| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Annika |
Posted - Sep 06 2011 : 4:42:29 PM
Seriously....why is age so reviled in this country? Last week it was a department store woman trying to get me to buy "line-filler" and "age eraser" make up items. Then a doctor suggested Botox to help me look younger...I was at the doctor for stomach problems NOT cosmetic advice!
Today it was a robo call from a nearby city offering a through September only discount on some kind of cosmetic laser surgery that sounded like it re-surfaced your skin....blech!
My great aunt, Kaleta-May, was one of the most regal, elegant women I have ever known, no line erasers or fillers, no botox or laser resurfacing! She used mild soap, rose water and dabs of olive oil on her skin. She carried herself with grace and dignity, worked in her own garden in her own home until she was 93, always wore a sun hat when out and aged simply and regally. She never wore silly wigs, sillier clothing or too much make up (I wear too much make-up  )
So, what IS wrong with aging????? It's bound to happen sooner or later to anyone who lives long enough, why not go there with a little dignity?
I think, I'll just spite the obsessive American youth culture and age gracefully 
Annika
Farmgirl & sister #13
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. ~Leonardo DaVinci
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| 25 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Dirtduchess |
Posted - Sep 22 2011 : 05:59:25 AM
I have a friend that one summer worked in a nursing home for extra money. She told me that if you are ever feeling sorry for yourself, feel unlovely, and growing old, go work in a nursing home. She said the resident ladies would tell her how beautiful she was. They loved her pretty clothes and makeup. They admired her jewelry. They loved her smile and laughter. My friend told me that she grew much 'younger' that summer. She still counts her blessing everyday. I count mine too at age 70. P.S. I still have my hair colored.
http://myramblingcountryheart.blogspot.com |
| Red Tractor Girl |
Posted - Sep 21 2011 : 04:43:38 AM
I turned 60 this summer and have been reflecting on "growing old" for the past decade. My hair is naturally blond with highlights so I have never used hair color. Now that the grey is coming in, it sort of looks like a different high light. For that I am lucky. My big struggle is the 30 pounds I put on since my second child 28 years ago that never seems to leave my 5'8" frame. IT is not that I am fat, but I am heavier than I should be and this constantly weighs on my mind. I have been to WW and other groups but after a few years, the pounds just creep back on. It is like my new normal wants to be this heavier weight no matter what I do!! And then there has been the arrival of orthopedic issues in the toes and joints of my feet making it hard to find comfortable shoes and work out on the treadmill or elipse at the gym. So, in summary, this I keep struggling against the issues that come with aging that are making my life more difficult and harder to maintain in a healthy balalnce. You know what I mean? Forget the plastic surgery! I need answers to arthritis in joints, "things" that the dermatologist has to remove from my body and biopsy, keeping cholesterol in control, exercising for heart health, etc. etc. These issues don't go away and no plastic surgeon can make you young on the inside. SIGH!! I have got to get to work! Now I am really depressed!!!LOL
Winnie #3109 |
| Caron |
Posted - Sep 20 2011 : 5:55:49 PM
I have really enjoyed everyones posts. I let my hair go grey about 10 years ago after a dye job that went horribly wrong. The funny thing is: I am comfortable with myself but when I go out in public I get either comments that they think my mother is my sister,i'm my Dads wife, etc. or other strange thoughts OR its as if I am not there. A salesperson will speak to whoever I came with (Mom, sister, other relative) and never look or comment to me.
I am a petite lady,normal weight for my height, with nice,modern clothes and makeup on but I get the feeling the grey hair is almost like a threat or shock to others, you know what I mean? It's as if I am someone odd,someone who just needs to get with the game like everyone else. It's too bad and I blame the media and America's obsession with youth and "being perfect" for this attitude.
Caron
Happy Farmgirl Sister #254
"An Apron:Its strings gently tug at us, tenderly, softly calling us to turn back to the old ways".-Above Rubies Magazine |
| Nanniekim |
Posted - Sep 14 2011 : 12:48:56 PM
I agree that you don't think about your age until you walk by a mirror and think, "Oh ya, that is what I look like!"
When I let my hair go gray it helped to weave in some dark and light instead of coloring all one color. You don't have to color so often and it gets you use to the idea of being a lighter color.
We worry about what we look like and yet when I think of my grandmothers and great-grandmother, I remember them as lovely white-haired women. So, if that is what my grandchildren think of me, I'll be happy. Only once did I have a grandson say anything bout my hair. I have always had bangs but they were getting long so I just combed them to the side. My 3 year old grandson came to visit but had fallen asleep in the car and as he was trying to wake up he looked at me and said, "Nannie, what happen to yours hair?" He doesn't like me or his mom to change hair styles!
It is what it is and I am blessed to still be healthy and able to do most of the things I would like to do. (Sometimes I wish I couldn't mow the lawn anymore but then it would drive me crazy when it didn't get done!) I am just trying to learn to be gracious and grateful as I continue to age.
Kim |
| NixKat |
Posted - Sep 14 2011 : 10:47:22 AM
I agree! This attitude of natural and aging with grace is fabulous! LIke so many of you I remember the day I looked into the mirror and was aghast to notice the "puppy cheeks" I have seen on most of my aged relatives. (Puppy Cheeks is what I always called "jowls" because at that time in my youth I didn't know their name). Yes my puppy cheeks have begun to grow, my hair is mostly gray, but these days I do have a light brown tint added which appears highlighted because of the areas of white hair). I am 61, and thanks to good genes, still look a little younger. I can't wait until my hair has turned all white so I can stop tinting it, or at least until my husbands hair changes color. (I don't want to look like his mother and I have never liked the look of salt/pepper). As for the lines, spots and other signs of age, they don't bother me. I earned every mark of age and am proud to still be here to display them.
It's only my body that is aging, as long as I don't look into the mirror I am still 17.
Kathleen...... Farmgirl Sister #3447 |
| pinokeeo |
Posted - Sep 14 2011 : 09:43:15 AM
I just love this farmgirl attitude. I want to age gracefully as well. My hair is a natural shade of silver and I've never put anything on it to change the color. I'm starting to get age lines, no real wrinkles yet, but I'm only 60 so I'll get there soon enough.
I like aging softly.
I cannot master those things that I have not tried.
check out my artfire: http://www.artfire.com/users/PiNOKEEOs |
| violetrose |
Posted - Sep 12 2011 : 4:33:17 PM
great words of wisdom Nini - I'll have to agree with every word you wrote, especially that beauty comes from within.
I'll soon be 70 and don't act it, feel it and told I don't look it. Age is just a number, I know some people who are 50 and act like they are 75.
I'm thankful for each day the Lord gives to me :)
Hugs, Ruth
Farmgirl Sister # 1738
God loves each one of us as if there were only one of us!
St. Augustine |
| Ninibini |
Posted - Sep 12 2011 : 3:20:07 PM
In case I don't say it enough - I just love you girls!
Thank you for the recipes, Annika - I will definitely be trying them!!!
I heard this question posed once: For whom does the woman of a blind man make up her face? Hmmm... makes ya think, doesn't it? Claudia - you've got something there! :)
I was looking in the mirror this morning and noticed these weird deep impressions on either side of my mouth - the "jowl thingies" Cheryl was talking about. I gasped. My grandfather had them, my mom has them, and good gravy, now I've got them! And I've also noticed - as has my mother - how much I am starting to look like my grandmother. That's not a bad thing, of course, and it's only in nuances across my face at this point, but it's so there. I kind of feel a comfort in that, because Grandma was beautiful inside and out - it's nice to know I've received yet another gift from her! :) However, I have found myself talking myself out of worrying about it - the aging look - on occasion. It's so funny how inside we feel so young and yet the outside gives away our age. Not fair. I'm not prepared to go careening into my old age, but geez, let's face facts, God made us beautiful just as we are. This is me, and it's not all that bad! I wish I had the glow of youth again, but I've noticed that I get a similar glow whenever I have been working in the garden. I did try a lot of that anti-aging stuff, but my skin is changing now that I'm getting older, and I'm allergic to everything out there. I just use yogurt and aloe vera, or vitamin e oil, baking soda and water to cleanse, and then a little coconut oil afterwards to seal in moisture (the colder the weather, the dryer my skin). My husband says he loves how soft I'm starting to look, and how smooth my skin is. (Gotta love that man!) I dry my hair as little as possible, too, and it's soft and silky. I'm lucky because I have always had poker straight hair, but now it's a bit curly when I dry it naturally. I can blow it straight or air dry into luxuriously soft curls - how nice to have the choice! :) I use very little makeup anymore - usually only if I'm going out in public. But I've found now that I'm older, I look a little China-doll-ish with make-up - it just doesn't look right. Besides, again, I'm allergic. I can't worry about it. I am not ready to give up my hair color yet, but fighting those wiry whites is starting to be a real pain. I'm not sure how to make the transition from color to gray without looking like a skunk at this point, so I sure could use some suggestions! From the time I was a little girl, I've always imagined myself with white, white hair (we have it on both sides) wrapped up in a big Gibson Girl bun, with little ringlets framing my face here and there... I'm not ready to go there now, but I sure hope I get there someday!
I just think if we just take care of ourselves physically, emotionally and spiritually we'll be just fine. I can't keep up with the Kardashians, nor do I want to - eghads, no! I think there's something beautiful about aging gracefully. What I really want to emanate is that beauty of the inner spirit; a warm, clean, bright effervescence of the soul; a beautiful sense of knowledge, love and kindness, combined with a free-spirited laughter and abiding joy... Real beauty does, after all, come from within!
Hugs -
Nini
Farmgirl Sister #1974
God gave us two hands... one to help ourselves, and one to help others!
www.papercraftingwithnini.myctmh.com
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| Annika |
Posted - Sep 12 2011 : 1:55:51 PM
Truthfully, I've always had this soft under chin, not quite a double chin, even when I weighed 103 pounds, and I cordially loath it. But after seeing friends and people around town who have had every imaginable kind of lift, tuck and re-fashion imaginable, I I just stepped back and decided I'd live with my hated chin. I've been through too much necessary surgery to want to go willingly for the sake of my own vanity. I'm not at all fond of pain !
If a person was in a highly image or brand related career and depended on looking a certain way, why, I'd say go for it. But me, I'm just a near-sighted gimpy ol' farmchick and can live with myself warts and all. Every once in a while I find myself wishing that I was younger, but I also would choose getting older to being the insecure, acceptance obsessed directionless ninny that I was in my teens and 20's!
EDIT:I went looking for rose water cream skin care recipes, and found these two that look easy enough to make and likely much better for your skin than Oil of Olay !
Night-Time Rose Creamy Lotion
Jeanne Rose "Kitchen Cosmetics"
20 fl. oz. Almond oil
16 fl. oz. Rosewater to which have been added 1 oz. dried red Rose petals, this soaked for 3 days, then strained out and removed
3 oz. Beeswax Essence of Rose, if desired
To make: Into a water bath or the top of a double boiler put the oil and the wax. Heat until the wax is dissolved and then remove pot from the fire. Add the Rosewater slowly, beating all the while, and beat until it is cool. At this point add the essence of Rose a drop at a time, if you like. Beat the creamy lotion until cold, pour into a bottle and store away for use.
To use: This lotion makes an excellent Rose Cold Cream to remove old grimy dirt or makeup. Simply apply with clean fingertips and remove with fine tissue. Then you might take a teaspoonful of cornmeal in each palm and rub the hands and face well with it. Rinse with warm water and then cold. Pat the remaining fine film of cream into the skin for night-time smoothing.
Why: Almond oil and Rosewater as we know is an excellent moisturizing lubricant for normal to dry to sensitive skin; cornmeal is a gentle tonic stimulating to the tissues and acts as a "beauty grain".
Tip: Whenever making fine cosmetics always use a porcelain or glass pot. Some beauty experts recommend stainless steel cooking pots but these often leach poisonous heavy metals into the enclosed liquids. Nonmetal is best for herbs.
day rose
Rose Cream for Day Use
Jeanne Rose "Kitchen Cosmetics"
6 fl. oz. Almond oil
2 oz. Beeswax
1 heaping tsp. anhydrous Lanolin
1 tsp. Borax dissolved in 4 fl. oz. Rosewater
2 tsp. Zinc Oxide rubbed into a smooth cream with 4 fl. oz. Almond oil
10-20 drops oil of Rose
Quantity: Makes enough for about three 4 oz. cream jars.
To Make: Heat the beeswax and the lanolin gently in a water bath. Do not let the wax simmer or burn. Remove from heat and add the Almond oil slowly. Add the zinc oxide-Almond oil cream beating the mixture continuously. Add the borax-Rosewater and beat until cool. Add enough oil of Rose to scent the mixture to your liking. Beat until cold with a small wooden spoon. Pour into three 4 oz. cram jars and let sit until solidified.
To Use: This makes an excellent everyday cream that can be used under makeup or as a moisturizer. Simply rub gently onto face, hands or throat. As a throat moisturizer the cream is excellent, especially when rubbed in with a large marble or small avocado pit. rub in gentle circular motions while looking up into the sky, thereby stretching and stimulating your neck muscles.
Why: Almond oil replaces necessary body oils; Rosewater is a gentle astringent and moisturizer replacing liquid to the cells and tightening the skin; lanolin is a potent emollient and very much like human oils; borax is a skin softener and will help to produce a very white cream while its disadvantage is that it often adds a grainy texture; zinc oxide is useful for healing reddened, sore or irritated skin.
Annika
Farmgirl & sister #13
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. ~Leonardo DaVinci
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| Tapestry |
Posted - Sep 12 2011 : 12:52:35 PM
I've begun to notice the jowl thingys coming by my chin. It happened overnight. One day I didn't have them and the next I did LOL. I do color my hair now and then when I feel like it but I'm a cheap skate and buy it when its on sale at Walgreens. I use Revlon too and just color it to match my hair color. Hubby likes me to do it cause he says it makes my hair look too drab if I don't. I'm a dirty dishwater blonde. I don't bother with make up unless I'm going out to eat with hubby or shopping. Sometimes I don't then....depends on my mood. My eyelids are beginning to droop a bit. I'm not especially happy with that but figure now they match my boobs....laughing. I could never have plastic surgery after watching it on tv once on TLC. I'm just not vain enough I guess and have reached the point in life where I don't really care if someone thinks I look attractive or not.
Happy farmgirl sister #353
Look for rainbows instead of mud puddles 
http://www.Tapestry2u.Etsy.com
http://tapestrysimaginings.blogspot.com/ |
| mountaingirl |
Posted - Sep 12 2011 : 07:20:17 AM
The best anti-aging formula out there is healthy diet + excercise + lots of water + fresh air = great skin and glowing, youthful energy. And, it's free! I look better now in my forties than I did in my twenties, even after having two children, and it's because I apply my "secret formula" almost daily! : )
Jennifer
Have your heart right with Christ and He will visit you often, and so turn weekdays into Sundays, meals into sacraments, homes into temples and earth into heaven.
~Charles Spurgeon
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| Acelady02 |
Posted - Sep 12 2011 : 07:18:42 AM
I agree Kimberly, it is better than the alternative...lol...I have put on about 12 lbs since I turned 50 oh let me see that was 3 years ago...lol...but DH say he loves the little extra, said I was way to thin anyway...isn't that so sweet....Don't care what society thinks, never have, never will...Momma taught me that...one of the many wonderful things I learned from her.
(((((Hugs All)))))Penny
Farmgirl Sister #3343
God gives Miracles to those who Believe, Courage to those with Faith, Hope to those who Dream, Love to those who Accept, & Forgiveness to those who Ask... |
| Lieberkim |
Posted - Sep 12 2011 : 06:50:36 AM
PS I've always said that I prefer getting older to the alternative......
Excuse the mess & the noise, my children are making happy memories |
| Lieberkim |
Posted - Sep 12 2011 : 06:47:57 AM
Why does everyone want to be forever young? And just what is beautiful? I know I don't want to look like the skeletal "beauties" of hollywood. My goal is to be as healthy and happy as I can be. If my weight, hair, shape, make up or lack there of, bother you; don't look at me!!! I'm 38 and my body has changed thanks to giving birth to two children. I don't have the figure I had on my wedding day but I do have two gorgeous children. I say be healthy and live joyfully and don't worry about what society says we're supposed to be because they're screwy anyways. :P So long as my husband thinks I'm beautiful, I'm good.
Excuse the mess & the noise, my children are making happy memories |
| texdane |
Posted - Sep 12 2011 : 06:25:00 AM
Claudia, I haven't seen it in years...wonder if "Vermont Country Store" may have it...I'll check their website.
Nicole
Farmgirl Sister #1155
KNITTER, JAM-MAKER AND MOM EXTRAORDINAIRE
Chapter Leader, Connecticut Simpler Life Sisters
Suburban Farmgirl Blogger
http://sfgblog.maryjanesfarm.org/ |
| levisgrammy |
Posted - Sep 09 2011 : 07:50:02 AM
I don't feel my age. My children are always telling me that they are glad I don't look it. (because they all got that gene) Though I have never been this age before so I don't know how it is supposed to look. My mind still thinks of my body the way it did when I was younger. Though there are days when my body has to tell my mind to knock it off. I am a natural blond as is my mother. Bless her heart at 85 she doesn't have gray or white hair yet. Hers actually got a bit darker. Wouldn't mind that myself and I have thought of doing low-lights just for the fun of it and something different. I think what we do should make us feel good. But not get trapped into thinking we have to look 20 forever. Though I do wear a bit of blush and mascara when I go to work, I can't stomach the "unnatural" look with all that make up some wear. I want to look natural not painted. I am officially an empty-nester as of today and that makes me feel melancholy but not old. I work one day week so I am glad I have little grand children to help fill the space. My mom had never seemed old to me until recently when her health situation changed. She used to get out there and play baseball with us and do so many things that I am sure that is what kept her young. I would rather be around a happy person with lots of laugh lines and such than someone who looks beautiful on the outside but has a terrible outlook on life. We do need to learn to age gratefully as we are never promised another day no matter our age. So if there are wrinkles and gray hair we need to be glad we have lived long enough to have them. :D
farmgirl sister#43
O, a trouble's a ton or a trouble's an ounce,
Or a trouble is what you make it!
And it isn't the fact that you're hurt that counts,
But only--how did you take it?
--Edmund C. Vance.
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| Diane B Carter |
Posted - Sep 09 2011 : 07:18:45 AM
I want to stop coloring my hair but my husband likes it colored and I buy Relvon for $4. a box and let him do it for me. I am 60 and my grandson who is 4 said "you look young gramma, but you need to grow your hair longer so you don't look like a boy."
My mom got stung by 56 bee's at age 79 when I saw her I had to laugh and said mom you have no wrinkles. She's 82 now and I think she is beautiful and I hope to look that good at 82.
Maybe I should listen to my grandson because when I look in the mirror I see my little brother not my mother.
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| rough start farmgirl |
Posted - Sep 08 2011 : 9:59:24 PM
About six years ago, my husband convinced me to stop dying my hair - he didn't like the feel of my hair since I had started covering the gray. It took a while to grow out the color and it was a little embarassing, but I wouldn't go back to the time consuming habit of having my hair colored ever again. And I get so many compliments on my shiny salt and pepper short, spunky hair style. My husband loves running his hands through my soft hair now.
It isn't always easy to accept the changes you see in the mirror, but I do feel that the cosmetics industry preys on insecurities and many of the high-priced products do very little for the money. I stick to sunscreen (after losing my dad to skin cancer, I sleep in sunscreen) and moisturizer as far as a beauty regime. That coupled with some heavy - duty finger-crossing that I won't age terribly and can continue to fool myself that I look just fine for my almost 50 years. 50!! How exciting!
Marianne |
| tammyknit |
Posted - Sep 08 2011 : 5:31:11 PM
The only thing I ever get done, besides washing my face and and using a sunscreen/face lotion on my face, is I have highlights put in once a year, usually in the middle of winter when I need to brighten things up. I have light brown hair, but I get tired of the gray hairs and the highlights disguise them. I figure I can afford that one splurge, since I only get my hair cut 3 or 4 times a year! Otherwise, I cant see having any other procedures done...
Tammy |
| Tea Lady |
Posted - Sep 08 2011 : 4:07:19 PM
Mostly I don't want to spend the money on getting my hair colored. Also once you start, isn't it hard to stop? I keep my hair shorter, however I can go 6 to 8 weeks between cuts - but if it was colored, I'd look like a skunk lady - you know, with the large white stripe down the middle of the head because I didn't have time to get it touched up. That's not a look I'm going for... I'm pretty comfortable with myself, just the way I am. Recently, I had dinner with some friends I use to work with - and one of them told us she just had her "neck" done... She looked very nice and it made her feel good about herself - so, good for her - but I just can't see having an extensive medical procedure done voluntarily... Thanks, but no thanks.
Lorraine
(aka Tea Lady)
Farmgirl #1819
www.birdsandteas.com |
| FebruaryViolet |
Posted - Sep 08 2011 : 12:34:33 PM
I'll admit to owning (and using 2 x's daily) a high powered eye cream, and I wash my face each night and morning, but that's about all I do to stop the aging process. At 38, I'm seeing the effects of way too much sun (hello, freckles!), hormonal changes (thanks pregnancy AND birth control pills!), but I don't think I look too bad. In fact, I'm carded often, and people will say, "no way you're 38--I thought you were my 18 year old daughter's age!" so that's a nice compliment. My mother taught me always to treat my skin well, and it would do the same for me. So, that's what I've been doing. I'm lucky in that I don't have any grey in my hair yet, but neither did my Grandmother or Great Grandmother, though my mom was greying very early. Mine is a rich, deep brown, and I'm not going to do anything to change that, hence I curse myself!
Musings from our family in the Bluegrass http://sweetvioletmae.blogspot.com/ |
| buffypuff |
Posted - Sep 08 2011 : 12:25:38 PM
Bonnie, I am going to adapt the term "retro" for myself if you don't mind. And Nicole, I remember my grandmother using rosewater cream, but I don't know where she got it and if it is still made. anyone know?
Buffypuff/ Claudia ~ Farmgirl Sister #870 @}~~
"God sends no one away empty except those who are full of themselves." DL Moody
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| texdane |
Posted - Sep 08 2011 : 05:19:58 AM
I have a much-older friend who had some major cosmetic work done, had complications, and needed me to take her to her doctor. The pain and everything else she went through, risking her life, could not be worth it! I don't get it. As soon as you are recovered, you are aging again! I'm going to age the way God intended! I am almost forty and know so many people my age already getting face lifts, much less implants, botox, etc. No thank you! My grandma was beautiful until the day she died - she had a curvy, round figure, beautiful skin, and she used rosewater cream, and big sun hats to garden and farm! She didn't let herself "go", but she aged normally.
Nicole
Farmgirl Sister #1155
KNITTER, JAM-MAKER AND MOM EXTRAORDINAIRE
Chapter Leader, Connecticut Simpler Life Sisters
Suburban Farmgirl Blogger
http://sfgblog.maryjanesfarm.org/ |
| Bonnie Ellis |
Posted - Sep 07 2011 : 9:02:18 PM
Other people have to get over it. Age happens to everyone. Just laugh it off and be glad you are alive. I am grey-haired and 69 and have multiple physical junk. But I can't wait to make my next quilt or see how I can help someone else. "I'm not old, I'm retro!" We have our 50th wedding anniversary coming up and I'm busy planning my 60th. You go girls. Bonnie
grandmother and orphan farmgirl |
| camiesmommy |
Posted - Sep 07 2011 : 5:34:02 PM
I said earlier that age was a frame of mind. I'm 55 and my mother taught us kids that you always give your seat up to people older than you. So, from the time I was old enough to know better that's what I did. About 2 years ago, I went in to have bloodwork done and someone came in who was older, and as usual I gave up my seat. Then it dawned on me that I was giving up my seat to people either younger or the same age as me. Lol. As for paying to have my hair colored. Well, I taught my DH to color my roots. Costs me $8 every 6-8 weeks. 
A.J.
Work is love made visible. ~ Kahlil Gibran |
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