Spunky Senior Terry Palardy Doesn't Let MS Get Her Down



Terry Palardy



I just discovered your blog a few weeks ago, and love the page I read. I'm fairly new at blogging, having only started at the end of November - but am enjoying it, and invite you to view mine (link below). I'm not unfamiliar with technology, and everything I know I have learned primarily from my young students, and my son.



 

  

Terry Palardy, with son, Rob, and husband, Rick,
at Rob's Paramedic Graduation.

  Bless my son. Twenty years ago, I sat at the table of a faculty meeting, hearing the principal announce that we would be going on line, and would need a webmaster to host our school's page in the district’s new website. We all looked at each other blankly. After an awkward minute, the principal looked at me and said "Terry, would you be able to do this? … with your son's coaching, of course?"  My son, like many of his peers, was more than adept at computers, seeming intuitively to anticipate and grasp each new developmental change in technology. And so I began, with Rob's help. I deposited the stipend into his college fund account. We did that together for awhile, until another teacher with skills joined us, and eventually took that over.



Terry Palardy with Husband, Rick, at
an MS Walk Last Spring



I just retired this past June, after a thirty year career in public education. I would have taught longer, but a belated diagnosis of multiple sclerosis took me out two years earlier than I'd wished. I began my new career as a writer by gathering up essays that I'd written for years prior, and self-publishing a book. I next gathered up the many poems I'd written for family members and published another, and then another teaching collection, and then another poetry collection, and then a small town commentary collection, and then I was ready to write the story of my diagnosis.

With those steps behind me, I am ready to start writing now purely for the joy of writing, and am planning a few more books for this winter. I've been invited to be the featured author for our small town library's new venture, a Local Author's Program, and I'll be speaking to an audience in February, both about my books and about becoming a self-published author. 

I look forward to reading more of your blog, Morgan, and joining you here now and again.

Sincerely,

Terry

Visit me at:

and http://terrysthoughtsandthreads.blogspot.com www.beyondoldwindows.com 

I've written books about Teaching, Poetry, Georgetown and Multiple Sclerosis.

See my Author Page at Amazon, where I'm published under my full name:Terry Crawford Palardy -

http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00580PJ9Y

Find medical links for MS at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Multiple-Sclerosis-an-Enigma/331324643544233

 

Please welcome Terry Crawford Palardy to Spunky Senior Authors and Talents!

Spunky Senior Liz Flaherty Sews Up Romances and Quilts



Liz Flaherty



Thanks so much for having me here. I never think of myself as “spunky,” but I do feel empowered by my age, my experience, the people and things I love, so maybe that’s the same thing.

I have a new book out. ONE MORE SUMMER, from Carina Press, is the book of my heart. Of the gazillion manuscripts I’ve started and the considerably fewer I’ve finished, it is the one I’ve never let go. Grace and Dillon are as real to me as nearly anyone I know. I hope they touch you in the same way. At the bottom of this blog, I’ll have buy links and a link to my website and to the site where I blog with some writer friends. There, that’s out of the way.

What do you say we talk about quilts?

When I retired from the post office in February, I made my plans public. I was going to write a lot—I have. I was going volunteer a lot—I haven’t. I was going to lose weight—I have. I was going to travel more—I have. And I was going to make a bed-size quilt for each of the Magnificent Seven, my grandkids.

Wait a minute, was I nuts? I didn’t even know how to make a quilt. While it was true I liked to sew, and hopefully I’d have a little more time, I certainly couldn’t…seven?

Well. I started easy, with a Brick Road in vibrant colors for my oldest granddaughter, got a little more intricate on each of the next three, then started the fifth. A Morning Star. I bought the fabric in a shop 200 miles away because when I looked at it, I thought of the 9-year-old who would get the next quilt. I bought a little extra fabric…you know, just in case.

The Morning Star has triangles. I never thought of triangles as being particularly evil once I finally passed geometry, but I have decided they’re really spawns of Satan. I read all kinds of books, tutorials, and blogs on how to cut and sew triangles so that voila!—they become beautiful star points. But actually triangles stretch. They go all catawampus just when you think you have them exactly right. They don’t know the meaning of the precise quarter-inch that seams in quilts are supposed to be. They are…well, I already said it—they’re just flat-out evil.

I had to cut seven million of them for the twin-size quilt I’m working on. The pattern said it was something like 254, but I’m sure that’s wrong. I worked on it through Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the launch week of ONE MORE SUMMER. Unlike when I made the 9-year-old’s mother’s wedding dress, I didn’t resort to tears or wine…well, maybe a glass here and there, but my language did get a little shocking.

This week, I started sewing the blocks together. Oh, my. Those nasty little triangles really are starting to work out. The quilt’s going to look great. And even if it didn’t, that would be okay. That’s something I’ve learned in this short year of retirement, that “great” is relative. If an okay quilt is wrapped around a grandkid, it’s automatically great.

And I’ve learned that those quilts, no matter how easy—not that any of them have been easy for me—or difficult, claim places in the heart just like books do.

I hope you have stories, people, and things that fill the places in your heart, too. Here's the links for  ONE MORE SUMMER (I hope you like it) and where you can find me. Thanks for stopping by!

http://ebooks.carinapress.com/19C28077-E8B2-400A-ACBF-FAE0579EE2F0/10/134/en/Default.htm

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/one-more-summer-liz-flaherty/1107412429

http://www.amazon.com/One-More-Summer-ebook/dp/B006BE6HAG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1324908781&sr=8-1

I’d love to have you visit my website http://lizflaherty.com or http://wordwranglers.blogspot.com/ where I hang out with some of my best writer friends.

Spunky Morgan Mandel Tours About Forever Young: Blessing or Curse




Morgan Mandel Way Back When

  I'm a senior, therefore I'm old. My figure, my health, and memory aren't quite the same as they used to be. When I found a photo at home of what I used to look like, my husband even asked if it was me. Well, he knew me way back then, but when you see the same person day in and day out, it's hard to remember what they used to look like.

Sometimes I like being this old. Other times, I wish there were some way to turn back the clock. Such meanderings in my mind led me to write Forever Young: Blessing or Curse, where I allow a 55 year old to make the choice to take a daily pill to spin her back to 24 and stay there. Of course, all is not rosy when she makes her choice.

If you want to know what happens, this book is available on Kindle,Smashwords, and other ebook ventues. If you don't see it on Nook, it will be there shortly. It takes a few weeks for the channels to kick in.  Later it will go into print.



Forever Young: Blessing or Curse
by Morgan Mandel

 Today is the launch of my Blog Book Tour promoting my book, which is partly based on wishful thinking, but much more than that. If you'd like to come along to the next stop, it will be on Monday, January 9, at
http://thebookconnectionccm.blogspot.com/. The topic will be Them Bones, Them Bones!

My entire Blog Book Tour Schedule can be found in the sidebar at http://morganmandel.blogspot.com/.
I hope to see some of you follow along to one or more. Many senior topics will be discussed.

Thanks, Gang,
Morgan Mandel - http://www.morganmandel.com/
http://morganmandel.blogspot.com/

Pioneers and Free Smocks Via Spunky Senior Lois Carroll

After living in North Dakota for eighteen years, Lois Carroll found it fun to research the hearty pioneers who settled that area.

Switching from her usual romantic suspense, her first historical novel

about them is titled Trail of Dreams.

It follows families moving from Philadelphia west, racing to arrive before the winter storms set in. The sequel coming out this spring is set in the Dakota Territory where they are establishing homes, and where the weather is only part of what they must battle to stay alive.

Available From Whiskey Creek Press: http://www.whiskeycreekpress.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=804

Trail of Dreams Print Book on Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/Trail-Dreams-Lois-Carroll/dp/1603137963/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1323912594&sr=1-1

Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Trail-of-Dreams-ebook/dp/B004I5C17S/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&qid=1323912594&sr=1-1

When she's not writing, you'll find Lois in her sewing room, headquarters for Sophie's Smocks, a service project she began last year. She makes feeding/craft smocks from cotton turtlenecks, adding a terry cloth applique on the front and a Velcro closure on the cut-open back. Sophie's Smocks, in sizes kid small to adult XXL, are free for children and adults with Angelman's Syndrome. The project is named after her granddaughter who has AS. She has mailed out 335 smocks to date to Angels around the world.

To order a free smock for an Angel in your life, send the size and complete mailing address to smocks@cox.net.

For more about Lois Carroll and her books, see http://loiscarrollbooks.com/

Spunky Max Elliot Anderson's Exciting Adventures

I've always had a hand in several different things during my life. For most of the time, I've been involved in the production of films, video programs, and television commercials.

This has allowed me to travel and meet many interesting people.

One of those meetings resulted in a working relationship with a talented missionary / wildlife artist in Africa.

You can see some of his work at http://booksandboys.blogspot.com/2011/10/fabulous-african-wildlife-art.html \

And as a result of growing up in Northern Indiana, I met a family that produces the finest honey anywhere. The flavors are based on where the bees have been kept. Each honey has its own distinctive character and natural flavor. Those flavors include Blueberry, Michigan Star Thistle, Basswood, Cranberry Blossom, Wildflower, Clover, Citrus, and many, many more.  The national honey brands simply put all the honeys into a big vat and cook the stuffin’s out of it in order to make sure it has a long shelf life. Here’s more information about Laney Honey http://www.laneyhoney.com/ I have distributed some of their products for nearly twenty years in the Northern Illinois area where I live now.

It wasn’t until I turned 55 that I began writing adventures & mysteries for readers 8 – 13, especially boys. I wrote like a madman for nearly four years, completing 36 manuscripts. By early 2012, nine of those will be published. The thing is, I grew up hating to read, even though my father had published over 70 books during his lifetime. I never read any of them. After extensive research into why I didn’t like to read, I began writing the kinds of books I would have enjoyed as a child. While writing them, I often felt like a kid, all over again. If you have grandchildren, and are concerned about their reading, too, this blog post might interest you http://booksandboys.blogspot.com/2011/10/has-something-been-stolen-from-your.html

Years ago, I used to think it was silly when someone said, “You’re only as old as you feel.” Today, I completely agree with that statement. In addition, I also believe that there is tremendous healing power in laughter, a positive attitude, and having a great sense of humor. That’s why I devoted several years to a project that I’ve recently sent to my agent. The title is, “The Sense of Humor.” The book looks at the positive power of humor in our health, families, work, relationships, ministries, education, and other areas. My agent is looking for a publisher now.

I suppose I’ll probably never retire. I didn’t intend to anyway, but there are simply too many things that interest me at this stage of life. And doesn’t the computer open up the entire world to us? I like to change that old phrase about aging to, “You’re only as young as you think.”

Max Elliot Anderson

http://booksandboys.blogspot.com/

Happy Thanksgiving, Spunky Ones!



A Spunky Turkey



Happy Thanksgiving to all you Spunky Seniors, whether or not you're cooking the turkey!

Once upon a time I used to do that. Now I bring a dish. So much simpler and less wearing on my house and time.

What about you? Are you cooking or visiting, or both?

Morgan Mandel

Mona Risk Talks About Retiring and Her New Career

Some people never retire because they wouldn’t know what to do with themselves. My uncle is one of them. At eighty, he still goes to work every day. But he can’t drive from Long Island to Manhattan and brave the horrendous traffic. Without him and his incredible experience as VP, the contracting company would collapse. To keep him, the CEO assigned him a car and chauffeur to bring to the office every day.

 Most seniors don’t have such luxury— or luck—to continue working while enjoying a certain comfort. If they don’t have a hobby and are forced to quit working, they often slouch in front of the TV for hours, lose interest in trying new things, and miss fantastic opportunities to be useful and active. I have another uncle in that category who ended up with Alzheimer’s disease. 

Others, like me, wish there were more hours in the day to fit my new career as a writer and the endless promotion that came with it as an unwelcome bonus. I also have to create time for exercising, socializing, traveling, doctors’ appointments, and answering my long-suffering husband when he tries to interrupt my busy schedule with a question or a request. Oh, I also try to create time for cooking.  I forgot to mention it because I often forget to cook, and end up quickly fixing a salad or grilling ‘something’.

Recently, I started a new endeavor: I publish my own ebooks. Check them on Amazon and spend an entertaining moment with two lovely romances that are priced at only $0.99.

 

NO MORE LIES  http://tinyurl.com/3lenmfd

RIGHT NAME, WRONG MAN http://tinyurl.com/85o4wg7

To which category of retirees do you belong?