GrannyXpress

Revisiting The Empty Nest

Filed under: GrannyXGrouses, Family Matters @ January 30, 2008 12:42 pm by healthiacynthia

empty nestThis morning I walked by the room that ordinarily has its door shut and I caught a glimpse of the little Dora* Bed in there with its baby pink sheet and the big old elephant puppet flung up where the pillow goes. Like long-distance grannies everywhere, I blinked back a tear. All I had to say to my husband for him to immediately get it was: “that little bed”.

When our sons left home to live ‘away’– for real– I grieved their speedy transition from infancy to adulthood. I also worried a lot about their safety out there in the big world where the magic of mommy didn’t work. When I was really worried I had dreams where they were helpless babies and where I would sit them down somewhere and then not be able to find them again. The dream would morph into a nightmare that left me feeling blue and disconnected the next morning. My older son’s marriage to the lovely M. brought me out of the initial loss and his fine fathering reassured me that he was a competent, capable adult.

A couple of years ago we moved to this island to be near our younger adult son. In fact, he moved in with us and we went blissfully about our lives together, sometimes even attending community events as a ‘family’. I guess down deep we must have known that a man in his 30s generally doesn’t stay with the folks forever, so we were not TOO surprised when he upped and moved to live in a sort of communal farming situation in the East. He is happy and doing what he does well. He’s only an email away.

But back to missing the little granddaughters… part of the poignancy of loss involves their tenderness. Will they even remember us when they return here in June? I mean, A1 will know who we are because we phone occasionally and she spent quite a lot of time with us, but little A-too barely got to recognize our faces… she was three months old when they left on January 13th– she’ll be 8 months old when they return. On the other hand, both of them are getting to spend time with their other granny, (nanay).

I am ever so grateful to be a grandmother. I can barely imagine what it must be like for many grandparents who ‘lose’ their grandchildren to permanent re-location and/or through divorce and other interrupters to family unity. I typed ‘re-location’ but maybe the word is actually ‘dis-location’ because it seems to me that grandkids and grandparents who are forced apart experience a painful dysfunctionality, a torn bond, if one even existed in the first place. We live in this ‘global community’ and it does seem to mean that we will continue to be separated by great distances. Email is fine, and voice mail is finer, and webcams are lovely, but cuddling a real, flesh-and-blood grandchild is the absolute best!

*A Dora bed is one of those plastic theme items that was inspired by my granddaughter’s favourite video heroine, the hyper-active little Latina, Dora the Explorer.

Vacuum Cleaner Deals

Filed under: GrannyX Approves, GrannyX Suggests, GrannyX Recommends, GrannyXLovesTHE.BAY, GrannyX Comforts, Kirby Vacuum @ January 26, 2008 7:37 pm by healthiacynthia

Last week we had a call from the rug cleaners asking if they could do our rug for free in exchange for some referrals to friends. My husband took the call.

The upshot is that we DID have our rug done, and a fine job it was too (friends out there– please use this service! Call and we’ll give you the information). The guy showed us all the gunk that came from the carpet after we had vacuumed (supposedly??) with our cheap-o little cannister, and also vacuumed the dead skin from our mattress (eeeew). Did we buy the vacuum cleaner they were REALLY SELLING? Well, remember, my husband took the call. He showed the fellow how much the vacuum was selling for on EBay (about 1/5 of their cost– over $2000) and then the unexpected happened. The cleaner/salesman said, “Thank you , thank you! I KNOW this is an excellent vacuum but I really hate trying to strongarm older folks who are either senile or on a fixed income… this gives me a way out!” And he left quite pleased with himself. It was a very weird sort of WIN-WIN situation. Take a look at the brand and when you do your research, you will find that they do get an excellent consumer rating on the internet:

Book Review: THE MATURE MIND: The Positive Power of the Aging Brain

Filed under: GrannyX Reads, GrannyX Recommends @ January 15, 2008 10:13 am by healthiacynthia

I am a Boomer so, naturally I am drawn to what look like positive models for my own old age. I look for people in their 70s, 80s and older in my family and community who seem to be faring well in their maturity, whose minds are keen, and who have activities that they love and work that they enjoy. I don’t generally look to the news or so-call “health/medical literature” since what I find there is generally gloomy accounts that make it sound like everyone is bound to get Alzheimer’s if they live “long enough” or at least some form of clinical depression that results in significant cognitive and emotional decline.


The Mature Mind

What a joy to pick up Gene D. Cohen’s book, The Mature Mind:The Positive Power of the Mature Brain and read that, as the ancient philosopher would have it, it ain’t necessarily so that we all lose our marbles. In fact, as the book’s subtitle emphasizes, there are several positive aspects to having a mature brain in your skull.

Cohen worked for 35 years as a gerontology psychiatrist and went through a misdiagnosed illness (’they’ diagnosed Lou Gehrig’s Disease) in his own mid-life that appears to have crystallized his already compassionate and keen observations of the aging population he worked with. When he ’stepped out of the box’ and began to design games for older adults, many of his colleagues made the sort of patronizing comments that we are familiar with, implying that he was bucking the status quo and was therefore quite likely heading into senility.

Although this volume appears relatively slim (just over 200 pages), it is packed with the kind of meaty ideas, proofs, and testimonials of the rich possibilities of intellectual, emotional, and creative learning and growth that I have longed to read about. In some ways, the experience of reading reminds me of having read the late Betty Friedan’s book, “The Fountain of Age“. I recall going to my mother, who was quite ill with an undiagnosed brain disorder (it was, in fact, never diagnosed), and regaling her with all the hope and black humor with which Friedan peppered her volume, a work that took on what she saw as the ‘establishment’ that was passing and supporting laws that oppressed the aged (such as mandatory retirement, etc.). Interestingly, Friedan was scathingly critical of gerontology and gerontologists, seeing them as little more than henchmen of a youth-promoting government elite. I was delightfully surprised at Cohen’s respectful and admiring voice throughout this book, and have to admit that this has probably restored a little balance to my recent rant against the medical establishment (and Good Grief! Some of my best friends are doctors…lol).

Fountain of Age

I know that other aging members of our population will appreciate reading this book for varied reasons: Cohen expands Eric Erickson’s rather rigid and youth-focused Stages of Psychological Issues to include four phases of “the Second Half of Life”; he offers numerous inspirational illustrations of how the older brain works to create, cope, and thrive in spite of loss and some seemingly daunting impediments and statistics; and he provides information of various scientific studies that disprove some of the more pervasive myths that keep circulating like bad air in a sealed room: example, only 10% of seniors have what can be described as ‘clinical depression’– in fact, the older adult with an undiseased brain is more apt to be more optimistic and patient and wise than are adults in their twenties to fifties. It’s a ‘brain advantage’ thing that you will have to read the book to understand.

I am now eager to get hold of Cohen’s other book, The Creative Age: Awakening Human Potential in the Second Half of Life where he looks more specifically at creativity in age.


The Creative Age: Awakening Human Potential in the Second Half of Life

The Expressive Arts Activity Book: A Resource for Professionals

Still Not Too Late for Your New Year’s Resolve

Filed under: GrannyX Approves, GrannyX Suggests, GrannyX Recommends, GrannyX Network Biz @ January 10, 2008 12:38 pm by healthiacynthia


At last night’s Toastmasters’ meeting we had a debate on the effectiveness (or ineffectiveness) of New Year’s Resolutions. I argued on the “effectiveness” side.

The New Year calendar date is a good reminder of our resolve to better ourselves… hope springs eternal.

My email bin is full of invitations to get my life off on the right foot in 2008. Here are a couple that you might find interesting to explore:

You want to try your hand at e-commerce in 2008? Maybe you already have a profitable business on-line, in which case you might not be interested in this particular proposal. But, maybe you would like to hear what some of the topnotch internet marketing have done or are doing to promote their successful businesses.

To take part in a series of FREE internet tele-calls with wise industry leaders like Greg Cesar (on powerful use of Keywords), Justin Livingston (”Intimate Marketing”), Donna Fox (”Why events are the ideal way to market to women”) and Many More teachers on the leading edge of internet marketing. These calls are a showcase of the speakers at an upcoming 3-day conference. Go here to learn more and register for the calls.

I personally recommend the interNETworking team that I am a part of for anyone who is currently involved in a network marketing venture that is simply not working out to be what you had hoped for when you signed up. If you love the products you sell, but hate pestering friends and relatives to buy those products, you might want to join me to learn a more successful and respectful system. Take a look here to see if this meshes with any of your desires and experiences and download the free report.

In the mood for optimal health and curious about what the best cleanse might be for you? Click here and check out the different programs available to start the year fresh and cleansed! If you sign up for a newsletter you will also have an opportunity to take part in an introductory 21-day e-health program for FREE.

Have fun with your aims for a healthier, wealthier you this year!

~GrannyX/ Healthia Cynthia

GrannyX LOVES A DEAL…

Filed under: GrannyX Approves, GrannyX Loves Vita-Mix, GrannyXLovesTHE.BAY @ January 7, 2008 11:36 am by healthiacynthia

My son Conrad was home over the Christmas break and he made the whole clan delicious and nutritious Green Smoothies every morning with my trusty Vita-Mix. Because I sooo love the Vita-Mix and use it daily, I became an affiliate so that I can promote its many benefits to others. But I happen to know that if Conrad buys one, he will probably get it over the Bay, because that is the kind of guy he is. You might be looking for a good deal here too. Go ahead and check out my Vita-Mix affiliate site here, and then come back and compare with the possible auction deals below:

Remember, that to see the articles on the above eBay-to-go widget, you just click on the picture as it comes up. It will take you right to the specific picture, where you can bid, or look around. New to eBay?
 Take a look, and then register to become a bidder. It’s a secure and easy process with this proviso: Always look for sellers with a good ratio of positive feedback (I’d say never under about 98% is what I would look for because the competition is high and I would prefer to get the seller with the best rep over someone who might seem to be offering an unbelievable deal who has a less stellar rep).
If you already have a Vita-Mix, you might want to subscribe to my Whirled Soup newsletter so you can get yummy, tummy-warming recipes delivered right to your email box twice a month. Click here to sign up for the recipe newsletter. Go to the Whirled Soup blog and sign up in the left hand frame.

Raggedy Ann Revisited

Filed under: GrannyX Approves, GrannyX Suggests, GrannyX Recommends, GrannyXLovesTHE.BAY, GrannyX Dolls @ January 6, 2008 9:46 pm by healthiacynthia

When my eldest son was little his great-grandmother gave him a Raggedy Andy doll. I have no idea what became of that doll. We moved a lot and he must have got left behind… I am finding that that is my legacy having allowed my husband to do a lot of the packing up whenever we moved (while I looked after the children).

In any case, Raggedy Ann (and her twin, Andy) were the brain children of American artist Johnny Gruelle. He was a cartoonist back in the turn of the 20th Century on to his death in 1938. Initially he did cartooning for adults, but eventually he turned his eye to the juvenile market and really enjoyed development of the Raggedy characters. There is a museum to Johnny and his characters in Arcola, Illinois. The legacy of the Raggedys was carried forward through this museum project by his sons, Worth and Richard, and their respective spouses.

Children, and adults, continue to connect with these cheerful-looking dolls. Here are a number of possibilities to introduce Ann or Andy into your doll collection– or to gift your little grandchild or great-grandchild, as my grandma did:

There are many more variations of this theme on eBay…. just click on any of the above pictures to check out what is up for auction or what can be bought directly. Have fun!

The Story of Blythe…

Filed under: GrannyX Approves, GrannyX Suggests, GrannyXLovesTHE.BAY, GrannyX Dolls @ January 1, 2008 1:03 pm by healthiacynthia

My little granddaughter is spell-bound by the Blythe doll videos on youtube. They are mostly made by Japanese artists, I think, and combine the whimsical, the arty and the innocent in a way that appeals to two-year olds and others who are interested in maintaining the image of ideal woman as all big-eyed, small-featured, and sweetly vacuous.

Most of the Blythe dolls I have seen have round blue eyes or green eyes and hair colors ranging from blond to coppery to turquoise blue. They have long lashes, sometimes ornamented with glitter or maribou. Their eyes open and close and rotate from side to side.

The original Blythe doll was designed by Marvin Glass and manufactured by Kenner toys in 1972. Tonka Toys bought out Kenner and in the mid-80s, Hasbro bought out Tonka Toys. Marvin Glass died in 1974 and was one of the first group inducted into the Toy Industry Hall of Fame in 1984.

At first children found the Blythe doll rather macabre (the large round eyes changed from green to pin to blue to orange with the pull of the string on the back of her head). As often happens with the avant garde, Blythe was only popular with a small clutch of doll collectors, and after a year she was pulled off the market.

In 1997 photographer Gina Garan was introduced to Blythe by a friend. Gina “got” Blythe right away and channeled her fascination into thousands of photos of the little doll. She began to take at least one of her Blythe dolls with her on her many assignments around the globe.

Gina showed some of her Blythe photos to the founder of CWC (Creative World Connections) who intuited that a modified Blythe would be a big hit with Japanese young women. Parco Toys introduced a TV commercial in 2000 and neo- Blythe took off in Japan.

On eBay you can find everything from vintage Blythe dolls to all the accessories (and then some) for the fashionista neo-Blythe dolls…. teeny-tiny shoes, wigs, etc. Have a look, try a bid: