The best companion

This photo comes from an article called "Top 5 Dog Breeds for Senior Citizens." Under the title, it says, "Learn which canines make the best companions for mature pet lovers." Then, after a nice paragraph about the benefits of pet ownership, it goes on to name the top five breeds - but inexplicably, it leaves out the Golden Retriever! How could a thing like that happen? Personally, I'm outraged. At this house, we think Golden Retrievers should be #1! But Joey's feelings weren't hurt at all. He just loves to pose!

Here we are re-creating the photo in our back yard. We modified it a little because Joey weighs almost 60 pounds.

And here's the original photo. To see the dog breeds that made the list, just click here.

Faith

Faith is something that's very important to me. Even though this is a photo blog - and a kind of silly one at that - if it's really going to be about our Florida retirement, I couldn't leave out faith. If there's one way to be sure and have a happy retirement, it's to know where you're going when your retirement is over. Robert and I are thankful that we do know.

The photo I'm re-creating comes from an article about health, but I think it also works for faith. To me, it signifies thankfulness. I'm thankful to God for so many things - for my family and friends, for the beauty around me, and so much more.

Here's the original photo. It reminds me of Psalm 100, which is one of my favorite psalms. "Be thankful unto Him, and bless His name."

Reading

Every time I meet someone who's not retired and who finds out I am, he or she invariably asks, "What do you all day?" I always say, "Oh, I read, I go to the beach, I do errands..." Now, if it's a man who's asked the question, he then says something like, "Must be nice." But if it's a woman, her response is completely different. After thinking over my answer, most women then ask, "What do you read?" Men don't care what I'm reading, but women always want to know. Interesting, eh? So what am I reading right now?

Here's the answer! I had to wait weeks and weeks to get this on hold from the library, but I finally got it - Janet Evanovich's Sizzling Sixteen. Woo hoo! I've read every book in her Stephanie Plum series and I absolutely love them! (Yes, I always read with one arm draped over the back of the couch, without my glasses, in a nice sweater...)

This is the photo I re-created, from a website called Retirement Hobbies. Okay, so she's not reading Sizzling Sixteen. I can't tell what she's reading. I'd like to know, though...

Park benches

One of the age-old staples of retirement is the park bench. Ever since I was a little girl, I've seen pictures of retirees sitting on park benches. The world has changed dramatically since I was little, but there are still plenty of retirement photos showing retirees sitting on park benches. Why is that, you ask? Well, obviously it's because as soon as you retire, you suddenly realize you have nothing else to do! Luckily for Robert and me, there are lots of park benches in Hollywood.

Here I am with Robert re-creating a "sitting on a park bench" photo at Holland Park. Doesn't he look handsome sitting on a park bench? Of course he does - he looks handsome anywhere!

And here's the original photo, from an article called "Saving for Retirement." Besides showing the correct "sitting on a park bench" technique, this couple also has what I call the "going steady syndrome" - they're dressed almost alike. What's up with that? I don't know, but hold onto your hats - this isn't the last time you'll see it here on the chicken blog.

A visit to Miami

This afternoon, Robert and I drove down to Miami to visit my father and stepmother at their home in Kendall. My father will be 87 years old in November and while he's slowing down, he's just as wonderful and loving as he's always been. It's always good to see him and Bernice, and that's one reason I'm glad we retired in Florida. In keeping with my hobby of re-creating retirement photos, I found a photo of a father and daughter I liked and decided to see if we could re-create it.

Here we are re-creating the photo. I didn't have the right color t-shirt and sweater but that's okay.

And here's the original photo. We had a nice visit, and I'm sure we'll see them again soon.

The Retirement Hug

Besides dancing, another thing retirees are often seen doing is hugging. Everyone knows what a hug is - you stand face to face with another person, put your arms around them and squeeze. But that's not the kind of hug I'm talking about. If you spend any time looking at retirement websites, you'll see what I mean. Over and over again, the retired wife is seen standing behind the retired husband hugging him from behind. But that's not enough for some wives. No, they get so excited about being retired that they leap up on their retired husbands' backs! This is a phenomenon I call "the retirement hug." Like dancing, the retirement hug can happen anywhere - at home, at the park, or at the beach. And instead of yelling, "Hey, what are you trying to do, break my back?" the retired husband is always delirious with happiness.

Here we are re-creating a photo of a couple demonstrating the retirement hug. We took this picture at Topeekeegee Yugnee Park this afternoon, a nice park nearby that everyone calls T.Y. Park.

And here's the original photo, from an article called "Plan on Having an Active Life in Retirement." Believe me, we do.

Shall we dance?

There are several recurring themes in retirement photos, and one of them is dancing. I'm not talking about dancing at actual dances, like at a senior center community dance. No, the retirees are just spontaneously breaking out dancing - at home, at the beach, at the park - wherever they happen to be. And why are they dancing? Because they're so deliriously happy!

Here we are recreating a "dancing around the house" photo.

And here's the original photo, from a financial planning website. All I can say is, retirement sure is fun.

A re-creation of a retirement photo - 8

The other day my son Julian mentioned my old car Midge in his blog. It got me thinking about all the cars we've had over the years. With Robert's help, I came up with this list: 1965 Mustang, 1972 Pontiac LeMans, 1972 Volkswagen Beetle, 1976 Mercury Capri, 1977 Ford Econoline van, 1972 Ford Pinto, 1980 Chevy Chevette, 1980 Ford Courier, 1981 Ford Escort, 1984 Bronco II, 1989 Jeep Cherokee, 1977 Harley Davidson Super Glide, 1979 MG Midget (Midge), 1989 Mazda B2200, 1991 Mazda B2600, 1991 Nissan Sentra, 1992 Cadillac Sedan DeVille, 2001 Hyundai Accent, 2002 Subaru Impreza, 2007 Mazda B2300, and our current cars, a 2009 Honda Accord and a 2010 Mustang. Wow, that's a lot! But of all of them, my all-time favorite was Midge.

Here I am in our driveway in my gray Honda Accord. You can see I'm serious about these re-creations because I'm wearing a heavy jacket in Florida in August.

And here's the original photo. It comes from a website called Keep Driving. Do you remember all your cars? What was your favorite?

A re-creation of a retirement photo - 7

One of the best things about our Florida retirement is the beach, which is only four miles away. I usually go to the beach several times a week and often Robert goes, too. Usually we just plop a beach towel down and hop in the water, but today we brought the chairs from our back deck.

Here we are re-creating a photo from a website about retirement financial planning.

And here's the original photo. Woo hoo! Let's hit the waves!

A re-creation of a retirement photo - 6

Now that blogging has become part of our retirement - and since we recently replaced our slow dial-up with high speed internet - I've been exploring the blogosphere to see what's out there. And you know what I've found? Giveaways! Tons of them! All you have to do to enter is leave a comment. I decided to enter three giveaways and see what happens: one for an Envirosax shopping bag, one for a Nick Chavez Honey Hair Care Set, and one for a tea cup set. I especially love the last one because the comment has to be a happy birthday message to the blogger's dog, Sophie. To illustrate this post, naturally I had to re-create a retirement photo. This one comes from England, from a website about computer courses for retired people.

Here I am re-creating the photo.

nnnnnnnnnnnnnnn And here's the real photo. I'll let you know if I win!

A re-creation of a retirement photo - 5

It's a well known fact that as soon as people retire they have the uncontrollable urge to go on picnics - and we're no different! This photo comes from a financial planning company called Fresh. To re-create it, we went to Joe DiMaggio Park, a pretty park here in Hollywood.

Here we are re-creating the photo. We made one little substitution...

And here's the photo we re-created. It was a lot of fun!