Most of my early travels were done when I was single. So many of my girlfriends were doing what I was doing: living alone, following a career path, seeking a relationship and building a life with what we had, which included trips to here and there. A good friend that I spent enormous…
At the market last week, I saw that one register lane was wide open, so I slid right in and unloaded my groceries. The woman in front of me was pulling out her wallet so I knew I didn’t have a long wait. At a closer look, I notice that she is about…
One of the pleasures of meeting someone new is discovering the layers of their personality and being totally astonished! My husband Zaf is the reserved type. Having a Greek background, one would assume that he was animated and full of zest! But, he’s not. Tall, dark and handsome, yes…but inner strength, wisdom and…
It’s a 10! That’s what Alison’s response was when I asked her: “On a scale of 1 to 10, what would you say about your retirement plans?” I find this amazing as Alison shares the details on how until fairly recently, she and her husband had no retirement plans. Then he turned 65…
For the past three years my husband Zaf and I have been discussing where we might move to when we retire. We live just north of Los Angeles, just a hop, skip and a jump into Ventura County. I love where we live; a developer in 1922 planted 120,000 trees! It has a…
I felt my stress level rise the other day contemplating how we were going to get rid of all our stuff under the label of Downsizing. Just the thought of gathering boxes, bubble wrap, packing tape, scissors and the energy…then going through the closets and the garage (oh!) and deciding what goes and…
Our friend, John, who is sitting at the head of the table on the left, gets up and walks down to Zaf, who is sitting at the head of the table on the right. As he approaches, he lifts his pant leg to show his knee replacement scar. Zaf stands up and shows…
MEET SHELLY P. “Thought retirement would be easier – there’s a lot to do!” says Shelly P. Shelly retired after a long career in the legal field; working in law firms in various managerial positions for many years, she was finally able to switch to working from home which helped her with raising…
When you marry young and are still together when you are both retired, you have plenty of time to identify each other’s quirks and habits…and to get used to them. More or less. When you marry later in life, like I did, the curve for learning what makes each other tick is shorter…
I am primarily in charge of cleaning out our current home. We live in a home that I purchased when I was single. I had my own stuff; then my great-aunt Fanny passed on and left me all her stuff. Lots of antique, vintage furniture, dishes, glassware and linens. Then my mother, Maria,…
