Brad Pitt

It doesn’t matter if you’re a female teenager, a retired baby boomer like me or anywhere in between, as long as you have a heartbeat, I’m sure you find Brad Pitt attractive. There’s just something about that man that electrifies the movie screen. Just think of him in “Thelma and Louise” (his break through movie) or “Legends of the Fall”!

I recently saw his latest movie “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.” If you’ve seen the previews, you know the unbelievable, but fascinating premise of the story. A true Brad Pitt fan will find the almost 3 hour running time is not long enough to tell Benjamin’s life story as Pitt is very appealing as both the narrator and in the title role. The special effects skillfully done by the make-up artists were astonishing. The artists not only created an unrecognizable aged Pitt, but in the reverse aging scenes gave us a Pitt that looked almost as young as he did in “A River Runs through It”.

I’d highly recommend this movie only if you like Pitt and enjoy movies that stretch your imagination; otherwise, you might find this lengthy movie rather tedious. For a detailed review, go to http://movies.nytimes.com/2008/12/25/movies/25butt.html

Rockettes Christmas Show

I went to see the
Radio City Rockettes' Christmas Spectacular with my sister Ginny and my nieces, Lauren and Linsey. It's such a fabulous show that this was the 2nd time that we've seen it here in St. Louis at the Fox Theater. The dazzling production has been put on at Christmas for more than 75 years!

The show features several numbers with the Rockettes performing their signature waist high kicks and precision choreography. Highlights of the show included the legendary "Parade of the Wooden Soldiers", and "New York at Christmas," a colorful, fast moving holiday number.

With Santa as the emcee and several numbers specifically designed for the kids, it's definitely a show that your grandchildren will love.

The show ends with an emotionally-charged Living Nativity scene with vividly designed costumes and live animals. There's just a few shows left this year, but here's a website where you can check out tickets. It's so popular that they are already selling tickets for the 2009 Holiday Season!

http://www.coasttocoasttickets.com/concerts/radio-city-rockettes_tickets.shtml

To see more clips of the show, go to the official Rockettes website at http://christmas.radiocity.com/

Am I old yet?

On this trip to

St. Louis I've thought a lot about aging as I have several aunts and uncles who are over 90, so the term "old age" has been brought up a lot. At 96 my aunt Katy is my oldest living relative and not doing well. My Uncle Barney is over 90, in decent shape and lives in a very nice old folks home. To me, they are really old!

That's a picture of me and my nephew Nick at our Christmas dinner. I just found out that he thinks I'm a really "old person". Pretty depressing!!

See, I hadn't really thought much about it, but our age differences (30 plus years) are about the same as me to my older aunts and uncle, so it makes sense, but it hurt!

I don't want to be classified as 'really old' by anyone. He made a few jokes about me living in a retirement community and sitting around all day with the old folks playing bingo and shuffleboard. So while I don't feel old yet, either chronologically or physically, it was interesting to see how I'm viewed by the younger generation.

While it's hard to accept, because of my chronological age, I'm now considered part of the "young-old" (ages 55 to 74). Check out article at http://ohioline.osu.edu/ss-fact/0101.html

Happy Holidays!

I hope you enjoyed a wonderful Christmas with your family and friends! We had such a great time at my sister Ginny's home. It was just so much fun -- more than 30 people were there. Being Italian, we're all very, very loud; so with that many people we should've passed out ear plugs at the door!

Here's a picture of my mom, Eleanor, on the left of Santa -- she's 83 and had 9 kids. We range in age from 49 to 60 -- so she was always on the go. On the right is my 90 year old aunt who we affectionately call Betty Boop.

There were 4 generations of my family there ranging in age from 5 weeks to 83. I felt a little over the hill when my brother-in-law reminded me that next to my mom and aunt, I was the oldest person there. I just hadn't thought about that, but it was true.

It was a joyous celebration and now I'm looking forward to New Year's Eve!

Nintendo Wii

The Nintendo Wii is still one of the hottest Christmas gifts this year.

I visited with my brother and his wife today. We had a great time this afternoon bowling, playing tennis and skiing (even though I'm in St. Louis).

It's really fun......and something you can do with your grandkids or even your much older parents.

I love to ski and when playing with the skiing video, I actually felt like I was flying down a mountain. It's just so realistic, with the various elements coming into play....riding the chairlift, the wind, snow, moguls, jumps and even dodging other skiers on the mountain.

We even got my 83 year old mom to bowl! At first, she had a hard time with the Wii Remote, but finally got the hang of it and bowled a few lanes.

Nintendo Wii games are becoming very popular in retirement communities and many are even organizing senior Wii tournaments. Check out the YouTube Video of a Wii Sports bowling championship tournament among residents at Erickson senior living communities.

http://www.joystiq.com/2007/10/03/old-people-wii-bowling-is-awesome-episode-1/

Travel Tidbits

Flying to see the kids and grandchildren for the holidays?
Then join the maddening crowds!

I flew out of Denver International Airport (DIA) on Monday and while I’m a seasoned traveler, I was a little nervous as there just had been an accident there last Saturday night. A plane skidded off the runway on takeoff. Luckily, all the passengers escaped and there were no deaths. Still the accident was on my mind as the winds were extremely high again this morning.

Here’s a few tips that made my trip easier:

• Leave for the airport an hour earlier than you normally would. You just can’t accurately anticipate car accidents, icy roads or the wait in the security line.
• Carry as little as possible with you on the plane which will speed things up in the security lines. Isn't it absurd that we have to pay to check luggage, but I’d rather do that than try to dodge passengers while pulling a heavy suitcase through the airport. I was shocked as I paid $37 to check in 2 small suitcases, neither of which was overweight, so that was just the standard check in fee for 2 bags on United.
• Make up a mantra to repeat to yourself while standing in line. Okay, I know that sounds a little metaphysical – but believe me it will help you stay calm as you’re being pushed and shoved in that long security line. Mine was – ENHANCE, ELEVATE and EXPAND.

ENHANCE – Reminded me to have a pleasant encounter with everyone I met at the airport and ENHANCE their day by being friendlier than usual and wishing them” Happy Holidays”.

ELEVATE – Reminded me to ELEVATE myself more spiritually during this season by doing more an unexpected kindness for someone.

EXPAND -- Reminded me to expand my circle of friends by reconnecting with some of my friends in St. Louis and making new friends. It sincerely helped me to repeat those words to myself as I grew impatient in the security line.

If you’re renting a car – be persistent in getting what you reserved. When I went to pick up my car, the agent first told me that there were no mid-sized cars left and I’d have to pay for an upgrade. When I refused, he tried to give me an economy car. When I went out to the lot, I talked with the attendant who checked in the returned cars. Sure enough, he told me that there were several of the mid-sized cars available. Since I’m here in St. Louis for 2 weeks, I decided to take the time and change out cars.

No matter where you spend your holidays I wish you a joyful, fun time with your family and friends!

Does she ... or doesn't she?

If you’re a Boomer, you’ll remember that slogan!

Spending over 3 hours at the beauty shop today made me think about the aging process and how differently each of us deal with it.

Some people just accept the gray hair and the wrinkles, while others have monthly maintenance rituals. I feel that as you age you should do whatever makes you happy in terms of maintaining or improving your looks. I hate pain, so forget plastic surgery!

But when it comes to my crowning glory, I’ve been hitting the bottle since I was 25 when I noticed my first grey hair and panicked. I could have bought a cute, brand-new, red Mercedes coupe for what I’ve spent on my hair over the past 35 years!

Speaking of hair color – mine has ranged from the darkest brown (my natural color) to blonde and many shades in between! Of course, there’s been a few dyeing disasters, like the time the chemicals in the dye negatively reacted to my previously permed hair leaving me with little tufts of Brillo-like hair in shades of green, black, brown and a horrible gray. That fiasco was the worst and when the next beautician tried to correct it – well, let's just say that I was lucky that I didn't end up bald. My hair was so damaged, the only solution was to cut it very, very short. Talk about a bad hair day; well, I had a string of 95 bad hair days before it finally grew out!

And the answer to that question --
''Hair color so natural only her hairdresser knows for sure..............''

An interesting tidbit is that the entire Clairol ad campaign almost got scrapped due to the double-meaning of that question– check out:
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9802EFDC173AF93BA35755C0A96E958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all

JERSEY BOYS

"OH, WHAT A NIGHT!"

I'm so wired! I just got home from the Denver Center's Production of "Jersey Boys", the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. What a phenomenal show!

From the start, it was fast-paced, energetic and definitely captured the feeling of that era. The lead actor portraying Frankie Valli sounded so much like him and mimicked his actions so well, that I could've sworn it was a young Valli on stage. The show included many of their hits - "Sherry", "Big Girls Don't Cry", "Dawn", and "Ragdoll". If you're a Boomer and liked the Four Seasons, I'm sure one of their hit songs will take you for a heart-felt stroll down memory lane!

We had great seats in the Orchestra Section, but they were quite pricey at $92 a ticket!
It was so worth it -- this was the best show I've seen since I moved here 9 years ago.

I know times are tough for retirees with the stock market crash and it being the Holiday Season, but if this show is offered in your town-- I don't care if you have to eat bologna sandwiches for a month -- go see it! You'll leave the theater just like I did -- singing their songs and dancing out the door!

WARNING: Not suitable for younger kids as they freely use profanity in some scenes including the big "F" word.

For ticket info go to: http://www.jerseyboysinfo.com/tour/

Can't Sleep!

It's 4 am and I'm wide awake!

It's not like when I was younger and just might be coming home at 4 am from a night of partying and dancing.

Or when I had a deadline at work and laid awake all night going over the details in my mind.

Dreaded insomnia -- one of the natural side-effects of the aging process has once again reared it's ugly head. It's not as if it happens every night, but when it does I just can't get back to sleep and it totally ruins the next day. So here I am at 4 am BLOGGING.

Some of the standard rules for dealing with insomnia are:

1. Get exercise during the day.
2. Make sure the room temperature and conditions suit you.
3. Eat light meals, especially at night time.
4. Avoid alcohol late at night.
5. Accept that your body and sleeping patterns will change with age.
6. Follow a routine. If you cannot sleep at night, don't force it, but make sure you get up at the same time every morning.
7. Take a bath, read a book, do yoga, exercise and stay mentally and emotionally fit.

I follow most of those rules and still wake up in the middle of the night. So, if you do to, drop me a note and tell me how you get back to sleep!

Has your Nest Egg Cracked?

Wouldn't it be nice if just one day went by without hearing or reading about a bailout or stock scandal?

Other than the National Election, financial horror stories have dominated the news for the past 5 months, the latest being the PONZI-like Pyramid Scheme created by Bernard Madoff, a former chairman of the NASDAQ Stock Market. It's unbelievable that someone in his position would trade on his reputation and expertise to cheat so many people and charities out of more than $50 billion dollars! It really saddened me to see one of the investors interviewed on TV who lost their entire life savings. As one man put it -- "I've lived responsibly my entire life and one phone call wiped it all out!"

I really liked the above photo because while the egg is cracked (symbolic of our own nest egg), the buildings inside look safe - right? And that's how I think most of us feel right now --- while we have watched our own 'retirement nest egg' crack and plunge to 20 t0 30% of it's value, the big corporations have received relief (safety) from the Government. If this financial fiasco hasn't hit you personally, I'm sure you have a friend or relative who has had to postpone retirement because they can no longer count on supplementing Social Security by making withdrawals from their 401Ks.

So, what can you do personally in 2009 to get some relief from this financial crunch? Use your house -- that's right!

First, if you still have a mortgage seriously consider refinancing your mortgage. Today the Fed's policy panel dropped its target for the federal-funds rate to between zero and 0.25%, the lowest on record, so there will be significant drop in interest rates. Get on the internet tomorrow and check out the new, lower mortgage rates!

The second way you can use your home if it's paid off is a reverse mortgage. A reverse mortgage is a special type of home loan that lets your convert a portion of your equity into cash. But unlike a traditional home equity loan or second mortgage, no repayment is required until the borrower no longer uses the home as their principal residence.

To be eligible for reverse mortgage requires that the borrower is a homeowner, at least 62 or older; own your home outright, or have a low mortgage balance that can be paid off at the closing with proceeds from the reverse loan; and must live in the home. There are many other rules, so if you're considering a reverse mortgage, go to: http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/hecm/rmtopten.cfm

Housing Options

Have you thought about moving after you retire?


People move during their lifetime for many reasons -- for their job, getting married, needing a larger home; but the top 3 reasons why retirees move are: to be close to their family; to reduce their living costs; or a change in marital status due to death or divorce.

Some of the housing options to consider depending upon your age, health, financial position and marital status are:

• APARTMENT - requires minimal cash, little maintenance, but you have to deal with other tenants and a smaller space
• CONDO - builds up equity, but you have other homeowners close by
• SINGLE FAMILY HOME - offers privacy and ownership, but more expensive and requires maintenance
• BOARDING IN A PRIVATE HOME - offers a homelike setting with other people, but homeowners exert too much control
• COHOUSING - similar to owning a single family home, but in a cohousing community you're committed to eat common meals, allocate dues, and pay for the common buildings
• CONTINUING CARE COMMUNITIES - offers prepaid health care, social activities and you don't have to move if you need more medical care, but this is usually the most expensive option.

Don't rush your decision!! Before you pack your bags and call the movers, be sure you spend time further researching the many housing options. Plan to spend time visiting that area or housing situation and talk frankly to the people living there. It'll save you time and money and give you peace of mind in knowing you made an informed decision.

Holiday Movies

I love going to the movies! The Holiday Season is one of the best times for taking in a movie as the Hollywood Studios release

several new Christmas movies and Blockbusters beginning Thanksgiving week. I recently saw the movie "Australia". It starts out a bit slow, but I thought it was great movie -- definitely an EPIC which you have to see on the big screen to experience the full beauty of the Australian outback and the magnetism of the "Sexiest Man Alive" Hugh Jackson. I know several reviews were less than complimentary, but the story line of overcoming adversity, the war and an unlikely romance were just the right combination for a memorable movie.

But I was disappointed with "Four Christmases". I thought Reeese Witherspoon was great in some of her earlier movies, but found her performance here lacking --- her delivery was too stiff and she looked bored in some scenes. Most of us can relate to one or more of the dreaded holiday visits that the two of them tried to avoid, but there were just too many cliches to make it a good comedy. When I go to the movies, I expect to be entertained and this movie just didn't deliver.

Healthy Hearts

Ladies - please pay attention to your heart!

I was 44 when I had a heart attack and it was the ton of bricks and elephant sitting on my chest type of feeling. (Symptoms more common to a man having a heart attack.) I was immediately rushed to the hospital and thank God, I made it. I'm bringing it to your attention because the Holiday Season is a very stressful time of the year for Superwomen who are trying to play so many roles - mother, grandmother, sister, daughter, friend, cookie-maker.

But more importantly, because a good friend of mine recently had a heart attack. We had been playing telephone tag and when I finally reached Mary, I couldn't believe that just 4 weeks after retiring and 2 weeks after running a half-marathon, she had a heart attack. What is most frightening is that because she had symptoms she described as more flu-like , she put off going to the hospital for several days. By the time she went to the emergency room, the doctors found that she had 4 blocked arteries.

Don't delay--call 911 immediately--if you experience any of the following symptoms :

Pain or discomfort in the center of the chest.

Pain or discomfort in other areas of the upper body, including the arms, back, neck, jaw, or stomach

Other symptoms, such as a shortness of breath, breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea, or light-headedness.

.......and during this Holiday Season -- don't stress yourself out -- if the planning, shopping and cooking gets to be too much -- either do less or ask for help!

For additional info on Women and Heart Attacks, go to http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/actintime/haws/women.htm

Cutting Car Insurance Costs

Aren’t you always looking for ways to save money?

I sure am! If I can save $25 or $30 a month, that’s another dinner out. So, when you retired did you contact your car insurance agent to let them know that you are no longer driving to work every day and are now older?

In retirement, many people cut the distance they drive per year by 5,000 to 7,000 miles which would result in a decrease in their car insurance. Some insurance companies give you another discount when you hit 60! I also wanted to let you know about the AARP Driver Safety Program ( http://www.aarpdriversafety.org ) since in many states you can get an additional 10% discount on your car insurance when you pass that course. WOW, was I ever excited to find out today that you can now take that course ONLINE and it's even cheaper. I immediately signed up today, since AARP is offering an additional discount on the course if you sign up by Dec 31st. It takes 8 hours but you don't have to complete it all at once.

So, if you're looking to save a little cash, don't forget to review that car insurance policy immedidately and make sure they have down the correct number of miles per year and your real age (this is one time you don't want to lie about it)!

The Brown Palace

Retirees are always looking for a fun afternoon outing, so after our book club discussion of the “Murder at the Brown Palace”, we decided to take a tour of the historic Hotel located in Downtown Denver. The Hotel is an impressive site, triangular in shape and the exterior is a deep red hue from the Colorado granite and Arizona sandstone. The Brown Palace was built by Henry Cordes Brown. He was quite the entrepreneur, purchasing several acres of land and then donating a part of it for the state capitol building. With the Country’s first 8 story atrium, the Hotel was considered an architectural feat for that era.

While the Brown Palace is known world-wide for treating their guests like royalty, it’s a hit with local Denverites for their afternoon High Teas, with tasty scones, delicious pastries and delicate tea sandwiches.

A highlight of the tour was to see the area where the “Murder” took place, but the famous “Marble Bar” is no longer there, having been removed during a remodel.

We ended our tour with a visit to one of their executive suites that was so huge it looked bigger than my home. I was thrilled to see it because at $1650 a night that’s the only way I ever would!

MAKE A WISH

Most of you know about the Make A Wish Foundation and their wonderful mission of granting wishes to children.

There's a great way that you can help them out this Holiday Season at no cost to you. While you're out shopping with your grandchildren please stop by your local MACY's store and look for the big red Believe Station Mailbox (usually it's displayed right in the main entrance).

There is a Believe Meter and a letter-writing station. Take a few minutes and have your grandkids write a letter to Santa. It'll be fun for them and for every letter sent to Santa, MACY's will donate $1 to the Make A Wish Foundation, up to $1,000,000!! It's an easy way to help out Make A Wish - so please stop by.

http://www.macysbelieve.com/#/Home?ga=MakeAWish

Holiday Parties!

RETIRED?

If so, I bet you're just like me at this time of the year and you miss work -- well, not really work, but all the Christmas Parties and holiday cheer. I love the Christmas Holidays and it was always so much fun at work -- decorating the office, participating in Toys for Tots, cookies and candy everywhere and Secret Santa.

We all had a Secret Santa in our office when I worked in Germany. Our personal Secret Santa would leave a small gift on our desk every day for 1 week. The most fun though was that one employee played the Grinch and she would leave mean gifts on your desk, like a beautiful sweater with big holes cut in it or she gave one of the guys a Sports Illustrated Calendar with clothes drawn on all the models.

A big advantage of being retired is that now I don't worry so much about what happens at a Christmas Party like I did when working. I pretty much behaved at office Christmas parties, because I didn't want to come back from Christmas vacation and be reminded that I had been dancing on someone's desk.

The holiday activities have already started for me. On Saturday I went to a fun Holiday Party hosted by the Rocky Mountain Over the Hill Gang, the local Ski Club for anyone over 50. Then on Sunday afternoon we had a holiday singalong at our Clubhouse. Anyone who knows me will tell you that I can't carry a tune, but I still love to sing the Christmas favorites.

Office Christmas Parties are a national past time and have created many humorous situations. I'm sure many of them are captured in the annual play "Bob's Office Party" http://www.bobsofficeparty.com/ Check it out if you live in Los Angeles!

So, get out during this Holiday Season, socialize and have some fun. If you're looking for a Holiday Party, check out your local Senior Center. I'm sure they have several interesting activities planned for the Holdiays!

What's for lunch, honey?

I’m single, so I don’t have to answer that question, but this topic came to me one day when we were sitting around the clubhouse and I overheard a lady say, “Oh no, it’s 11:30 so I’ve got to run home and get lunch for Bill”.

I could tell by her tone that she really didn't want to leave.

Many couples have a tough time adjusting to retirement when all of a sudden they are thrust together for 24 hours a day. Those first few months after retirement are often filled with conflict as they attempt to renegotiate the boundaries of their relationship, especially when the wife hasn't worked full time and has a set routine that she's not ready to give up.

To ease the transition, spend a lot of time before you retire talking to each other and jointly deciding how much time you plan to spend together in a typical retirement day. Some things to think about:

• Keep your own friends. When working, I’m sure you both had your own set of friends. Don’t drop them now when you need them the most. Plan to still get together with your female friends for lunch or the theater. And for the men, why not start a ROMEO’s club and get together once a week. Oh, yeah, ROMEO stands for Really Old Men Eating Out


• Be prepared. If you are both retiring at the same time after having had full time jobs, you will now find yourself together at least 50 more hours a week. How are you going to creatively spend that time so that you don’t get into each other’s hair? You’ll not only have to rework the time spent together aspect of your relationship but also the space boundaries – like what will the wife do if all of a sudden your husband want’s to take over the cooking? Can you willingly give up your old turf or perhaps a compromise to cook dinner together is the best solution.
  
• Develop separate hobbies. It’s been proven people are happier after retirement if the have a part-time job or do volunteer work. Find something you’ve always wanted to do but before just didn’t have the time before--- perhaps it’s drawing, golf or volunteering for your favorite charity; then suggest that your spouse pursue a new hobby on their own. You need to spend time alone so that you can both bring something new to the relationship.

And the best answer to that question above is ---

Let's go out for lunch, dear and you can pick the place!

On-Line Book Clubs

Love to read, but can't find a book club in your area?

I belong to a regular, meet once-a-month in a member's home, eat great food, drink good wine, type of book club. I didn't even know that on-line book clubs existed until I wrote the BLOG "Book Clubs" (see Oct 8th BLOG).


I then received a comment from Jason at Booksprouts
(go to http://www.booksprouts.com/ ). I checked out their website and found it straightforward and easy to use. I think it's a great idea for anyone who lives in a remote area or can't find enough people to start a book club.

My book club has read a variety of fascinating books this past year, but the one I loved the most was Annie Freeman's Fabulous Traveling Funeral by Kris Radish. I'd highly recommend it as a great first book for you to start an on-line book club. Obviously someone dies (hey, you already know that with "Funeral" in the title). It's such an interesting read and warm tale of true female friendship. I also found the website http://www.book-clubs-resource.com/ to have several good ideas for book clubs.

Looking for someone to discuss that great book with -- then take the initiative and start a book club. Whether you start it on-line or in your home, it's fun, mentally stimulating and you'll make some new friends!

Holiday Hassles!

Are you tired already and Christmas is still
3 weeks away?

What with the shopping, decorating, writing Christmas cards and partying, it’s no wonder that by the time Christmas arrives we're worn out! So, here’s a few tips to help you avoid being stressed out during the holiday season:

• Stop Buying Gifts – When I retired 4 years ago I told all my nieces and nephews that the Bank of Aunt Rosie was closed and that there would be no more Christmas gifts from me. They didn’t like it, but since I live on a fixed income, I’d rather give what I feel I can afford for gifts to a person or a charity that really needs it. With money being so tight this year for everyone, I even talked to a few retired friends about skipping the Christmas gift exchange and they were all for it . But, if cutting off your family and friends cold turkey is just too much, then re-gift. Let's face it -- we all do it -- just try to find something that the person could actually use. Or offer something even more precious --the gift of your time – perhaps run errands for a house-bound friend or make a meal for them.
• Decide what’s really important to you - Accept your limitations and recognize that even if you’re retired, you only have so much time. List everything that you need and want to do for the holidays and then pick the 5 activities that mean the most to you. This year I decided that I didn’t want to spend time decorating my home as I’m going to St. Louis for 2 weeks. But I love to stay in touch with my family and friends, so I’m sending out over 100 cards.
• Avoid negative people - While that’s more difficult to do at a family Christmas party, just say “Hello” and then immediately move on to another family member or sit in another part of the house. Remember that it takes 2 to argue, so just refuse to engage with the argumentative person. Or if you feel that the Christmas Day party will be unbearable, then visit those family members you like either on Christmas Eve or the day after the holiday. I know how bad it can get as I come from a large family and our holiday parties always have at least 25 to 30 people there. It got to the point that there would be at least one argument at every party, so my sister had a great idea to keep the conversations moving in a more positive manner by asking each person to describe their favorite childhood memories of Christmas.
  
  No matter how you decide to spend your time and money during the Holiday Season, just make sure it’s doing what you really want and that alone will keep your stress down.

Senior Connection

With Boomers rapidly becoming the largest group in society, there are many Trade Shows popping up that target us. These Shows bring to us a wide variety of products ranging from health, recreational activities and hobbies, home improvement to travel.

WestWind Productions, in partnership with the Todd Creek Red Hatters, will produce a Senior Connection Show at Heritage Todd Creek in Thornton, on Tuesday, February 3, 2009. Check out their website at http://www.tradeshowsbywestwind.com/ for all seven Senior Connection show dates and locations in 2009.

On stage excitement starts on the hour and includes performances – all by active seniors- in dance, music, and fashion. Two fashion shows are scheduled including one exclusive to Red Hat designs. Ms Senior Colorado will make an appearance and MC the stage activities.

Red Hatters

RETIRED - but your friends are still working? A great way to make new friends is to join a local Red Hat Chapter. The Red Hat Society first began as a result of a few women deciding to greet middle age with humor rather than dreading it. It was started by Sue Ellen Cooper who bought a bright red fedora at a thrift shop; then about a year or so later she read the poem "Warning" by Jenny Joseph, which depicts an older woman in purple clothing with a red hat.

Sue Ellen decided that her birthday gift to her friend, Linda, would be a vintage red hat and a copy of the poem. Linda loved the gift so much that she gave the same things to another friend, then another, which blossomed into a world-wide organization devoted to friendship and fun.

Red Hatters relish life in their golden years enjoying friendship, new activities and a genuine enthusiasm for "what's next" as we age. I am a founding member of the Todd Creek Red Hatters in Thornton CO, started in August 2006 by a woman who had been very active in several Red Hat Chapters in California. We've grown to 97 members and during the year host a variety of activities including luncheons, going to theater and Denver attractions. With generous hearts, we support several charitable activities including adopting 2 teens at Christmas; a toiletry drive the homeless and a Dr. Seuss Day reading at the local school.

So if you're looking for new friends and fun ways to spend your time, check out the Red Hat Society website at http://www.redhatsociety.com/