Thursday, March 10, 2016

Happiness, Better Health, and Fun At the Same Time?

Photo by Dick Bevevino
Anthem Community Park
Anthem, AZ
That's right.  If we want the benefits of increasing stamina, whole body strength, and endurance while sharpening reflexes, boosting eye-hand coordination, losing a little weight painlessly AND having fun with family and/or old or new friends at the same time, the go-to sport is pickleball.

It started as a way for a family to lower the boredom factor for their children while on vacation. That was in the 1960's.  Now it's a sport for all age groups, including the 80-year-old who beats some of us every time he walks onto the court. And then there are the six and seven-year-olds who learned to serve the ball after two times out with their grandparents. Plus, it is a growing middle-school extracurricular activity and has been added to  the high-school phys. ed. curriculum in many schools. The USA Pickleball Association promotes the sport through its 1000+ volunteers who are ambassadors throughout the world;  they recruit and teach all age groups to play

If you've played tennis, handball, racquetball, table tennis or badminton, you have an advantage.  But many of us have never played any sport and yet have learned because of so many willing people on the courts.  Local YMCAs have added pickleball, and many municipal parks and recreation departments have converted tennis courts to pickleball across the country. Leslee Komaiko of the LA Times calls the sport "beginner friendly"("Pickleball:  a little bit ping-pong, a little bit badminton, a lot of momentum," August 8, 2015).

Interested?  Start by yourself. There will be plenty of people waiting to help you.  Or take a friend  or family member.  Children, tweens and teens,  adults, and people in their 70s, 80s, 90s can play. Go to USAPA.org and search "Places to Play." For example there are 84 places and contact people listed for PA and many that aren't listed, like the Edinboro, PA,  YMCA and Warren, PA,  YMCA. Texas lists 121 places to play, and Kentucky has 20 although cities like Richmond aren't yet on the list. Florida has 320, and Ontario has 155.  Canadian sites are listed by provinces, and international sites are listed in 10 countries. places to play pickleball 

Oh! And one more benefit- we need to do stretches before pickleball play so that we don't invite unnecessary injuries to muscles or joints.  And best of all, the stretches increase flexibility AND we end up able to touch our toes again.   Nice, right?

( Thanks to Pickleball Ambassador, Walt Schlittenhard for lessons and info that inform this post. And also to Dick Bevevino for the photos and  to Joan H for the news article)

And You Worried That Your Best Years Were Behind You? Not Even Close!

Look at these inspiring elders and reconsider what you want in life.



(growingbolder.com)

(growingbolder.com)
(growingbolder.com)

(growingbolder.com)
 
Go to www.growingbolder.com/inspiration  to see what those older than you are may be doing with this stage of their lives.
 
(Thanks to Joan H for sending this site to us.)
 

Looking for a Book in Your Favorite Genre?

(Clipartonline)
A free online site called BookBub.com is a great source for titles and authors in the categories that interest you.

The site doesn't sell books; instead it gives you a daily email of limited-time deals based on your preferences. The choices come from major publishers and widely-known authors. The prices range from free to a very small charge. One reader recently paid $1.99 for Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy. Once you choose the book you want, a list comes up of places for you to buy the book. You may choose to buy it on your kindle, your nook, your Apple ibook, or others. The prices are only available for a short time.

How are theses low prices possible? Sites like BookBub.com contract with and receive offers from publishers who want to promote certain selections. BookBub decides whether the selection should be listed. If you have indicated that you like to read the category of book sent by a publisher, BookBub will email you that offer and others you might enjoy.

To sign up, you give your email address and indicate the types of books you enjoy. For example, you might list fiction, biography, historical fiction, cooking, fashion and sports. There's no limit as to the types you check. It's easy to join and has become a go-to site for some of our readers already.

Just click on www.BookBub.com to get started.

(Thanks to John C for suggesting BookBub to us.)

Have You Ever Wondered Why?

(Randy Glasbergen, Cartoonist)
There might be a reason that the glass of wine at the end of the day looks appealing, but for teachers who teach and grade exams, the reasons are many.  Fortunately, there are many serious students whose answers make life better for the teacher reading the responses of some students below.

" The following questions were set in last year's GED examination. These are genuine answers (from 16 year olds)."

 NOTE: Snopes.com indicates, however, that the responses are a mix of urban legends.  In any case, reading the answers might cause us to reach for a wineglass or our own! Enjoy.

Q. Name the four seasons.
A. Salt, pepper, mustard and vinegar.

Q. How is dew formed?
A. The sun shines down on the leaves and makes them perspire.

Q. What guarantees may a mortgage company insist on?
A. If you are buying a house they will insist that you are well endowed.

Q. In a democratic society, how important are elections?
A. Very important. Sex can only happen when a male gets an election.

Q. What are steroids ?
A. Things for keeping carpets still on the stairs.

(Shoot yourself now, there is little hope).

Q. What happens to your body as you age?
A. When you get old, so do your bowels and you get intercontinental.

Q. What happens to a boy when he reaches puberty?
A. He says goodbye to his boyhood and looks forward to his adultery. (So true).

Q. Name a major disease associated with cigarettes.
A. Premature death.

Q. What is artificial insemination?
A. When the farmer does it to the bull instead of the cow.

Q. How can you delay milk turning sour?
A. Keep it in the cow. (Simple, but brilliant)

Q. How are the main 20 parts of the body categorised (e.g. The abdomen)?
A. The body is consisted into 3 parts - the brainium, the borax and the abdominal cavity. The brainium contains the brain, the borax contains the heart and lungs and the abdominal cavity contains the five bowels: A,E,I,O,U .

Q. What is the fibula?
A. A small lie.

Q. What does 'varicose' mean?
A. Nearby.

Q. What is the most common form of birth control?
A.. Most people prevent contraception by wearing a condominium.

 (Randy Glasbergen, Cartoonist)

(Our thanks to Joan H for forwarding this gem to us.)

Seeing That Stray Gray Hair in Those Beautiful Eyebrows? Try One of These.

(ClipArt Online)
For those of us who color our hair, or those who don't but see gray in our eyebrows, there are solutions.  One of our readers asked her colorist to also tint her brows, but she didn't feel the tinting really covered the gray.  Another plucked that interloper out immediately, but then there's the worry that eyebrows will become very thin as a result of that overzealous approach.

Here are 4 that one of our readers has tried and has deemed all 4 as effective and cost-conscious:

These 3 are gels and come with a mascara-like want for easy use.

1.)  Revlon Brow Fantasy by Colorstay-Opinion?  This does a good job of grooming brows.  It also has a brow pencil on the other end in the same shade.

2.)  Maybelline Brow Drama- Opinion?  Also a good choice. It covers grays well and sculpts nicely.

3.)  Rimmel Brow This Way-Opinion?  A winner, too.

The 4th  has been tried by our reader and deemed effective.

4.)  Godefroy 28 Day Mascara Permanent Eyelash and Eyebrow Tint Kit-Opinion?  Our reader will never try to do the eyelash tint even though the product has "no hydrogen peroxide or synthetic dyes" as listed on the packaging.  BUT, this does a great job on brows, and it is both waterproof and non-fading for about 4 weeks.  The application time is 2 minutes.  It is $19.95 but it lasts for at least 6 applications or 6 months.  It can be purchased on line by googling Godefroy 28 Day Mascara.

Her final opinion?  All 4 work better than any tinting she has done in the stylist's salon.