THESE BOOTS WERE MADE FOR STRUTT'N

It's no secret that I love clothes! And if it's "OUT THERE" I'll wear it!

My favorite time to buy winter attire is after the holidays when all the stores dramatically slash prices to make way for the spring & summer line. Also I shop catalogs if I can find a big enough bargain.

Long have I held a love affair with boots, from cute ankle lengths right on up! And it pains me that I live in a state where the weather is only cool enough to wear them 3 to 5 months a year. I'd sleep in them if I could! Curse you Global Warming!!!

Among them are 2 pairs of riding style boots that I bought in Thrift Shops 25 and 30 years ago, neither is leather. Amazingly, both are still in good enough condition to wear. A couple years back, I bought a pair new and they fell apart the 3rd time I wore them. I was really pissed, I had paid full price because I loved the style!-- In my opinion, someone at a factory in China deserves a good whipping!

That reminds me, I have an over-the-knee pair with long straps in the back like cat-o'-nine tails.

Right after New Year's, I ordered a pair for a price I couldn't pass up! They're dark-gray and thigh-high! To my delight, they arrived on my birthday! They fit my legs like gloves and are just as comfortable as can be!

They are so high they dwarf even my over-the-knee pairs! And even my shortest mini skirts completely cover the tops. But they look magnificent with stirrup pants or a long sweater with opaque hose.

I can just hear a former neighbor of mine saying, "A woman your age in those, shame on you!"

I just turned 62. However, I've never let age inappropriateness stop me before. I look young for my age and I still have thighs to die for, as well as my magic metabolism. Guess you could call me the geezer-teaser.

Back in the 1970's during my blonde years, I was quite striking! Everywhere I went I was mistaken for a model. Men were too intimidated to come close. During that period I was taking frequent trips to Europe. I could walk into a restaurant in Paris or Madrid and turn every head in the room.

In 78 the Gypsy Peasant style was in vogue. This was my favorite look of all time with its sashed peasant blouse, long flowing skirt, & boots. I was in Lucerne, Switzerland all decked out in my Gypsy Peasant outfit, wearing the same chic boots all the French girls in Paris had been sporting. The 3 inch heels made me 5'9. Today, it would make me 5'10! -- Believe it or not, I actually grew an inch in my 50's!

I'll admit I'm not the most graceful woman in the world. I was coming down the long stairs into the lobby, half-way I slipped and tripped . I tumbled, bum-pity bump all the way to the bottom floor! A British couple rushed to my aid.

"Are you all right, dear!" the woman exclaimed. I assured her that I was. "It's so nice to hear another English-speaking voice," she intoned.

Of course at my age, I could break a bone! -- That's why I take calcium and dolomite and other minerals. I've done so for decades. Recently, I had a fall in a restaurant parking lot and got up without even a bruise, so I guess they work.

Whenever I buy a new pair of boots, I have a little romance with them. I'm always trying them on, or constantly going to look at and touch them. This passes after I officially wear them in public for the first time. Then I start to ogle and fantasize about other shoes.

SNAIL-MAIL KIND O' GAL

Here we are in a brand new year. I for one, am happy to be alive! I had feared we all might disappear from the surface of the earth in December of 2012. On the other hand, all the usual problems remain, plus new ones are popping up all the time.

Postage is rising again, the later part of this month. Ugh! That means more inflation, or perhaps stagflation. As a backward member of the Boomer generation I'm not into all the new technology. I still send out handwritten letters and mail Christmas cards.

In fact, the day after Christmas I bought 4 boxes of beautiful cards at half price. I'll admit it's starting to get expensive to send them. However, I still have enough holiday "FOREVER" stamps to get me thru a few more seasons, also my card list continues to get shorter.

I've got to say, last Christmas I was impressed as to how fast my packages moved thru the mail. Often, the merchandise was delivered the same week as I placed the order. Unfortunately, the postage sometimes cost as much as the item itself. -- And I always choose the least expensive rate, too!

Mail crawled back in the olden days! As a 7 yr. old, I forced my grandfather to buy an extra box of breakfast cereal so I would be able to send away for that Jiminy Cricket sippy cup with the moving eyes. I needed 2 box tops along with my dollar. Anyway, I had to wait 6 to 8 weeks for delivery, which is almost a lifetime in child years.

By the time it arrived, I had forgotten all about it! Receiving it was a big anti-climax, too. Sure the eyes moved, but the cup was an unappetizing flesh-colored pink; even Jiminy's hat! Within 6 months, the plastic cracked and my cup had to be thrown out. It wasn't even worth my dollar! And a dollar was worth a whole lot more in 1958!

But at least the shipping & postage were free! Back then, it was free on ALL orders from catalogs, as well. Plus you received a free gift from the company and some really nice items, too. This was true in many cases until I reached my 40's.

Several years ago, I ordered a book thru the mail and received an empty package. (You could actually see where it had been slashed open at the bottom!) Fortunately, the company replaced the book at no extra charge. I called the Post Office and complained to a supervisor. I asked why on earth they would deliver an obviously empty package in that condition! It should have been investigated because it left the company intact! Their response was similar to, "Yeah, it's our fault, but that doesn't make us responsible." If it hadn't been so sad, it would be laughable.

Unlike most people, I enjoy getting junk mail. It's fun to wish shop thru all the various catalogs I receive. But I really wish they would put an end to Saturday mail! It's just a nuisance. Plus every time a problem arrives via mail, it always seems to come on a Saturday. Everything is closed and I can't deal with it until Monday, but I'm left with 2 days and 2 sleepless nights to worry over it.

My family had a P.O. Box until we moved into the city limits in 1960. Always it was a treat to go pick-up the mail! I loved to ferret thru the garbage cans for unopened letters and packages. Usually there was plenty! I would bring home hand fulls of other people's junk mail. Frequently, I found packages, too! There was a doctor in town who was constantly throwing out sample medicines from pharmaceutical companies, and I mean some large boxes filled with all kinds of pills!

Of course my parents threw everything out. But it was just the thrill of the unexpected! Always I hoped to find something wonderful in one of those boxes!

After moving into town, we had an actual mailman deliver to our house. Man, we really were moving up in society!.. Although our initial mailman was rather incompetent. On several occasions I came across neighbors unopened bills blowing across our lawn. (At least I didn't have to root thru any garbage cans!) I took them to my mother, and she would steer me in the direction of the correct neighbor. Then I got to play postman.

Back then, our mail box was attached next to our door. That meant the mailman actually had to get out of his truck. During the 1990's we were forced to move our mailbox to a more convenient location for the mailman, one less so for us.

When I noticed the mailboxes in this neighborhood, I became uneasy. Anyone driving by in a car or walking down the street can help themselves to my mail without ever setting foot on my property. Anytime I place checks in the mail, I either wait until I see the mail truck, or I drive to a mailbox.

Eventually, I'll get with the times and pay all my bills online. But I intend to fight it as long as I can. I trust computers even less than I trust the Post Office. However, I know that one day soon, I'm going to be sending out electronic cards.

ALIVE FOR NOW

Whew! So far the 1000 ft tidal wave traveling 1000 mph hasn't claimed me, nor have I burned up in a gigantic solar flare. -- But that doesn't mean it still won't happen! The psychic couple I knew did say the polar shift would occur on an INEXACT date... I just hope I'm already dead from natural causes by then. I'm over 60, so that could be any day now.

If the shift happened, my dear friend Rose & I had decided to meet for Christmas on Mars. Rose thought Venus might be more appropriate because we are both women. But from what I've heard, the surface sounds too much like Hell; flames & molten lava and all that!

Besides, I've always felt that I lived on Mars in a previous incarnation eons ago. -- Hey, you don't really think Earth is my 1st rodeo, do you! Well, neither was Mars! Back in 1987, on a visit from the elderly psychic couple, they made me stand in different directions with my arm extended until I felt a magnetic sensation in my hand. They said it connected me to my home planet, beyond the Milky Way. The spot was marked with tape on the floor so I could find it again.

I don't know if any of that is true, but I would like to believe it is. They swore my home planet is everything I hoped it would be. It's the place I go between lifetimes. But I can't get there by way of suicide. -- Bummer!

Fortunately, I'm not ready for the trip, yet. I want to turn 62 in January! There is so much unfinished business here. So many things I'm looking forward to in the near future.

After the holidays, Rose & I will get together for lunch, probably at The Patio restaurant. They have the best Creme Brulee I've ever tasted! Also I'm really excited about the new book coming out later in 2013. And I've got ideas for another one after that!

Since the Earth wasn't destroyed this holiday season, my friend will enjoy Christmas with her family in Texas. And I'll celebrate here, with my beautiful tree in the home I love.

SAVORING THE LAST DAY ON EARTH

The dreaded date of Dec. 21, 2012 long prophesied as the end of the world as we know it, is rapidly approaching.

A lady I know has a birthday on that date. -- At least she won't have to worry about getting any older! (hee hee) She complained that no one could come to her birthday celebration because they're all attending End-of-the-World parties.

Well, I'm going to have my own private celebration here. Except mine will be the day before! I'm really nervous about the Dec. 21 date. Watching all those Apocalyptic specials on the History & National Geographic Channel is enough to give you sheet-chewing night terrors!!!

On a bright summer afternoon when I was 6 yrs. old, a family friend from out of state came for a visit. (Someone my father called a nut.) As we sipped our tea, he casually informed us that the world was coming to a fiery end in my lifetime. Humankind would be forced to start all over again.

I was terrified! I became obsessed with this... Then I started to wonder if it had all happened before. Perhaps there had been other advanced civilizations before us! In my teens I heard of the legendary continents of Atlantis and Lemuria. I was intrigued by them and learned everything I could.

During my mid-30's, I became friends with an elderly psychic couple. They claimed that most of us had existed in both places at least once in previous lives. These continents actually had more advanced technology than we do today. But their devices turned against them and everything was destroyed. All because they became corrupt and their technology exceeded their spiritual development. -- It sounds a bit too familiar for comfort when I look at our world today.

Back in 1987, this couple accurately predicted events in my life. Events that are happening right now! But most disturbing, they claimed there would be a polar shift early in the next century. It would change the entire face of the map. One of the signs would be frequent extremes in the weather. -- This is why I am more than a bit concerned! However, they did say it would be an INEXACT date. I find that only of mild comfort.

I can't help but snort with laughter at the doomsday prep crowd. If there is a polar shift, they are going to die just like the rest of us. No place on earth will be safe! Even if there are survivors, I wouldn't want to be in the world remaining, certainly not at my age!

Just in case, I'm planning to enjoy my Christmas early on Dec. 20. (Bet'cha I'm not the only one!) I'm going to eat everything I love and watch as many of the 80 movies on my DVR as I possibly can! My only regret is that I didn't buy a TV with an 80 inch screen. I can't really afford it, but hey, it's not like I'll be outliving my money. -- I want to die as I lived, alone and happy!

Of course I'm hoping it's all baloney. I'm enjoying my life now more than ever! Plus I have a new book coming out in 2013. I'm already writing promotional speeches for the local business networking events.

To all my friends reading this, if the Mayan calendar proves correct, see you on the other side Dec. 22!

O' CHRISTMAS TREE DON'T FALL ON ME

I spend the entire day after Thanksgiving erecting my Christmas tree. It's a huge artificial one and a big job for a single person. I place it atop a small but sturdy table with a foot high angel on top. I need that height because of my cathedral ceiling. So I'm forced to do lots of balancing on a ladder and that always makes me nervous. I've had a few close calls that made me cuss like a cable TV star. Several times I swore that would be the final year! However, when I view the end result, it always seems worth the trouble. It just wouldn't feel like Christmas without that tree!

For awhile now, the trend seems to be all white lit trees. This is what my neighbors have displayed in their windows every year. When I was growing up, only dentist offices and other commercial buildings had that kind. Only colorful lights go on my tree, they just look more festive.

A Christmas tree in November is too soon for many people, but I have longer to enjoy it. -- And enjoy it I do! During the holidays I take all my meals on the formal table under the chandelier, and that includes breakfast. There, I have a magnificent view of the tree. I get up at 6:00 AM while it's still pitch dark. My lighted tree looks especially lovely. The sun is just beginning to rise as I start the dishes.

The saddest day of the year is the one after New Year's, because the tree comes down. It's also the most hazardous! I'm back to balancing on that ladder. Plus the tree snaps together far easier than it pulls apart. I've experienced a number of casualties and learned the hard way to remove anything breakable in the surrounding area, except for perhaps myself.

A former neighbor with whom I had more than a waving acquaintance, enjoyed a glorious view of my tree from her house. She told me how much she and her husband miss it after it's gone. I told her I was getting older and didn't know how many more years I'd be up to the job. I expected her to say, "Hey, Leo & I are just next door give us a call if you need help!" Instead, she glanced at my tree and with a sigh replied, "Oh it looks like you've got it down to a science." -- A couple years later, she hinted that she wanted my help moving to another house. I just ignored her.

My friend Pat, up in north part of the state, suggested that I just leave my tree up all year. "You're alone," she reminded, "you can do things like that!"

If my house was more isolated, I might consider it. However, my neighbors already think I'm strange, I don't want to do anything more to feed into that. Also, I want my Christmas seasons to feel special, even if it involves risking my life and property.

THE NEIGHBOR SHUFFLE & ROULETTE

Just last month, I found myself between new neighbors on both sides. I live in a subdivision outside the city limits. Up until 1960, my family moved around a lot. After coming to Florida in 1952, we settled briefly in the boonies. Shortly after, we became friendly with a widow & her daughter several miles down the highway. Both became as close as family. This relationship lasted thru several of our moves, including one to another town.

Here, on my little half acre lot surrounded by neighbors, I have nothing beyond a waving acquaintance with any of them. I love my house, but I never wanted to be a part of a neighborhood again after leaving our river front home Stuart.

During the last 10 yrs., we endured more serious problems with neighbors there than the previous 29! However, the neighborhood started to dramatically change in the late 70's as the wealthier people began to move in. Our property taxes began to climb, eventually forcing us out.

You can't control who moves in next door or what they do with their property, even if it affects you directly. If you are fortunate enough to have a great neighbor at some point either they are going to move or die off. -- As to what you get next, it's always a gamble!

Here, the neighbors were far friendlier when my father was alive. Well, they sure distanced themselves fast after he died! Even my father would have been shocked!

Friends tell me it's because I'm a single woman. I'm inclined to agree. Married women seem to think I want to seduce their ugly husbands. Some are almost paranoid about it! Therefore the husbands are unfriendly because they don't want trouble with their wives.

Never mind that I am significantly older than most of them. Knowing the nature of men, I can't imagine a man leaving a young wife for a woman of my years, no matter how well preserved. Unless of course the old woman has a boatload of money. And I do not fit into the later category! -- It must be awful to be that insecure in your marriage!

My close friend Margaret, (a former professional dancer) kept her shapely figure into her 80's and dressed in trendy clothes right to the end. She lived in a place with those of similar age and was avoided like a disease! I remember her telling me about an experience with a new next door neighbor. While walking her little Yorkie, she introduced herself to him as he worked in his front yard.

"You'll have to come to our next barbecue," he told her. "I cook the most delicious burgers you'll ever taste!"

Two weeks later, she watched from her porch as one neighbor after another showed up for the barbecue. "My feelings were hurt!" Margaret exclaimed. "No one invited me!"....Later, she approached her neighbor and asked why she wasn't invited.

"Talk to my wife about it," he replied.

Oh I can relate to so many of her experiences!

Neighborhoods are a lot like High School. You have the popular people, their ass kisser wannabes, and the outcasts in the margins. -- Anyone seen as different or unusual is shunned.

After we put our house up for sale, I told my father I didn't want any neighbors in socializing distance! My father insisted it was too dangerous. We needed neighbors for safety, especially me, since he was getting old and I would soon be alone.

Geez, if someone murdered me with a hammer, my neighbors wouldn't know until they heard it on the evening news. They probably wouldn't even remember who I am. -- That's why I booby-trap the inside of my house and keep weapons (gun, knives, a baseball bat & a pair of handcuffs) hidden various spots in my bedroom.

I'd rather have taken my chances living alone in some remote area. As far as I'm concerned, the best neighbors are trees!

CLOUD ATLAS YOU'RE ALL WET

Recently, I saw the movie CLOUD ATLAS. I enjoyed it, although I found it too long and too fragmented. The amazing make-up on the actors and their transformations alone, made it worth seeing.

I think the premise had to do with reincarnation and how we are all interconnected, because love transcends death. -- Well that's just a load of bull! -- Whatever love there was in my family didn't even survive this lifetime!

I'm a believer in reincarnation, but I've never believed human beings are intrinsically good. There is too much evidence to the contrary!

Of course the role of religion is to get people to behave by scaring them with a hellish eternal punishment or promising a big payoff in the hereafter. Otherwise, I guess most wouldn't even try!

At least with karma, lessons can be learned over time. Eventually souls can be cleansed and move on to a higher level. I've been told by those in the know, that people come back in clusters. We are surrounded by the same group each time. -- I find that thought truly distressing! Oh God, please, I want a different cluster!!! Also I don't want to be reunited with any of those people in death.

Several decades back, I saw a TV interview with Bette Davis on 60 MINUTES. Now I have never been a fan of Ms. Davis either as an actress or a person. Usually she turns me off big time! But she said something quite profound, that I've always remembered. To paraphrase her, "Given enough time, any relationship will break down. What is truly important in life is the body of work we leave behind." When you stop to think about this, it's true! Although we are brainwashed to think the opposite.

I know so many women who feel diminished if they are not in a relationship with a man. -- I've always felt more empowered! The happiest and most fulfilling days of life emerged when I became one hundred per-cent alone. The men who wanted a relationship with me seemed too much a stifling extension of my parents. I felt suffocated! I'm free at long last to make my own mistakes, rather than be forced to live with the consequences of someone else's.

There's a true story about a fellow in a hospital bed who opened his eyes and saw all his dead relatives gathered around him. He sat up and hollered, "Get the hell away from me! I'm not going anywhere with you!" -- My sentiments exactly!

In my version of Heaven, I'll be one hundred per cent alone. My real friends can visit from time-to-time. But mostly, I want solitude, surrounded by beautiful nature and animals.