Add prayer and reading the Bible to your daily routine
  • Share regular deep conversations with a trusting friend
  • Be in nature as much as possible
  • Listen to uplifting music of your choice loudly and sing along
  • Have a monthly massage
  • Stretch daily
  • Stay as active as possible, even if it hurts sometimes
  • Don’t be afraid to ask for help

How do you stay tough?