If You Don't Use It, You Lose It!

I haven't lost my mind. It's backed up on a disk somewhere.
 

 

Our Yearly Dementia Test

It's that time of year for us to take our annual senior citizen test.

Exercise of the brain is as important as exercise of the muscles. As we grow older, it's important to keep mentally alert. If you don't use it, you lose it!

Below is a very private way to gauge how your memory compares to the last test. Some may think it is too easy but the ones with memory problems may have difficulty.
Take the test presented here to determine if you're losing it or not.

The spaces below are so you don't see the answers until you've made your answer.
OK, relax, clear your mind and begin.

1. What do you put in a toaster?

 






Answer: 'bread.' If you said 'toast' give up now and do something else..
Try not to hurt yourself.
If you said, bread, go to Question 2.

2. Say 'silk' five times. Now spell 'silk.' What do cows drink?

Answer: Cows drink water. If you said 'milk,' don't attempt the next question. Your brain is over-stressed and may even overheat. Content yourself with reading more appropriate literature such as Auto World.
However, if you said 'water', proceed to question 3.

3. If a red house is made from red bricks and a blue house is made from blue bricks and a pink house is made from pink bricks and a black house is made from black bricks, what is a green house made from?

Answer: Greenhouses are made from glass. If you said 'green bricks,' why are you still reading these??? If you said 'glass,' go on to Question 4.

4. Without using a calculator - You are driving a bus from London to
Milford Haven in Wales . In London , 17 people get on the bus.
In Reading , 6 people get off the bus and 9 people get on.
In Swindon , 2 people get off and 4 get on.
In Cardiff , 11 people get off and 16 people get on.
In Swansea , 3 people get off and 5 people get on.
In Carmathen, 6 people get off and 3 get on.
You then arrive at Milford Haven ..

Without scrolling back to review, how old is the bus driver?

 

Answer: Oh, for crying out loud!
Don't you remember your own age?
It was YOU driving the bus!!


If you pass this along to your friends, pray they do better than you.
PS: 95% of people fail most of the questions!!

Mildly Spooky Cemetery Walk

 

The past is a ghost, the future a dream and all we ever have is now. 

Nothing says Halloween more than a nice walk … through a cemetery … after dark!  However, we've been known to walk through many cemeteries searching for gravestones of ancestors.   We’ve also been known to walk through cemeteries in search of ghosts!  This one was totally different.  The ghosts talked to us and shared their life story from the time they left the east coast and traveled across country to the Pacific Northwest.

A guide and lanterns illuminated the way through this mildly spooky historical presentation. We met some of the historic people from Clark County’s past, who are current residents of Vancouver’s Old City Cemetery.  Some knew exactly where they had been buried and others weren’t quite sure.  They just knew they belonged there and were in constant search of just exactly where.

We learned about the speed of the wagon trains taking 7 months to get their destination. That was a long trip but it was made in super fast speed – only 7 months.  We learned the wagon masters recommended the travelers take several pairs of shoes as they probably would wear them out walking.  They did!  Land grants were given away in this area but with the land grants came problems with the Hudson’s Bay Company, the French, the Indians and the weather.

We listened to the story of the only person to be “legally” hung but he was innocent.  Or, so he told us.  We  heard another story from a boy who had drowned and yet another from a soldier who was killed the day before Armistice. His body was brought back by his family to bury close to them.  

We learned of a grandson who searched for his grandmother and eventually discovered where she had been put.  She was moved next to her daughter and given a proper headstone.  The grandmother was a “nurse” who served in the Civil War.  However, she explained that she wasn’t really a nurse.  The nurses during that time period had to be older and plain so as not to tempt the men they were nursing.

In other words, we had a great time.  We met Tammi and her family at PANDA EXTRESS for a quick meal and then we were off to the cemetery.  The “ghosts” were in costumes and played their parts well.  What a fascinating way to teach history.  I bet if schools did it this way, the students would certainly be interested and remember more. 

We asked our RV neighbors, Steve and Carol to join us but they had other plans in the works.  Steve had some idea about installing a new gadget he had just received in the mail.  Carol was playing tennis.

We did discover a few things about dear ole’ Steve.  He was in Vietnam the same time Terry was.  He was also in Cam Ranh Bay the same time Terry was.  Carol and I sat around and listened to war stories of the many things they both remembered happening.  It was a fun and interesting evening.

RV Blogging From on the Road

I think the pleasure of completed work is what makes blogging so popular. You have to believe most bloggers have few if any actual readers. The writers are in it for other reasons. Blogging is like work, but without coworkers thwarting you at every turn. All you get is the pleasure of a completed task.

I know many folks who blog.   Of course, I haven’t had an opportunity to actually meet all the people whose blog I read but it is fun when I can.  The other day we had an opportunity to meet John and Judy.  They keep up a blog that I’ve been reading.  You can check it out here. When I discovered they were close to where we were, we sat up a date and place to meet. Then, we drug our RVing neighbors, Steve and Carol with us. It’s amazing how much you have in common with fellow bloggers and fellow RV’ers. We had a marvelous time and met “new” friends thanks to blogging.

There are hundreds and hundreds of blogs out there for reading.  Blogging has been around since about the mid 1990’s but didn’t take off strong until the end of the 1990’s.   The early bloggers started out posting personal accounts of their life and then it spread to news stories.  Look at it now.  In addition to RVers, it’s now used by politicians, corporations and news media.  Actually, just about every area of interest (or no interest) can be found in a blog.  Blogging has turned into a mighty big business.   And, the blogs are so very different.

The bloggers we know and keep up with are those who blog from the road mainly with their RV experiences and RV tips.  In other words.  RV’ers tend to write blogs geared for readers who travel around in their RV whether they are just weekenders writing about their experiences, snowbirders heading south for the winter or even full-timers who are out to travel and see as much as they can.  Some blogs are very passionate about their topics and others are meant to be easy reading giving RVing tips or just a daily dairy.  Others have a purpose such as posting reviews on RV parks or even giving hints on great places to visit.  After following a blog for quite some time you really feel you have gotten to know people even though you haven’t met.   Well, you have met but just not in person.  And, of course, if you’re reading this, there’s probably a good chance that you’re a blogger too.

Blogs are so different.  Just like the reason for blogging is so different.  Even the pictures vary on blogs from large ones to tiny ones or even none.  Then, there are some folks who write blogs for money.   This must be big business because a lot of blogs have advertisements added to them. I just want to know if it’s enough $$$  to tempt me.   I would think in order to have a dedicated following, writing your blog really would have to be treated like a job in a sense.  You’d probably have to be very religious about posting a blog each and every day.  Then, you’d have to try to be witty at times and be able to pass along interesting information at other times.  In other words, you have to wear a bunch of different hats to pull in different types of readers.  You’d also have to market yourself to other bloggers by reading and posting on their blogs.  Now that’s work!!  I read blogs but usually don’t leave a comment except for a few and others when they have commented on mine because it can be work jogging that old brain into thinking of something cute to say.  I’d have to change my thought pattern.

When I post every day it is usually just to get caught up on our own events and not necessarily to make money on a following.  However, having to do it to promote business is another thing but if a lot of money is to be made, just let me know and I might change my mind.  Blogging is very addictive but it’s also fun.  It gives the writer a chance to express their thoughts.  It’s also good because it keeps that thinker thinking.  I bet the more controversial the topic, the more readers one would have too.  There are many things I’d like to write about but hesitate to do so.  If I were doing it for money, I’m sure I wouldn’t hesitate quite so much. 

“Making money from blogging requires you to do only two things: drive a lot traffic, then maximize the income from that traffic.”

Blogging styles are so very different which is good.  One of the little differences is the use of  Captcha or Word Verification characters that one must decipher prior to posting.  I really dislike trying to interpret those odd shaped characters.  Some of them are really simple to make out and others are difficult. Usually the bloggers who are out to make money don’t have these crazy little characters attached to their blog.  Are they really needed?   

Another difference in the blogs is how the comments are handled.  Sometimes when you leave a comment, you just leave a comment and it ends there.   However, there are bloggers who respond to comments left on their blogs by leaving another comment on their own blog.  I almost never go back to reread a blog where I left a comment to see if there was a response.  Is the added comment just for future readers?  I certainly haven’t been able to figure that one out but if it works for the writer that’s all that really matters and maybe it’s just a note to self for future reading.  After all, it’s their blog and they can do and say whatever they like.  I like to respond to comments via email when at all possible but don’t always have email accounts of the person leaving a comment.    

We all have our favorite blogs.  I have a few favorites and sometimes when we’re so busy it’s difficult to keep up with them.  I guess blogs to me are like keeping up with the news.  Some folks watch CNN and FOX.  I do a few blogs.  Some blogs are perfectly written and easy to read.  Others not quite so easy.  It’s amazing how much a little punctuation and spelling can do to a blog. It makes reading so much easier.  Just like easy listening music, blogs are for entertainment.  Sometimes I like them easy reading style and other times I like them with lots of thought. 

Most blogs are started by using Blogger.com or Wordpress.com.  There are definite differences and bloggers develop a preference.  Blogger is the product of Google. Lots of little add-ons are available making it easy to use including template help, analytics and even photo albums.  Best of all the service is FREE.

Don’t you love the freedom of blogging? A blog is really all about you! There aren’t many things in this old world that are really all about you but a blog can be  … if you have the guts.

 

Take care .. keep the blogging up and write about what you want to write about.

On the Beach at Seaside

Always laugh when you can.  It is the cheapest medicine.

Tuesday was a gorgeous day at the beach.  I do mean really, really gorgeous day.  We were going to take our chairs, Duchess and head to the beach.  The problem was deciding what beach and where???  We knew we didn’t want to go to the beach which is right off of the town area of Seaside.  However, it may be one of the nicest with the easiest access but it would also be the one with the crowds.

Duchess was happy no one else was around.

Duchess was sure happy walking along the beach with me. There were many different things to smell and soft sand to run on.

We decided to head just a little south of town.  What a good choice it was!  As you can tell by the photos below, no one was there when we arrived.  We had the whole beach to ourselves.  This, of course, made Duchess a very happy family member.  She was free until others started to show up.

A very empty beach

The tide was way out.  It’s a little rocky at this spot getting to the sandy beach but other than the steps down to the sand in town, it’s about the easiest.  Do you see anybody on the beach?  It was pretty empty and we liked it just like that.  I bet this doesn’t happen too often during the busy summer months.

It was definitely a gorgeous day.  After spending a while enjoying the sand and ocean, we took Duchess home and checked the crowd on the main beach.  They were certainly there.

People were just about everywhere at this beach.. 

Kite flying is very popular at the beach.  There is usually enough wind to keep the kites in the air and lots of space to run.

We had more seafood at dinner time.  This time I was hungry for a good salad.  That’s just exactly what I got at Pudgy’s.  Matter of fact, it probably is the best Shrimp Louis I’ve every had.  Check out the massive amount of shrimp on top of the salad.

I couldn’t pass up tasting their specialty either.  It’s the Smoked Salmon Clam Chowder.  Our waiter assured us it was a “killer” chowder.  We both had to agree with him.  It was fantastic!

Other than helping finish off the chowder, Terry didn’t order oyster stew.  He was hungry for a hamburger.  He probably would have had oyster stew if they made it but they didn’t.  This is another place I want to revisit just to try another loaded salad.

Assisted Living in an RV

More often than not when we think of day care, we think of minors needing adult supervision  while parents work but there are other day care facilities.  Some Pet Smart stores offer doggie day care.  Many local senior centers offer day care services for older adults when other family members are not available.

Over the last few weeks I’ve become more and more familiar with day cares and assisted living facilities.  Some of these facilities are called active living or  retirement centers.   They are intended to provide some services that aging individuals don’t want to do or cannot do any longer.   The idea is that as a person becomes older their needs may continue to change.   They may move in originally looking only for a safe place to live  and three hot meals a day knowing that there are other services  available if they ever need them.  

These assisted living centers offer the basics of an apartment and board along with lots of activities, companionship and even some housekeeping services.  The fee?  Well, it can certainly be very expensive especially since many resemble  all-inclusive resorts.  The more the services needed, the more the price goes up from the beginning monthly fee. 

My brother had decided it was time for him to search out an assisted living center.  Thus, I’ve done a little homework and visited a few homes in the area.  His needs aren’t many at this time but six months from now he’s afraid he may need more.  Once our body starts going downhill, it can really go downhill.  This has been the case with him since an automobile accident he was in last year.  A few months ago he was soaking up the winter sunshine in his Class A motorhome while parked with other snowbirds in Yuma.  Now he needs the stability of a walker and has difficulty shopping and cooking for himself.  The answer … an assisted living home where he would receive light housekeeping and three hot meals a day.  Costs for a small one-bedroom apartment in the Portland area at one of these places is pretty expensive.  

Many of the homes offer employees a commission when new residents move in.  The problem with this is that the employees have no training in available Medicare, Medicaid or VA programs.  It’s not that they need the training unless they use it as a tool to obtain those new residents.  However, some of them do.  We discovered that aging seniors are sometimes “pre-qualified” or “pre-approved” for financial help that actually is not available or they do not qualify for.   In the meantime, contracts are signed by the prospective new tenant, the move-in occurs but the additional funds do not come.  This is what happened to “brother”.  However, in this case we did find a solution and will be moving him into his new home this week. 

 

If he had been in Texas, it would have been easy.  There they have an alternative for RV’ers looking for a little assistance and still remaining in their RV at a much lower cost.  The Escapee Care Center is in Livingston, Texas  and it offers assisted living alternatives for its Escapee members.  I had heard about it before but never really thought much about the facility until now.

 

There are many people who retired to an RV with hopes of traveling until they no longer could. Some have no exit plans and others plan on settling down eventually close to grown children or other family members.  The Care Center offers an RV space, utilities, three full meals a day, weekly housekeeping services, medical transportation and activities.  The fee at this time is only $800 a month!  The Escapees Center is absolutely the best deal out there.  If you aren’t familiar with it, check it out!  If you can and are in the area, offer to volunteer and help.  One day you might be thankful someone cared enough to volunteer their time to help you!  We have certainly put this on our bucket list!  

For information on their day care program or their CARE program, click here:  Escapees Care Center Information