Hi Bloggers,
Just a short note to let you know that I'm taking the summer off. I'll be off-line until sometime in the last two weeks in August. Have a great summer!
Monday, July 2, 2007
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Seniors - Keeping Your Brain Working
Our brains respond to new things ;- new ways of of doing old things. Without stimulation our brains start to reject things new, and our minds grow rusty! There are several things we can do to strengthen our minds. Here are five of them.
1. If you have the television habit and spend several hours per day glued to the boob tube (There's a good reason it's called a boob tube - don't be one!) turn it off and spend the time saved investigating something new.
2. Are you a reader? No? Become one. I am a life-long reader, but I tend to find a type of book I like (for example mystery) and stick to that type for a long time. I am trying to vary my reading by taking something new every time I to the library. This change in reading habits stimulates the brain by having it look at things in a new way.
3. How are your driving patterns? Do you always take the same route to get to the mall? Try a different way, even if it adds to your driving distance. The new pattern stimulates your mind to think in new ways - plus you might even see something new and interesting!
4. Try taking some new courses. Learning flower arranging, gardening skills,, or whatever without the pressure of getting a good mark can really start your brain thinking in new channels and developing new interests.
5. Make some changes. Break some patterns. Change your watch frome one wrist to the other. wear a different color of shoe lace. Put your gardening hat on backward. You will find that simple changes like these can be devilishly difficult to do because you are interupting a life-time habit, but they teach your brain to wake up and look at new possibilities!
1. If you have the television habit and spend several hours per day glued to the boob tube (There's a good reason it's called a boob tube - don't be one!) turn it off and spend the time saved investigating something new.
2. Are you a reader? No? Become one. I am a life-long reader, but I tend to find a type of book I like (for example mystery) and stick to that type for a long time. I am trying to vary my reading by taking something new every time I to the library. This change in reading habits stimulates the brain by having it look at things in a new way.
3. How are your driving patterns? Do you always take the same route to get to the mall? Try a different way, even if it adds to your driving distance. The new pattern stimulates your mind to think in new ways - plus you might even see something new and interesting!
4. Try taking some new courses. Learning flower arranging, gardening skills,, or whatever without the pressure of getting a good mark can really start your brain thinking in new channels and developing new interests.
5. Make some changes. Break some patterns. Change your watch frome one wrist to the other. wear a different color of shoe lace. Put your gardening hat on backward. You will find that simple changes like these can be devilishly difficult to do because you are interupting a life-time habit, but they teach your brain to wake up and look at new possibilities!
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Seniors Against Scammers and Other Frauds
Have You Got Somethingto Lose? Be careful - This world has many people more than ready to help you lose it!
Crimes against seniors continue to increase. These crimes come in may different forms: financial, psychological & physical abuse, telephone and computor scam, "construction" firms who go door to door offering cut-rate services. And the last one we'll look at today - sweepstakes & other contests.
Ways of Protecting Yourself
1. Financial abuse is often done by someone in your family or a close friend. Somone who you have given a power of Attorney to. A way of protecting yourself from this is to appoint two people when you set up your power of attorney - then the two of them must report any financial deals done on your behalf to each other!
2. Never allow someone who you are not expecting or do not know to come into your house - speak to them through the door. They may be at your door for legitimate reasons, but they may also be there to rob you!
3. If a salesperson tries to rush you into signing a contract for something, (resurfacing your driveway for instance) or he tells you that the price he is offering RIGHT NOW will never be repeated - just say NO! He's not legitimate!
4. Protect yourself against identity theft by not giving out any of your financial information (bank or credit card numbers for example) on the phone. No honest business will ask for this information unless you have called them to make a purchase.
When making a credit card purchase, do not let the card out of your sight. Crooks can run your card through a pocket-sized card reader before they put it through the store's scanner if you are not looking
5. If you are out working in your yard, keep your doors locked. If you are in the front yard cutting grass, you won't hear of see the crook sneaking into your house through the back door - keep it locked!~
6. Sweepstake scammers deserve a full blog and we will soon have one. Til then be very cautious if someone phones you about you having a prize - there are a lot of questions that you need answers for before you deal with him!
Crimes against seniors continue to increase. These crimes come in may different forms: financial, psychological & physical abuse, telephone and computor scam, "construction" firms who go door to door offering cut-rate services. And the last one we'll look at today - sweepstakes & other contests.
Ways of Protecting Yourself
1. Financial abuse is often done by someone in your family or a close friend. Somone who you have given a power of Attorney to. A way of protecting yourself from this is to appoint two people when you set up your power of attorney - then the two of them must report any financial deals done on your behalf to each other!
2. Never allow someone who you are not expecting or do not know to come into your house - speak to them through the door. They may be at your door for legitimate reasons, but they may also be there to rob you!
3. If a salesperson tries to rush you into signing a contract for something, (resurfacing your driveway for instance) or he tells you that the price he is offering RIGHT NOW will never be repeated - just say NO! He's not legitimate!
4. Protect yourself against identity theft by not giving out any of your financial information (bank or credit card numbers for example) on the phone. No honest business will ask for this information unless you have called them to make a purchase.
When making a credit card purchase, do not let the card out of your sight. Crooks can run your card through a pocket-sized card reader before they put it through the store's scanner if you are not looking
5. If you are out working in your yard, keep your doors locked. If you are in the front yard cutting grass, you won't hear of see the crook sneaking into your house through the back door - keep it locked!~
6. Sweepstake scammers deserve a full blog and we will soon have one. Til then be very cautious if someone phones you about you having a prize - there are a lot of questions that you need answers for before you deal with him!
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Seniors and Their Doctors
The last two months around here has been insane! As you have noticed, there has not been much done on the blog sight - mainly because yours truly has been stupid about going to the doctor!
I suppose there many reasons why seniors hesitate to go to the doctor regularly or tell the whole story to him/her when they get there:
. fear of finding out something you; just don't want to hear
. expense - if you don't have medical coverage
. disruption of your routine
. you don't have a family Doctor
. you never know how to explain what's wrong with you
. you think you know what the problem is and you can solve it yourself
Several of these points apply to me and are the reasons why I have been walking around the last several weeks looking and acting like I was at least twenty years older than I really am!
I take several different medications for three different conditions. I assumed that one or more of these meds. was finally causing some side effects and I would discuss it with my doctor at my next regular appointment. As I sometimes do, I prepared a note to the doctor spelling out what meds. I was on ( I know he has this info., but I'm a little compulsive! ) and what I thought was wrong.
He read my note, then checked me over and said, " You know, I don't think it's your meds., I think you have a lung infection. Maybe pneumonia!"
Well being a 66 year old bonehead, I thought to myself "Ha! He's wrong and I'm right, but he's the doctor so maybe I should try his idea first!"
Well, off I trotted with my order for a chest x-ray and my two new prescriptions. I had the
x-ray that day and filled the prescriptions the next morning and immediately toook them. I was feeling better within hours! Three days later he phoned me in the morning to let me know that the x-ray showed pneumonia in the lower half of the left lung! ( I don't know what impressed me more; that he was right and I was wrong, or that he personally phoned me! What a Doctor!)
I'll be back with more on this topic, but lets get some comments on your experiences with medical care - see you soon!
I suppose there many reasons why seniors hesitate to go to the doctor regularly or tell the whole story to him/her when they get there:
. fear of finding out something you; just don't want to hear
. expense - if you don't have medical coverage
. disruption of your routine
. you don't have a family Doctor
. you never know how to explain what's wrong with you
. you think you know what the problem is and you can solve it yourself
Several of these points apply to me and are the reasons why I have been walking around the last several weeks looking and acting like I was at least twenty years older than I really am!
I take several different medications for three different conditions. I assumed that one or more of these meds. was finally causing some side effects and I would discuss it with my doctor at my next regular appointment. As I sometimes do, I prepared a note to the doctor spelling out what meds. I was on ( I know he has this info., but I'm a little compulsive! ) and what I thought was wrong.
He read my note, then checked me over and said, " You know, I don't think it's your meds., I think you have a lung infection. Maybe pneumonia!"
Well being a 66 year old bonehead, I thought to myself "Ha! He's wrong and I'm right, but he's the doctor so maybe I should try his idea first!"
Well, off I trotted with my order for a chest x-ray and my two new prescriptions. I had the
x-ray that day and filled the prescriptions the next morning and immediately toook them. I was feeling better within hours! Three days later he phoned me in the morning to let me know that the x-ray showed pneumonia in the lower half of the left lung! ( I don't know what impressed me more; that he was right and I was wrong, or that he personally phoned me! What a Doctor!)
I'll be back with more on this topic, but lets get some comments on your experiences with medical care - see you soon!
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Seniors - Airline travel
Just a short post today- it's become my pet peeve about airline security. Things like cigarette lighters are thrown in one barrel, while lotions and jels etc. are thrown in another barrel. Now if you stop and think about that, why do they confiscate these items? You're right! They think that some of these items might contain explosives or explosive devises!
Once more - where are the barrels? That's right - in a great place to blow up several security agents, lord knows how many passengers, and a large chunk of the airport! Good work airline security - maybe you should rethink y;our disposal practises!
Once more - where are the barrels? That's right - in a great place to blow up several security agents, lord knows how many passengers, and a large chunk of the airport! Good work airline security - maybe you should rethink y;our disposal practises!
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Jobs for Seniors
I found a web site that lists jobs in Canada that you might want to see! This is an online job site, a place where mature workers, retired persons or active seniors can search for new job activities - part time or full time.The url is:
www.seniorsforhire.ca
Take a look, if only to familiarize yourself with what's out there!
PS: The information about this website came from an article written by Larry Johnstrude and printed in the Edmonton Journal!
www.seniorsforhire.ca
Take a look, if only to familiarize yourself with what's out there!
PS: The information about this website came from an article written by Larry Johnstrude and printed in the Edmonton Journal!
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