Just North of Sixty

An Introduction to My New Blog

Oct 4, 2021

Well, I silently slipped past the dreaded sixty milestone and added a one to it. It just happened on Friday so it’s still pretty fresh in my mind. There was no fanfare, celebration or even a gift to open. My birthday dinner consisted of yogurt and a banana. Don’t feel sorry for me though, it’s how I chose to spend it. Instead of treating myself to dinner or hopping on a train to visit family, I quietly rang in the day revamping this website.

With nothing more than my thoughts to keep me company, and the occasional chinwag with my new roommate, the day whizzed by. I created new pages, uploaded images, used colourful expletives when I didn’t hit save and had to reload everything again. Before I knew it, 7 AM turned into 10:30 PM and sleep was calling. But before I closed my laptop for the day I paid a visit to Facebook. I was happy to see several birthday greetings and well wishes from family and friends. I took the time to thank everyone and asked them to check out the website changes.

Not one to shy away from self-promotion (when I am on a roll that is) I even left posts on Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram. And like I did on Facebook, I asked everyone to the visit this new and improved site. I’m really excited about the changes and just had to share them.

However, there is an ulterior motive for the changes too. Use see, I have been out of work since the end of June. Long story short, after working in retail sales for fifteen years, I came to the conclusion that I hate being a salesperson. Because of the Government enforced lockdowns, the store I worked in had to shut its doors. Which in hindsight wasn’t a bad thing for me. To keep busy I renovated the store and remerchandise the entire showroom. Just before the lockdown, I had also taken over the store’s Facebook page. With the free time I started creating posts and short videos of the new showroom, which lead to how-to decorating posts. One of my posts even won first prize in a franchise-wide contest. After winning that it dawned on me that content writing for the home improvement industry is what I should be doing. It combines everything I love to do; creative writing and interior decorating.

Now, I am not saying I don’t like writing novels, because I do, but they take so long. I am a project orientated individual so short projects work best for me. Creating informative and engaging content posts is a win-win situation. When I told the owner that I wanted to concentrate on the visual merchandising and social media work, he didn’t agree and fired me on the spot.

Which brings me to the reason I felt a need to revamp my website and in specific this blog. After applying for several content writing jobs and not hearing back, I realized that even though I’ve written seven books and have penned articles for two newsletters and periodicals, I really don’t have an extensive writing background. At least not the accolade experience that employers are looking for.

So, I got to thinking and this is what I decided to do. I’m not sure if it is going to work, but I am going to give it the old college try. Faithfully, I’m going to write articles every day. The subjects will range from home improvement decorating tips and gardening tricks to love poems from a broken heart. I’ll share funny stories about my youth, the ups and downs of being a single mom, and provide commentary on current events. In a nutshell this blog will be an inside look at the life of a single woman just north of sixty. Complex, engaging, informative and at times extremely personal, but always conveyed with kindness and humor.

I invite you to join me on this creative adventure by liking and sharing my posts but more importantly interacting with them. This old dog is not too old to listen and appreciate opinions and commentary that contradicts my own. All I ask is that you be respectful and never ask me to stop talking. (A story for another day)

Thank you for dropping in for a visit. Until we meet again enjoy the rest of the day.

Susan