It’s me: 28 December 2023

Guest: 21 December 2023

My conversation with Gila was the most listened to episode of 2023.  Here it is again!

Gila Melamed is an acquaintance of an acquaintance of mine. I knew Miriam had travelled North America in a camperized van for six months last year and when she told me she was hosting a woman who was travelling North America in a camperized car for a year… I was intrigued. A Mazda CX-5 is a nice car… but to live in it? By choice?  I do ask some practical questions.

Gila seems to be a colourful character by any standards so her adventures and stories are probably not a surprise… hopefully they will be an inspiration.  She also explains how women nomads connect with each other.

So much growth for Gila as she embraces this lifestyle. Many of you will identify with her story and her experiences and her evolution. Could you be next?

Guest: 14 December 2023

Fernando Diez’ story starts with his mother, who fell in love with The Galapagos at age 16.  A decade later she introduced her future husband to the islands and he fell in love with them too.  The rest is, as they say, history!

Fernando calls himself and his brothers the Mowglis of The Galapagos.

Fernando shares some history of Quito, Ecuador and so much interesting info about The Galapagos as well as background around tours of the islands. His family’s company is Quasar Expeditions – and they quickly learned that tourism was the only way to preserve the islands: “people don’t protect what they don’t know”.

Listeners will appreciate an insight into what we, as Boomer women, can expect on a tour with Quasar! (listen for a tip on when to score a deal or two with the company!)

Fernando also tells us about their tours of Patagonia and Mainland Ecuador.  He is so good, you’ll be thinking about a trip for sure!  The company’s social footprint is as impressive as their tours!

And, finally, Fernando’s wisdom before we close is worth noting… he must have gotten that from his mother!

Guest: 07 December 2023

Barb Giatti experienced dementia with both her parents while she was living internationally, so she moved back to small town, Michigan to take care of them.

Barb discusses some of the experiences with her parents – you’ll be relieved to know your parents aren’t worse than others.

Barb’s mother would never understand a computer or the internet so Barb created hard copy workbooks.  You’ll find the content really interesting… just as Barb was interested in keeping the content as varied as possible.

Don’t for a second this conversation is just about senior workbooks… when Barb and I put our heads together there are so many other purposes for her various books.

I’m just a regular person… trying to help  – that might sound so familiar if you are caregiver of a person with dementia.

(If you’re an aspiring author, tune in for so many tips from Barb about getting your book out there)

Quite a random conversation!  Enjoy!

Guest: 23 November 2023

My guest today had a perfectly fine life… until age 48; Jeanne Andrus then uses the verb “clobbered” to explain what perimenopause did to her. That began her 4 year journey through personal experience, research, and training to understand how and why menopause affects women so completely.

It’s hard enough that our mothers probably never talked about menopause, and perhaps we don’t have too many friends we compare stories with, but when doctors and other health practitioners don’t talk about it either, it can be super confusing, even frightening.

A strong proponent of a natural menopause, Jeanne is firm that you need to support your body as it navigates the changes that come with menopause.

“The gift of menopause is that we get to take ourselves and put ourselves in the center, in the very center, of our lives”

Jeanne also has thoughts for men and relationships.

Guest: 16 November 2023

Beate Chelette has an amazing story… actually she has more than one. So many good ideas… and almost every calamity except pestilence… and then a gift: the Small Business Administration (U.S.A.)

A smart business woman who could stay one step ahead of the trends – maybe she created them? – the truth lies somewhere between kismet and serendipity.

This podcast doesn’t often pursue a business theme, but Beate’s stories and insights and wisdom make it really interesting.  Many pre- and early-retirement people consider another career, Beate talks to the entrepreneur and the VA.

Beate has also written The Women’s Code – that’s a book worth picking up. Such an advocate for women and the issues that society inflicts.

I give Beate several scenarios about a woman’s “work” situation… her answers are both insightful and so interesting… the words of a professional… and so inspiring!

Guest: 02 November 2023

On his return from South America, Chris joined the family furniture shop in Belfast, which over the years he expanded into London and Dublin. He was UK Master Franchisor for a fitness company, developed a Health & Fitness Franchise, and a Mobile App company in Dubai; where he lived for eight years with his family on a 47ft yacht.

His hobbies include sailing and flying. Following his quest to do things his own way, he built his own aeroplane. He still rides his Moto Guzzi Le Mans, SOI 222, and some years ago rode it to Moscow and St Petersburg with his wife, Julie.

The journey still impacts his life to this day where he continues to go the wrong way whenever he can; The journey started in 1979 finally completed in March 2023 when Chris finally arrived in Australia with the same Moto Guzzi Le Mans after riding to Nepal and flying from Katmandu to Brisbane. Burma was closed in 1979 and still is, although he finally made it through Iran! The bike is currently in the Moto Guzzi Cathedral in Yea, near Melbourne.

Belfast cemetery has recently noticed some paranormal disturbances at the grave of his old English teacher. Rumours of him writing a book have apparently reached the afterlife

Guest: 26 October 2023

Amanda Laden’s medical issues went undiagnosed… or misdiagnosed for decades.  Ridiculously debilitating periods, several miscarriages… until the right doctor happened to be in attendance and recognized all the signs.

As Boomer Women, we are past our baby-making years but this might be vital info for our daughters or granddaughters. We are, however, not past the age of being misdiagnosed, even ignored, as medical patients.

Both Amanda and I are privileged, educated white women. Health equity is a subject (read passion) that has grown out of Amanda’s personal experiences. Women of colour, gender-non-conforming people are at way higher risk of misdiagnosis or being ignored.

We do get a little political – no apologies.

Guest: 12 October 2023

Retirement is in need of a reboot.  That is Nan Ives’ mantra and she is the woman to show you how to do that.  Don’t arrive at retirement thinking it will unfold.  In today’s world, you may have 30 years to go after you relinquish the 9-5.

Nan encourages you to consider options, to experiment your way forward… but do it before you get the golden handshake.  There are so many options in a variety of areas of life.

She realized she had a lot of the financial bits organized when she took her retirement, but there’s a lot more to retirement than just the money.  So, she and her partner did a lot of research into the lives and choices of pre- and post-retirees before they created the signature programs that will make sure you’re prepared in all areas of the post-9-5 world.

“It’s not one and done.”

Guest: 05 October 2023

Paula Harris found herself often helping widows sort out and plan finances after the death of their husband… and thus her business had a focus.

Paula shares a few of the very unfortunate scenarios she has encountered and then discusses the realities of “older” folk who are not as computer literate as they might need to be to access financial information these days.

Curve Ball Life Planning refers to being pre-prepared for the things life throws at you.

Paula also lists the documents that might be needed in the event of a life change… so know where they are.  And the documents might change as the years go by.

The gift of preparedness… so important for those left behind.

So many good tips about the importance of preparing now.  You thought tomorrow was a gift a decade ago?  It’s even more so now. As is purpose.

Guest: 21 September 2023

Money.  You’ll hear different financial advisors from time to time on this podcast because many of us are a generation for whom A. it was a taboo subject and B. our husbands made the decisions around money… even though they might have been none the wiser.

Lisa Sakai is The Bucket List Accelerator.  How do you know what to put on that bucket list if you don’t Live! Now.  Don’t be defined by a career or a job title.  Have you thought “to the details”?

So much practical advice from Lisa in this episode.  Too often we think of retirement through other people or other company’s eyes… Make retirement about you, your interests, your personality.

AND… so important, make sure your financial advisor connects with you on many levels.

Guest: 14 September 2023

Tina Davidson has a very unusual childhood story… which she didn’t learn the truth of until she was a young adult.  As an adult she became a highly regarded pianist and composer.

Tina discusses her road to success with no female role models and her experience now as the subject of dissertations by students who probably do see her as their role model.  She is also so generous in expecting her listeners to claim the music as their own as they listen to it, and other musicians to consider themselves collaborators as they express her music their way.

Both travel and secrets were a large part of her childhood… Tina shares the story of the secrets quite candidly.  She also talks about the effect of having her daughter on the music, and the secrets from her past, and life as a single parent.

As for the secrets… “what a tangled web we weave…”

However, stay tuned for the “gift of love”.

Guest: 31 August 2023

This episode almost didn’t happen because Haden and I laughed so much right from the get-go.

Creativity is your ‘soul voice’ – you being you – is Haden’s definition of creativity.

Phrases like “nurture the magic” “living in flow” “perspective shifts” work in Haden’s view of the world.

Other terms like comfort zone and perfectionism and inner critics are concepts Haden has great ideas for dealing with. And together we give you great visualizations when the inner critic starts nagging you.

Haden has such poetic moments that you need to listen through! 

Agnes’ summation: The most important take-away is to listen to the universe and to thine own self be true.

Ripple out.

Guest: 24 August 2023

As so often happens, it’s the clarity of an analogy that opens one’s eyes to the life practicality of the analogy.  Such is the case with Alison Smith.  And “Landscaping Your Life” was born…  tools using nature’s landscapes as metaphors for your life to help you get back on track.

It makes sense when you think about how often we use nature terms in our day-to-day life.

The way Alison explains her application of nature to life, it really does come clear how we can see patterns of our behaviour and choices when out in nature, and apply them back to our behaviour and choices in life.

If you’re a cold water swimmer, you’ll appreciate Alison’s discussion around her pastime.

Guest: 10 August 2023

Katie Snyder educates us on both breast cancer and her breast cancer journey with candid honesty and humour.  Strange bedfellows, perhaps, but Katie’s humour helps get us all through the details and anguish of that journey.  Perhaps we should warn this episode may not be for the weak of heart.

Katie explains how Tillie the Tumor is not a medical emergency within that community but, of course, Tillie’s landlady wants her dealt with ASAP.  Not to mention, this is in the time of Covid.

So many medical terms that the uninitiated might recognize, Katie describes the reality of the tools and the procedures.  You’ll be intrigued, you’ll squirm, and you’ll also laugh.

Guest: 03 August 2023

Rebellious Aging – there are lots of ‘risks’ that come with aging… but Gregory Anne Cox says you still have “choice”.  She calls her top tips the Power of Six:  Sleep, Fat, Protein, Blood sugar, Mindset, Exercise.  Sound hard? Try it anyways, you might surprise yourself.

Greg suggests that everything is “food”.  That includes the thoughts we think, what we allow into our energy field – our inner conversation can be harder to control than the outer conversation.

Gratitude. By this age, we’ve come through some hard times.  Key phrase: “come through” – we’re still here.  So we can get through the next setback too.  Spend your energy on appreciating how far we’ve come.

Greg shares interesting thoughts abouts genetic testing.

Interesting statistic: 90% of lifestyle diseases depends on us, our behaviours, our diet. So get educated.

Guest: 20 July 2023

A few long-distance sound issues today.

Amy Ewbank is “a deliciously flawed, complex and wonderful human being, who supports other deliciously flawed, complex and wonderful human beings to live their best lives.”

We take an early detour with interesting insights into media’s use of women and the story around them… and male bonding.

Many of us have a story about what our life will look like.  Amy discusses what we might do if things don’t follow that story line.

When you berate yourself, Amy suggests bringing a sense of curiosity about your thoughts and… bring a sense of humour too.

When you Re-Story” focus on Joy… focus on alternatives.

Amy discusses the Bechdel Test.  You may want to look that up! (link at the website, see below)

When you ponder “What am I?” what is your first response? And don’t “people please”!

Guest: 13 July 2023

The Power of Positive Thinking.

Today’s episode is the story of an eternal optimist with four small children finding out she has a chronic illness and her navigation of life with that illness over 13 years.

Leann explains Multiple Sclerosis – her symptoms, what it is and how it manifests… all in lay terms and great analogies.

After a good cry and some despair, Leann regained her positivity and there’s been no looking back.  Her message though, is to honour the sad.

Her attitude is a model to strive for no matter what you’re looking at.  If life becomes a dry, crumby cake… find the frosting! And sprinkles!

Bring the Joy!  Express Gratitude.  Be a Clapper.

**A few incidents of Zoom sound playing silly bugger today.

Guest: 29 June 2023

“If you’re not okay at this moment in time, then it’s not the end.”  Great philosophy from Carrie Pierce as we meandered our way through this age to writing children’s literature.

Carrie’s children’s books may surprise you, but she explains her why and it all makes so much sense.  She talks about leaving some of the magic to the reader, whether the reader is a child of ten or a grandparent from an older generation. 

Magic is a theme for Carrie – not the abracadabra type, but more the wonder and the whimsy in a child’s mind.

Her description of her method is well worth noting if you have any thoughts of creating stories for children… whether only your grandchildren or for every eight-year-old in the country.

And then… how to write a book for children!!!

Perhaps it’s family history for family eyes only… and then, in the telling, you realize it may have commercial interest.

Finally, some tips on publishing, and marketing. With a thoughtful finish.

Guest: 22 June 2023

Serendipity brought Alexa Nazarro from her copywriting career to her business of Author Services – editing, publishing and marketing our writing. 

How do you write a good book?  Alexa gives us some great tips!

Is an editor a good idea? There are several types of editors, I didn’t know that!

Interested in writing fiction? Beware the “information dump”!

How about an agent?  Indie vs traditional publishing is part of the answer and Alexa gives us great insights into the two different types of publishers.  And then there’s self-publishing… and hybrid publishing…

Alexa explains “Vanity Press” and how an author might get scammed.  Also, contracts, we’re authors, not lawyers.

So much great advice and so many insights into the world of writing , publishing and marketing your book.

Guest: 08 June 2023

Thecia Ellis is no stranger to hard work.  Homesteading was still a bit of a challenge and a large learning curve but has become her most enjoyed time of life.  You’ll learn more than a few things during this conversation, and you might cringe a wee bit – it’s life on a working farm! – but you’ll appreciate the healing aspects of life on the land.

Hot bees… hurricanes… tick-caused allergies… accidents… it’s not for the faint-hearted but Thecia certainly continues to see the bright side.

And then you’ll learn about ‘prepping’ and copy-canning.

If homesteading wasn’t enough, Thecia also has quite an online presence… for a reason.  Farm lessons.  Life lessons.  I so enjoyed my conversation with Thecia.  She is an inspiration!

Guest: 01 June 2023

Shannon Russell leverages her experience as a former TV Producer and Certified Career Coach to help women prepare and produce their best life. Having pivoted from her own unresolved career to achieve a healthy balance as a professional and a mom, she specializes in helping other professional women do the same. She is the host of the Second Act Success podcast, and creator of companion coaching programs, and online courses. She shares her expertise in connecting clients with opportunities to help them produce a balanced life of abundance.

When Shannon isn’t helping more women produce their best life, you can find her balancing her own life with her husband, two sons, and their dog. She has learned to grow a business that allows her to work from anywhere so she can travel more with her family. She wants to inspire her kids so they know they can do anything and hopes to be an inspiration for all those seeking to achieve a great life that measures up to their own unique dream.

Guest: 18 May 2023

“Women don’t need more products to buy, they want to learn about managing their finances from opening the right kind of accounts to learning how to invest their money.”

Financial Advisor Melinda Satterlee compares connecting with new clients in her business as a “dating period” – you get to know each other, make sure your philosophies and methods are compatible – before you decide to go steady.

Her description of the building blocks – what your needs / wishes are depending on your age, family situation, etc. – is great food for thought.  When you’re young, you can look at saving; as we get older we might need to look more at our spending.

A lot of great information and explanations for listeners of all ages and comfort levels and experience in the financial world.

Melinda is licensed in the U.S. but much of the information is transferable to your country of origin – certainly the emphasis on finding an advisor you’re comfortable with and trust.

Aside:  Do you know what streak running is?

Guest: 11 May 2023

Senior living communities. We need to get past the concept of them being for old people!  Good meals cooked for you, housekeeping done for you, entertainment and social events planned for you… but you come and go as you please… sounds like an ideal lifestyle to me!

Tonia Griffin is a marketer for a senior living complex in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and in the episode, she explains the difference between “Independent Living” and “Assisted Living” and the perks of the lifestyle.  At Agnes’ invitation, Tonia also sells Baton Rouge – it is an over 2000 mile relocate.  If she doesn’t convince you to relocate you will certainly want to put Baton Rouge on your holiday destination list!!

Guest: 27 April 2023

Tech came easy to Jill McCarthy, aka The Geeky Grandma. Since her first computer arrived she has been learning and creating and teaching, and over the years it has led to the growth of a real community.

She combined her affection for penpal letter writing into e-pals where matched women would email each other.  That grew into a women’s group, retreats, and her community.

Jill’s podcast is The Geeky Grandma with An Encouraging Nudge.  That name has a story behind it and Jill shares it.  She also encourages us to go for our dreams… even if they need to be scaled back a bit at this age.

Jill’s catch-phrase is “The desires of the heart” and she truly is all heart. Meeting with women who are preparing for retirement or are newly retired, she slows the clock to inquire about interests from another time… and help them get to a next place.

Interested in Jill’s retreats?  She has one coming up!

So many nuggets in this episode.

Guest: 20 April 2023

Do you take responsibility for your own happiness?  It is in your hands… and you have to cultivate it.

Life happens to all of us.  If it seems overwhelming, you can still choose how you respond… even if your response is choosing to binge Netflix for a period of time – it’s a conscious choice.

Finding positives is how we start to retrain our neurology.  So in the midst of “the mess”, are you healthy? Do you have a home? Clean water out of the tap?

If you are surrounded by grumps and negative people, find joy elsewhere – YouTube, Meet-ups, other groups, review personal accomplishments.

I seem to throw a lot of negatives at Tamara but her solutions never fail.  Again, life happens and it isn’t always happy, but we accept life and find “an inner state of peace and well-being”.

“Practice” happiness.  Very powerful.

Guest: 06 April 2023

Today’s conversation starts with discussion about the maiden years, the mother years, the crone years.

Paula’s description of her life in the corporate arena might sound exciting but, as she matured, she started to recognize what she calls the “aridity” of her seemingly successful life. 

An interesting discussion of masculine attributes and feminine attributes at a cultural/corporate level.  Also the lack of rites of passage in western culture.  How do we take responsibility for our part in all of it?  How do we revisit rites of passage and make them part of our life, our community again?

You might find Paula’s Rose, Thorn, Banana Peel and Seed ritual useful. How often do you engage in circle discussion, allowing each person to hold space?

Embrace your “crone” years!

Guest: 30 March 2023

Allison O’Shea has over 18 years of direct hands-on experience working with seniors and their families.  This experience has given her the knowledge to be a reputable voice in the confusing and overwhelming world of aging.

In this episode, we discuss the 5 main questions Allison thinks we need to be considering if we are becoming caregivers for an aging loved one… or, if we’re at retirement age, we need to be answering to maintain control of our decisions.

Questions such as:

1. Who is my support system?
2. What is my financial situation?
3. Do I know what options are out there?
4. Am I communicating to my support system?
5. Am I listening to my support system?

Allison’s information is American – some of it may work where you live… at any rate check out local resources and government programs and insurances where you are.

A few tech glitches, please be kind.

Guest: 16 March 2023

Juliana Dever’s enthusiasm for travel is so contagious in this episode.  It’s impossible to disagree with her reasoning on why we should travel.  Whether experiencing something new (or better than?) your status quo; or how novelty unleashes a creativity you’ve never acknowledged before; or finding a person or a thing that startles your sense of what is.  And guess what, Listeners!  In Juliana’s experience, women are the more adventurous of the sexes… and older women at that!!

You’ll appreciate the insight that travel is about connecting with the place or the people… not necessarily being an adrenalin junkie.

As you listen, you’ll realize Juliana tours you to places you’d never find by yourself.  And the women on those tours are women this host wants to travel with!!  That said, she also has great suggestions about traveling safely and comfortably, even alone.

You’ll learn.  And you’ll laugh!!! As well as a travel pro, Juliana is a delightful story-teller!

Guest: 09 March 2023

Hilary Truong is a therapist who specializes in the Mother–Daughter Relationship.  You may not want to hear all of what she says but perhaps that’s a control issue (my words, not hers) – no one ever suggested parenting was easy and there is no “one-size-fits-all” method for the generations to figure it out.

At any age, we need to remember that the mother is the mother and her daughter is the daughter and not allow those lines to blur.  If you’re an older woman trying to heal a lifetime with a mother who wasn’t perhaps who you wanted or needed her to be, it is, as in so many relationships, about the story… often a story that goes back generations.

Hilary also has insights into the over-protective (overbearing?) father.

Mothers, did you know listening is a huge part of the equation?

Guest:  23 February 2023

Last week I spoke with Terri Yuzon, CEO and founder of Hemplily.  Hemplily provides natural, cannabis-based alternatives for many issues that women experience: hot flashes, night sweats, stress, sleep… to name a few.

Last year I spoke with an herb and cannabis farmer from Ontario and he was SO knowledgeable about the bio-chemistry of cannabis and the endo-cannabinoid system within our bodies, that I decided to pull excerpts from my conversation with Alexis and follow last week’s conversation with his information.

Alexis and I spoke for two hours and I have edited that down to 30 minutes of information… I wanted only to give you the basic science behind cannabis.  I DO encourage you to listen to both episodes of my conversation with Alexis last year to hear the full context of our conversation – cannabis, growing cannabis, different cultivars…and also to learn more about other herbs and natural remedies.

Guest: 16 February 2023

When she was much younger Terri Yuzon was given a diagnosis of fibromyalgia.  Determined not to be on meds for the rest of her life, she started researching a healthier lifestyle.  Part of that search led her to cannabis but cannabis in those days was a more drug-associated product.  Finally she was able to create a hemp-product that didn’t have the “drug” effects of marijuana.  Hemplily was officially launched.

Cannabinoid receptors are part of the human brain which helps to explain why cannabis assists with so many issues of the body.  Terri’s products are designed for women “from menstruation to menopause”.

From gummies to tinctures to topicals, Terri talks about the differences and the many products available for women – and some that are great for men too. 

And then there are mushrooms…

Guest: 02 February 2023

A slightly different format today as Sherrilynne describes her international career… and how it developed as the internet became a “thing”.

Agnes and Sherrilynne connected because of their podcaster lives.  Sherrilynne’s podcast is a passion project… so interesting as she interviews 50 women over 50.  Some of her interviews are impactful… you may be adding her podcast to your playlist.  Between these two podcasters there is a lot of positive future forecasting.

After drawing Sherrilynne out, Agnes throws her a curve ball by asking her some of the questions she asks her guests.  Agnes knows what those questions are as she has been interviewed by Sherrilynne!

Don’t think this synopsis analyses the podcast, there are lots of side tracks!!

And you know that question Agnes always ask guests… what haven’t we talked about that you want listeners to think about… SO worth the listen!

Guest: 26 January 2023

Carine is a practitioner of eastern medicine and explains acupuncture and has interesting ideas on the use of nature and its healing abilities.

Interestingly, she pulls in politics and it all makes sense. Are we more global than we ever thought?

Carine talks about accepting and loving her aging – she did dread it when she was younger but shares how she grew into it.

Interested in learning about rejuvenation acupuncture?

How about styles for older women?

Carina is like one-stop shopping for us mid-age women!!

Guest: 12 January 2023

We are aware of DNA as it pertains to our physical traits, but how about emotional DNA?

The physical may be inarguable, but what if you challenged your emotional place in the world and decided to change it?

Food.  Money.  Relationships. Huge triggers of negative emotions or experiences.  Judy explains that Genealogy 1.0 is “Here’s where you belong” and Genealogy 2.0 is  “Here’s what happened, and how it matters to where you belong”.  Most of your “inflated” feelings are results of your emotional dna.

Judy also shares an interesting exercise she does with clients… you might want to try it yourself.

If you’re a newcomer to emotional DNA, Judy has written a book that explains and assists you!

 Guest: 05 January 2023

The podcast starts its fourth season with the father of a struggling teenage daughter.  If you’ve been a parent to a teenager – or maybe you now have teenage grandchildren – the issues might resonate.  Peter did realize that he couldn’t “fix” his daughter’s problems, and he is quite candid that this story is as much about his growth as Belle’s.  He learned to be a listener and a support as Belle worked to find her path.

Peter and Belle’s story may not be unique, it is definitely heartfelt.  Spoiler alert: they find many positives as time goes on.

This episode might be a little unusual as Peter requests and is truly open to suggestions and assistance as Belle (and her silent partner, Peter) develop the endeavour that has grown out of their mutual growth.

The story of a special father and a very remarkable young woman.