Friday, October 24, 2025

Fly On The Wall With A Birthday Flapper

Welcome to another edition of Fly On The Wall group blog postings hosted by Karen of Baking In A Tornado. Today, three of us are welcoming you into our homes to see what a fly might see (or overhear). 



That nosy fly needs to stop buzzing around all the parties going on here because we're celebrating three family birthdays this month! Two of us are Libras but my granddaughter is a scorpio (watch out, world!).


I turned 66 last week (say whaaa??), but I'm still feeling like I'm 35 because my brain forgot to send the birthday memo to my old body. That hasn't stopped me, though, because it has been an insanely fun month (mostly because the mosquitoes have gone off to die in hell while the cooler, dryer weather creeps into Florida). 


At the end of September, we went to a Roaring Twenties party at our favorite speakeasy. As many of you know, I have a closet full of costumes, but believe it or not, I did NOT have a flapper or gangster costume! Hubs and I wanted to look as authentic as possible, so we found our new outfits and had a good laugh dressing up for the party! My tight dress felt like a sausage casing, but hey, I still had a blast!

Next, we headed to Lake Wales to stay at an RV resort that had a gorgeous pool and a huge Tiki bar....so you can imagine how we spent our days. The funny thing is that at these types of resorts, it's all people our age or older--so no one cares what you look like in a bathing suit! Pure FREEDOM!

I guess better weather means more people out and about---and running into new & old friends at community events, plus a few dinner parties (didn't I tell you how much I LOVE October??). There's a lot of busy buzzing going on here, but not the nosy fly kind. 

This flapper girl had a heart-warming birthday celebration with my family at my son's restaurant, but there was more to celebrate than just turning 66---my biopsy results from a suspicious spot I recently found came back benign! Praise God (and talk about the perfect birthday gift)!


Of course, no birthday celebration would be complete without another RV trip. Last week we spent 4 days at Tomoka State Park, and WOW was it pretty. However, what we didn't realize was that it was "Bikefest Week" at Ormond Beach, so the campground was filled with senior-aged bikers & rockin' rollers. At first, I was concerned, but holy moly, we met the NICEST people and made some dear friends on this trip. One was a fabulous man named Ed who is 83 and living his best life traveling around Florida for weeks at a time in his RV. Did I mention he makes his own moonshine? Delish! Ed is the happiest, most positive, and energetic senior I have ever met--a true inspiration (I want to be him when I grow up!). A group of us got together as often as we could while staying at the park, which made it one of our favorite RV trips.


This weekend, we have the annual McMahon Halloween Party to attend, so at least I get to wear my flapper costume again. Hubs, on the other hand, is going as a lobster.....I bet you can't wait to see those photos in my next FOW post. Ha!


This birthday flapper had a great October (even though I really did look like a sausage link). November, you're up next, but you've got some big shoes to fill! Happy Halloween, everyone!


***WANT MORE MENO MAMA? Over at AARP/Members Edition, I have several essays up that I'm really proud of. The first was written anonymously and explains why I originally didn't want to be a grandmother (but thrilled that I am now!). You can read it here: https://www.aarp.org/family-relationships/ethels-tell-all-becoming-grandma/The next one is about feeling invisible at my age...and LOVING it. Catch that one here: https://www.aarp.org/family-relationships/ethels-tell-all-love-being-invisible/The next is a celebration of my age and was a blast to write (plus I got to write some humor again!). You can read it here: https://www.aarp.org/family-relationships/ethels-tell-all-love-being-65/

Hop on over to Karen and Diane's house to see what the nosy fly has been up to over there!


Baking In A Tornado                                https://www.BakingInATornado.com

                               

On the Border                                         https://dlt-lifeontheranch.blogspot.com/





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Friday, September 19, 2025

Fly On The Wall With Mr. Dim Bulb And His Catheter Kit

     Welcome to another edition of Fly On The Wall group blog postings hosted by Karen of Baking In A Tornado. Today, three of us are welcoming you into our homes to see what a fly might see (or overhear). 



That nosy fly may not be happy that summer is almost over (no more buzzing around my BBQ), but I'm thrilled to step into autumn! Pumpkin spice everything, Halloween, and lots of family birthday celebrations are coming up. I wish I could add "sweater weather" to my list, but here in Florida, those hoodies won't come out for another month or two. 

 

Autumn also means football season (C'mon, CHIEFS, get it together!), and time to spruce up the RV so we can resume our road trips. We're heading out next week to an RV resort that has a pool AND a tiki bar.....guess where I'll be spending most of my time?


We've been fortunate enough to spend extra time lately with all the kiddos and grandkids, even though school is back in session. I'm so lucky they all live nearby, and I will never, ever, take that proximity for granted!

Per usual, the fly has overheard more weird conversations in our home, and y'all know how much I love to tease my husband about his advancing age and the "ailments" that come with it. 


"Back in the day, everyone said I looked like Tom Selleck. Now I look more like Sean Connery."
"He's dead now, so yeah, at the rate you're aging, you do look like him."



"What's that weird bump on your chest?"
"A third nipple---I'm like a cow with extra nipples."
"Cow nipples?"
"Yes, cow nipples." 
"Then why haven't I heard you mooing?"
"Because I'm waiting for the rest of the nipples to come in, along with my tail."
"Did I mention we're having steak for dinner tonight?"


"As a kid, I never learned how to play Chinese checkers."
"What?? Every kid played that game!"
"Not me---I was the foodie kid who was too busy playing the Easy Bake Oven game."



"I have a great idea for a Christmas gift!"
"At your age, it should be a catheter kit."
"It is! But it would be a special "holiday edition catheter" that doubles as a snow globe. Every time I used it, glittery snowflakes would swirl around in the liquid."
"The way your brain works scares me."
"Even better, you could have the snow globe catheter personalized with my name in gold lettering!"
"Forget it---you just put yourself on Santa's naughty list."


"Ambiance is important to me in a home. I like my light bulbs dim."
"Well, you certainly married one..."
"Yeah, you're Mr. Dim Bulb---and you have a short. So what does that make me?" 
"You're a floodlight--bright but obnoxious!"



"We just got invited to a 'dining in the dark' party."
"What's that?"
"You wear a blindfold while you eat, so you can't see what you're eating. You have to guess what the food is by taste.  Doesn't that sound fun?"
"Heck no, I'm not doing that! I can't trust you----you'll take off your blindfold while I'm eating and shove a kielbasa down my throat!" 
"Ahhhh, you know me so well...."



"I take it you didn't sleep well last night."
"Do I look tired?"
"Your skin looks extra leathery this morning."
"There's not enough sleep in the world to fix a face that looks like a deflated basketball."
 


"Dude, your bunyon is getting worse. It looks like a 6th toe."

"It is---and it has a personality of its own. His name is Paul....Paul Bunyon."

     I don't know about your marriage, but I'm pretty happy with Mr. Dim Bulb, even if he has a sixth toe and a cow nipple. Anybody got a Kielbasa they can share for dinner?

***WANT MORE MENO MAMA? I have an emotional essay about pet grief on AARP/The Ethel this week (still makes me cry) that you can read HERE and an "anonymous" essay on the AARP website about a flirty husband (naughty boy!) that you can read HERE  Over at AARP/The Girlfriend, I share my fave summer BBQ recipes HERE.

Hop on over to Karen and Diane's house to see what the nosy fly has been up to over there!

Baking In A Tornado                                https://www.BakingInATornado.com

                               

On the Border                                         https://dlt-lifeontheranch.blogspot.com/



 

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Friday, August 22, 2025

Fly On The Wall Celebrating A Birthday And A Blogiversary

Welcome to another edition of Fly On The Wall group blog postings hosted by Karen of Baking In A Tornado. Today, three of us are welcoming you into our homes to see what a fly might see (or overhear). 

Since we're still not traveling in the RV this summer (too blazing hot!!), the nosy fly has witnessed how we've kept busy with home improvement projects. Things are shaping up nicely around here--a desperately needed new metal roof and new fencing; a facelift for the tiki bar, new garden designs, a deck re-do and paint, paint, PAINT. We have been in our little 1950s cottage-style house for 39 years and will probably die here, haha. 



Speaking of old things, Mac turned 69 a few weeks ago, and we celebrated in style. We're so fortunate to have our adult kids living nearby so that special holidays and birthdays can be celebrated with those we love most. Here's a photo dump of the old man's celebrations: 



August 27th marks the 14-year blogiversary of Menopausal Mother. Check out my very first blog post, My Menopausal Moment for a good laugh! To give you an idea of how
long ago this was, I didn't even know how to use a computer when I wrote my first entry!!!


Blogging was the launch pad for my writing career, and my, what a journey it has been---from biweekly humor posts (when I only had 10 readers---now we are up to 60,000 page views per month!), to guest spots, podcasts, my first book publication, television interviews, menopause commercials, inclusion in 13 anthologies, multiple writing awards, an essay that went viral at the Huffington Post, (THAT was interesting--my first experience with trolls!!), and writing for top-notch publications such as the NY Times, The Washington Post, Yahoo Lifestyle, Cosmo, Woman's Day, McSweeney's, Good Housekeeeping, and now, a full-time writing career with AARP. 



Sorry if I'm tooting my own horn, but dang it, I AM proud! And I want to make my family proud! I spent 15 years working as a professional home & office cleaner, plus I was an after-care babysitter for 5 kids and also catered dinners for several families---juggling all of these jobs simultaneously! Then I started up a baking business out of my home, which was fun but not very lucrative---and I gained 10 pounds doing it! Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I would one day become a successful writer, let alone make a decent income from it! Chances are, I will NEVER retire because I love what I do, and I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity God has given me to make my dreams a reality. Shout out to the people who got me started on this track by pushing me to write and gave me the confidence to do it, along with some much-needed advice---my folks, my sister, and of course, the funny man himself, Mac. 


Soooo....Happy Blogiversary to me. If you're interested, here are links to some of my absolute favorite essays from the past:


Life is grand, and I hope I live a long time so I can continue sharing stories with wonderful readers like you! Thank you for the past 14 years!! #BeHumbleBeGrateful



***WANT MORE MENO MAMA? It has been a VERY busy work month! I wrote a fun piece for The Ethel about how this non-athlete gained her self-confidence through sports----you can read HERE and 3 new ones for The Girlfriend--summer crockpot dishes HERE then tips for your next high school reunion HERE  and an informative piece on how to earn money selling off old childhood items HERE . I also have 2 new essays up on AARP---one of which required 23 INTERVIEWS!! But I did it! What would you tell your younger self? Read all about it HERE And lastly, for AARP, why I enjoy the company of younger people, which you can read HERE

Hop on over to Karen and Diane's house to see what the nosy fly has been up to over there!

Baking In A Tornado                                https://www.BakingInATornado.com

                               

On the Border                                         https://dlt-lifeontheranch.blogspot.com/

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