Sephardic cooking

Posted on September 9, 2016 by Blog Mavens

Rachel, Age 71

I retired from teaching at age 60 to spend a month with my daughter in LA as she was having her first child, my second grandchild. I continued to substitute teach and take orders for my ethnic Sephardic cooking. I started that small business after my first divorce in 1992: Rachel’s Sephardic Delicacies. (Sephardic refers to my heritage of Jews expelled from Spain in 1492 during the Inquisition.)

At 62 I was divorcing again! At 69 I started to write a cookbook using Word on my computer and at 70 it was published by LifeRich Publishing in 2015. The book is on Amazon.com: A LEGACY OF SEPHARDIC, MEDITERRANEAN AND AMERICAN RECIPES. So far, 72 books have sold online. I do local book signings and give cooking classes. I still substitute teach, take orders and volunteer bake for my Sephardic synogogue. I am also a co-president of my local retired school employees association in the state of Washington. I now have 7 grandchildren.

Posted in 70candles, Goals ahead, Grandparenting, Looking ahead, Resilience, Share your story | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Am I really 71!!!!!

Posted on September 5, 2016 by Blog Mavens

Sheilagh, Age 71

What a charming web site, so happy to have found you. Am a British lady living in Montreal for over thirty years. Love it here except the winters are brutal, but I do stay in when it’s so cold. So ladies, I have a few health problems but guess how I deal with them. I eat only organic, drink lots of water and work out on a regular basis. I have done pilates regularly for about ten years and still do, but also do something called pilates stretch from my home which has an attachment for any door. I do this via Skype once or twice a week and also in my own. I hasten to add I only take synthroid for my thyroid. Take magnesium from the health store and vitamin e. I really don’t give in to my bad knees and cope with the exercise which alleviates the pain.

You know what, even if you are seventy try something new, and many of us are on our own, so rather than relying on other people just stay fit and chose our own old age. I am blessed with a son and daughter with my son having two girls and my daughter a son and daughter. I stay with her a lot and take care of my granddaughter who is fourteen months. I am an early riser and by five need to rest but am happy to be able to do this.

I have lived in many countries and have wonderful memories and am planning a trip to Ireland and England as soon as I can. So all you seventy year olds interested to hear what you have to say, and trust the sun is shining down on each and everyone of you.

Sheilagh Dagwell

Posted in 70candles, Grandparenting, Looking ahead, Networking, Our bodies, our health, Traveling | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Women just know what you mean

Posted on September 4, 2016 by Blog Mavens

Linda, Age 66

My husband is ill and has been for the past, what seems like 20 years. As his condition worsened I retired early to be his caretaker. It was the hardest thing I have ever done. Although I am technically not 70 yet, I am close and feel every bit that age.

I was a full time Human Resources Executive, for over 30 years. I believe the nurturing, helping people cope, as well as problem solving skills, are still being used daily. Being a baby boomer and given my value system, family came first in spite of my career demands. I put in long days at work, but many times those started at 5am rather than stay at the office till 7pm as often as I could, so I could also fulfill my family duties. Looking back I regret that, but I am as guilty as my family for creating and sustaining that. However I believe that made me stronger and prepared me for the role I play today. A woman today would never do that.

I found being home full time time was making me “crazy” so I work outside the home very part time just to see and meet people. The money is a pittance, but needed, given all of todays high medical and co-pay costs. The interaction I receive through working is irreplaceable. My tasks at home grow each day as his health declines however, I would not be able to cope or do this if it weren’t for my woman friends. How long will I “be able” to work is anyone’s guess, but it keep me vital in the meantime.

In the recent history I have lost 2 very dear friends. I have lost parents, a brother and 2 sisters, but nothing compares to losing a dear friend. They don’t send cards and send casseroles when you lose a friend. Friends are my glue to the outside world, without my female friends I’d be lost, whether they live 2 miles or 2000 miles away. Women just know what you mean, even if they haven’t experienced it, their compassion and ability to “hear” you is something you can not describe or put into words. Losing my best friend to an untimely death was like losing my right arm, it would have been easier to sever that arm. Nothing replaces the interaction and friendship she provided.

The thing I miss most about my husband is how we use to talk, the deep discussion about boundless subjects. Conversations with him now are near impossible and anything of depth is near impossible. Yet he was my most intimate friend. Only another woman gets that. Another woman understands that …most people don’t.

An hour conversation with a woman friend, a quick coffee, is like elixir. That time revives me. That time gives me strength. I expect that need to only grow as the years do.

I try to stay active by reading, its hard to be out of the house anymore than I have to. I lack craft and or artistic ability, but enjoy a good book or a provocative article, so I look forward to joining book clubs when my situation changes and that opportunity presents itself.

I guess that’s how we refer to “it” now, when our situation changes.

Posted in 70candles, Caretaking, Family matters, Networking | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Gathering in Southern California

Posted on September 2, 2016 by Blog Mavens

Cindy, Age 69

Do you live in southern California?

I am trying to start a 70 Candles group for the Pasadena/Los Angeles area.
Due to the large area covered by Los Angeles county, I find women interested in forming a gathering might live up to 50+ miles apart. This makes it very difficult to meet personally on a regular basis. I thought I could moderate our communications through group e-mail.

Each month I would submit a topic of concern to launch a conversation through email. Of course, if you join the group it is understood that comments and personal details submitted would be confidential within the group.

Please let me know if you have an interest in joining us.
Cindycarlburg@yahoo.com

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Boston gathering – do you live near here?

Posted on August 26, 2016 by Blog Mavens

Mary, Turning 71

I’m Mary Hirsch of Boston, (turning a youthful 71 tomorrow) with an UPDATE for the pending FIRST 71Candles get together as soon as our HOT/HUMID “peasant weather,” as my tiny, aristocratic French grandma called it) passes. I share her view on the nastiness of heat/humidity, sans judgment on the “peasant” business. Grannie was an aristocrat, bless her little heart. I moved to Boston from Santa Monica eight years ago not only because Boston was on my bucket list (and I love crossing out stuff on my list) but because I absolutely LOVE snow, cold abd rain: the more the merrier, so “let it rip, dear Lord!” My body loves it.

So here’s the scoop: In the last couple of months, I’ve heard from a few women in the surrounding area of Boston and they all sound wonderful. One, in particular, sounds like a kindred spirit: retired from a professional she loved, exercise lover, POSITIVE, active, engaged in life and a woman with a purpose besides being a grandma, baking cookies, obsessed with ailments and feeling sorry for herself because she’s “aging.” WE ALL ARE! Please do NOT misunderstand and sense any judgment on women who opt for what I described (do your thing; it’s YOUR life!) it’s just that some of us (minority, probably) opt for other choices and it’s ALL good; all good. I just hope that as we move along in Boston, we might be able to put a group of women with COMMON interests beside “aging.” I just want to be perfectly clear of where I, personally am coming from.

Tomorrow I’ll be 71 – and rocking it. No biggie. Like most of us, I have my health challenges which I call “hobbies,” but REFUSE to dwell on. Suffice it say I’ve had my share and am presently being “challenged” with a particular one but I’ll be the first NOT to bore you; I’ll save that for my doctors – they get PAID to listen! Instead, I’m doing ALL I can to jump this hurdle and most excited about my MAIN present to myself: treat myself ALL AUGUST with gifts to myself: (I’ve already hit Tiffany’s, a trip to La Jolla, CA, and can’t wait to get the snazziest pair of RUNNING SHOES and the best sports bra! I’ve already hit the hairdresser to trim my pageboy, had my mani/pedi. The spoiling continues! And I don’t wait for my birthday to spoil this Princess, as I do it all year long. I just crank it up a few NOTCHES during August!

So sisters, IF your thinking veers in my direction, we’ll have a great time. Life, as we all know, is life: unpredictable, challenging – and not for “sissies.” We are ALL given our challenges and we have CHOICES to make: give in, surrender, feel sorry for ourselves or like warriors, MARCH ON! I CHOOSE to be a warrior and sometimes think of life as a bowling lane, knocking off one pin (challenge) at a time, jumping up and down when I get a strike. And with that attitude, you can be sure, I manage to get a few.

I’ll leave you with one of my favorite quotes: “I may not be able to control the wind, but I surely can control my sails! IT’S ALL ABOUT ATTITUDE – AND GRATITUDE!

Posted in 70candles, 70Candles! Gatherings, 70Candles! Gatherings - the experience, Goals ahead, Gratitude and Spirituality, Looking ahead, Networking, Our bodies, our health, Stories, Where to live | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

On The Other Side

Posted on August 23, 2016 by Blog Mavens

Natalie, Age 65+

ON THE OTHER SIDE is a living portrait of the aging woman as her “youngness” slips away.
Based on a poem by Natalie H. Rogers, the film interweaves voice, animation and music to lay bare the essence of a woman’s vanishing youth; her aging process is irrevocable revealing a deeply fragile and touching reality.

Tova Beck-Friedman
http://tbfstudio.com/on_the_other_side.html
https://www.facebook.com/tova.beckfriedman
http://tbfstudio.tumblr.com
Twitter: @tbfstudio

I would like to share with you my recent short video:

(please click on the link below)

https://vimeo.com/139826082

Posted in 70candles, Our bodies, our health, Poetry | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

Book Group Discussion Questions – now avaiable

Posted on August 20, 2016 by Blog Mavens

We’ve found that our book, 70Candles! Women Thriving in Their 8th Decade is an excellent catalyst for rich conversation among women in book groups. Inevitably, each participant finds at least some topics, among the many in the book, that are personally relevant.

We’ve just added to the Kindle/Nook edition, a set of Book Group Discussion Questions that will be useful in those settings. We’ll let you know when they appear in the the print edition as well.

We hope you’ll let us know if your book group has adopted 70Candles! …and our blog readers would love to hear how the session went.

Warmly,
Jane and Ellen

Posted in 70candles, 70Candles! Gatherings, Networking, What we're reading | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

What aging is teaching me

Posted on August 15, 2016 by Blog Mavens

Lois, Age 73

Back in 2008 I decided to start a website offering my art knowledge to all for no cost. It is http://www.free-online-art-classes.com and ranks well in the internet.

As a light specialist I signed on with Home Depot and have been working part time for nine years.

Age 70 was a paradigm shift for me. Suddenly, it seemed, everything was going gravitational, my breasts to my stomach, my stomach to my groin and my limbs sagging with muscles that seem to have deflated.

I found that moving wasn’t the same, even though I walk my dog every day for at least twenty minutes. I signed on with Planet Fitness for exercises for my knees, arms and legs. But another year or two, I had to reduce my hours at Home Depot because I just couldn’t hold up for six hours on my feet any more.

I still kept active, I thought, but four weeks ago, as I was disco dancing while cooking a nice stir fry in my kitchen, my ankle went pop and went down like the Titanic. I am in my fourth week with cast and wheel chair and have made a resolution to honor the exercises my therapists have assigned to me as well as recruiting dear friends to shop, water garden, take out trash, etc. I am on medical leave now.

LIke so many, as a previously independent person, I have had to change my life to adapt. And, I think, there will be more changes to come. Aging is teaching me to accept who I am becoming and what I want to be…strong, independent, creative and willing to share with others, young and old, my knowledge, humor and past experiences.

Posted in 70candles, About turning 70, Our bodies, our health | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Starting a group!

Posted on August 12, 2016 by Blog Mavens

Carolyn, Age 75

Found the book on a whim when I saw the title. From there, the first sighting, came the reading, WOW an answer! Now we are beginning a Seventy Candles (that includes women in their eighties as well) Gathering beginning in September. We will meet regularly once a month and invite any in the Hurst-Euless-Bedford Area, or any place close by to join us. Looking forward to an exciting adventure as we learn and share together.

Posted in 70candles, 70Candles! Gatherings, Looking ahead, Networking | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Feeling guilty – hoping for some insights

Posted on August 5, 2016 by Blog Mavens

Briony, Age 66

66, married for 15 years to a man 18 years younger. But he looks my age, I look his age, and he’s more grown-up/adult than I. And he’s currently getting chemo for colorectal cancer (all cancers run in his family) — so it’s kind of like living with an 80 year old; chemo is debilitating. I envision having to take care of him in future, and outliving him, rather than the expected reverse scenario. This frankly terrifies me. I feel unsafe. I keep waiting for some other shoe to fall.

Like others who have shared here, I feel guilty that I’m struggling to accept my entry into “old age” now that it — and illness, death, loss of control, loss of . . . well, everything one has built over a lifetime — looms nearer. I know it does no good to worry in advance, that only poisons the present. And makes one a boring, depressing companion, especially to one’s own self! I just have always been young, especially internally: this new existence feels foreign, Not Me, I can’t relate. But I’ll have to find or create a way to. Hoping for some insight here among fellow travelers.

Posted in 70candles, Caretaking, Family matters | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments