Today Is Your Day Boomer

Today is your day Boomer ! Now here is a greatttttttt way to spend our tax dollars! 12 million has been set aside to buy a glorious chunk of property on Okanagan Lake near Summerland. According to Castanet News, "The property, which comprises adjacent lots of almost 1,500 feet of pristine shoreline along Okanagan Lake is nestled between Okanagan Provincial Park and Fitzpatrick Estate Winery." Right now there are two provincial campsites just to the south....extremely popular spots.....and soon there will be three, as camping reservations in B.C. have risen by 15% since 2022. And a lot of those campers are Boomers, who especially like to camp in the shoulder seasons when the kids are at school and seniors qualify to pay only half price! Good deal. So the average senior Boomer will pay only about 16$ per night to stay at the new campground. Property seller Dan Butler says his family hoped "that the provincial government, specifically BC Parks, would eventually acquir

Today is your day Boomer! Do you cut them or keep them? Those nasty flowers that grow up in your lush, green lawn during the crazy-weather month of June. Like this picture of numerous Buttercups growing beautifully in my lawn and being enjoyed by my dogs and family. The Buttercup, by the way, is part of the Ranunculus family, which includes flowers with many positive and negative qualities. Positive: "buttercups have simple, yellow flowers with five to 10 petals. They are especially bright and glossy. This is because the petals curve inward and are constructed in such a way that they reflect light onto the flower center, thus increasing the heat. This warms the stamens (which produce the pollen), boosts their growth, and increases the chance of fertilization. Also, this warmth attracts the pollinators. Buttercups are considered a source of food for bees and hummingbirds. This reflection is why children like to hold a buttercup flower under their chin. If the reflection on thei

Today is your day Boomer ! I haven't seen so many Boomers in one place since a Doobie Brothers concert I went to a few years ago. It was this past weekend and it was the Peach City Beach Cruise in Penticton, B.C. established 23 years ago. "Joined by the weekly downtown markets on Main Street, Western Canada's premier car show returned with 775 vehicles, live entertainment, food trucks and family-friendly activities."(Summerland Review Newspaper) What a great spot for this type of event! A cross-city cruise between the two lakes on the Friday night, the big car showing all day Saturday, and a pancake breakfast and awards Sunday. My wife and I met friends there who had their restored Dodge Challenger on display and thoroughly enjoyed it! Cruise President Donna Reimann adds "There's really something magical about this show." and it helps kick-off summer. I agree, and by the way, I loved all the "car talk" as I passed by....stuff like under t

Today is your day Boomer ! Boomers as grandparents....sounds great, right? So many of us have that experience, and most take it very seriously. I know a Boomer couple that provides daycare for their granddaughter five days a week! I know many Boomers save money for their grandkids' post-secondary education....creating RESPs in the children's names. I know many Boomers that teach their grandkids important skills like mechanics, sewing, and yard maintenance. I also know one of the most important things you can do is READ...read a ton of books with your grand children(see picture!) Of course, this comes from my teaching background. What else? How about a book for you to read? It is called "A Boomer's Guide to Grandparenting", written by Allan and Kathryn Zullo. It is available on Amazon and likely resides in public libraries ready to be signed out. By you, perhaps? As we all try and do what is best for our kids and their kids. Cheers!

Today is your day Boomer! We all do dumb things....like putting diesel in a car gas tank, or weedwacking your lawn in flipflops, or forgetting your anniversary. As aging Boomers, some of it we can atribute to us getting older and more forgetful....or....us gradually getting dementia. But really, there are no excuses for basic dumbness (is that a real word?), just like there is no justification for Boomer men excusing their actions because, you know, "boys will be boys." According to the renowned Cambridge Dictionary, this famous slang expression is "said to emphasize that people should not be surprised when boys or men act in a rough or noisy way because this is part of the male character." Like doing flips on a snowmobile, rock climbing without a rope, or driving twice the speed limit! Duhhhh. Boomer men are mature, just like Boomer women. Today, I am calling you out on stupidity....no matter what your gender. Let's all do smart, common sense things that b

Today is your day Boomer! "I just felt that it was such a beautiful game that I just wanted to play it forever, you know.” The Say Hey Kid has passed away....Willie Mays, maybe the second-greatest baseball player of all time, died this week at the tender age of 93. We grew up with him, remember Boomers? The San Fransisco Giant star was really good in the 1960s(our formative years!) and I remember watching him on the Saturday game of the week! According to The Associated Press, here is his list of accomplishments: "Over 23 major league seasons, virtually all with the New York/San Francisco Giants but also including one in the Negro Leagues, Mays batted .301, hit 660 home runs, totaled 3,293 hits, scored more than 2,000 runs and won 12 Gold Gloves. He was Rookie of the Year in 1951, twice was named the Most Valuable Player and finished in the top 10 for the MVP 10 other times. His lightning sprint and over-the-shoulder grab of an apparent extra base hit in the 1954 World Seri

Today is your day Boomer! It's a good thing this is a "Baby Boomer" blog, because only Boomers would get this meme. Yup...it's based on an old TV show(Get Smart) that we watched while growing up in the 1960s...but it also brings up a topic that many of us may not understand: what is the difference between a smart phone and a regular cell phone? According to Tech Target, "A mobile phone and a smartphone are both mobile devices which you can use to call and text. The options for a mobile phone mainly end there, apart from the models that have a camera. A smartphone has all sorts of extra functions, like internet access, the option to download apps, and a better camera." Here are some "facts" about smart phone use in our country: "Almost three out of ten households in Canada no longer have landlines. 79% of Canadians have a mobile internet connection. In 2019, Canadians consumed an average of 2.9 GB of data per month. 40% of Canadians spent

Today is your day Boomer! I salute a special Boomer and Dad today on Father's Day. This is Gary Grono from Kamloops who won't be spending time with his kids today....instead, he'll be walking across Canada! Yup, the 67-year-old started from Victoria in March, has already crossed the prairies, and hopes to touch the Atlantic by September! He walks about 50km per day, camps along the way, and pulls his little walking trailer(see picture). Gary says he always "wanted to do something of significance".....well, he sure is, as he has raised almost 10,000 of his 60,000$ goal for the Andean Research Institute — a non-profit society that works to create sustainable living and preserve culture in Peruvian villages. Nice!! Gary says his biggest challenge is the varied weather he encounters, and his daughter Sue adds that "he’s been missing his family during the cross-country walk, but manages to stay in regular contact with them via phone." We wish him the be

Today is your day Boomer! Sometimes we all need a wakeup call! Boomers, what are you doing today? Wasting time away in front of binge TV watching? Still working when you don't need to because you want to "stay busy"? Seriously?! Check out the following mortality rates for Canadians: For Canadian females, the average life expectancy at birth in the following provinces/territories is... 85 years: British Columbia...83-84 years: Alberta, Ontario, Quebec...73-83 years: Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Northwest Territories, and Newfoundland & Labrador, Nunavut, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia. For Canadian males, the average life expectancy at birth is...79.4 years: British Columbia....79-80 years: Alberta, Ontario, Quebec...70-80 years: Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Northwest Territories, and Newfoundland & Labrador, Nunavut, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia.(cpp.ca) Looks like B.C. is the best province for longevity, but honestly, the averag

Today is your day Boomer! I haven't been to Hawaii in five years and Mexico even longer....but one thing I love to do is walk barefoot on the beaches. I, especially, like to kick my feet on the water's edge....but a BIG WARNING from a doctor for Boomers who love to do this! According to Kelowna's Dr. Issa Ephtimios, this is a big no, no: "During my extensive travels, I have found uncapped intravenous needles on beaches,” he says. “Further, there is a parasitic disease known as cutaneous larva migrant (CLM) that can be transmitted on the beach from stray dogs and it has the potential to penetrate the skin and cause a severe, itchy rash." Yikes and gross at the same time. What else? He states “The same thing can happen if you lay on the beach in your bathing suit without using a towel underneath." Okay, my beach options just took a big hit. Boomers, should we believe this guy? He is the medical lead for infectious diseases at Kelowna General Hospital! Ma

Today is your day Boomer! Sorry blog readers, I took a little time off recently to work on our family summer cabin(no internet there!) and go fishing and socializing with my older siblings...more on that in a coming blog. But I did return home for my birthday bash on the 6th day of the 6th month and I turned 66. A lot of 6's it seems....so what does this mean? According to indiatimes.com, "Numerology 6 is the 'Mother' of all numbers since it links families and keeps people together. Because numerology number 6 is trustworthy, sympathetic, gentle, and loving, they should work in teaching, nursing, and assistance." I did, I did! I worked as a teacher for three decades and some would say I have a nurturing personality by offering my personal advice in a regular blog. I do give suggestions on some important things like politics, culture, recreation, and health....all concerns, I think, to an average Boomer. In the meantime, I keep trucking along in Boomerhood e