One of the most difficult things about moving to a new city is meeting people, especially as we get older.  

I love that my daughters and grandchildren are here, but they are busy with their lives and I only see them a couple of times a month. 


Also, I miss having friends. I like having friends who are around my age. Tuesday I went to the first meeting of my new peer group that was set up by TTN, The Transition Network. 

There were only three of us there for the first meeting, but we sat and chatted for around two hours. It was nice to get to know them. One of the women was in my water aerobics class, but I hadn't ever really talked to her. 


I also found out about a chair yoga class that has been added at the Wellness Center, where I was going to walk the indoor track before my knee sprain. It is now on my calendar for Friday morning. 

We also talked about some things we might want to do in the future together. 


Yesterday was the dreaded dentist appointment. I arrived on time for the appointment, but after I got there I found out that there was some kind of outage in the area and so I had to reschedule for next week. I hate going to the dentist. Now I have the dubious pleasure of waiting for another week. 


I wish I had known before I went to the appointment, but it is what it is. 

Today is another PT appointment. Hopefully they are winding down now. My knee is definitely getting much better. 

I think I may have a bit of a bug. I know there a lot of viruses going around now. My grandchildren have had a stomach virus and my youngest daughter is sick. Also, I have heard the woman in the apartment next to me coughing. I don't usually hear much noise from my neighbors so she must have been coughing pretty loudly.


I'm feeling a bit off color, as my mother used to say. Not sick enough to require staying in bed, but enough that I know to slow down. I have a lot planned for this week so I spent the weekend taking it easy at home.

I'd hate to miss my upcoming dentist appointment. NOT!!!


There is something else that was bugging me. Last week I found a roach in my kitchen. I'm sorry did it see a welcome mat with its name on it? I think not. 

I immediately freaked out and called the management. Fortunately they had the exterminator here the next day. I don't do roaches. 


I remember my daughter telling me about her escapades with flying roaches in her house when she moved to Atlanta. I laughed hysterically because I didn't live where there were flying roaches. 

I hope that doesn't come back to bite me, because I might be forced to move to a climate where no flying roaches could survive. 


So far I haven't seen anymore roaches since that one had the nerve to run out in front of me. I'm hoping they have moved on to roach heaven. 

I guess in a few days I will be spring cleaning my kitchen. Maybe I could do that instead of going to the dentist. 

The holidays are behind us and that means that I am getting back to business. 


Sometimes I lament the fact that at my age I need to keep working, but then I think about my grandparents who continued to work in their business until their late eighties. I think about my uncle who will be 100 in June and still helps out with the bookkeeping for that same business. 


I like what I do. I like writing this blog and keeping up with all of you, and I love searching for vintage and antique treasures and selling them on to people who will love them. 

I have had to adjust somewhat how I do my business. I know that I can't lift heavy things the way I used to and if I do I pay for it (think sprained knee), but that's okay because there are still plenty of wonderful things I can sell. 

I've also enjoyed adding Poshmark to my business. It has been a gradual learning process, but it's fun and I hope to build that up more this year. 


Being busy doesn't just mean working. I am planning to start back into water aerobics Saturday. I feel like my knee has finally reached a point where I can do that. I'll let you knew how it goes. 

Last summer I joined a group for women over 50 who are transitioning into a new phase in their lives. We may be older, but that doesn't mean that we want to just sit around, put our feet up, and eat bonbons all day. 


The group is called TTN, which stands for The Transition Network. It is national and we have a local chapter here. I have been waiting for a peer group to open up to join and one finally has. I will be meeting with them for the first time on Tuesday. I think we will be starting with five women and hope to grow to about ten.

I'll let you know how that goes too. 

Life is busy again, but that is how I like it.

At one time I lived in the desert in California. It was hot and it was dry.

I'm here to tell you that desert had nothing on the apartment in winter where I am living now. 


I never turn on the heat in my apartment. Believe me I don't need to. My apartment stays between 78 and 80 degrees without heat. If I didn't run my ceiling fan in the bedroom and crack the window in my living room I would roast.

My houseplants are also roasting and I have lost some of them. That does not make me happy. I love my houseplants and have invested too much in them to watch them suffer and die.


There isn't much more I can do about the heat, but I am trying to combat the dryness. I purchased two cool mist humidifiers, one for the bedroom and one for the living room area. 

I also use an essential oil diffuser in the dining area, which puts out some cool mist. Also, the smell of Eucalyptus helps me to breathe, which is calming. 


I've started watering more than I normally do and hope that will keep them from being so thirsty. 

I purchased these two small plants at Aldi last week. They were only $2.99 each and I wanted to replace a couple that I lost. Hopefully, I can keep them happy, because right now they are making me happy. 


Do you have houseplants. How do you keep them alive in winter?

Is it a riddle or a fact of life? What is hard to lose , but easy to gain? Well, for me it is definitely weight.

I worked hard this past year to lose weight and get healthier. It took me seven months to lose seven pounds. Over Christmas it took me two weeks to gain back six of those pounds.


So instead of needing to lose ten pounds I now need to lose sixteen. SIGH!!!

My doctor told me that at my age I need to eat 1200 calories a day to lose weight. If I eat less my body goes into starvation mode and slows my metabolism down. If I eat more...well we all know what happens then. 


Up until Christmas I was counting calories, but let's face it, like most people I wanted to enjoy the holidays. Apparently I did a bit too much enjoying.

Now it is time to pay the piper. Less carbs and no desserts will be my future.


My knee has been gradually improving and so I plan to start back into exercising this week. I will start out with riding the stationary bike and water aerobics as they are supposed to be easy on my knee. 


I have found that if I do too much the pain flares up. Vacuuming definitely doesn't agree with it. Do you think anyone will notice if I never vacuum again? 

Let me know if you love to vacuum. You will always be welcome at my home and I have a rice cake here with your name on it. 

Happy New Year to all my sweet friends. 


I don't know about you, but I don't make resolutions when the new year rolls around.

Instead I set goals for my life throughout the year.


Last year I reached some of my unspoken goals. I hope to do the same in the coming year.

I wish the same for all of you.

Every year we add to our Christmas memories. 

We have the memories from childhood, of the excitement of Santa Claus, the anticipation of Christmas morning, and dinner around the table prepared by our moms. 


When we are grown and have children of our own we create many of the same types of memories with them. 

Then before we know it our children have families of their own and new memories are made.


Each era is special in its own way. This Christmas has been one of the most enjoyable for me. Living in my own apartment near my daughters, son in law,  and grandchildren gave me the opportunity to spend Christmas eve and day with them while returning to the comfort of my home at night. 


I think I may be feeling my age more. I don't know if it is because December 27th was another birthday for me, the last in my sixties or if I am just tired from the holidays. 

My daughters and Sidney took me out to brunch on my birthday and then to see the new movie Little Women. The brunch was fabulous and I loved the movie. I rarely go to watch movies in the theaters so it was a treat, but the best part was our time together. 


This weekend I have nothing planned and I am spending it relaxing, reading, and watching Netflix. I will have to take down the Christmas decor in a few days, but for now I am enjoying it and reflecting on the wonderful new Christmas memories. 

It's the week before Christmas. Mom's have a million things to do, and children are getting irritable waiting for the big day.

I thought it would be fun to have a project to do with Tessa that she would like and would get her out of her mom's hair for a couple of hours. 


Tessa loves Christmas. She likes to decorate, wrap gifts, and do artwork. 

I convinced her that I really needed help with my gift wrapping. 

I gathered together supplies from my Tessa stash and headed over. 
I had already dropped off the gifts on Sunday, which I had wrapped in plain newsprint. I use a lot of newsprint as cushioning for my online business. 


We used glue, glitter, pom poms, Christmas bows, and jute. We tried to use pipe cleaners, but they didn't stick. Younger children would also love to use stickers. 


It was a fun Nana and granddaughter time and we made some festive packages. This would be a fun project for other grandparents. 

After all of that hard work we watched The Christmas Story. I love that movie.

Sunday was a wonderful day watching Sidney in the Nutcracker. She was amazing. We weren't allowed to take photographs during the performance, but here she is afterwards with her cute boyfriend and her best friend. 


I'm slowing down for the next week. My gifts are all wrapped and under my daughter's tree, I've taken care of renewing my car registration, and now I can focus on enjoying the season. 

For some reason I had a terrible time keeping my eyes open yesterday. I think that sometimes things just catch up with us and we have to have a full on day of rest.



I have been so busy lately and I guess it all just caught up with me. Friday was a miserable rainy day with a high of 42 degrees. After PT, grocery shopping at Kroger and Aldi, and a package dropoff at the post office I was very happy to be at home. 

My apartment felt so cozy with my tree lit. I curled up with a cup of eggnog and relaxed for the evening.



Apparently I needed more than just a couple of hours of relaxing, because Saturday I felt like I had not slept in ages. Thank goodness I didn't have anything planned and I was able to just sit, read, and doze off. The dozing off happened more than I expected, because I'm not usually much of a day sleeper. 

I have a couple of books that I had picked up at the library and as I didn't want to get into anything too heavy I decided to read the newest Janet Evanovich book.



Her books are such a hoot and definitely don't require any heavy thinking. Perfect for a do nothing day at home. 

The sun was streaming in through the window and I was enjoying watching two squirrels chasing after each other on the wall next door. 



I can't believe that Christmas is next week. I have a lot scheduled until then. Today I go to watch Sidney dance in the Nutcracker. I am really really looking forward to it. She has been working so hard this fall in preparation. 

I just hope I am able to make it down all of the steps from the parking lot to the auditorium. I am seriously sick of this sprained knee. 



My physical therapist says I seem to have tendonitis in the tendon that runs from my hip to my knee. I can't even stand for it to be touched. I go back to the knee doctor on the 23rd. I am hoping that I am miraculously cured by then. At least I have gotten the range of motion back in my knee, so that is some progress. At this point I'll take any progress that I can get. 

Hope everyone has a happy Sunday and that you are able to relax and enjoy the time leading up to Christmas.