Olympic skier adopts Sochi puppies …
Isn’t this a sweet picture? I am not an Olympic junkie but I really loved this story, especially since the boy in the picture is the nephew of friends of my daughter and her husband.
Evidently the streets of Sochi are customarily overrun with stray dogs and when the word got out that many were being killed to clean up the streets for the Olympics Gus Kenworthy, U.S. freestyle skier from Telluride, Colorado took action.
He had spotted these puppies and the mama dog and he decided to adopt them all. He arranged for vaccinations and whatever else was needed to get them out of the country. With the assistance of family members he and his new “family” are now back, safe and sound, in Colorado. He is keeping a brother and sister from the litter for himself, his mother is adopting the mama dog and his two brothers are each taking a pup.
They are all excited that Gus won a silver medal at the Olympics but, if his puppy venture were judged it would surely get a gold ! Puppy love is alive and well in Telluride.
Seniors blogging …
Back in 2006 my interest was piqued when I read an article in the AARP magazine stating that few seniors took advantage of blogging as a line of communication. That piqued my curiosity and I decided to try it.
I was 73 when I launched Goldendaze-ginnie and I posted a blog entry almost daily from July to December of that year. Basically these were vignettes of my long life that I thought would be of interest to my children. I then printed them in book form and gave one to each as a Christmas gift.
I had originally planned to stop blogging at that time but getting to know so many of you through your blogs had opened up a new world to me and there was no way that I wanted to let that go. It’s turned out to be one of the best decisions I’ve ever made!
I’ve never wanted to sit back and watch the world go by (as some in my age group do) and the blogosphere has certainly saved me from that. I love the fact that I have blogger friends all over the United States and as far flung as Australia, India, Canada, Sri Lanka, England and beyond.
Now I post a new blog entry every 5th day. I like this time schedule because it gives me a commitment that keeps me on my toes and I need that. I was amazed when I last looked at my stats to see that I’ve accumulated 85,475 page views in 8 years ! 6,389 of these were actual comments and that is extremely humbling.
So to all of you in my extended family …(whether you leave a comment on my blog or just check in once in awhile)… I want to say “Thank you”. My life is so much richer by having you in it.
By car, by plane … by armchair ???
There’s more than one way to take a Florida vacation !! The picture that you see is the diorama that my beautiful granddaughter Amelia constructed for me.
Usually a diorama has animals or figures in it but her three dimensional picture fits the definition since I feel sure that critters have just left the sand and are romping under the waves. As you see she has painted some of it and then added actual sand, complete with little chips of sea glass and shells that glitter. I love it and have it proudly displayed where I can bask in it as I sit at the desk in my office.
My granddaughter and her fiancé are hoping that I will visit them in Tampa but, since that is probably not going to happen soon, she thought this would be the next best thing and I heartily agree .
Thanks, Amelia … I’m a very lucky grandma !
The Tennis Ball … a great catch !
Here’s Wren, my daughter and son-in-laws sweet girl. She loves catching tennis balls and it’s even more fun when it involves a good romp in the stream. Isn’t it wonderful that a mere tennis ball can elicit such joy?
Well, here’s a way that the same lowly tennis ball can produce joy for all of us. It’s called Tennis Ball Massage and is a simple and inexpensive way that gives us relief from all those chronic aches and pains.
I actually learned about this 10 years ago from a professional massage therapist and have used it ever since. I had gone to her with the complaint of back pain and, although I felt wonderful after her treatment, I couldn’t afford to keep going. When she realized this she kindly said, “Let me show you how you can do this yourself at home.”
She told me, with a good natured laugh, that I could replace HER with nothing more than a sock and a tennis ball !! She explained that everyone has “trigger points”, little knots that appear when you overwork a muscle. These were areas that felt very tight to me and were the cause of my discomfort. While working on my back she’d used her elbow to gently press down on these, hold for about 30 seconds and then let go. This was the “release” and it, literally, released the pain.
With Tennis Ball Massage you simply drop the ball into the toe of a long sock. This becomes your handle and you can toss the massage ball behind your back and position it wherever you need it. The basic idea is to trap the ball between your body and a hard surface. Some people lie on the floor doing this but that doesn’t work for me so I use a wall.
I gently maneuver the ball around until I hit an area that makes me wince and then I press down … just hard enough to feel it working but not so hard that it hurts … and then after 30 seconds I “release”. Ahhhhhhhh. I can practically feel the relief as I write this.
And that’s it !! Simple, easy and FREE.
Ed Sullivan and “live” TV
50 years ago this month the Beatles appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show and all the hoopla about that has reminded me of the times that my family and I would gather in front of our old grainy TV to watch Ed Sullivan.
I was in High School when his show first aired in1948 and it amazes me still that he became so popular. He was small in stature, as you can see in the picture above and almost wooden in his lack of animation. Even his smile seemed forced and when he turned his head his entire body turned with it making him appear like a robot.
In those days TV was strictly censored and his show in particular was family oriented and very tame by today’s standards. Since his shows were “live” he would often meet with his guests before their appearance and make it clear that he expected them to adhere to his rules.
In 1956 I was living in California when The Ed Sullivan Show announced that Elvis Presley was to be a guest the following week. My friends and I couldn’t wait . Elvis had already become known for his hip gyrations and we were making bets that Ed Sullivan would never allow that on his show.
Sure enough, as Elvis sang and played his guitar the camera zoomed in so that all you saw was from the waist up. There were a lot of “I told you so”s from my friends but then, as we continued to watch, the funniest thing happened. Ed walked across the stage and shook hands with Elvis and then as he turned away from him and faced the audience Elvis did a quick hip and legs swivel. The place erupted with screams and when Ed turned to see what had happened Elvis, with an innocent look on his face, just shrugged as if he had no idea what it was all about.
Ah, “live” TV … you can’t beat it !
Pride goeth before…..
My daughter and her husband gave me this lovely 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle (Monet's Garden at Giverny) at Christmas time. As most of you know I love doing them and I started it soon after the Holiday was over.
Assembling the four edges was fairly easy but I found that the monochromatic coloration and the small puzzle pieces made the rest of it near impossible for me. My daughter and hubby pitched in and I saw that they had none of the same limitations. I had to finally admit to myself, and to them, that old age was taking a toll on my eyes, not to mention my concentration and patience !
About a week later they presented me with the puzzle that is pictured here and I think I made some sort of derogatory remark such as “I’m not in kindergarten, you know”
… only to find out that a good friend of theirs, a 90 year old retired judge, had given them this puzzle to pass on to me. I was embarrassed because I know the judge to be a brilliant man who has led a distinguished career and I figured if he enjoys the large piece puzzles who am I to turn up my nose at them.
I swallowed my pride and gave them a meek “thank you” … and, guess what? I found out that the puzzle was fun to assemble, the picture was lovely and I didn‘t have a headache when it was all put together !
