CRANKY SHOPPER

There was a time when I loved shopping.  I could spend hours in stores looking at everything, touching the

fabrics, slipping on clothes in the dressing rooms.  There was a time when salespeople were abundant, helpful and attentive.  I never could afford the really high end retailers, but Nordstom was so service oriented it was my favorite place to shop even if I couldn't buy much.  I always hoped that all the stores would see their example and follow it - but instead, it seemed to slide the other way.

Before there was even online shopping, I shopped catalogs.  It started when I was pregnant with the twins in late 1987.  I tried shopping in a mall when I was 7-8 months pregnant; my doctor forbade me anymore trips to the mall when he saw what was going on with the monitor I was required to wear to detect early labor.

After they were born, well, try shopping with a double wide stroller - I was the entertainment for half the shoppers at the mall.  It was still a bit unusual to have twins back then and the sight of those two babies drew a crowd.  I am not kidding.  My sister can attest that people literally grabbed the stroller to stop and take a look and comment.

So the catalog shopping continued.  As we all know, if you get on a list for one or two of them, the mailbox fills up really fast after that.  And then when stores started having websites and I could safely shop online - well, let's just say that years went by without trips to the mall even without the excuse of  pregnancies, babies, toddlers, kids and, later,  full time employment.  I'd say about 98% of my holiday shopping is done online.

There has been much discussion about the malls being empty this holiday season and the online retailers raking it in.  Wonder if the brick and mortar stores will pay attention now?

I went to the mall on December 1 and couldn't find a single salesperson at Macy's to ask about  stock or a style I was looking for. The aisles were crowded with racks, clothes were on the floor and heaped on the shelves, it was hard to figure out the organization of the merchandise or to find sizes. I did find a couple of things I liked and after lunch with my sisters (and I had birthday money in my pocket) we went back.  They approved the sweater so we got in line.  It didn't seem to be moving so we walked around and found another register and another line.  There was a woman who was returning 2 bags of things she had previously purchased and re-buying them with coupons.  It was ridiculous.

Rather than try to find another register, I dug deep for my patience and waited to make my purchase.  That is when I realized I would rather shop online than wait in line. The former love of seeing all the merchandise, touching the fabrics and trying things on just pales in comparison with the irritation I experienced.

Anyone in the business of customer service knows the axiom "Your lack of planning does not constitute an emergency on my part."  Yet there has been a week of news reports over the failure of Fed Ex and UPS to make all their Christmas deliveries "ruining" the holiday for people all across the country.

If these folks didn't care enough to get their shopping done in the 11 and 3/4 months before Christmas - how is it the fault of the delivery service that their holiday was spoiled?

And now I hear that recycling centers are "overwhelmed" with cardboard boxes following this online shopping frenzy.  It's always something - isn't it?

I will now remove my cranky pants and get ready to go do a couple of errands, including making a return to a real store..

RIDING MY TURBO BIKE

Tom's holiday gift to me was a turbo kit for my bike.

It's not really called that - it's an E Bike conversion.  Tom calls it an assist.  There is a battery and a little button to push which activates the motor and zooom, off I go.  It is a bit of an old lady gift - but with my knees, I'll take it!

It also allows us to expand our ride locales and terrains.  And I admit I have gotten a bit bored with our usual routes. It is especially useful for hill climbing, but was also put to use at the end of the day when I was getting tired and my knees were hurting.  We were able to use a route which had 10% grades as opposed to our usual 1-3% grade rides on the trails.  It is a little bizarre to use the assist.  When I start to bog down I hit the button and the motor just takes off as if am on a moped rather than a bike!

I knew exactly where Tom would take me on our first "assisted ride" and I was right.  He loves going up Dougherty Road through Dublin, San Ramon and into Danville.  The Iron Horse Trail we usually take goes around the hills - we went up and over.  Our 35 + mile ride lasted about 5 hours (with a stop at the Farmer's Market and a couple of drink and snack breaks.)

My gift to him was getting a hitch on my car and a new, smaller bike rack for our 2 bikes so we can travel light when we want to go ride out of the area.  He already has a whole list of new adventures for 2014 lined up!

HOLIDAY WRAP UP

 We had the pleasure of Maggie's company for almost 2 weeks!   We enjoyed going out to dinner...

 

bike riding and trying to harvest mistletoe!

Then all 3 kids were home and we had some family photos taken.

We had Christmas Eve dinner with my sister's family and played Cards Against Humanity with much laughter - the cousins enjoyed  each other's company.

Then we cozied up at home and opened presents and had our traditional breakfast, watched movies and made a nice dinner together.

As of today, Maggie is back in Philly and Zac in Monterey.  Ally is camped on the couch getting over a cold and checking the internet obsessively for her grades.  I am cleaning up the detritus room by room and happy to have 5 more days until I go back to work!

HOLIDAY HOME TOUR - 2013

Welcome to my Holiday Home!  I have enjoyed joining Jen's tour for the past several years - this year my daughter Maggie was home from Philadelphia and helped me decorate,  Her aesthetic is more toward the simple and natural than mine. ( I tend to go crazy with color.)  We think we blended our styles pretty well!

This is our entry, I placed some of my Christmas collection with some candles next to my card tree - not a single card yet!!

This is our newly reconfigured great room - Maggie and I found this lovely wreath with eucalyptus at a crafts fair as our starting inspiration then added some sparkle.

.

 We took the usual stuff off the shelves and placed some shiny gold and silver things in their place.

We kept my favorite ceramic piece "The Cheeseburger Lovers" in place.

The dining room is festive in red, silver and gold.

These reindeer candle holders have been around for nearly 30 years - one broke last year and now they are too fragile to hold candles... still pretty though!

The tree!  Room for more presents...

My chubby new Santa joins the collection.

Our stockings are hung and ready to be filled with goodies.

Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season and a healthy, happy 2014!

HOLIDAY OVERLOAD

I know I am not alone in this - just too much to get done this week to post.  I a almost done decorating so I will be participating in Jen's annual Holiday Homes Tour on Friday - Maggie has been helping me change things up this year.  See you Friday!!

TOO COLD TO RIDE

It was 38 degrees at 9 a.m. this morning.  I declared it too cold to ride my bike. I rode last week when it was around 50 degrees and my biking capri's, 3 layers of jackets, gloves and earmuffs were not enough - so 38 degrees?  Hell no.  Cold weather biking togs are  on my wish list...

I settled for doing laundry, hitting the grocery stores, ironing and setting up my gift wrapping station.  Maggie is coming home this Wednesday and wrapping needed to be done. (Not that I am saying she would snoop.) The big game (Seattle v. SF) started at 1:25 and so did my wrapping.

 Most of my shopping has been done online so I have boxes inside of boxes to manage.  I am so glad I didn't get any "peanuts" because I hate trying to bag them up to recycle  Instead, I had one package which took the prize for most ridiculous amount of waste:

The box for this one calendar (I'm not revealing any big secret, I always give the kids a calendar...) was 48 inches by 28 inches.  The calendar was just bouncing around in the big box.  Maybe someone screwed up and ordered these big weird sized boxes?

I managed to get most of my wrapping done, the stocking stuffers sorted and the laundry folded.  Next up - cookie dough!

And Seahawks?  You'll get 'em next time.

RIP Mr. Mandela

One of the truest leaders of all time - may he rest in peace and continue to inspire, always.

HOLIDAYS AND BIRTHDAYS

I have been trying to write about my big week but Blogger kept doing weird stuff -  seems to be working tonight so no one has to miss my boring holiday recap!

This year, in order to spare our retail working son the long drive home,  we went out to dinner at a place we

like near him.  First we went to a movie and strolled the shopping area in Santa Cruz and then had a lot of drinks and  dinner and spent the night at a little inn on the coast.

Ally had her wisdom teeth (she only had 2 of them) out on Monday and had a little trouble eating, but a good time was had.  Zac made it to work at REI at dawn on Black Friday. Tom and I woke hours before we knew we could rouse Ally so we walked the beach and had breakfast before driving home.

The rest of the holiday weekend Tom and I enjoyed the amazingly warm weather and went on a couple of bike rides.  Ally and I had some quality time together and on Sunday I had lunch and did a little shopping with my sisters.

So on Thursday when we went to a movie (Delivery Man which was quite good) Tom and I were offered the Senior Discount.  Tom turned 60 last year so he took them up on it.  I protested that I had 3 more days until I was a "senior" and insisted on paying full price!

Then on Sunday I turned 60.  It is the first birthday in a very long time that I am having a little trouble with and it's that whole senior citizen thing bothering me.  I have been walking around with silver hair for 13 years and occasionally have been asked if I wanted a discount - but now I am actually old enough to take them up on it.

I suppose I'll get used to it and we all know that 60 is the new...what?  Fifty?  Geez. I know - better than the alternative and age is just a number.  Guess I will learn to embrace the new label of "senior" along with whatever perks it brings!

TIME WARP TUESDAY

This week for TWT I wanted to hare a Thanksgiving photo but found out that I rarely took photos on Thanksgiving.  Guess all the cooking preoccupied me!  Jenn hosts us every Tuesday and we share family photos and tell our stories..

This is 1997 in our house in Bellevue,  Washington. When we moved there I had a lot of work to do on the house, all kinds of wall paper that needed to be taken down, carpets and paint needed to be replaced. Believe it or not the entire house was baby blue and pink!!

It took a while.  Finally I finished the  messy stuff and bought a dining room set.  I think this might have been one of the first times we used it. It was just the 5 of us this particular Thanksgiving - though I didn't get a photo of all of us, I did manage to catch Maggie and Zac putting things on the table just before we sat down to eat.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone and remember to take pictures!!

TIME WARP TUESDAY

Last weekend Tom and I had dinner with my two sisters who live locally and their husbands. We went to our favorite local place, Lokanta, and had lots of drinks and a fine dinner.  We were not ready to call it a night so we wandered down to a local joint which has live music every weekend.  Local bands who play music from the 80's and 90's for the most part - not necessarily that great but very dance worthy.

Well, we "Bradbury" girls had a ball.  We danced ourselves into stiff hips and achy knees and went back for more.

So this week on Time Warp Tuesday,  I m sharing an oldie picture of my siblings including my sisters of the dance floor - Nancy and Polly.  Because in the long run - your siblings can end up being your best friends...not to mention the people you can let your hair down with - or in our case, shake your booty with!

Christmas 1970  Jane, Nancy, Steve, Polly, me

ON MY MIND

These are the things I am wondering about this week:

1.)  How is it our country can come up with 20 million dollars at the drop of a hat to send to the victims of
typhoons and earthquakes and other natural disasters in foreign countries but we can't manage to fund food stamps for hungry Americans?

2.)  Have all those people who are complaining that their insurance rate hikes are due to "Obamacare" not noticed that their premiums have been going up every single year?

In fact, in 2011 the average rate increase was 8.8%, in 2012 it was 4.9% and in 2013 it was only 3.3%.  Many say the lower rate increase this past year was because Obamacare will actually create more competition and the insurance companies want to appeal those looking to sign on.

3.)  I heard Sarah Palin was coming back on the scene with a new book to sell - and today I found out it is about the "war" on Christmas.  Her complaint is not that Christmas is too commercial - she likes that part - but that businesses or people (like me) who say Happy Holidays rather than Merry Christmas are infringing on the religious rights of Christians .  So, somehow recognizing and referring to the other religious holidays which occur in the same time period is ruining Christian's  enjoyment of Christmas?  Okaaay.

Since every person I have ever known who is an atheist or agnostic still celebrates Christmas, granted  in the very secular way that Christmas is mostly celebrated, completely undermines her complaint as far as I am concerned.

4.)  Why is it such a shock each year when it gets dark at 5:30?

SHOPPING JONES

I have had an obsession for shopping for the past month.  Seeing the trees turning and experiencing the cool mornings and evenings has pushed my somewhat excess shopping buttons. For the past 9 year I have worn the same 2 jackets in the cold months.  A reversible rain jacket and a really nice leather jacket.  The combination of warming hormonal changes and a rather limited life made it possible to attend most winter events comfortably.

Now I find myself coatless.  Even the impulse purchased red trench raincoat which I squeezed into once or twice is way too big now.  I have been shivering my way to work in the mornings and layering up when we go out in the evenings.

The threat of rain this week set me in motion.  I poured over the internet to see what to expect in the stores.  Seems that double breasted is very big - but not my favorite look.  The patch work mix of leather and wool is cool but maybe too trendy for someone who plans to wear the same coat for many years to come.  Stunned by the department store prices I was seeing and underwhelmed by the selection in the usual discount stores, I asked around at work and was told to go to Burlington Coat Factory which is just down the road. Somehow it had never occurred to me that a place named "Burlington Coat Factory" would actually have coats...

Happily they had great coats at fabulous prices.  After trying on about 20, I bought a rain coat and a dressier wool coat - both from Michael Kors.  I have already shortened the sleeve on the raincoat, but plan to take the wool coat to a seamstress to alter. I go both coats for well under $200.00 so I don't mind paying to have alterations.

My next shopping jones will be some warmer shoes.  My former work environments allowed me to wear more casual clothing and shoes plus had the advantage of being warmer than where I work now, especially because I am in and out of our warehouse.  I am thinking a cool oxford...

NOOK VS. BOOK

Excuse my poor photography - but I think the point is made.  I paid for and downloaded a book I already owned because I just couldn't read the small grey type for very long before my eyes gave out.

The good news - totally worth it - I am again loving the Margaret Atwood book, The Year of the Flood, leading up to her trilogy closing book MaddAddam.   I have book club tonight so I will have to read that selection before I get to read MaddAddam, but I am happy to have it waiting in the wings.

TIME WARP TUESDAY

Time Warp Tuesday has been getting by me - but I am right on top of the upcoming holiday with this Halloween photo from 1990.  I made the costumes for Maggie and Zac and it looks like they were pretty happy!

Check in with Jenn to see who else has joined the Time Warp fun this week!

SATURDAY AROUND TOWN

 We live just a few blocks away from one of the high schools and woke up to the sounds of marching bands and drums so we hopped on our bikes to see what was going on downtown.  It was the annual high school band review marching down Main Street!.

We rode down to Tom's office and had a birds eye view of the judging of the drum lines - the main review stand was several blocks down the street.  We watched for a while then I went down the street to see the full bands perform for the judges while Tom did some work  in his office.  I loved that the drum lines had boys and girls and so did the flag teams!  Also noted was that the performers came in all shapes, sizes and nationalities - I love that about our changing society. In my day the performers were uniformly slim, pretty girls and the band was nearly all boys.





In the meantime, I noticed some trick or treating going on and found out the city was also hosting a Halloween scavenger hunt.

Cute kids, band music, sunshine - can it get better?






Being Saturday, there was also the weekly Farmer's market going on - so things were really hopping!

 I love the change in the colors at the market - the autumnal hues abound not only in the flowers but in the fruits and veggies on display.

 While we were wandering around taking in all the activity we noticed that one of our favorite places was having  a Happy Hour from 3-6.

So after finishing all our Saturday chores we cleaned up and managed to snag our favorite sidewalk table.The intention was to have a couple of drinks and appetizers, then go home for dinner. Turned out it was the evening of a Fall Pub Crawl and all the adults in costumes partying up and down the street was so entertaining that we stayed for dinner and enjoyed several happy hours which our darling server captured here!

ONE YEAR SINCE WEIGHT LOSS SURGERY

A year ago today I was in Mexicali, Mexico.  I was spending the night in a hotel after finishing some tests and interviews with the Bariatric surgeons at the Hospital Almater.  I was told it was okay to have whatever I liked for dinner, which was pretty cool after a month of significant diet restrictions; the last week being a liquid diet!  Little did I know that the small amount I was able to eat in the nice restaurant was a preview of my dietary future!

In the morning I was picked up and taken to the hospital, got settled in my very nice private room by the attentive staff and shortly went off into surgery.  I had little pain when I woke and got up to walk the halls later that evening.  I was well taken care of for the additional 5 days I was there and would recommend the experience to anyone considering the self pay option for weight loss surgery. It cost a fraction of the cost in the US and I had excellent care.

I have been writing pretty regularly about my weight loss and post surgical experiences on my other blog.  It's just such a milestone for me that I want to cross over and share here, too.  It has not been easy, but it has been easier than remaining morbidly obese, which is where I had been stuck for many years.

These are my before and after photos:

RIDING ALONG THE BEACH

We had a great time in Monterey riding bikes along the coast and catching up with Zac.  He is juggling 4
jobs and doesn't have much time off, so we were honored that he invited us to spend some time with him on one of his rare days without a commitment to one or more shifts somewhere.

October is one of the best months to visit any coastal area in CA and we managed to have a gorgeous day.  A windbreaker in the morning was shed off by lunch.  As we rode along Zac shared stories from his week at Sea Lab and his group of 8-10 year-olds - some of them had never been to the beach!

I almost fell off my bike laughing when he told us about trying to re-direct the attention of his "campers" from a sea otter which was frantically fornicating a deceased harbor seal - apparently those cute, furry little otters everyone loves are quite kinky - and violent!  He regaled us with a couple of other "bad otter" stories.  His group also witnessed an otter grabbing a seagull, ripping it's head off and eating it, which is more disturbing than their usual tendency to simply drown gulls which are trying to poach their food...

Fortunately they also got an opportunity to see some of the magical side of marine life, too.  On their last morning at the beach there were some dolphins passing through.  Zac lined them up to watch them when suddenly a wave crested right in front of all the kids and the dolphins were riding the wave right in close to shore.  They did it over and over and all the kids in the camp got a chance to witness this  amazing spectacle!

FRIDAY FAST ONES

1.) What does it say about our little city that the most prevalent new businesses seem to be two of types:
 massage parlors  and academic tutoring.

2.)  I was disappointed when the book selected for our book club this month was a Jodi Picoult novel. I am a bit of a book snob - I admit it.  However,  though I am not finished with it yet and it may still disappoint, The Storyteller is a pretty good read.

The thing is, I am anxious to get back to re-reading the first two of the Margaret Atwood MaddAddam Trilogy - the third book just came out and all the reviewers suggested going back to the first two before embarking on this new one.  The first, Oryx and Crake, came out 10 years ago and I was amazed at how much of it I recalled when I re-read it last week.  When I finish the book club book, I'll read The Year of the Flood again and then dive into MaddAddam.  Just love Margaret Atwood.

3.)  I started my holiday shopping this weekend with a online session.  I didn't have much luck finding things I was thinking about for gifts - some companies I have shopped with in the past seem to be gone and prices seem to be a lot higher this year.

I read that the California economy is supposed to be nearly back to what it was 8 years ago.  It certainly hasn't happened in my house and the article didn't address the huge increase in the price of everything vs. the new lower wages we are living with. I make $4.00 an hour less now than I did 8 years ago and pay $800. more a month for health insurance. Then add in the higher cost of gas, groceries and even internet.

 I suppose statistically speaking,  people who made good money during this recession and are making even more money now will skew the numbers higher than the reality most of us live with.

4.)  Just got back from our date night. We skipped dance class and went to the gym then out to eat.  The moon is huge and bright, the temperature when we got to dinner was 68 degrees; we ate outside knowing it is probably the last week of this balmy fall weather...  Tomorrow we are off to Monterey to ride bikes with our Zac.

Hope everyone has a lovely fall weekend!

FALL RIDE

We had planned to ride into Livermore to attend the annual Art Walk but didn't realize until this morning that it was only a 1 day event on Saturday - so we decided to make it an adventure.

 We have passed by this trail and never knew the name until today -  the Arroyo Mocho Trail  runs along the creek of the same name and makes for some pretty scenery.  It's so nice to get off the road and into more varied and natural settings.  (Plus now we have a new neighborhood to keep an eye on when we are ready to move next year.)

 Turns out it came out near the Concannon Winery vineyards and a softball facility we spent many a weekend hanging around.  I recalled a great breakfast place down the road.  So we stopped in for breakfast and then headed back along the trail and home.

TIME WARP TUESDAY

It's been a while since I have played along with Jenn's Time Warp Tuesday.  Check in to see who else is sharing family photos and the stories behind them.

This was taken 29 years ago on our wedding day.  We had a late afternoon outdoor ceremony and a cocktail party style reception on the patio of a restaurant.

When we finally remembered to cut the cake it was getting dark!  It was a small, inexpensive wedding with no wedding planner to keep things on schedule.  My mom made my dress, a neighbor made the cake, my sister's friend was the photographer. I asked for no chrysanthemums in my bouquet - as you can see my request was not honored!!  No Pinterest fantasies in sight - but it took!

FRIDAY FAST ONES

1.)  I was amazed to hear a "news story" this morning on NBC which focused on the new UN Ambassador, a mother!  "Balancing diplomacy and diapers."  Geez.  Is this 1959?  Are we still talking about women as the only partner in a marriage who has to deal with being a parent AND working?
Samantha Power.  The hook was about the fact that she is also

2.)  And while I am on my "feminist" soap box.  I have been looking for a new watch since mine is turning my wrist black after 12 years of wear.  Tom sent me to a site he likes which makes high quality knock offs.  I didn't find anything I liked and probably for this reason - their description of the difference between what women and men want in a watch:

Unlike most men who go after mechanical engineering, majority of women collectors and watch lovers prefer aesthetic value and style over construction. They pine after luxury watches who embody elegance with a hint of sparkle in them. For women, classic and timeless designs are works of art that display wealth and status in life.

3.)  I went onto the website for the ACA pooled insurance plans in CA to see if we could do better than our current COBRA insurance plan.  I knew the minute I saw the first question asking for our annual income that it wouldn't be good news and it wasn't.  The very lowest cost plan was over $100 more per month and has not only a $10,000. annual deductible but requires a $60. co-pay. (My plan has a $3500. deductible and a $30. co-pay.)

I guess I hadn't realized that the insurance companies could charge based on our income rather than our needs or use of the medical care - though there were some questions along the lines of how often we go to the doctor and how many prescription we have, which I answered at the lowest level of use.

I keep hearing about people actually finding affordable care through the exchanges - so I am glad it is going to work for some people.  I had hoped that it would be a better deal than through my employer so I could give up working in the next year or so.

BUYCOTTING

Three days after our third dancing class I came down with a cold.  Reality dictates that dancing with 10 men who are dancing with 10 women  means someone in the group is passing around some germs which someone else is bound to catch.  Oh well, a week of complete physical misery coupled with my co-worker being away on vacation left me pretty wiped out.  I spent only a bit of time online, panic led to some bills getting paid, I cooked a little for Tom,  but really did little more than sleep and work for about 10 days.  

One e-mail got my attention which led to a quick Facebook post.  That was the boycott of Barilla products following the ignorant and insensitive remarks made by the CEO of the company with regard to the LGBT community which he "doesn't agree with" and prefers his products be sold to traditional families.  He and the company have been backpedaling and trying to stem the fallout with some  poorly chosen new comments.

The whole thing came about when the CEO was asked about advertising his pasta with same sex couples as many other food companies have been doing.  He launched into a statement which went far beyond "not aware of any current plans to do that" which would have been the way to answer.  Instead he offered up his personal opinion about not liking "the things that they do."  

Some people have suggested that boycotting companies (or countries) which express this ignorance and disdain for equality or make judgments on their fitness to have families, etc. is some sort of liberal bullying and pushing of a "gay agenda."  As someone who has long refused to do business with companies with policies I find offensive, abusive or unfair, I call BS on that.  How else can we as consumers and members of a democratic society express out opinions but by calling out what we don't like, calling attention to it and avoid financing such behaviors by not spending our money there?

I am well aware that there are a great many businesses which are likely backed by much smarter people who hold much worse opinions - they just have the savvy not to expose themselves the way Mr. Barilla has. When and if they let their colors show I will make a similar determination about supporting their business or products.  

Do I only buy from liberal, left wing, progressive companies - no.  But when I am aware that there are forces behind a company I do buy from which I disagree with - I stop.  I don't have a specific agenda - just a conscience and a pocketbook I can choose to open to some and not to others.

IN THE SWING

So the night I hosted book club, my husband Tom went out with his buddy John to hear some jazz.  Turns out the "jazz night" wasn't what they expected.  

That Tom and John found each other is one of those things that happen in the universe - they are both attorneys, musicians, and  funny guys.  They bring out the silly in each other. Tom tried to turn John into a bike rider but John fell off his bike rolling along in a residential neighborhood and broke his hip - so they don't do sports together any more except for going to the local theater to watch football on the big screen and drink beer.

Back to the jazz night.  Turns out that the other attendees of jazz night were a lot of women of a certain age who made it very clear that they were there to dance.  I questioned the dance -ability of jazz but that is not part of the story.  Tom and John spent the evening having cocktails and coming up with a plan to buy "shiny clothing", learning to dance and then going out and offering their dancing services to these women.  When I pointed out that Tom has danced maybe 3 times since our wedding 29 years ago, he shrugged.  Really, it was all about the outfits.  Whether they should do sequins and epaulets and maybe embroider their names on jackets...like I said.  Silly men.

Of course, when I explained that women do tend to love to dance and that a man who could really dance was a rare and magical creature,  I guess I got Tom's attention because a week or so later we went out for an introductory West Coast Swing dance lesson.  Now we are taking lessons every Monday night.

Each woman I have told about this interesting development says their husband would never voluntarily take dance lessons.  I would have said the same thing.  Something has happened in this second year of our empty nest.  My husband has been so much more focused on the quality of our time together, more interested in developing our social life and expanding our activities.

On the way home from our second dance lesson we had a great time talking about all the other couples in the class and how they danced and partnered (they make you change partners every few minutes so we dance with all the other members of the class!) We will never be that couple who gets into the dance thing and travels around doing competitions, but we can already see that  it is a great activity and opportunity to meet some new people - which is harder and harder to do after the kids are grown.

Plus dancing clothes!