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Sorry, we’re in the middle of a pandemic and my gray roots now reach halfway to my ears and the cut that looked so nice 12 weeks ago now looks like something from a horror film or something the dog’s been chewing on. Not a good look, but my options for coloring my gray hair aren’t good. Even now that most states loosened restrictions allowing salons to open, I question whether it’s safe for women of a certain age (yes, that’s you) to spend hours surrounded by too little social distancing. I mean, I like to look good, but I’ve never been a believer in the old adage “leave a good looking corpse”. I got stuff to do. What choice do I have? Coloring my gray hair: Problem Sure, I can cover the whole mess with a hat or, I guess since I’m not really seeing anyone but myself and my dog, I can just let the whole thing go until I’m completely gray. But that’s not me and, from the number of you posting on Facebook and Pinterest asking for advice, I’m guessing you’re not gonna go down without a fight, either. After years of hair salons producing questionable results and a number of DIY failures, I still struggle to do something with the thin, gray mop on top of my head. See, here’s my vision of me: Notice the full head of thick, red hair. Well, that was never the real me and even farther from the real me during a pandemic, where my hair badly needs a cut and color and my face looks like a teenage bad dream with acne from wearing my mask every time I leave the house. OK, delusional, I know. But here’s the reality. I won’t go to the salon. And, maybe, I won’t feel comfortable going to a salon until there’s a vaccine for the virus. Call me chicken or a snowflake, I’ve been called them all by folks disturbed (somehow) because I started wearing 2 masks after a trip to the beach in NC. I’m not sure how me doing everything I can to protect you makes me a snowflake, but hey, to each his own. Coloring my grey hair: Solution Luckily, my daughter lives about 45 minutes from me and we’re a pod — a group that spends time with each other but doesn’t see others outside our pod. I feel safe with her (and the 3 grandbabies wouldn’t be happy if I didn’t visit once a week). I ordered hair color from Madison Reed and, with the help of the 3-year-old, my daughter applied it to my head. I used another company’s products before. I even had a friend back when I was a grad student and we applied color for each other since neither of us could afford the triple-digit price of a salon. I wasn’t too happy with the flat color that resulted. Of course, the bottles of wine we consumed while coloring each other’s hair might have contributed to that. [Come to think of it, when you added in the cost of alcohol, a salon might have been cheaper … but definitely less fun] Back to my story. I’m really happy with the results. How it works So, Madison Reed has a tool that takes your hair color, the amount of gray you have, and other factors from answers you provide to suggest hair colors. I don’t think this works at all. I’ve tried it twice and never ended up with the color I was going for. Instead, start with the colors — browse through the colors matching what you’re looking for, such as reds (my fav), blonds, etc. Each shows what the color looks like on particular natural hair colors. This got me closer to the color I wanted. Next, put on old clothes you don’t care about because the 3-year-old will cause hair dye to go everywhere. And, if she doesn’t, by the 3rd glass, your substitute stylist will get dye on everything. I ended up with dye on my shorts the last time. That goes for the spot you choose for the application, too. Go somewhere easily cleaned. Before you apply color, put the packet of gel around your face or use Vaseline. Otherwise, your face and ears will look like you come from another planet where people have 2-toned skin. If you’ve had color before, you know they start by applying color to the roots and working the color through the rest of your hair in the last few minutes. Separate your hair into manageable clumps and paint the roots. I find Madison Reed gives you plenty of dye (although my hair is thin), so don’t buy two boxes of color, which the company pushes in their efforts to maximize profit. Also, they push the subscription to deliver additional boxes of dye on your preferred schedule, which reduces your cost a few pennies. You can change the color with the next delivery so it saves a few dollars to go ahead and subscribe. Just remember to cancel when (if) we ever go back to feeling safe at a salon. Leave the color in a little longer than the directions instruct if your hair is grayer, then wash your hair thoroughly with the enclosed shampoo and conditioner. I usually buy the Pro Boost Seal, but my daughter usually takes it before I can get it home. I guess she considers it payment for her services. I try not to wash my hair for a few days after the color to retain the reds a little longer. I could go into the science behind how coloring my gray hair works but then I’d put you to sleep, just trust me on this. Besides, we don’t have anywhere to go, so why bother. OK, enough for today. Be sure to check out Living While Gray on Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram. If you have ideas or would like to write for us, you can …

Maybe you anticipated retirement every morning when the alarm went off at 6:30 am. Or, maybe you’re reaching the age where retirement enters the planning horizon brought on by letters from AARP and Social Security with updates on your retirement account. Whatever the reason, the time is now to begin preparing for an active retirement. Looking at the image above, you see Pearl’s vision of retirement isn’t all that active. So, let’s think about how to prepare for an active retirement. First, let’s think about how life changes with retirement: You lose your income and, if retiring before 65, you lose your insurance You no longer have something taking up 40-60 hours/ week Family shrunk to just you and maybe a spouse The family home might be too large now Regardless of your current situation, health declines are inevitable Preparing for an active retirement Financial needs Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your viewpoint), much is written about preparing for an active retirement, but focuses almost exclusively on financial planning. The focus on financial needs post-retirement probably comes from the wealth management industry of brokers and advisors who rely on you for their living. The more you save for retirement, the more commissions they make, and, while it might seem enticing to retire with $1 million or more in your 401K, you don’t really need that much. Especially when you consider that life expectancy beyond age 65 averages only about 15 years, although life expectancy may be as little as 18 months for some professions. And, don’t forget that many seniors have substantial equity in their homes, adding to their retirement nest egg. Certainly, financial planning is important when you retire, but it’s not the MOST important thing. Boredom, loneliness A bigger issue in preparing for an active retirement is figuring out what to do with all the extra hours in a day. Think about it — you got up early for decades, went to work often surrounded by colleagues, and raised families. Only to retire with little to do with all the hours stretching in front of you. Without careful planning, you likely face a future of boredom and loneliness. My aunt complains of boredom and laments giving up her job, even though she worked well after 65 until bad knees made it impossible to be on her feet so much. She lives in the same community and has family in the area, but everyone has their own life, so she spends most of her days surrounded by her cats, and the television kept on for noise. To avoid boredom and loneliness now is the time to plan for activities to fill your days. Learn a hobby, especially one that involves other people, such as golf or bridge. Begin volunteering somewhere you can make a difference. Look at former President Carter who still builds homes for Habitat for Humanity well into his 90’s. Schools always need folks to help with reading or other activities. Check out the local senior center for activities. Many allow you to join before you’re retired Think about transitioning to retirement by working part-time or less for your existing employer or in a similar field Family Your family likely is on their own now. And, as time goes by, you’ll lose your spouse. For many years the needs of your family filled your days, taking kids to soccer practice, going to school plays, meeting other moms at kid’s functions … Now, all that’s gone. So, how to fill that void. Folks like my neighbor fill their time babysitting their grandkids, something that works out well for their kids and them. However, as you age, keeping up with kids’ demands may challenge your strength and calm. So, think about ways you can stay active in the lives of your family. For instance, a friend reads bedtime stories to her grandkids every day via Facetime (an app on her iPhone). Downsizing Nows the time to think about downsizing your home. Maybe before you sell your home, think about getting rid of big, bulky furniture and things you never use. After all, you won’t be cooking and serving meals for a crowd anymore. Give unneeded objects away to charity or to help furnish your children’s homes. I’m sure they’ll appreciate whatever you don’t need. You likely have many sentimental objects taking up space. Think of creative ways to save the memories without the bulk. For instance, Turn a beloved children’s blanket into a square on a new blanket filled with other cloth memories, like a piece of a stuffed animal your child slept with every night. Organize photos, and eliminate some less important ones. Do you really need 30 photos of your child’s graduation? Then, transfer them to digital format. Donate books to a second-hand shop or a library. You’ll never re-read most of them anyway. Besides, reading from an e-reader allows you to enlarge the print for easy reading, thus containing 1000s of books in a compact form. Knick knacks accumulate dust and clutter up your home. Get rid of them. Stay healthy The time is now to ensure you have a healthy retirement. Get enough sleep, drink a lot of water, and do something active every day, even if it’s only taking a walk. That’s where Pearl is a big part of my retirement planning. Every day we walk, getting in our 10,000 steps around the neighborhood or exploring trails in the area. Increasingly, communities plan for these low-impact spaces great for walking without all the hills that make hiking difficult. The more active you are now, the more active your future retirement. OK, enough for today. Enjoy your day. Be sure to check out Living While Gray on Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram. If you have ideas or would like to write for us, fill out the handy guest post form below. And, if you found great activities and adventures opening up, post your pictures on Instagram using the hashtag #livingwhilegray. See you back here soon.

OK, so I didn’t bake these lovely loaves of bread but, if you want to know how I spent my quarantine, baking bread was a big part of killing time waiting for life to begin again. Mine just don’t come out as pretty but they taste pretty awesome. It looks like a lot of you also spent your quarantine baking bread. According to the Atlantic, the shortage of flour and yeast now replaced earlier shortages of toilet paper and hand sanitizer during the pandemic. The hand sanitizer I get, the rest, is still a mystery. Sourdough seems to reign supreme right now. I’m not quite sure why, although I love a little sourdough whenever I can get it, so send your extras on over. Baking bread Sourdough, for those of you not infected with the bread baking bug, is the most challenging of all bread baking and takes serious commitment. I might wake up today and decide I’d like a nice fresh loaf. I add flour, water, yeast, maybe some sugar, and butter with a dash of salt ad 4 hours later, I have a nice loaf of bread. Yummy. If I want sourdough, I needed to start yesterday or the day before because sourdough bread requires a starter of fermented yeast to sit out until it sours — where did you think it got its name??? And, while I love sourdough bread, I can’t stand the smell of sourdough. I guess that’s because I used to work with yeast back in my days working on my masters in biology. The smell literally turns my stomach. Plus, I’m an instant gratification kinda gal and 4 hours is my limit on waiting to eat fresh bread. If I want sourdough, I’ll add it to my curbside pickup (LOL). If I haven’t turned you off on sourdough or you want to try some other types of bread, here’s my advice: Spend the extra money on bread flour. It’s a finer grind that rises better and results in a fluffy texture rather than a course bread. Ensure everything is at room temperature before you start. Remember, yeast is a living thing. How would you feel if someone threw cold water and eggs on your head? And, while that won’t kill you, just piss you off, it kills your yeast. No living yeast, no nice bubbles, and you now have flat bread. Proof your yeast to make sure it’s ALIVE (whenever I think of that I’m reminded of the line from Young Frankenstein, “it’s alive” — OK, maybe it’s just me). Just like every other living thing, yeast needs to eat and drink. So, adding yeast to a mixture of flour and water, with a little sugar mixed in because yeast never has diabetes. A cup works for this. Add everything in a small bowl, tuck your yeast in nice and warm, and wait 10 minutes. If you come back to a bubbly mixture, your yeast is good. If not, throw the mess out and order yeast the next time you find it — there’s also a serious shortage of yeast. Some local bakers will sell you a small quantity if you ask real nice. You’re gonna get dirty so don’t expect to use a machine to do everything for you. Even if you mix in a machine or with a mixer, you need your hands. They’re already clean from all the hand washing and sanitizer, so that’s taken care of. BTW, using a mixer results in a mess as the dough gets sucked up into the blades to the mixer. And, a bread machine is good, but baking in one results in weird-shaped bread that doesn’t brown right — IMHO. At a minimum, you need to knead your bread — I just love saying that!. To knead, push the bread away from you on a floured counter, fold over then repeat – for about 5 minutes or more. Don’t rush. It takes time for the bread to rise — at least 2 hours. That’s it, you’re now a master baker — LOL Why I spent my quarantine baking bread It’s cheaper than therapy and safer in a pandemic. I’m not a psychologist, but as a marketing professor, a lot of my coursework involved psychology. A wise professor once taught that marketing has 2 parents — economics and psychology and she was right. My pop psychology answer to why we, as a collective group, are obsessed with baking bread is that it’s something creative. In a world where we can’t make anything, our jobs that consumed many of our waking hours disappeared, and just about everything in our routine changed instantly, we could still make something happen, even if it was only making a ball of flour rise up to triple its size then turning it golden brown to feed our families. Baking bread made us feel productive in a way that the pandemic took from us. In fact, we’re all cooking up a storm and many of us learned how to turn on the stove for the first time. There are Tik Tok videos on cooking, new cooks are teaching as they’re learning how to cook, and even children are getting in the game. There’s just something awesome about feeding people that gives us a sense of self-worth. Maybe there’s also a little control in there, as well. The pandemic took away any sense of control we had — we no longer determine what we do, who we see, and, for many of us, how to pay rent. But the laws of biology are finite and dependable. Once we add yeast (a living organism in dried form) to water and flour, the little buggers start churning out carbon dioxide that forces the ball of flour to expand. Baking the mixture, fixes the solid elements leaving little holes where the gas escaped and creating a texture we find pleasing. Control. I think the whole kneading thing also helps work out frustration. If I …

In Western culture, age isn’t venerated the way it is in Eastern culture. In fact, youth is highly valued in most Western cultures. But, is being 25 that much better than being over 50? Most experts agree that the benefits of being over 50 far outweigh those you get from being younger. Let’s take a look at the top benefits you get by being over 50. The amazing benefits of being over 50 1. More “me” time When you’re younger, demands on your time expand to the point where there’s no “me” time. Face it, you’re juggling a hectic work schedule, kids, a husband, and other family needs leaving nothing left for you. At work, you’re building your career, which often means overtime, working on weekends, and hectic workdays filled with stress. Cutting back on work just isn’t an option for most working professionals. Putting anything less than 100% into your career at this point dramatically impacts your trajectory and lifetime earnings, especially if you’re a woman or person of color. As a woman, you already have family factors that interfere with putting 100% into your career as women often bear the brunt of domestic activities, such as taking care of sick children and family members. Your home life also doesn’t lend itself to much “me” time. Women with jobs still perform 22% more of the household chores than their male counterparts; an average of 4.9 hours of household work. When it comes to laundry, childcare, cleaning, and other duties traditionally seen as “women’s work” women still perform these tasks much more often than men. After 50, you’re more stable in your career and have proven yourself, so taking more time off and cutting back on your work schedule doesn’t have the same negative impact it did when you were starting out. Your kids are now adults or at least driving, relieving you of running carpool to all their activities and staying home with them when they’re sick. Counteracting this, women in their 40s and 50s are often called the sandwich generation as they balance the remaining tasks involved in raising their kids with taking care of older parents who need care. Thus, one of the biggest benefits of being over 50 is you have more “me” time. You have time to have a spa day or lunch with friends. Your evenings are free from childcare so you can read a book or take up a hobby. 2. More self-confidence Gone are the days when you worried about how others would see you. In general, older folks of both genders feel freer to express their individuality and don’t try as hard to fit some mold formed by society. Otherwise, why would you see older men wearing socks with sandals? A new study shows self-confidence peaks around age 60, so that’s something to look forward to. Increased stability in their relationships at work and at home foster increased self-confidence, as does the increased level of success achieved in significant roles, such as raising successful kids. Another of the great benefits of being over 50 is that we just become more comfortable in our own skin, more ready to laugh at ourselves. 3. Financial stability As you approach retirement, you’re at the peak of your earnings and, thus, have a good deal of financial stability. If you own a home, you’ve built substantial equity over time and you likely have a little put away in your 401K to support you in retirement. If you had a little bit of a financial setback, what with the recession in 2008 and the pandemic in 2020, special IRS rules allow you to catch up on planning for retirement and many businesses offer discounts on their goods and services, although you probably have to ask for them as they aren’t automatic. 4. Excuses The benefits of being over 50 don’t stop there. You now have a built-in excuse to avoid anything you don’t want. Forgot someone’s birthday? Blame the forgetfulness that comes with age and everyone believes you. Don’t want to go to a party or other event? Blame a doctor’s appointment or say you’re prepping for your colonoscopy. Don’t want to comment? Just pretend you can’t hear the question. 5. People leave you alone Once you reach a certain age, folks tend to leave you alone. You don’t get carded when you buy liquor and are less likely to get pulled out of line for a manual search at airport screening. Women of a certain age also face less sexual harassment at work than younger women. If you want to just blend in at an event, folks are happy to let older folks slide while, if you want to stand out, you’re more confident wearing that outlandish outfit that assures you get attention and folks remember you. OK, enough for today. Be sure to check out Living While Gray on Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram. If you have ideas or would like to write for us, you can reach me through the comments. See you back here soon.

If you’re like most women of a certain age, you accumulated an array of jewelry over time — some of it valuable pieces, others are bits of costume jewelry that may not be worth anything.  You love wearing the pieces, especially because they really make an outfit special. Over time, you find your jewelry no longer looks great, as it once did. Jewelry gets damaged, dirty, or goes out of fashion. Here’s your guide to maintaining jewelry to protect your investment. The meaning of jewelry Maybe you’re lucky enough to have expensive pieces in your jewelry collection beyond your engagement ring and maybe a pearl necklace, which was standard issue when we were younger. In some cultures, wealth was determined by jewelry, such as in India where a woman’s wedding jewelry defined not only wealth but contained symbolic meaning. Over the centuries, jewelry was something you could keep close and exchange in times of tragedy because they had universal value. Stories abound, for instance, of Jews using their jewelry to gain passage out of Nazi-occupied territories. Others share similar stories of exchanging jewelry for life-giving needs such as food or safety. Likewise, you may have pieces handed down from your mother or grandmother. These pieces may have great sentimental meaning even if their monetary value isn’t great. Maintaining jewelry From time to time, things happen to your jewelry. Whether it’s your child pulling on a necklace until it breaks or losing a stone from a ring, damage happens. Likely, you throw the damaged pieces in a draw or back in your jewelry box. Next time you rummage for a nice piece, maybe you come across the broken jewelry wishing you could wear it again. Well, before you throw the piece of jewelry away, check out these solutions for maintaining jewelry so you can wear it again. Broken necklaces When my kids were younger, I was in graduate school and didn’t own much jewelry beyond my wedding set. With my grandkids, it’s a different story. I have lots of pieces, mostly costume stuff from Chico’s. None of my jewelry is expensive, but I love the pieces none the less. The grandkids seemed to love twisting, pulling, and generally straining my necklaces and I had more than a few with broken strands. I keep a jewelry repair kit handy for fixing broken pieces. Here’s what you need to fix those broken pieces. save as many beads as possible as finding matching beads is challenging. Online retailers really help when you need a special bead to replace those you lost. buy special thread made of metal or plastic to restring your beads. It’s nearly impossible to reuse the broken string. I also keep a supply of raffia as it makes a great foundation for stringing beads. buy clasps as these seem to break frequently some special needles for working with beads. These needles are more flexible so they work around large beads. Sometimes, you can get away with simply removing a strand if your necklace has multiple strands. In other cases with multiple strands,  I find restringing each strand separately works best, then merging the strands by attaching them at their ends. Here’s a necklace I’m working on right now. Notice some strands are still merged while others I finished restringing yesterday. Next, I’ll attach all the strands together and add a new clasp. Earrings We all get earrings as gifts or bought them only to find the posts too big to fit comfortably in our holes. After a day of wearing these earrings, our earlobes feel sore. The solution is to either wear them frequently until the hole expands or fix the problem. The solution isn’t that hard. Buy a few diamond files, since you need a diamond to cut easily through the metal of the post. Put the earring in a vise or simply hold it tightly, exposing the post. Gently file the entire length of the post, turning frequently to keep the rounded shape. It takes a little patience since the key is to remove a small amount of metal at a time. Put something good on TV or radio, and file away. Just remember not to push too aggressively or you may break the post. Losing a stone Losing a stone from a piece of jewelry isn’t an easy fix. If you lose the stone completely, this maintenance project is also expensive. The best solution is to maintain jewelry by checking the stones periodically and fixing the problem before it’s a major expense. Most jewelers will check the stones so that’s the ticket for expensive stones, like diamonds. For less expensive jewelry, you can replace the stone by purchasing an inexpensive replacement. That and some superglue and you’re set. Bracelets It depends on the type of bracelet. For some, the repair is similar to repairing a broken necklace. To complete other repairs, the elements aren’t strung but attached to a metal structure. For this type of repair, you need a small soldering kit with a gold-tone or silver solder. Be really careful, as the tip of the soldering iron gets extremely hot so you need to protect your surface as well as your hands. Also, ensure small children and pets are safely away from your work area. A tiny amount of solder will fix your bracelet right up. Going beyond maintaining jewelry Keep all your supplies and extra bits of jewelry around. I keep them in a small basket so anytime I have a few minutes, I have everything close by for maintaining jewelry. If you have to gather up materials, the repair seems more difficult and you might put it off. I keep my basket near the living room sofa so I can grab it for a repair while watching TV. Keep all the extra bits you don’t use because you now have elements to update your old, unfashionable jewelry or start from scratch on a new piece. I also like to hand out in craft stores …

Trying to not look your age is a perennial problem, especially for women of a certain age who must look professional and stylish at work. Like many of my contemporaries, we didn’t really have role models when we entered the professional workforce after college or graduate school. This made finding your style at any age hard, but that challenge seems bigger now that designers don’t seem to understand that women of a certain age still work and have money to spend. Designers must think women of a certain age should wear clothes like the ones above. I don’t know about you, but I’d never be caught dead in something like this with the sensible shoes, a skirt length that’s either too long or too short, and the sweater that’s just plain ugly. If I wore this to work, I wouldn’t blame folks if they lost all respect.   But, what are the options? We can look like this.   Very attractive and stylish but I don’t think most of us would look our best in something like this. Even if we did look fantastic in this outfit, I’m not sure it says that we’re a high-level professional, which is what most of us are at this point in our careers. How to not look your age It took me years to find my style. When I first started working, there weren’t many options when it came to professional clothing–mostly a version of the boxy suit worn by men. You probably faced the same challenge when trying to find something to wear in the ’70s and ’80s when women were making inroads into professional positions where men were the standard. And, I never saw a woman who looked good in the traditional suit. Then, the dreaded pantsuit came on the scene, which almost single-handedly explains Hilary’s loss in 2016. Now, I’m not a fashion designer or even a fashionista, but I know what I like. And, for my money, the answer to the question about how to not look your age comes from Chico’s. I especially love their mix-and-match approach to fashion so you can create multiple looks from just a few pieces. Now, before you go getting your panties in a wad, let me say I don’t make a dime from saying I love their clothes. I just do. They fit well and are really comfortable. They look professional and the designers make clothing with coordinating colors so you easily put together a nice outfit, even women who aren’t fashion-forward. A few favorites I have a “uniform” for work. Partly because it’s easy and partly because I’m not fully awake in the morning and can’t face hard decisions. It’s the same reason people like Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg wear the same outfit every day. For Jobs, it was a black turtleneck and jeans. He probably owned a hundred of them and just pulled out a clean set every morning. For me, my uniform starts with a pair of black dress pants because everything goes with black. Then I choose any jacket from my large collection and a matching top. Again, Chico’s makes this easy with sleeveless tops in every color to match their jackets. Here are some of my favorites from my collection. What I love My jackets provide a pop of color that makes these fun and the solid top blends everything together. So different than drab grays and darks used in traditional suits and less gaudy than weird color suits you often find in women’s shops. Unlike the boxy jackets common in women’s suits (and I do own a few of them for very formal meetings), these jackets aren’t lined and more form-fitting, often with 3/4 length sleeves or sleaves you can push up to a comfortable length. Hence, no more dowdy sweaters. The best part, take off the jacket and you have a nice outfit for happy hour. Or, add some jewelry (and Chico’s makes great statement pieces) and you’re ready for an evening out. OK, enough for today. Be sure to check out Living While Gray on Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram. If you have ideas or would like to write for us, you can reach me through the comments. See you back here soon.

This was going to be a great summer with more travel planned than almost any other year I can remember. I had a trip planned at least once a month for the entire summer break. Pandemic travel meant everything was canceled. I know. I should be happy that we’re all healthy–having avoided the virus. We also still have our jobs and our mortgages/rent are up-to-date. But, somehow, I still miss the travel plans canceled by the pandemic. LA travel In May, I was flying to LA to visit my daughter, Rebecca. She’s an actor and I visit every year to see how things work on the other coast. For my money, LA has the best weather in the country, with the exception of San Diego. I love the beaches, the food, and the general air of something getting ready to happen embodied by the Hollywood scene — in fact, you can see the Hollywood sign from her apartment. Every year we plan a girls day for just the two of us. Last year, we went to Catalina Island, which I can’t say enough good things about. We got massages, had some great meals (the restaurants were very accommodating of vegan diets), and hung out on the beach. This year, I’d booked an Airbnb for a long weekend. We’d planned to bike around the city and enjoy the music. I’ve been to San Diego many times, but always for work. I was looking forward to this trip. As I found out pandemic travel restrictions meant that trip wasn’t happening. A cruise to remember In June, I was going on a cruise with my daughter, Sarah, her husband, and 3 children. It was supposed to be the first time out of the country for the kids. We were spending some time in Miami, then traveling to the Bahamas, a private island owned by Royal Caribbean, then back to Miami for a few days. Sarah loves cruises. I took them on their first cruise when they were still in elementary school. It was the Disney cruise and they loved the characters, the kid’s club, and the Disney Island. I was a newly single mom and the kid’s club gave me a much-needed break from being the sole caretaker of 3 kids for a few days. After we got back from the cruise, we spend 3 days at Universal Studios. We hadn’t been cruising for some time, so we were excited. Every day when my grandson got up, he asked if that was the day we were leaving for the cruise– every day since October. Kennywood Kennywood is the place where my family gets together every summer. When I was a little girl, we visited my grandparents who lived near the park. Since my grandparents never learned to drive, most of our visit was consumed with driving them places they couldn’t get to on the bus. Kennywood was the only fun day of the trip. My grandmother would make these nasty hamburgers made with onions and fried in something that was a cross between a meatball and a real hamburger. I learned many years later on a trip to Germany that these were traditional. She packed up the burgers and a bunch of other food to be eaten cold at the park since we didn’t waste money on the high prices charged at the park. We always got a picnic table under the Racer rollercoaster and listened to the wheels travel on the wooden track while we ate. Now that we all have kids of our own, my siblings and I meet at Kennywood every summer. Usually, we have several kids and my grandkids in tow–odd but I’m the only one with grandkids, so far. Check out the happy faces above to see how much the kids like Kennywood. Pandemic travel Well, of course, none of that happened. Instead, we got to enjoy the time spent in isolation to protect ourselves and each other from a potentially deadly virus. We did manage to get away for a few days, however. My daughter’s family invited me to join them at Topsail Beach in NC. My son-in-law’s family has a condo there and it was empty the week before the 4th of July. So, we headed down for 5 days. The weather was nearly perfect and the beach nicely empty during the week so social distancing was easy. We did miss restaurants since eating inside still seems a little dangerous to me. But, we had a kitchen and my daughter’s sister-in-law lived nearby. We had dinner with them most evenings and an uncle and his wife even joined us from his home in the Outer Banks. We made the best of pandemic travel for the summer. OK, enough for today. I hope you find these posts useful and I’d love to hear your feedback. Be sure to check out Living While Gray on Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram. If you have ideas or would like to write for us, reach out to me through the comments below. See you back here soon.