Grandpa and Aurora

Amber, Chuck, and Aurora went back to Austin yesterday. It was great to see them. We're still marveling over that little Aurora - she just keeps getting cuter! Aurora's also a natural at photo re-creations. Here's the last one.

Aw, what a cute picture of Grandpa and Aurora! I happen to know that's a very proud grandpa there.

Here's the original photo, which is adorable, too. We had a wonderful visit with Amber, Chuck, and Aurora. We're so glad they came.

At the park

Our granddaughter Aurora loves going to parks and playing on playgrounds. At Emerald Hills Lakes Park in Hollywood we found a great playground and also a perfect spot for...

A family re-creation! That's Amber, Aurora, Chuck, me, and Robert.

Here's the original photo. Aurora felt that she should be holding her daddy's hand as well as her mommy's, so that's just what she did. I think it improved the picture, don't you?

Welcome Amber, Chuck, and Aurora!

Retirement photos often show retirees happily getting together with their children and grandchildren, and lucky for us, that's exactly what Robert and I have been doing the last few days. This past Thursday, our daughter Amber, son-in-law Chuck, and 2-year-old granddaughter Aurora flew in from Austin, Texas to spend a few days in Florida. Naturally, I had some re-creations planned.

Here we are re-creating a photo with our sweetie-pie granddaughter Aurora. The little sweater she's wearing is one her mother wore at that age.

Here's the original photo, from a website about Texas Medigap insurance. (Yep, a Texas picture for a Texas granddaughter.) We've been having a great time hanging out with Amber, Chuck, and Aurora and visiting relatives. And Joey is beside himself with joy - he just loves Aurora. Weather and time permitting, stay tuned for more...

Tennis

Of the three of us who live in this house, there's only one who plays tennis. That's Joey. As a Golden Retriever, he loves retrieving tennis balls. In fact, other than my father, we don't know anyone who plays tennis. But retirement photos are full of happy retirees having fun posing on tennis courts, so naturally we had to give it a try.

Here we are re-creating a tennis photo at Jefferson Park in Hollywood. We had a great time. Robert found a nice new tennis ball for Joey and after we took the picture we hit it back and forth a while. And we looked marvelous!

Here's the original photo. But though tennis photos are doing fine, I'm not so sure about tennis. At Jacaranda, they turned the tennis courts into a parking lot. At a condo complex near us, the tennis courts are being used to store RVs. We had our choice of all four courts at Jefferson Park. And I had a heck of a time finding a tennis skirt! What do you think - is tennis less popular now than it once was?

Silence is golden?

Uh oh, why do we look so disgruntled? Well, according to this article in the Mail Online, it's because we've been married so long that we have nothing left to say to each other.

Here we are re-creating the photo from the article. It even has a chart showing how many minutes couples speak to each other during dinner based on how long they've been together.

This is the original photo. Here's my opinion: One, this couple obviously doesn't have a Golden Retriever or the husband wouldn't be wearing a black bathrobe. Two, it's silly that they're sitting so close together when they've got the whole table. And three, I think the whole thing is a bunch of malarkey! I've been blabbing to Robert non-stop for over 41 years and I haven't run out of things to say yet. Not that he's listening...

Jumping for joy

People in retirement photos are often seen jumping for joy. We have lots of reasons to jump for joy. For example, this Sunday our oldest grandchild, Preston, will turn fourteen. Robert and I held him in our arms when he was born and now he's bigger than anyone in the family (at least his feet are) and he's a star soccer player, too!

Here are re-creating a "jumping for joy" photo at TY Park. We love Preston! Happy 14th birthday! Woo hoo!

Here's the original photo, from an ad for Indiana Medicare. Gee, do you think these guys embarrassed Indiana Medicare as much as we just embarrassed Preston? No way. Happy birthday, Preston! You're the best!

Senior discounts

One of the best things about retirement is senior discounts. Thanks to senior discounts, we shop at Beall's on Monday, Ross on Tuesday, and Kohl's on Wednesday - even if we don't feel like it. There's no doubt about it - all over the world, senior discounts are causing retirees to delightedly hug their spouses and break into spontaneous laughter.

Here we are at the ArtsPark in downtown Hollywood, re-creating a photo from a printable coupon offering senior discounts for appliance repairs. The coupon doesn't state how much of a discount seniors receive, but who cares? It's a senior discount!

This is the photo on the coupon. If you live in Wildomar, California and want to print out your own coupon, just click here.

Sleeping

For some reason, there's a lot written about senior citizens sleeping. The articles always have a picture that goes with them, and the pictures just crack me up. For one thing, the models are never really sleeping. Sometimes they even have silly "I'm pretending to be asleep" smiles. And the ladies always have their hair combed and their make-up on. You should see what I look like when I'm really sleeping! But luckily you won't, because we're re-creating this photo...of people who aren't really sleeping, either.

Here we are re-creating a photo from an article called "Seniors sleep better when they follow a schedule." Personally, I think one of the good things about being retired is that you don't have to follow a schedule, but that's what it says.

This is the original photo. Actually, that photo shoot was very tiring. But here's another good thing about being retired - naps.

A retirement tip

This photo comes from a US News article about Social Security. I'm sure they think it shows a typical retired couple enjoying their retirement, but we can't re-create the photo. Why? Because we only have one pair of binoculars. I don't usually give retirement tips, but I think a lot of people overestimate how many pairs of binoculars they'll need when they retire. Unless you're both serious birdwatchers, I think one is enough. So my tip is: share stuff.

Here we are re-creating the photo. We substituted a View-Master for the second pair of binoculars. We only have one of those, too.

And here's the original photo. It's not hard to share stuff. You just poke your husband in the ribs and say, "Hey, can I use the View-Master now?"

Gardening

This photo is from The Peninsula, a retirement community right here in Hollywood. I thought it was cool that this lady lived so close to me, until I saw the same photo again - for a retirement community in North Carolina!

Anyway, here I am re-creating the photo in our back yard. The purple flowers behind me are ruellias, which bloom every morning and lose their flowers every afternoon. I'm holding a new marigold plant, which will go in a pot on the back deck. I enjoy gardening and am often in this exact spot - without the sweater - pulling weeds.

Here's the original photo. I wonder where she really lives? I guess we're not meant to know those things.

I won a blog giveaway!

Recently, I discovered the wonderful world of blog giveaways. I've had fun entering them but I never thought I'd actually win. But last Tuesday I did! I won a giveaway at RunsWithScissors, a blog written by a woman named Karen who has three Etsy shops. My prize was this nifty paint-by-numbers painting, which arrived in the mail today.

Here I am with my new painting, re-creating a photo from the Humane Society of Utah, which has a great program offering seniors a chance to adopt a cat for free.

nnnnnnnnnnnnAnd here's the original photo. Thanks, Karen! It really made my day.