Category Archives: Blog

When Social Security Calls: Hang Up the Phone

phone scam

Seniors, too often the targets of cyber-savvy or fast-talking scammers, are again being singled out — this time by admittedly ingenious “spoofers” masquerading as representatives of the Social Security Administration (SSA). Typically, the newest spoofing scam works like this: Aware that most people now screen their phone calls by checking the caller’s number before they pick […]

Helpful Tools for Positive Aging

Updated April 2025 While lamenting the losses, limitations, and inevitable aches and pains that come with aging, many people are also quick to put a half-positive spin on it. “Well, it beats the alternative,” they’ll say. Or as nicely-aging actor George Clooney recently said, more forthrightly: “I’m kind of comfortable with getting older because it’s […]

Days to Celebrate

Karen's mom and dad

This Tuesday, my parents celebrated their 64th wedding anniversary. Every year they celebrate a birthday or their anniversary becomes a lot more special to me. It just seems like the older I get, the more I appreciate my parents. I know there will come a day when these memories will see me through. Mama was […]

Getting Ready for the Cold Weather

toy house is wrapped in a warm scarf with an autumn leaf. The concept is warm, cozy, loving, protecting the house.

It might not be too cold yet where you live, but the cold is coming. We’ll need warm clothes, a snug house and our heaters need to be in good working order. Heating our homes can be costly, so keeping that warm air where it belongs can save a lot of money. Weather stripping around […]

Remembering the Earthquake that Shook California

Earthquake

October 17, 2018 marks 29 years since the earth shook the Bay Area with a vengeance. They called it the Loma Prieta Earthquake. I remember looking up at the ceiling fans and seeing them sway and we lived a hundred miles away in the Sacramento Valley. The scenes on the television were too much to […]

It’s Fall! Halloween is Right Around the Corner!

I just love this time of year! It seems I can smell fall in the early morning air. It’s pumpkin picking time and there are apples ready too. How about the first fall day when you look for that comfy sweater? Even though the temperature each day here lately has been unseasonably warm, there are […]

The Women’s Movement Comes to Alzheimer’s

Women

At a time when various movements have been reenergized to take new aims against sexual abuse, workplace inequality, and political threats to women’s rights, another common cause has surfaced: Alzheimer’s disease. A statistic commonly bantered about is that in the United States, every 65 seconds a new brain develops Alzheimer’s. Most people assume the prevalent, […]

A World of Books

Stack of books

When I stepped through the door, I remember thinking that my life would never be the same again. The smell of dust and old leather filled the space and the books seemed to grow like tress from the floor to the ceiling. I could feel the magic of exciting adventures that were just waiting for […]

Even the Strongest Senior Sometimes Needs a Little Help

Hands offering support

I took a whole lot of classes while earning my post-graduate certificate in gerontology. I did learn a lot about aging and the problems that come with getting older. But my most significant education did not come from a university. I’ve learned the most from my parents and especially my incredible mama. At 82 years […]

Money Follows the Person—Unless It Doesn’t

Moving into nursing home

Updated April 2025 A federal program that has made it possible for more than 88,000 seniors and people with disabilities to make the transition they craved — moving from nursing homes back into houses, apartments, and group homes in their communities — is now being threatened with budget cuts and possible extinction. The legislation was […]