NEW Old Farts

A Few Great Boomer Blogs for Your Consideration

/ Laura Lee Carter / 4 Comments

2004_Winter_Carnival_Ice_Castle_(night)This is my favorite fantasy image of a blog carnival!

Ever since I started keeping a blog in 2007, I have belonged to what was then called a “Blog Carnival.” The idea is to share with my readers a few posts by other boomer bloggers I enjoy reading. This post is #417 in that series. Yes, I am a member of the longest-running boomer blog carnival ever!

credit card debtThis week I wish to share a post from “The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide” by Rita R. Robison, consumer journalist.  Rita generously keeps us up-to-date on consumer issues like the fact that American credit card debt is up substantially. She says, outstanding credit card debt is expected to be more than $900 billion by the end of this year, bringing the average household’s debt balance to $7,813 – the highest amount since the Great Recession.

a walk in the woodsMeryl Baer reports that she enjoyed, sort of, the movie A Walk in the Woods, starring Robert Redford and Nick Nolte. Read her review here. She also headed West for a wedding. Her adventure began in the airport. Check out what happened in Jetsetters R Us. 

the-end-of-the-tour-poster-Full-MovieTom Sightings was inspired by the movie, The End of the Tour, a biopic of David Foster Wallace starring Jason Segel, to pick up a book of essays by this celebrated writer. For Tom’s reaction, and a small window into the mind of the genius of David Foster Wallace, head on over to The Ultimate Question.

I began my week with an unfortunate backward tumble off a short ladder, which landed me in the ER for a few scalp staples and a week of aches and pains. I have to quit falling like this…NOW!

IMGP4136At least this stumble afforded me some nice nature watching right outside my door!  Oh that’s bad, no that’s good, so the Chinese fable goes…

Life among the birds, the bees and the bunnies!

/ Laura Lee Carter / 3 Comments

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Can you spy the camouflaged bunny in the photo above?

IMGP4148Oh! There he is!

Since my last (AND FINAL!) concussion this past Tuesday, I have had the time and proper disposition to sit and look out of our south-facing doors and windows quite a bit. In this process I have observed many small bunnies crawl up through our sunflower bushes and peek in. Then they run back down the hill as fast as they can!

IMGP4114For unknown reasons, the disturbed ground around our new home has harvested hundreds of sunflower bushes, some over six feet tall! This ground cover attracts an assortment of insects and birds, especially some tiny yellow birds. The sunflowers are the perfect cover for small bugs, birds, etc.

IMGP4136Then this morning we had a new visitor, a Road Runner…up-close-and-personal! They are bigger than I thought, and quite blue when seen up close. Mike says this one seems to be following him around. I guess that explains why they are in the cuckoo family…

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I am filled with gratitude that I can now live like this forever.  Please go learn more about our move from Fort Collins to here in my new memoir and follow us on TWITTER! 

Photo credits to Mike for these great close-ups!

Oh no! Not again…

/ Laura Lee Carter / 7 Comments

Unfortunately, I have history with brain injuries. Then yesterday, while trying to hang a picture, I fell backwards off a short stool, onto our stone floor and yep, a whole new concussion.

So it was off to the ER, because my head was bleeding badly. You know what they say about scalp wounds? Well they really do bleed a lot! But an attractive, young MD and a few staples in my scalp did the trick.

Yep, another case of feeling stupid, ever since I did a face plant off my bike in 2008 and sustained a TBI, fractured ribs, etc.

I’ve been very careful… really! I don’t know how this happened. Well, actually I do. I remember the accident this time, especially the cracking sound as my head hit the floor!

My advice, always use those short ladders with a handle up top, and don’t move anywhere that is so rural that you don’t have a good ER nearby, for those messy situations we can get ourselves into at any age!

BTW, my cute MD who looked a tad bit like the young George Clooney in the TV series ER agrees with me. 🙂

Reconnecting with nature

/ Laura Lee Carter / 5 Comments

I see now that it is only by living in a suburban home for 60 years, that I can now see the difference in terms of connecting with nature.

Yes, I still live in a house, unlike my brother who lives outside all of the time, but in a place like this, nature cannot be ignored.

For example, in a passive solar home which is properly positioned to the sun, the solar heat is just now starting to edge into the south-facing windows.

Sleepy Rasta keeping warm in sept 2016Ask my pup Rasta. He loves the new sun on his dog bed. And yes, he does wear a jacket even in the summer, crazy pup.

IMGP4073Another example is the incredible sunsets we sometimes enjoy, like last evening.  At first I only noticed the nice light to the southeast of us.

IMGP4076It was still cloudy to the west, over Mount Mestas. IMGP4082Then I looked out a few minutes later to see this!


IMGP4080Now tell the truth, if this was happening right outside your door, could you really ignore it?

Click on photos for full-size views, and follow us on TWITTER!

I discover one wish I have for retirement

/ Laura Lee Carter / 5 Comments

The signature of all thingsA few years ago I read a marvelous book: “The Signature of All Things” by Elizabeth Gilbert. I was so impressed with it, I wrote about it on my former blog. One image in this book struck me.

The main character Alma’s father was an international trader and ship’s captain. He enjoyed inviting interesting people from around the world to share his dining room table in Philadelphia.

I loved the idea of this. I see the same in our new home in the foothills of southern Colorado. Granted, rural Colorado is not the same as Philadelphia, but I enjoy meeting others and learning about their lives.

I don’t really know how to make this happen, besides inviting my friends from elsewhere. If you know a good way to make this happen, please let me know.

Click on photos for full-size views, and follow us on TWITTER!