Penny went into the hospital for balloon angioplasty Monday morning and the test before the procedure showed that she had 90% blockage of the artery in her left leg and 70% in the right leg. This condition has been causing her severe leg cramps and icy cold legs.  It has taken her doctors months to figure out what the problem is.

 

So they worked on her left leg and it appears to have been quite successful.  The leg is warmer and the cramping has stopped. 

 

Can you believe that she was up and around the next day and cooked supper last night?  Penny is just indomnitable.  Nothing stops her from doing what she wants. 

 

They told her that this procedure may give results that last months or years.  It just depends on how her body reacts.  So, in two weeks she will go in and have her right leg done.

My niece, Nan, has sent me some of the pix she took at the family gathering.  Here is a picture of Alexis (Ali) backstage after the performance of the opera where we went to congratulate her on her performance. The dress she is wearing is her costume for the second act of the  opera. When Penny was feeling of the dress, as Ali described it to her, Penny gasped, "I can't believe it - you have on a corset with stays!  How could you breath to sing while wearing it?"  She agreed that it was uncomfortable - and hot.  But that was the costume they gave her, so there was no choice in the matter

 

The second picture is of Ali and her co-star (and boy friend) Alek. He is a tenor of such talent that people are talking about him being one of the next generation of famous tenors. So, Placido Domingo, move over!

Penny and I left for a big family event held in a hotel near Oberlin College in Ohio, where my grandniece, Alexis (see pictures at the right) was the star of an Opera produced by college staff and students.  The opera was Elixir of Love, by Donizetti and astounded us with the quality of talent displayed. Ali has a magnificent voice and is gorgeous.  There will be pictures of the family gathering and the opera coming from my niece, Nan, and I will post them here.

 

This was a gathering of Lustigs who came from California, Florida and, of course Bloomington, IL. Nan is a Lustig who married a Grenier (Dan) and members of his side of the family also attended.  We had a total of 22 people.

 

Nan is a professional video photographer and producer and put her talents to work for this reunion. Members of the family dug out their pictures of family members and sent them to Nan to use in a slide show about the clan. The pictures went back to our forebears in Austria and followed through the descendants up to today. It was a huge kick seeing ourselves in our younger years - and watching the babies become adults. Also, it was a powerful emotional thing to see all those who have passed on.

 

There were a lot of tears, including mine.

 

Penny has been very warmly received by my family (and why shouldn't she be?) I have become close with her family and now she is becoming close with the Lustig branch of mine.

 

Here is an interesting note, one of the Grenier side of the family, Sharon, told us she is a regular visitor to this blog and enjoys it. She does not have a blog and has never commented, so we didn't know she was dropping in. She likes Penny's Patter the best. (Note: The comment response indicates that others do, too. So, how do I get her to contribute more often?)

 

All of this supports what Penny tells me her father often told her. "In the long run, what matters most to us is family." I say amen to that.

 

 

 

 

 

The replies to the previous posting about longevity have been interesting. Each of us views the prospect of a longer-than-expected life differently. Some are fatalistic.  Others don't know exactly how they are going to deal with it, but feel that they will find a way.

 

That gets me to the purpose of this posting. It is my experience each of us has a lot of control over what our late life experience may be. We can opt to do nothing and ride with the tide. That is one choice, in effect a form of control.  Or, we can be proactive and make things happen that will fill the needs of late life.

 

The key word here is proactive. If we sit around a wait for good things to happen, odds are they won't. But if we set goals and take actions to achieve them, odds are good things will happen.

 

But, you say, what kind of goals  can we set that might to doable? 

 

My answer is that we take advantage of all we have learned in a lifetime and put it to work. We no longer have to do the old 9:00 to 5:00 but we can devote a part of our time to constructive activity. One way to go at this is to offer one's services on a part-time basis. Start-up companies love this.  They can't afford to hire full time people, but they can handle the costs of part time. And many are becoming aware of what they get when they bring the experience and learning of late lifers into their business.

 

Ask my Client Marcos Menendez at Loop Consulting Group about this. He brought me into the picture with his one-man emerging company on an as-needed basis, and will tell you it has been a factor in his success.

 

Look for organizations that have a policy of hiring late lifers.  I immediately think of hospitals and certain retailers. For example Wal-Mart.

 

Check in with local not-for-profit organizations that do charitable work. Start as a volunteer and let it be known that you would like to progress to a paid position.

 

Be teacher/mentor. Pass the word around that you can teach wood working,  computer usage, cooking or sewing. These activities will not take up all of your day, but will give you the satisfaction of helping others - and bring in some money.

 

Then there is the activity of caretaking.  This need is growing by leaps and bounds as we have an aging population with older persons who need support with the basic activities of life. You don't have to be an RN or LPN to do this. Your can help people with physical limitations by visiting them at home and doing cooking, reading, or cleaning.

 

Then there is baby sitting. Who is better qualified than a late lifer who is the ultimately experienced person for this activity.

 

You see,  the list can go on and on.

 

Late Lifers can be rewarded for doing what they do best.  And consider the satisfaction that most of these activities can bring.

 

 

 

 

An article in the November issue of Money magazine entitled "Make Your Money Last" includes some suprising figures. We all know that people are living longer these days.  But how much longer? Here is the answer - an answer that is of particular interest to you baby boomers.

 

Chances that a 45-year-old will live to:

 

 

 

The age 85 figure is sensible to me.  I will be there in February. But, that age 95 expectation is a shocker.

 

Think about what the implications are to you baby boomers.  You had better be planning to be around for another 30 or 40 years. And that brings up some disturbing thoughts. How are you going to finance your life, your style of living, after retirement?  The financial resources you have will be really stretched to cover such a long period.

 

The article says that a woman retiring at age 65 has a three-in-one shot at living to ninety - and the odds for future retirees will be even better.

 

The article goes on to say, "Which is to say, that from a financial planning point of view, your odds are getting worse. Every additional year that you and your spouse live in retirement means another year of providing for yourself without a paycheck."

 

This surely falls into the good news.bad news category.  Hey, you aren't likely to die as soon as you thought, but the living may be pretty sparse.

 

So what do you do about it?  Sure you save like crazy. But, still, you are going to have to consider the option of finding ways to earn additional money after "retirement."  We will talk about how you might do this in future postings.

 

 

 

 

Penny wants to share with you amusing lyrics that were sent to her by a friend in California, Patsy Whitecotton Barggren. These lyrics were written to commemorate Julie Andrews' 69th birthday last October. Julie sang this in an appearance at Radio City Music Hall

 

Maalox and nose drops and needles for knitting,

Walkers and handrails and new dental fittings,

Bundles of magazines tied up in string,

These are a few of my favorite things.

 

Cadillacs, cataracts, hearing aids and glasses,

Polident, Fixodent and false teeth in glasses,

Pacemakers, golf carts and porches with swings,

These are a few of my favorite things.

 

When the pipes leak,

When the bones creak,

When the knees go bad,

I simply remember my favorite things,

And then I don't feel so bad.

 

Hot tea and crumpets, and corn pads for bunions,

No spicy hot food or food cooked with onions,

Bathrobes and heat pads and hot meals they bring,

These are a few of my favorite things.

 

Back pains, confused brains and no fear of sinnin',

Thin bones and fractures and hair that is thinnin',

And we won't mention our short shrunken frames,

When we remember our favorite things.

 

When the joints ache,

When the hips break,

When the eyes grow dim,

Then I remember the great life I've had,

And then I don't feel so bad.

 

 

Grandparents could write the book on baby sitting grandkids. But when it comes to sitting grandpets, it can get very weird.

 

At this time we are sitting a 5" Anole lizard for Penny's son. He found this lizard when he was living in Florida, and unknown to us, had brought it home and made a pet of it. So, the other day we got a call from him asking if we would take care of his lizard while he went on a week-long trip to Florida.  OK, that seems simple enough.

 

So, Son arrives and starts hauling stuff for housing the lizard up to our condo unit. First comes a metal stand  Then a floor mat.  Then an air heating unit.  Finally he comes up with what looks like an aquarium. It is a 3' by 2' clear plastic box with a screen over the top. Inside the floor is covered with moss and bark.  There are pieces of driftwood and a hollow log. There also is a little water dish.  There are green plants growing in there, something like philodendrons.

 

When it was all set up in front of a glass sliding door, which would give it sunlight, we got the care instructions. First of all, we don't have to feed it. Son had put about a dozen crickets in the lizardarium. He said these would keep the little guy fed for a week.  We were then instructed to spray some water on the plants morning and night.

 

And then Son said, "Well, strange as it may seem, I talk to him each morning and night and he seems to like it."

 

We asked what his name was, and he had not named it.  The next day as we came home after church, I guess we had God on our minds.  Penny suddenly said, "His name is going to be Godfrey."

 

So each day we see Godfrey poised on a piece of drift wood, doing nothing. Just once we saw the red bag on his throat inflate. Otherwise he seldom moves.

 

Son phoned us from Florida last night to ask how the little guy was doing. We told him fine and what we had named the little critter. Godfrey was fine with Son.

 

OK, grandparents.  Let's see you top this story.