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by Maria Grazia Swan

3 Simple Steps to a Successful Valentine’s Day

February 8, 2012 in Relationships

If you forgot to buy or you are stressed about buying a Valentine’s Day gift and you are on a budget, read this.

First, buy 3 Valentine’s Day cards, not all the same, pick them different. You can find a good selection at discount stores in your area for $0.99 each if you are really broke.

1. Write I        on card #1
2. Write Love on card #2
3. Write You on card #3

Then spend $25 on movie money, you can get it them on line, just go to the website of the Theatre/Movie company in your area. Some businesses offer a voucher for medium popcorn if you spend $25 or more.

Insert the movie money gift card in the first envelope.  The popcorn voucher in the second. Pick the movie you want to see with your Valentine, cut out the ad from a newspaper and insert that along with the last envelope/card.

Voila, my friend. Instant Valentine’s gift that will make both your Valentine and you happy!

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by Sally Franz

Aeroflop…is this anyway to run an airline?

February 4, 2012 in Travel

Part 1

I was on my way to an environmental meeting in Uzbekistan.

My flight from Moscow to Tashkent was already delayed 4 hours. I was completely annoyed. It wasn’t until I got on the flight that I realized life was much better on the ground.

In one way Aeroflot was ahead of the times. You had to carry your own luggage onto the plane. In fact, you actually boarded into the luggage compartment and stacked your gear there (next to the goat and chickens…and I wish I was making that up). Next you climbed a very steep staircase and turned right or left down an extremely small aisle.

The instructions were in Russian only, but there wasn’t much room for error. Up, turn find a seat, shut up, and sit down.

I scored a window seat. I like to take pictures out of airplane windows. So because I was told it was illegal to do so, I waited for the flight attendant (I use that term lightly, she/he looked like an angry shot-put thrower) was fastened into the jump seat. As soon as we took off I started clicking away. Irate passengers behind me started screaming, motioning for me to stop taking pictures. Wow, so all the 007 movies were correct, everybody was still in the KGB.

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by Bonnie Joffe

A Mother Daughter Retreat

February 2, 2012 in Family

And such was this past weekend. My oldest child, the only girl in a family of 3 boys, has become a great travelling buddy.  A few years ago, we explored Prague and Italy, and just this past weekend, we decided to go for a lovely, peaceful weekend in the Finger Lakes region in upstate New York. We seem to like the same things; food, wine, spots to visit and even a similar sleeping schedule!

We found a wonderful bed and breakfast, the Black Sheep Inn in Hammondsport, New York where we received the royal treatment. We had messages, facials, home-cooked gourmet breakfasts and uninterrupted time to enjoy some R&R.

As we enjoyed our time away from our busy, individual lives, one of our many discussions included the future for my 23-year-old daughter– where she envisions herself living should she someday leave Manhattan. During out discussion, I reflected back on my relationship with parents during my young adult years. My parents moved to Florida after I graduated from college and my life kept me here in the northeast. I was not fortunate enough to spend a lot of time with my parents during those early years after college graduation and well into my middle years of life.

I am sharing this with you because you never know how much time you will have to spend with your children as they fly the coop and start their own lives– and often, no longer local to the home in which they grew up.

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Avatar of Dena Kouremetis

by Dena Kouremetis

Disappearing acts

February 1, 2012 in Boomers, Our Lives

It has hit me lately how certain gestures, habits and even sounds have disappeared from American life since my parents’ generation.  I can’t say I miss them all, but I wonder why some small things just disappear and if anyone else but me has noticed.

Here are just a few I thought about recently:

  • Whistling.  Can you imagine seeing people walking down a sidewalk whistling?  Whistling used to actually be an art form.  I think Bing Crosby was born doing it. In fact, there were times I KNEW precisely when my father would whistle. When we traveled across the country to visit his parents in the Midwest. I distinctly remember each time he got out of the car to talk to a motel owner about spending the night in places like North Platte, Nebraska.  He would emerge from the car while the rest of us stayed expectantly quiet, hoping we could “afford” a motel that had a pool as he did his serious negotiations with the proprietor. And as he sauntered up to the motel office whistling, he slicked his hair back with a comb. Today’s crude form of whistling involves the placing of two fingers in the mouth at sporting events.

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