Money and growing older

For many, there is a financial need to continue working after hitting the 60's. For others, there is a desire to keep working until we are no longer able to do so..... One nice thing about aging is that we hopefully learn to work smarter and not harder.

We are living longer and maintaining our health as we age...and for some, we are getting healthier as we grow older better I am in much better physical shape than I was when in my 50's. , Maybe even better than when in my 40's.

So - do we keep working or not? It's an individual choice - and depends on how much "better" you want to grow older : ). Full retirement with sufficient funds so that there is absolutely no stress related to money is great. But with increasing costs of everything - it's wise to not totally count on what you now have if you are retired.

I complain about corporations here: http://illegitimisnilcarborundum.blogspot.com
but I will say here that they scare me. All they want is the moolah and the hell with the people. Yes I know this is not true of all corporations but too many have hurt us - like the pharmaceuticals, the energy ones, the oil people, etc. Their goal is to increase their own net incomes and those of their shareholders- they do not care about who might get hurt. [The Medicare part D doughnut hole is a good example.]

Over the next bunch of postings - I am going to look at working and aging.

Obesity - again

We are entering a new generation of obesity and now it's not just adults who are obese - it is expected that the number of children who are obese will hit 20% by the year 2010 - that's only FOUR years from now.

I heard or read somewhere that we are reaching that stage in obesity where this or the next generation of children will NOT have a longer life span than the parents...

Not only is obesity bad in and of itself, it makes all other medical problems worse....

I've been blogging about healthier children for a while now and hope the readers of this blog are among those who will not have obese children...It is something parents and grandparents have control over during the child's early years...and good nutrition early on can never be a bad choice...

Please watch what your children and grandchildren eat and make sure they get exercise.... After all we want them to grow older better - just like we are : -)

Having fun as we age

Aside from having my son here all summer, and pedaling bridges, and working - I am a member of a newly formed group of artists. Almost as soon as we were formed, in May, we were invited to show at a local museum....egads - we had a lot to learn about forming a professional group, doing PR and all else related to having a show - and we had to do it quickly... but we did it! And we all found time to do our art....

Now I am one of those 12 artists in a show debuting next week at the Oregon Jewish Museum.

If you are in or near Portland, Oregon come see a lot of great art from ORA - , .

It's a special "First Thursday" Debut Exhibit at the Museum - come meet us on September 7th from 5-8 PM

The museum is at 310 NW Davis Street and the exhibit will be there through September 19th.....

I am busier growing older better than I was being youthful :- )

All but one of my photos for this show are from near my house - mainly views in and around my moorage....like this one...
















© Gray Wolf Productions 2006

The Bridge Pedal

Well - 10 bridges and 36 miles of pedaling can be done! I left the starting point about 7:30 and crossed the finish line about 4 hours later.... took some photos and stopped for water and fruit along the way. After crossing the finsih line I went over to the grass and took off my very wet shoes and socks - then met my son and celebrated with that beer!

Here are some photos:












































boy did that beer hit the spot

Still exercising

Even as we age there are major breakthroughs in our physical abilities. I mentioned that I was into cycling again and recently I got over a major hurdle. Since I ski, my quads are in pretty good ski shape, but that's not the same shape it takes to do a standing run on a bike.....So for months I was getting better at a standing hill climb but once we stared to go into a sprint or a run I folded and sat down - my quads screaming at me! I've hung in at the classes because my original goal was to be in shape for the Bridge Pedal in Portland this coming weekend - about 36 miles of road cycling over the 10 bridges.

Anyway back to my breakthrough. This week I was able to stand up and sprint - and my quads were not screaming! I was amazed that I could do this..it was a sudden breakthrough too as I could not do this in the previous class.....

The moral? We are never too old to improve our stamina, quads, energy or strength! We keep on going and we keep getting better. After all - we can grow older better.

PS - I do sip on one of my sport drinks as I pedal and I take another after......