Loving, Caring, Authentic
SueAnneKirkhamOfficialLogo.png

Recipes for Life

We offer inspirational real-life stories about PEOPLE OF FAITH AND COURAGE; menus and cooking directions meant to fuel your creative inclinations and your healthy body in the form of MUSINGS OF A MIDWESTERN FOODIE; and ADVICE FOR LIFE from the perspective of those who have lived it to maturity.

Posts in aging
Compared to What?!

"I'm not sure how we're supposed to be feeling at [our age]." That was a friend's reply to a recent check-in text in which I asked the lame old question, How're you doing? First, I chuckled, but then I got to thinking about her frank remarks on life-after-youth.

Most of us find ourselves dealing with a few new health issues after retirement. If we're lucky, it's only life-altering stuff, not life-threatening. Maybe some joint issues that affect our movements in new and mysterious ways. Or a pricy prescription that has us seriously considering Tom Selleck's reverse mortgage pitches. Or maybe we just feel like the bounce in our step has been replaced by arch support inserts.

Read More
My Year of Falling Apart

It all started with a broken tooth. I'd been wanting to replace it with an implant for some time. But once I made an appointment with the periodontist and recovered from the sticker shock, other maladies started sprouting like dandelions.

I moved last year. Stuff got postponed. When I finally got around to my overdue vision exam, it revealed lens-clouding cataracts. I had no idea. Two sessions of computer-guided lens replacement lifted the veil and I am now blessed with perfect distance vision. Miraculous.

Equipped with better eyesight, I notice that my left knee looks like a relief map of the Nile. Since the offensive bulging vein impedes my exercise efforts, I head to the vein specialist for a series of injections followed by two weeks in a compression stocking. Okay. No biggie.

Now, just as I am making appointments for the final incisor placement,

Read More