We installed our Little Free Library last week, and I couldn't be happier. The library box started getting action almost immediately - the first fifteen books I put into it are almost all gone and have been replaced by people who stop by. The plaque on the top of the box encourages neighbors to: Take A Book - Return A Book. Here it is, standing just back of the sidewalk in the front corner of our yard. When I first posted about it on Facebook a lot of friends wanted to know where I got it. Here is the Little Free Library website. It offers several different models and many kinds of plaques and accessories. It also provided instructions for making a stand, which our handyman easily and quickly built for us. Here are the Little Free Library site's own words on their wonderful invention. Once you visit the website you'll find out the possibilities for its look and use are endless. Plus I think it's a great way to promote reading - imagine a place to borrow a book right in your … [Read more...]
Ten ways to reinvent yourself after sixty
I am Naturally Savvy's Over Sixty Expert, contributing about an article a month at the website. This piece was originally published on March 31, 2013. Please go there to read more of my articles on topics relevant to women over sixty. I love exploring ways for us to keep moving, keep working, keep creating, keep experiencing life to the fullest no matter how old we are. I first heard of the term reinvention when I entered More magazine's February 2010 Reinvention story contest. My story about how I returned to work outside my home and began to write regularly after the suicide death of my son came in eleventh in the number of votes received out of over 500 entries. With that, the term reinvention became part of my vocabulary. I write about it frequently. Nora Ephron said it's good for women to reinvent themselves every ten years. She also said reinvention seems easier for women than for men. And I agree. In fact, seven years after I went back to work full time, I retired and … [Read more...]
A huge welcome to author Judy Mandel
Here's what Judy has to say about how she found out exactly what she should do with her life. Switching Gears to a Writer's Life They say that when you find out what you should be doing with your life, you will have already been doing it. At least someone said that to me once. Which always confused the hell out of me. But, now, finally it makes sense. I was always a writer, although now the title seems to be written with a capital W instead of a small one. For many years, I wrote about other people's lives, or a company's products. As a newspaper reporter, I found interesting stories for features because I hated writing police reports and attending long town hall meetings. The hours were terrible, and I left to work in public relations, advertising and later, corporate marketing, thinking the stress would be less. Not so much. It was good though. As a single mother for several years, the stability of my corporate gig helped me provide for my son and myself, buy a home, … [Read more...]
Women Over 45 Speak
Marla Miller's website Women Over 45 Speak posted a three-minute video of me speaking about how I reinvented myself after the age of seventy. Please take a look. And if you're a woman over forty-five, go over to her website and make a video of yourself. The directions are right there on her site. … [Read more...]
"More" magazine reinvention story contest
I entered the "More" magazine reinvention story contest a few days ago. And, I've asked my friends to go to the "More" website and vote for it. And, now I'm asking my blog followers and network to do the same. Plus, you'll find the website a great resource - especially if you're over 40 like me. The link is http://www.more.com/. Here's my story. Writing to Save My Life I was 59 years old when my son, afflicted with bipolar disease, took his own life. Following an aftermath filled with guilt and grief, I made the decision to come out of that experience alive, whole, and productive. No, I didn't get a divorce, I didn't have a breakdown, I didn't have an affair with a beautiful younger man, and I didn't go into years of therapy. Instead I picked myself up and relearned how to live my life again. First, I stopped working from home in my sweats or PJs as a grant writer and capital campaign manager for nonprofits. Instead, I went back to the job I had retired from several years … [Read more...]
