Hey Zig
Been thinking about you.......survived the snow ?

Doing great Alison. Been thinking of you as well. I hope you and Bill are well and enjoy 2016. The shoulder issue is still there, but everything else is great health wise and otherwise. The winter has been kind of tame here. One 14 inch snow and a few small ones, but one of the warmest winteres I can recall. Record in December and ....swear on my grave truth that after Christmas (broke the previous NYC area (back before 1900) records for the month by almost 7 degrees) the grass was green a patches and even growing a little. That has never ever happened near that time of year. November was also a record warm...and December was above the normal November.....no snow and days in 60's several times in December. January was normal and Feb seems headed that way....but no long winter this year. The shoveling got my shoulder tho......not sure if it is fading.....or I was lazy on technique.....probably both. I'm always trying to build it back tho.

Thanks for the response. Hope all is well and enjoy that nice lifestyle you have going. It sounds like a fun place. We had surfers up here on Christmas this year....was mid 60's and people were out in shorts and on the news for stuff like that. Surf is never great here, but the guys said the water was quite tolerable.....not that there were a ton, but a few who made the news of course when they show up at the beach on Christmas and people are actually using it. Only surfers.....polar bear guys did not even make the news this year....water wasn't cold enough. That is a New Years Day Event up here and this year was not covered.....water temp was 11 degrees above normal.

Zig...
We've been shopping for a second home in the upper mid Florida area....around Silver Springs.   That's a beautiful area of the country.   Huge Oak ,Pine and Hickory trees...Spanish moss, clear rivers and springs for canoeing and fishing.   My husband grew up in Florida and i went to college there.  We've been re-thinking staying in the Rep of Panama forever.   These pictures were taken when we were camping in that same area of Florida when we first got married.  We had some real good times there and most likely if we got a second home there we'd once again explore the rivers and enjoy more camping there.





(oh wow...I just noticed that pot. I'm still using it!  Revere Ware...great stuff.  That pot is probably 50 years old )

Surf here has been grim.  Going nuts waiting for the season change.  It's dry as a bone...no rain and windy as hell right now here.   Been doing a lot of bike riding...which to me gets a bit boring.    The shoulder thing is a drag for you.  Lots of surfers my age stop because of chronic over use.  Fortunately I can still enjoy big wave excitement with my wave ski.

Stay in touch !
Alison

Sounds great Alison! No state tax there which is a reason many live there and up here too. 6 months and a day + there works. That looks like a great area.....know it a little bit. Fun. Best of luck and keep me informed. That would be cool to have a 2nd home and fun area.

Meanwhile...there are lumps on the Pacific horizon and we will be off for another week to test ourselves in the waves here in the Rep of Panama once again.   There's an enormous advantage to keeping young if you stay moving along with young people in a sport.  Once you concede to life among the grey haired folks ....yeiks, I shudder to think about it !    Anyway, it will be good to be back in the water again after several months of Pacific flat conditions.

I'll let you know how it goes......

Alison

I tell myself that too. I see people who sit around and generally they do not get back up to full activity even in 50's and 60's. You need to keep the body and mind active. The connection is amazing between healthy activity and all sorts of good things. I could not agree more. The alternative is talking about how old you are....which so many people do. They are in their own heads that you can't do things at a certain age b/c the lady your age or man your age said so.

I am glad you have it right.

  Yah...I have neighbors that whine about how much they pay their gardener.  They're 50 lb or more overweight and their only exercise is taking the garbage out.....and, they're at least 10 years younger than me.    A little yard work gets the heart pumpin.......why hire a maid when you can sweep mop and dust yourself.   Movement for heavens sake !   

Aliison. Have you heard from Pillow lately?

Aliison. Have you heard from Pillow lately?

I was just thinking about her...   No I havn't.  I'll have to send her another letter.
Alison

Gather a number of those magazines and pics of yours are still in storage.

Gather a number of those magazines and pics of yours are still in storage.

Boy am I lazy.......

  Yah...I have neighbors that whine about how much they pay their gardener.  They're 50 lb or more overweight and their only exercise is taking the garbage out.....and, they're at least 10 years younger than me.    A little yard work gets the heart pumpin.......why hire a maid when you can sweep mop and dust yourself.   Movement for heavens sake !   

Preach on Alison! I'm in an area that is supposed to be well off and I still see people my age or younger....or say 50's even....moving like they are 75. Low awareness levels that it is not healthy.....but there are some women you'd love.....very fit in their 60's and 70's still moving well and healthy. One is a lifelong tennis pro and still plays great at 68.....no bum shoulder like me....her serve is not a huge one, but she's a very solid player....one of the best women in US in her age group. She moves like a cat and is solidly built. One of the only people of any age who walks even faster than me. I usually have people dodging out of my way in stores.

   ALISON, Trying out my new laptop.  I finally made the leap to the 21st century.  I was looking at a character called Hot Curl the surfers idol, reminds me of Bill in his youth.  I put together a sissy squat machine, remember that thing that annihilates your thighs with no strain on the spine.  I laughed about the part where we mixed coconut oil and iodine, back in the days when spray tanning didn't exist.  Or we used Tanfastic or some cream that turned you orange.  Remember Sam Boyd's California hotel in Vegas.  No pool and no sundeck, so we flattened out some boxes that bums slept in, and tanned in a dirt parking lot, thought better of it and moved to Caeser's Palace.  Maybe bums isn't politically correct, more like Panhandling Americans. 
Steve

ALISON, Trying out my new laptop.  I finally made the leap to the 21st century.  I was looking at a character called Hot Curl the surfers idol, reminds me of Bill in his youth.  I put together a sissy squat machine, remember that thing that annihilates your thighs with no strain on the spine.  I laughed about the part where we mixed coconut oil and iodine, back in the days when spray tanning didn't exist.  Or we used Tanfastic or some cream that turned you orange.  Remember Sam Boyd's California hotel in Vegas.  No pool and no sundeck, so we flattened out some boxes that bums slept in, and tanned in a dirt parking lot, thought better of it and moved to Caeser's Palace.  Maybe bums isn't politically correct, more like Panhandling Americans. 
Steve

Well welcome to the 21st century !   A computer...wow. 
Bill and I have bit the bullet and now go to a free weight gym daily.  We joined last month.  I haven't had a gym membership since the PowerPit days back before time began!   Into a sort of 3 and 1 diet....with canned chicken and limited carbs .  ( If I can blast some fat I'll probably look better than when I first started cranking iron )  So far so good....haven't dropped dead on the stair climber so it's all good.  Certain joints are shot....right hip now metal, left knee blown but operational and pain free, left shoulder semi frozen.   Working around all these war injuries. 

Some friends a bit younger than me but still in their 70's sailed their own sailboat around the world and landed here in Panama. Here I am with them just a month or so ago



( off to pan for some gold.......with my dog's help)
Still some muscle left !   
I'll send you my email by private message.
Good to hear from you........
Alison

Nice biceps!