Making Christmas cookies and memories
Living Life Retired (LLR)
by Sherry
3M ago
Pumpkin Cookies, Photo by slc Remember making a batch of yummy Christmas cookies and memories with your children or grandchildren? Flour was everywhere, as was the laughter and the fun. Today, Christmas Eve, I am baking pumpkin cookies by myself and remembering past family times full of love. A little over a year ago, close family members became distant and decided they don’t want a relationship with me any more for a variety of reasons. I’m still not really clear what would make them take such drastic and hurtful measures, but I am trying to “radically accept” the situation. I have fond memor ..read more
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Retire early? Think again
Living Life Retired (LLR)
by Sherry
3M ago
I retired at age 55 thinking my 20 year pension would be enough to cover my pre-Medicare healthcare premiums and other expenses until I reached age 65.  I was wrong. abc12.com (click image for link to article) Retiring early has been great, but the expenses due to inflation have increased dramatically. So, thinking about retiring early? Think again. Like every fall during open enrollment, I recently analyzed my healthcare plan and was shocked to learn my monthly premium was going up again.  Inflation is really taking a bite out of my pension, but there is a silver lining. The followi ..read more
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Building a house book by book
Living Life Retired (LLR)
by Sherry
1y ago
Most of us have heard about the non-profit organization Habitat for Humanity or even shopped in their thrift stores called the ReStore. We know Habitat builds affordable housing for selected families who qualify. Did you know the houses they build aren’t built brick by brick, but book by book? Greeley ReStore, Photo by slc A couple of weeks ago, I was browsing in one of my favorite thrift stores, the local Habitat ReStore. This particular ReStore has a wonderful used book selection. While purchasing another furniture refinishing project, I asked the manager if they needed any help shelving boo ..read more
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Solo In Style
Living Life Retired (LLR)
by Sherry
1y ago
This title is the name of an incredible Facebook group page by Deborah Ives I discovered recently. The whole name of the site is Solo In Style: Women Over 50 Traveling Solo & Loving It! It is a private group with 232K inspiring members. In case you haven’t heard, women over 50 are leading the boom in solo travel with single, divorced and widowed women feeling more empowered, confident and financially independent than ever before. Deborah Ives, Solo In Style This morning, I read this impassioned post on the site by Lucinda Kang which began: “I wanted to share my experience after reading so ..read more
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Cooking for one
Living Life Retired (LLR)
by Sherry
1y ago
Do you stand in front of the refrigerator wondering what to make for dinner? Do you buy the same thing nearly every week from the grocery store? Are you tired of eating leftovers for a week when you do whip up your favorite chili, meatloaf or casserole? Do you throw away food because of expiration dates or maybe because leftovers have turned into a science project? These scenarios occur when you are cooking for one. Fresh ingredients, Photo by slc About three weeks ago, I finally decided to end the on-going decision of what to eat, spending time at the grocery store, eating leftovers, and thro ..read more
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Vintage Tupperware
Living Life Retired (LLR)
by Sherry
1y ago
Part of my personal collection, Photo by slc How many of you use Tupperware on a weekly or even daily basis?  I certainly do.  When I bake, I get flour and brown sugar from my see through canisters and I use my yellow measuring spoons and cups for measuring baking powder and almond extract.  When I need to save leftovers, I pull out my Tupperware.  If you are like me, you bought most of your Tupperware years ago at a friend’s or your own Tupperware party.  These days I find shelves and shelves of Tupperware at flea markets and antique stores labeled “Vintage Tupperware ..read more
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Granny basketball
Living Life Retired (LLR)
by Sherry
1y ago
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 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 Wisco ..read more
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Sharing recipes and memories
Living Life Retired (LLR)
by Sherry
1y ago
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. 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 ..read more
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Family history in a cookbook
Living Life Retired (LLR)
by Sherry
1y ago
“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. Wedding gifts, Photo b ..read more
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Dirt therapy – does it work?
Living Life Retired (LLR)
by Sherry
1y ago
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 th ..read more
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