Crossing a Threshold

     Sometimes in life we end up doing things we never expected we'd do. I never expected to get divorced. I never expected to lose my job. I never expected to be as old as my dad ... and yet I hear his voice coming out of my mouth all the time.

     The Midlife Crisis Queen never expected to move to a small town in the middle of Colorado. But that's just what she did a little less than a year ago. She and her husband are renting a place in the tiny town of Walsenburg, CO, with a population of 3,068, which still makes it the largest metropolitan area in Huerfano County. In her post Living in the Land of Relaxation she offers her impressions of small town living after years of residing in the city.

     But moving to this tiny town is not the half of it. The reason she's there is because she's building her own home even farther out into the wilderness, in the shadow of the Spanish Peaks. To see how it's going, journey over to her post Beautiful Snow and a Garage Door Too! I guarantee you'll be amazed at some of her photos.

     Meanwhile, Meryl Baer of Six Decades and Counting has crossed her own threshold in life. Get ready, because it's a big one!

     As much as she hates to admit it, she now eagerly drives into town in the late afternoon, heads to a restaurant and proceeds to patronize the ... early bird special! Check out her admission into this new phase of life in Confession of an Early Birder.

     Personally, I see nothing wrong in taking advantage of a cheap meal -- however you come by it -- but the real question is: Does she stuff those Sweet 'n Lo packets into her purse before she goes out the door to get home safely before dark?

     Now I move on from something we never expected we'd do, to something that I, at least, resolved never to do again. After struggling through several used cars in my early adulthood -- a Buick, a VW, a Saab -- I told myself I would never buy a used car again. So the years went by. I bought a brand new Ford Taurus, a Honda, another Saab (okay, everybody's allowed to repeat one mistake). And then, again, I needed a new car. But a new one seemed so expensive, and there was this great deal on a Volvo with less than 30,000 miles on it, and there was a one-year guarantee ... and (the salesman told me) it was only driven by a little old lady. On Sundays. To church.

     So I went ahead and bought a used 2004 Volvo. Then, within a few weeks, it was back at the dealer for a new transmission. Fortunately, it was covered by the warranty. Still, I spent a fortune on that car over the next several years -- until my daughter said she'd take it off my hands. She's now still driving that thing, closing in on 200,000 miles. And if what she tells me is true, she hasn't spent a dime on it in the last three years other than to change the oil. Go figure.

     Anyway, that's a long introduction to The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide, where consumer journalist Rita R. Robison offers a parking lot full of the  Best Used Cars for Every Budget, according to Consumer Reports. The review also includes a list warning us off the worst used cars. So if you're in the market, drive over to see the list. And by the way, Volvo doesn't make either the best or the worst list. Which leads me to believe, maybe it's not the car, but the driver, who determines how the car performs over the long haul. 

     Finally, from Smart Living 365, we have some thoughts not about how cars perform, but how we ourselves perform in our own lives, and how much we create our own circumstances and our own futures.

     Says blogger Kathy Gottberg, "While I'll admit that it is empowering to think I influence my world, and easy to imagine that your reality can be very different from mine, obviously that doesn't mean I can fly just because I want to. So do we create our own reality? What does the statement even mean? Is it true? And if yes, how does that lead to a smart and happy life?" For some insights, if not the final answers, try going to The Truth Behind "You Create Your Own Reality." 

      That's all from the Baby Boomer bloggers, except to say that B and I will be watching Downton Abbey tonight. It's the Season 5 finale, so maybe we'll find out what happens with ... well, you can watch on your own and enjoy it yourself.