My age: I’m Beyond. . .

One of the segments on the Today Show a few days ago was “How to look good in your 30’s, 40’s, 50’s and beyond.”  Wow, my age is beyond!  BEING a beyond is not a problem, but did I like being clumped into beyond?  Well, I wasn’t so sure, so I googled “50 and beyond” and came up with a wealth of BEYOND:

A magazine article Hairstyles for Women 40-50 and beyond is quite positive but still manages to convey the beyond group as being pretty anonymous:  “Women who are over forty, over fifty or beyond should wear their hair in any style they choose.  If your hair makes you feel good and you like the way it looks, wear it with confidence”  Even though I have this hair that does what it wants to with no regard to my choice, this is still good helpful information for beyonds! So far so good.

 Loving Life at 50 ~and Beyond  This is really a pretty nice blog with a great watercolor background. 

Staying Slim in your 40’s, 50’s and beyond.  This blog has some good information which is divided into two categories: “40’s” and “50’s and beyond” 

A workout video by Angela Rippon Fabulously Fit at 50 & Beyond (No, I don’t workout so didn’t even watch it all the way through!)

Weightwatchers even has a group called FABulously Fit B4 50 & BEYOND!

I found a Beyond 50 Radio blog.

I like the description of Susanna Starr’s book Fifty and Beyond, New Beginnings in Health and Well-Being
“A non-authoritarian approach to fitness and well-being, aimed especially at people approaching and beyond age fifty (50). An inspiration during a time of mid-life for those who are ready for new beginnings. Clear and insightful suggestions for developing our potential through expanding the mind, caring for the body and celebrating the spirit.”

I read a few of this blogger’s very moving posts on Zero to Sixty and beyond and will be following her.

SOOO. . . my conclusion: although it feels somewhat like being in a grey cloud, beyond is not such a bad age.  While I have nothing against my chronological age I just may have changed my age to beyond!

Gary & I before we were beyond.

And here we are, both age beyond.

I saw my first moose in Maine!

Well, it isn’t a real moose but it is life size!  A man we talked to in this little park by the Meduxnekeag River (NO, I can’t pronounce Meduxnekeag  and YES, I had to look up the spelling!) said that if we stay in Maine very long we will see a live one.  I’m on the watch!

Other moose we’ve encountered in our travels:

1998 at Denali National Park in Alaska.  This was before digital cameras were readily available---I wish I’d had the 26X zoom Nikon camera I now have!

She(?) was enjoying her lunch! This was taken in 2002, the summer we were docents at the Brig Museum at Farragut State Park in Idaho.  We were on our way to visit the Carnegie Library in nearby Wallace and spotted her in a lake beside the highway.

By this time I’d had my Sony Mavica digital camera for a few years and used the 3X zoom to take this photo.

Thanks for stopping by to see my moose!

Why oh why isn’t the plural of moose, meese?

I’m going to make books! Correction: I’ve made a book!

I found this book in the gift shop of the Renwick Gallery, the Smithsonian gallery which features American craft and decorative arts.  Umm, I can do this; I have no artistic talent but am creative and can follow directions very well!  Rather than carrying the book around that day I waited, found it on Amazon.com and saved about $10 over suggested retail.  I LOVE a deal!

The layout of the book seems to progress from very simple to difficult so I started by making this instant book from Chapter One-Instant Books. 

Instructions for making an instant book are quite simple and I mastered it very quickly.  Fold, fold, fold, fold, snip, pull apart and re-fold into book form---that’s it!  A book! 

Combining this newly acquired bookmaking skill with my computer skills I printed an 8-1/2” X 11” sheet of paper with graphics of a daisy, a birthday cake and birthday greetings to my sister. First go-round I had the birthday cake upside down so had to go back to the drawing board/computer. Second attempt was a success!

OK, that’s a little bit TOO simple, I’m moving on to the chapters on accordions, stab stitch, chapbooks, mutant (mutant. . . that sounds intriguing!), long stitch and Coptic books.  I’m working my way through the “How to Make Books” book.

Wait a minute!  I almost forgot that I made accordion books for our three children a few years ago. . . and I made them without any instructions!  I’m glad I took pictures of them.

A message to the kids is on the inside cover. 

Three copies of each of the items in her wallet await assembling in the accordion books.

The covers are a stiff cardboard covered with black fabric to simulate the black plastic of Grandma Mary’s wallet. For the title on the front cover I found tiny scrapbooking frames at Michael’s Craft store.

Black poster paper was just thick enough but still folded quite easily into accordion “pages.”

Reverse side of the replica of a wallet photo holder.

I wonder how close I came to author Esther Smith’s method?  I’m not going to peek ahead; will wait until I get to that chapter!

This has absolutely nothing to do with books, but have to show you the wonderful lobster we had for dinner last night.  Price:  including a quart of (the best) clam chowder, the dinner for two was $36.84!  (yes, we are in Maine)