I’m hanging in there on the physical therapy for my lumbar spine issues. I was close to quitting because everything hurt, but my massage therapist said she could feel a big difference in my flexibility, so I decided to stick with it. And it has improved, so that’s all for the good. Some of the stretches are difficult. I told the PT I’ve modified the exercises a little, and he was OK with that. One of the exercises is called the dead bug. I said it makes me feel like I’m going to have a stroke, so I changed it up a bit and am now calling it the bug on life support. At least he laughed. A key co ..read more

Once again, the bitter disappointment of spring is upon us. I hate that you get these beautiful warm days only to have it foul up again with rain and cold. Yes, I know that is the nature of spring and weather in general, but I think fall does a better job as a season. Much more gradual and consistent. Still, last year I made a conscious effort to fully embrace the diversity of weather, so welcome, rain and cold. You rotten bastards. We’re doing dinner Triple O or OOO (On Our Own), For Dale, that always means my homemade tacos from the freezer. My tacos are fried crispy, and Dale does a fantast ..read more

I never thought I’d say this about retirement, but in some ways, time is harder to manage than money. In the cosmic sense, you think, how much time do I have left on the planet? Another 20 years? Is this how I want to spend it? For the most part, I’d say yes, but then I wonder what I might be missing. Mostly I avoid thinking about the cosmos as it applies to me. I have a good life and try to enjoy the time that has been given. Still, I’m wondering if I need a time calibration on the simple pleasures of day-to-day life. I mean, I’ll get up early for golf if I have to, but that’s about it. I’m a ..read more

If you’ve been looking for a blog post from me, you’ll need to hack into my computer and search the trash, because that’s where everything I write ends up. I just can’t seem to get my shit act together. In health news, my sciatica flare-up is now behind me. I’m still doing a lot of different stretches and strengthening exercises, and I believe they’re keeping me upright, but I probably need professional help. Seems like Dale said that, but I don’t think he was talking about my back. A golf friend said she sees a chiropractor weekly, Medicare pays for it and she no longer has sciatica. I’ve alw ..read more

Maybe you don’t know this, and I hope you have no reason to, but mastectomies can leave you looking rather mangled. In my case, I went for the aesthetic flat closure instead of reconstruction. No regrets, because either way, you will not look the same. Why do they call it aesthetic when it’s anything but? Because lumpy was already taken. Actually, I rather like my lumpy flat closure and find it freeing to be done with bras and all that. Still, I have a mess o’ scars, and my armpits ended up sort of puffy. Late last year, they seemed puffier than normal, so I thought it would be prudent to have ..read more

Just another happy retirement Monday. It’s lovely outside now, but we should see rain later. I like it better when it rains at night. However, I also like when it gets dark and spooky during the middle of the day. Life is easier when we make peace with the weather, whatever it is. My back and knees and other miscellaneous body parts are in harmony. I have a good book (The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles). I’m swimming and walking and will be playing golf this week. And today I’m cooking one of my favorite dishes. Moussaka. It is an all-day affair, which reinforces the joy of not working and ha ..read more

Nice easy walks and gentle swims … you’d think I was fully recovered from overdoing it a bit in January. However, just when I thought all my body parts were working in harmony, out of the clear blue of the western sky comes excruciating knee pain that brought all my good efforts to a halt. After a few days of rest, heat, ice, Tylenol and Advil, it seems to be fine. I did a short test walk yesterday and a slightly longer test walk today, and so far, so good. But still, I’ve been exercising regularly for 50 years, and it shocks me how quickly things can go wrong. When I complained to my husband ..read more

I dreamed last night Tiger Woods was at a big event planning to introduce me as his new girlfriend. I was wearing a skimpy gold workout outfit, and I looked hot. Except I was still old, and people were kind of noticing that, wondering about Tiger’s choice. He was about to explain when I woke up. That was probably for the best. Some things you just don’t need to know. Although I didn’t watch the Grammys, I’ve watched replay after replay of 80-year-old Joni Mitchell singing Both Sides Now and a graying Tracy Chapman performing Fast Car with Luke Combs. Kind of noticing they are getting older, an ..read more

After searching relentlessly throughout the entire house for my lost sock, I had pretty much concluded our sweet fluffy cat, Riley, had turned criminal and taken it for ransom. But then I made one more last-ditch effort to turn up this woolen treasure, and I’m pleased to report Riley has been falsely accused. I found the sock in my husband’s pajama drawer. How it got there, why it got there – inquiring minds want to know, but Dale is keeping quiet. He was as surprised as anyone and probably liked it better when the cat was our most likely suspect. In other news, I personally, am not thinking a ..read more

It has been an annoying few weeks, and I’ve put writing on the bottom of the list. Today, I thought, if you want life to go back to normal, then why not do the normal stuff you do … such as write? I’m telling you, friends, the brain is a dangerous thing. Speaking of dangerous things, I’m told by my sister, who is not a doctor but plays one on the Internet, that Advil isn’t good for us older adults. We do use with caution, but still, Dale calls them blue buddies. I mentioned this to one of my golf partners, and she said, “Advil is my favorite drug, and I’ve tried most of them.” So, it has been ..read more