Today’s woman leads a busy life. Women dividing their attentions and efforts between work, home and hubby often find they’re on automatic pilot with little to no time to spend on themselves. Quick and efficient showers are the usual daily routine and a long, hot shower is often the closest we get to enjoyable bathing. Why not break the cycle once in a while and take in the health and emotional benefits of a luxuriating soak in a bath?

First of all, make sure it’s me-time. Choose a time with no distractions and set the mood. Light aromatic candles, play relaxing music or even listen to your favorite book on audio while you soak.

A bubble bath is fun and inviting. For relaxation, try a bath oil or foaming product with lavendar or go for citrus to revitalize and energize. Oatmeal is soothing for dry, flaky skin. Whatever your favorite moisturizing bath, your skin will benefit and so will your state of mind. A warm bath will relieve aching muscles and joint pains. Scrub with a loofa to increase circulation. Your skin will glow.

So pencil in some time for the relaxation and rejuvenation that the mind-body experience of a good, long soak in the tub offers. Do it because it’s good for you. Do it because you deserve it.

Yvonne De Carlo (1922-2007)

Lily Munster, matriach of the strange sitcom family known as The Munsters was an attractive, strong, loving mother and vampire. Remarkably vibrant for one of the undead, she stood by her man – ahem, monster – through hare-brained scheme after goofy foul-up. Lily was the glue that held her eccentric family together.

Yvonne De Carlo, who played Lily, was born Peggy Yvonne Middleton but took her mother’s maiden name as her professional name. Half Italian, Yvonne had the kind of exotic beauty that shone through even the thick horror film makeup she wore for the show.

The Munsters were a less sophisticated version of another unusual group, The Addams Family. They were silly and corny and a part of everyday life for baby boomers. Amazingly, although the show only lasted two years on the network (1964 – 1966), they made 70 episodes in that short time, allowing it to remain on the air in reruns for years.

Munsters Trivia

Marilyn Munster, the only non-monster Munster and considered “plain” by the rest of the family, was played by two actresses. Beverley Owen originated the role and Pat Priest took over in Episode 14.

Munster Links:

The Munsters Theme

Another version of The Munsters opening theme

Yvonne’s page on Munsters.com

So much happens on the internet these days that often we can get left behind. I am still trying to figure out what is so great about MySpace, for instance, but everyone seems to be using it. These things become the preserve of the young because people our age have not the time or inclination to keep up with all that’s happening.

Being so resistant to the new means that sometimes we miss out on really useful and interesting things, however. And YouTube is one of these – a library of videos on the net that can be viewed and added to by anyone. Naturally, the young discovered it first and there are lots of very silly and pointless videos included as a result. But, as demonstrated by a 94-year-old veteran, Les Loken, YouTube can be used for worthwhile purposes too.

Les has been recording his memories of World War II and other times, then putting the resulting video on YouTube. These are fascinating records of a time that is distant even to those of our age group. But they also point the way to another advantage of YouTube: it’s a nostalgia machine!

Think back to those glorious days of the 1960s and the music that filled our ears; and it’s probably on YouTube. There are videos of the most surprising things, bands long forgotten (or so we thought), videos of groups made before videos were invented. It is a treasure trove of memories for us.

Just to give a few examples, here are some clips of music from the sixties, arbitrarily selected as they sprang to mind:

Beach Boys

Kinks

Beatles

Give it a try – just go to YouTube, in the search bar enter the name of a group you want to hear and see what comes up!

Talking of being thankful for blessings, one of the things we in our fifties can be grateful for more than most is the personal computer. We remember a time when there was no such thing and so we can appreciate more than other generations how it has changed our lives and made them easier.

The growth of the internet that computers have made possible has multiplied the benefits available to us too. Now we can shop without ever leaving the house, pay bills with a few simple mouse clicks, communicate with friends, expand our interests into previously unexplored fields, read the news that interests us without having to wade through the stuff we don’t want, and so on almost forever. The list is endless.

One of the possibilities realized by younger generations very early on in the history of computers was their capacity for entertainment. We have watched the growth of the computer games industry with bemusement, amazement and sometimes alarm. Our children exist in a world that accepts new computer games as normal and they constantly ask for more. No longer is the computer game a thing for children – they have grown up and demand games that have grown with them into adulthood. And the industry happily meets the need. We watch and worry about addiction and time wasted, rather in the same way our parents worried about the television.

Yet the clock cannot be turned back. And, as long as the thing is out there, we might as well make use of it. We may not be able to cope with the huge, graphic adventures made for the young, games that require teenager reflexes and an insatiable desire for action, but there are quieter and more reflective games available too.

Most of us like puzzles in which there is no time pressure and it is just our brains against the machine. And the wonderful thing about the internet is that there are plenty of puzzle games that cost nothing at all. Just google “free puzzle games” and you will be presented with an inexhaustible list of relevant sites. The old standards like chess, checkers, mah jong, etc. are usually completely free, while others may add some advertising or be time-limited demonstrations of the full game.

In the coming weeks, I will be looking at a few of the gems that I have found – and I like games that take up no more than ten or twenty minutes of my time (I use them as a brief relaxation from the usual daily round). You may be the same or prefer longer, more involving games; if you have any suggestions or favorite games, why not tell me about them in the comments system?