Hippy, hippy shake

Get a load of the retro art on the brochure. Don Draper's getting a new hip.

To say "my spouse is stoic" would be an understatement along the lines of "Miley Cyrus is unreserved." He thought he pulled a groin muscle during a workout but - ahem! - two-and-a-half months and lots of nagging (by me) later, he decided that maybe something else was going on. After a short stint at the chiropractor - which only made things worse - he paid a visit to our friendly, neighborhood orthopedic surgeon. Several x-rays later, turns out he's got bone-on-bone arthritis in his right hip. The doctor couldn't believe he'd only been suffering "such a short time." (As if anyone would know, doc.) The hubs wants a second opinion, of course. But, something tells me January is going to be the month that will test our marital mettle.

It's still Jill for tunics

I'd been off J. Jill for several years. In my never-to-be-a-fashion-maven's opinion, they went through a bad patch for a while, offering too many shapeless pieces in pizzazz-less colors. That's why I was happy to discover Soft Surroundings which filled in the gap, especially in the tunic department.

But, with yesterday's arrival of the J. Jill winter catalog, love has bloomed again! Jill is back with tunics, tunics and more tunics in rich, lovely colors. And that 30% off coupon on the cover doesn't hurt either!

How to "self-clean" your racks

I'm throwing a reunion party this Saturday for all my former co-workers at the newspaper (of which there are many) and hosting book club on Monday night. This has given me the, er, opportunity to deep-clean my house before the holidays. I've cleaned and organized all my drawers, purged the fridge of all science experiments and, as we speak, am "self-cleaning" my oven for the first time.  (For the record, the oven has been cleaned but never "self cleaned.") Before the oven can clean itself, it asks you to remove the racks. "What?! You don't do racks, Miss Fancy Frigidaire Gallery Double Oven? What kind of a slacker are you?!?) I wasn't having it. There had to be some way to "self clean" oven racks...without cleaning them myself.  Internet to the rescue!

Thanks to this woman and her blog, my racks are now cleaning themselves in my bathtub. (Hint: The trick is dryer sheets.) I even threw in the rack from my stainless steel sink (which is grosser than the oven racks, if that's possible), for good measure. I'll let them sit for the suggested 18 hours and, hopefully, give them a quick brush and return to my oven all shiny and sparkling. I'm living' the dream, people!

16 weeks and still in the swim

My lane - indicated by kick board, fins, water shoes and aqua booties.

I've been swimming/water walking for sixteen weeks. That's an hour a day, five times a week for almost four months. Despite a patch or two of dry skin, I feel fantastic. It's not just the exercise, it's the pool itself. Water is uniquely therapeutic. A slow swim or fast walk through water can be meditative, even hypnotic. You can think through a problem or simply forget your worries entirely. It's up to you. I love that. I love creating my own current, going with the flow...not to mention being weightless. And, I love the way nobody gives a flip-turn about what anyone looks like at the aquatic center. There's no preening, no posing, no hiding under a blanket from sand-kicking bullies. Everyone's the same; we all just swim. I've even made new friends. My favorite is an feisty gal named Jane who swims for an hour-and-a-half every day and takes guff from no one. When I give her a hard time, she says, "You better watch it or I'll get your hair wet." (She thinks I never put my head under, but that's not entirely true.) Best of all, I've seen her and a few other ladies copy my signature moves.  Like this one:

Except I kneel on the board. Sitting's for wimps.

It's a fantastic thing to discover a form of exercise that gives you more than a mere workout. Swimming is the cure for what ails me. Try it. I'll bet it can cure you, too.

Baggy, bunching pants problem solved

I've been trying to rock the leggings/skinny jeans-and-boots look. But, because I wear my leggings on the loose side (57-year-old legs in skin-tight pants tend to resemble sausage casing), I couldn't keep them from riding up out of my boots and bunching around the knees. Not a good look. I tried tucking my jeans into tight socks, but that only worked for about a half hour. Then, I found Jean Straps - a simple but genius solution to my problem.

Employing those funny little garters we once used to hold up our stockings, pre-pantyhose days (and, yes, you could make your own...but why?), these little gadgets do the trick. But, if you want something even simpler, I just discovered that Macy's still sells stirrup pants in a ponte knit...and they're on sale right now (yes, I bought two pair.)

Yeah, so those nude pumps - not so much.

 Don't laugh. Under boots and a tunic sweater, these are going to be fab! 

Help for the Philippines

Here's some good information on ways to send financial aid to the people of the Philippines.  I'm sending mine to the local Red Cross via PayPal. Quick, easy and desperately needed.

Checking back in to "Club Med"

The most compelling evidence to date on the benefits of the Mediterranean diet was presented this week here, here and here. Okay, okay. So, maybe that's the way to go, especially if you want to live past 70. I was getting bored with the Atkins/Ketogenic/hybrid thing I've been trying lately. I miss my quinoa and rice...oh, and fruit! Bring on the fruit!  And now, a little shopping....

Call my agent!

Something tells me she's going to get more work than I will.

Not that I would wear it, but I could legitimately buy one of these t-shirts because -- drumroll, please! -- I  just signed on the dotted line with a talent agency in the big city! This is something I've wanted to do my whole life, but those pesky day jobs - and two busy kids - prevented me from going on auditions until now. So, here I am at age 57, arranging photo shoots and recording sessions for my demo reel (because most of my broadcast work is recorded on technology that is now obsolete) and wondering if there might even be a national gig out there for me - like the gray-haired spokesperson for Peepers, Estroven or Depend.

Boomerang Boy Returns

Items BB will not be taking to New York but, for whatever reason, didn't go into storage.

One of the many upsides of Number One Son returning home for two months is that we get our old refrigerator back. I love having a fridge in the garage for extra beer, frozen items and party trays. Trouble is, I don't want the fridge right there IN MY PARKING SPOT! Serenity now.... serenity now....

Hot pads be gone!

I'm an accident waiting to happen in the kitchen.  I will cut, burn or otherwise injure myself every time I attempt to cook a meal. My worst trick is trying to lift a lid from a steaming pot on the stove without the benefit of a hot pad or oven mitt.  Thankfully, I saw this on the internet today.

Now, I can stir my sautéed cinnamon apples without scorching my digits!

My God, what a brilliant idea! Just slip three corks through the lid handle and - voila! - no more finger burns. I wish I could remember the source of this genius so I could offer proper attribution. Whatever it was - whoever they were - they have my undying gratitude.

Boomerang times two

Not to be confused with double rainbows

Today, my adult son moves back into his old room, making it a full house at Chez BoomerGirl once again. Unlike his sister's, this scenario has an end date. He's moving to Brooklyn to start a new life on Jan. 5th.  The lease was up on his apartment this weekend...so what's a parent to do? We offered. His sister will be happy to have someone to commiserate with, even if she will have to share the upstairs bathroom. Me? I'm doing the best I can to prepare: cleaning out drawer space in his old room (my office), grocery shopping, installing a lock on the liquor cabinet, refilling my Xanax prescription, meditating.  I'm sure the next two months will go by like that.