SLN ~ The Newsletter ~ January 22, 2007

FROM THE EDITOR:

I got an interesting phone call, an unexpected one well after suppertime. It was a young man who went to school with my youngest children (who also were a little uncomfortable that their parents were a little older than most of their peers when they were in school). He was calling to talk to me, not either of them. He had a business proposition that he wanted to speak with me about. I must admit that he took me by surprise. He wants me to partner with him in starting a local business that will employ young people who need jobs. OK. He got my attention with that.

“Let me understand. You want to hire me?”

“No. I want to partner with you. You have the know-how.”

OK. He was holding my attention, and we agreed that we will sit down together to discuss this business venture so I know exactly what he’s looking for and I’ll know exactly what I need to do to make it happen.

It’s amazing, sometimes, the twists and turns that life takes when we least expect anything to happen. As I wrote in one of my articles, life is a chess game. We never really know what’s coming around the next bend, or how the roles of the players will change, thus the wisdom about not burning your bridges behind you. You never know when you’ll need those bridges again.

If you haven’t had a good challenge recently, don’t wait for the phone to ring. What have you got to lose by trying to beat the challenge? Go for the gold!

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DINNER FOR ONE

It was so much fun learning to cook for my new husband. We were young, in love and loving every minute of our newlywed status. It was just the two of us for two years, actually 25 months, before the first baby arrived. I wouldn’t trade those 25 months for anything. They were wonderful. And I’m looking forward to our time together when the last adult child leaves the nest. I may as well look forward to it because it’s going to happen anyway.

Oh, I knew how to do some cooking. Every afternoon at about 4:30 my mother would say, “Cathy, peel the potatoes for supper.” She would read the newspaper in the living room while I peeled the potatoes in the kitchen and diced them and put them on to cook. And in the summertime, about two in the afternoon I would peel an onion and dice it over a roast in an aluminum foil lined baking pan, season it, wrap it tight and put it in the oven to cook over the next 2-1/2 to 3 hours. (This was before Crock Pots got so popular.) Then I would peel potatoes, slice them in a baking dish, butter, season and add the milk-flour mixture for scalloped potatoes, and put that aluminum foil covered dish in the oven to cook. So, I guess I did know a little bit about cooking when I got married.

Things changed a lot over the next 12 years or so. Our family grew to include our four children and any of their friends who were around at suppertime. I always threw an extra potato into the pot, so to speak.

My mother remarked one day, “I hate cooking for just the two of us. Your dad doesn’t eat much so it’s a waste of my time to cook if I’m the only one who’s going to eat it.”

Now, our two youngest still live at home, but I expect that will change over the next year. There are times, though, when I have to cook for just the two of us. If it’s just me, I eat leftovers. (I hate to throw away food.) But I’m tired of the standard meat, potato and vegetable combo. I don’t like to do take-out all the time. But where do I find some new, healthy and nutritious ideas for dinner for two…or even one?

Maybe you have the same feelings. I’m looking for ideas for all of us. If you have a great recipe you’d like to share, please, post it to me and I’ll include it in a future newsletter. Please include your name and the state or country where you live so I can give you the proper credit. And please, include clear directions for preparation and how I can contact you with any questions I might have. I mean, since we are in this golden age thing together...

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COMING SOON

Upcoming articles for Senior Living at Bella Online include:

Monday, Jan. 22, 2007:
Do you really want a pet? They demand a lot of attention if you want a gentle, loving, and well-behaved pet. Are you up to the challenge?

Monday, Jan. 29, 2007
What’s on your to-do-before-you-die list? I’m finding that one lifetime just isn’t going to be enough to do everything on my list.

Monday, Feb. 4, 2007
Can the stars really forecast our destiny? This is the introduction of what I think will be an ongoing series as I research, study and share my discoveries over the course of time.

Monday, Feb. 11, 2007
Life is a lot about perspective. It took me awhile to figure out perspective in that college drawing class. And now that I’m a little older, I’ve learned that perspectives change, influenced by our experiences.

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UNTIL NEXT TIME…

Remember, life is just what we make it. We can make ourselves miserable with worry and bitterness or we can choose to be happy, to roll with the punches, let things roll off of us like water off a duck’s back because we know the sun is going to rise again tomorrow and we’re going to wake up to a new day, a new opportunity to try again and pass the hurdles of the day before.

Hugs!
Cathy


Here's the latest article from the Senior Living site at BellaOnline.com.

Cell phones here to stay
Are you cell phone illiterate? We´re products of the Age of Technology, thus we need to ´get with the program.´

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art48476.asp

Please visit seniorliving.bellaonline.com for even more great content about Senior Living. To participate in free, fun online discussions, this site has a community forum all about Senior Living located here -

http://forums.bellaonline.com/postlist.php?Cat=0&Board=53

I hope to hear from you sometime soon, either in the forum or in response to this email message. I thrive on your feedback!

Have fun passing this message along to family and friends, because we all love free knowledge!

Cathy Brownfield, Senior Living Editor
http://seniorliving.bellaonline.com

One of hundreds of sites at BellaOnline.com


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