Focused at Fifty

As we end 2014, I wanted to share some wisdom I have learned from this past year. You will come across the worst in people. It is up to you to ignore it. It is up to you to rise above it. One of the greatest gifts of getting older is realizing that you do not need to be friends with these types of people. Move on, spend time with close friends and family, and stop wasting time on the others. Life is too short and too precious to waste.  Help others as well. Do random acts of kindness. I have preached this before. It helps them and makes you feel better as well. I was getting a coffee this afternoon and helped a senior citizen struggling with the door into the convenience store. She thanked me and then went in to buy some lotto tickets.  While in line, she apparently lost her money from the car to the store. I helped her retrace her steps and found it with her. She thanked me profusely and then asked if I wanted to adopt her. I said, "Only if you can cook well." We both...

I was flipping through the newspaper the other week and the Toys R Us Big Christmas Book insert fell out. I grabbed it and began thumbing through it smiling. Such different toys these days or maybe not so much. I see Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are still around. That Disney chick Elsa from Frozen is apparently really big (um, no kids here). Has Barbie had botox? My Little Pony also looks, um, odd, like there has been an infusion of Harajuku girls somewhere along the line. It is also comforting to see that Lego is bigger than ever. I'm also happy to see that NERF is still making questionably safe toys which could take out an eye if given to the child which has had too much caffeine or sugar. Batman Colorforms Remember back when your parents brought home the toy catalog each year before Christmas or Hanukkah? The excitement we would feel?  There were a couple out there I remember: the Sears Christmas Wish Book, the BEST Store Gift Book, and the Toys R Us Big Christmas Book w...

We all have our favorite holiday songs, those songs you can't wait to hear each year. They get you in the mood, they get you sad, they bring you up, and they put you in the spirit f the holiday season! There are so many versions of songs year after year by your favorite artists. This year, Christmas albums have been released by country star Darius Rucker, Broadway star Idina Menzel, comedian Seth McFarlande (YES, you heard correctly!), R&B supergroup Earth, Wind, and Fire. Okaaaaay. I may get the album by Darius Rucker to add to my collection. Earth, Wind, and Fire? Um, I'll pass. From my favorites list, you will see I mostly love the classic songs performed by artists of years gone by.  I also love holiday songs sung in a retro big band, swing style. There are a couple of quirky ones such as "Father Christmas" by the Kings or "Christmas Wrapping" by the Waitresses. And still several others, like those two, are from the 70s and 80's which reflect m...

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! I wanted to share with you some thoughts and pictures of my Thanksgiving trip up to Worlds End State Park . I went up with John and we stayed for 4 days/3 nights at a cabin up in the middle of Pennsylvania's Endless Mountains. It was fun, relaxing, and calming for the soul. Our little cabin, Cabin #6 Snow anyone? We traveled north the day before during some really bad weather. The Mid-Atlantic states were socked with our first bad Nor' Easter of the season. We even left early at 6:30 AM to avoid the incoming snow storm. Thankfully, we got out of Schuylkill County before the brunt of it hit the area. I heard afterwards that there were many accidents on our road after we left that morning. After we drove over a huge mountain just south of Numidia, the weather thankfully cleared for a bit. The mountain was pretty scary driving  with snowflakes falling as large as silver dollars. Toasting the snow! Dri...

While camping at World's End State Park in Forksville, PA, I had to use shower/bath house one evening to wash up. I set up shop at the sink and immediately heard a young child in a stall with his Dad. This little kid was doin' his business and was just talking away. This young little chatterbox was asking his Dad a million questions! He must've been about 3. "Why is it snowing?" he asked in his meek yet eager voice. "Because it's cold," the Dad replied. "What is that?" "Well, that's the light on the ceiling." "Oh, OK, Daddy can we talk about the snow again?" "Sure, what do you want to talk about?" the Dad asked. "Let's talk about the snow," the little boy replied. "Well what do you want to know?" "How much snow is it?" "It's about 6 inches of snow." "Is that a lot?" the little boy could be heard asking. "Well it's enough!...

Elmo Pio Wines I love my wine. Anyone who knows me knows that. I especially love a good affordable wine; something to gulp, I mean sip, during the evenings after a long hard day at work. (every day). One evening, I was enjoying a bottle of Elmo Pio Chianti . You know the bottle, the kitschy one with the straw basket on the lower half? I love it! It is a great wine which always reminds me of that classic Billy Joel song, "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant".   Now I had an issue with a bottle of wine I was drinking and subsequently contacted the distributor about it. It wasn't a major concern and I'm not going to go into detail about it because the matter was handled quickly, thoroughly, and professionally. AND I wanted to tell you about the wonderful customer service I received from Pio Imports / Elmo Pio Wines. I initially left a message on their website asking for a callback to address my concerns. A couple of days went by a...

John and I were on vacation visiting family the other month. We spent a week seeing his folks in Sedona, Arizona, and then a week seeing my folks in Arcata, California. My stepmom Martha has a great cookbook called "The Chopped Cookbook" by the Food Network Kitchen. John and I, as well as Dad and Martha, are big fans of the show so I eagerly copied some recipes from the cookbook. I love Brussels sprouts and usually saute' them up with garlic, olive oil, and finish them off with a balsamic glaze. I was looking for something new and I found a great recipe in this book for roasted Brussels sprouts with salami, potatoes, and onions. (By the way, I always thought is was just Brussel, not Brussels.)  So thanks Martha, for a new recipe and a new favorite! The recipe will appear below. While prepping, my mind began to wander as it always does. I was also playing some great music on my phone so I figured I'd share the evening with you. I began slicing up the salami, it...