Hello to all of you in the Sandwich Generation. It’s time, again, to check out the resources I discovered for you this week at Twitter. Some are dealing with caregiving, some with grandparenting, some with tech info, and some are just plain random. For instance, did you know Marinara simply means ‘sailors style?’ Spanish sailors brought tomatoes to Europe in the 1500s. I personally had no idea that was the case.  Thank you for that interesting tidbit to my wonderful food resource @Foodimentary.

Here’s another reminder that this coming Wednesday is April 15 – tax day. Or if you’re like me, the deadline for filing a tax extension. If you or your aging parents haven’t sent your taxes in yet, and you are mailing them, be sure to get proof of the date of mailing from the post office. It will cost a little extra but it can save a LOT more than that. One year I mailed my tax payment in a week early. Two months later I got a notice it had been sent late and I had to pay a penalty of $25. I had no proof of when I mailed it, so I just had to pay it and was grateful it wasn’t much because I hadn’t owed much. I believe that the more you owe, the higher the late payment penalty is. So make sure you have proof of mailing, just in case.

Here are some encouraging words: When we, as Christians, die, we will discover that this world “has only been the cover and the title page.” In heaven, we will begin “Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read, which goes on forever; in which every chapter is better than the one before.” C.S. Lewis, The Last Battle

“Midlife lesson I’ve learned: Donate some smiles today to the needy.” By @PerrieMenoPudge

WARNING: Even before I started blogging, I was always signing up for emails from sites that interested me. Sometimes two – four per day. Now I probably do three to four times that amount. Either way, it can sometimes be hard to keep track of them. Today I got an email asking me to confirm my request for a requested subscription. It was from the type of site that would have some interest to me. The only problem was, I hadn’t visited that type of site today. So even if I’d forgotten the name, I should have remembered the type (i.e. mommy blogger). Instead of clicking OK like I normally do, I copied the URL and pasted it into a window. I am so glad I did that! It was total spam. Probably my antivirus software would have protected me from any nefarious internet critters but still, it’s better to be safe than sorry! The moral of the story is, if you don’t know the name of an email asking for confirmation, tread carefully! It could be a fake!

Terrific laugh for today from one of my favorite sites, Knitting Doc .

I just discovered The Comfort Connection . This is an interesting site that has wonderful and caring gifts of sympathy for those who want a different way to express their thoughts.

Heart At Home has an article with 17 GREAT frugal tips !  Most of these were new to me and so good I am definitely saving them!

Do you like to use country clipart? One of my favorite sites is Prim Country Classics by Trina & Friends. The pictures are so cute, the prices are extremely reasonable, and the policies are the best I’ve seen! I use them for emails, letters, and fun grandkid projects.

The New York Times had an interesting and informative article for the Sandwich Generation, How to Make a Better Sandwich .

Caregiving.com has a great article about an upcoming special on HBO,  “The Alzheimer’s Project ” airing May 10-12.

More kids are now having to take diabetes and blood pressure medications .

Parentgiving has an excellent article for caregivers on how to help elderly parents manage swallowing problems.

Would you like some fun Contests & Giveaways. Moomette’s Magnificents has a whole page of fun.

“Sorrow looks back, Worry looks around, faith looks up! Live simply, love generously, care deeply, speak kindly and trust.” I thought this was such a good quote for caregivers! Thank you @LearnSolMary

Here’s an interesting article, Cost Effective Prosthesis for Landmine Victims , at VP Medical.

Kids bring joy to Alzheimer’s and Dementia Sufferer’s from Alzheimer’s Reading Room.

Yummy – I just discovered a delicious AND healthy cooking site, A Veggie Venture . We tried out their green bean casserole and it was delicious!

Finally, for those of you who are also on Twitter, here are some great resources for caregiving:  @ caregiving @ Seniors4Living @ daccarte @ natalietm @ Meals_on_Wheels Also, if you think there might be problems with Twitter, be sure to check out their Status updates .

I don’t know about you, but with nine grandkids I LOVE great prices on clothes for them. Then I can indulge in all my grandmommy desires to help my kids and grandkids without breaking my bank! Thanks to HomemakerBarbi, we can all indulge in that kind of fun for them AND for us.

She has written a fascinating two-part series all about shopping for nice clothes and more and only paying 10 cents on the dollar, just by knowing where to shop and when!

My mom got so excited about this, she’s asked me three times to print the information out for her. Unfortunately, she had to wait until I got back home and reconnected my laptop to my printer. But you don’t have to wait! Just hurry on over to HomemakerBarbi’s for the first article on How to Save 90% on Kids Clothes . Immediately follow that by going to Part 2, Buying Cheap Kids’ Clothes . This article posts the best buying times for regular and thrift stores. I learned a lot from these articles and can’t wait to try them out! And not just for the grandkids clothes. I’m thinking jeans for me,  jackets for mom…. Talk about a great Frugal Tip for the Sandwich Generation!

It’s that time again. The Boomers & Seniors Blog Carnival has a new crop of great articles and you can find their links at Seniors Support – http://seniors-support.com/2009/02/10/boomers-and-seniors-blog-carnival-feb-10-edition/ . You’ll find a wide variety of articles to help you as you navigate all the different aspects of the Sandwich Generation life.

Once there, you can read about tax tips and RMD rules for investors. For those interested in frugal finances, check out how to use a garden to fight the recession as well as information about retiring cheaply.

Speaking of retiring, there is an interesting article about moving near the water, along with another on how to choose an assisted living facility.

Healthwise, you can read about antioxidants and herniated discs as well as how to deal with the issue of falls by elderly relatives. Complementing that information was my article on Medical Alert Systems.

Grandparents, I think you’ll enjoy reading about Hangman, one of my favorite games to play with my grandkids.

In addition, you’ll find interesting articles covering dementia, our adult children caring for us someday, and other topics of interest. So do go over to http://seniors-support.com/2009/02/10/boomers-and-seniors-blog-carnival-feb-10-edition/ for some interesting and educational reading time.

Many Sandwich Generation caregivers have to juggle caregiving responsibilities with travel. Whether it is for personal reasons or business, travel is hard work and in this economy it’s getting harder every day. I’m always looking for good travel solutions to help make things a bit easier. Whenever possible, once I’ve landed (all my trips tend to be by plane), I head for a store. There I pick up liquid hand soap, my favorite liquid shower soap, a pack of Coke or Pepsi, some bottled water, a few snacks, yogurt, and some V8. When I get to the hotel, I use these to transform a somewhat sterile environment into something a little homier. Not only that, it saves me money in the long run and allows me to eat a bit healthier. Have you seen the price of sodas in the hotel vending machines!!! And even if the hotel has free breakfasts, they never have my favorite Whipped yogurts. I may be jetlagged but I’m definitely happier.

How about you? Do you have any great travel solutions for making a hotel a home? Drop us an email or comment. We’d love to hear from you.

Feel like you are too old to go back to college? Intimidated by the requirements? No time, no money, not much energy? Cheer up! There are still options for you to keep learning, keep exercising your brain, and keep growing. The internet offers a wide variety of college class lectures and material online and many of them are free! Perfect for caregivers! You may not get a degree, but you would still be able to list these classes on a resume. And using your brain and keeping it active has been proven to help stave off Alzheimer’s Disease not to mention midlife crises, boredom, etc.

If you do want to get a degree, there are plenty of colleges offering online courses. Picking the right school will allow you to earn an AA or even a BA working almost totally at home. I earned an AA and was able to complete it by doing online courses for my last five or six classes! Some were easier than others and none were free, but it was such a nice feeling to finally accomplish a goal I’d set twenty years prior!

I considered going on for a BA but decided it wasn’t the right thing for me. However, I’m keeping my eyes open for interesting courses that will help me accomplish short-term goals at home and this time I do want free! I want some Frugal Tips for Caregivers for you and me both and I found some! Here are two sites I found with loads of free options for us both:

Wendy Boswell has written a great article at Lifehacker listing more than ten options for learning at the college level for free. She includes language classes (Italian, anyone?), math classes, and even courses from Ivy League schools. I was particularly interested in the free CPR classes listed. I have tried twice in the last couple of years to take another CPR class to stay up-to-date on the info, but schedule conflicts didn’t allow for it. Looks like I just might get to take it after all! The CPR offerings are at -http://depts.washington.edu/learncpr/ . That would be a useful site to bookmark even if you don’t take the classes as it has CPR info to print out as well. The whole article is at -http://lifehacker.com/software/education/technophilia-get-a-free-college-education-online-201979.php

Even easier is Apple’s iTunes U. If you don’t already have iTunes on your computer, download it at – http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/ .  Once you have iTunes, open it up. Everyone’s view can be different. On mine, I look at the left column and click on iTunes store. This opens several boxes including one labeled iTunes Store. Almost at the bottom of that box, I click on iTunes U. That opens several more boxes including Categories. Clicking on those leads to a huge variety of classes you can take for free. There are Christian and secular colleges listed. Under Humanities I found “The Life of Christ” taught by Dwight Pentecost from Dallas Theological Seminary. If you’ve ever wanted to learn Greek or Hebrew, you now can. Click on Language, then pick Concordia Seminary’s classes in either of those languages, along with other offerings such as Spanish, French, and even Sign Language (ESL). If you need more help navigating, you can go to  http://www.apple.com/education/itunesu_mobilelearning/itunesu.html and watch a video explaining iTunes U.

Are you currently studying any classes online? Do write and tell us about them. Just leave a message in the comments section below, or email us at Kaye@SandwichINK.com .

If the grandkids are visiting and you can’t get out to the mall to walk or you’re looking for something a little more active to “shake the wiggles” out of them and keep yourself in good shape, here’s some grand fun ideas. Now I do have to preface this with saying these are intended for those of the Sandwich Generation who are in reasonably good physical condition. If you are not sure, ask your doctor first. My doctor would tell me I’m not doing them enough!

DODGEBALL – Works for all ages from 2 on up. Have all but one person stand in front of some kind of wall. We like to do it in front of the garage door. Have the person who is IT take a ball (One of my favorite ways to save money – I use the grocery store plastic balls of any size. They are soft enough they rarely hurt, cheap, and great fun for a variety of games.). IT tries to throw the ball at one of the other players. When they get hit, they are then IT. It’s important to remember with the little ones that they have very short attention spans. So it’s up to grandma or grandpa to make sure all get to be IT regularly.

I get in a little aerobics exercise and give my grandkids a sporting chance by trying to get them as if I was playing handball. I whack at the ball with my hand and it goes all over the garage wall. This requires more exertion than just throwing the ball. Thus I get more exercise and my grandkids don’t get out as quick. Just be careful not to whack too hard in their direction.

TAG – There are several variations of the old beloved game from our childhood. Our current favorite is a takeoff of a game we play at our Awana’s meetings which is a take off of the video game, PacMan. The person who is IT has the ball. He has to try to touch one of the others with the ball. No one is allowed to run but walking fast is fine (there’s those aerobics again). You must, however, walk only on the agreed upon lines. We have enough lines and cracks on our driveway we just use those. If you don’t have enough, you can use outside chalk to draw your own lines. You can make them in a circular pattern, a square pattern or any pattern you want. Then everyone has to walk on those lines to get anywhere. Of course, the younger the child, the more often they’ll get excited and forget to stay on the lines. Depending on the child and how the game is going, you may choose to exercise a little grace there. One of my grandchildren has added an extra dimension to our game. He prefers to ride his little scooter car around in the area we are playing. If he is in our path, we have to turn around and go back the way we came, just like the video game. It definitely makes it more fun and challenging.

Hairy Ball CATCH – My granddaughters and I love to play Hairy Ball Catch. Amazon has a couple of different urchin balls similar to what we have, though ours is rounder and more ball, less hair. If you click on the words Hairy Ball, they actually have those in stock. The one below is no longer available at Amazon, but you might be able to find it elsewhere. Any of these would probably work well.  I got mine at Target or Wal-Mart for about $6. The great thing about this type of ball is that it is much easier to grab onto than most normal balls. So even the 2 year olds can usually catch this ball. We have so much fun throwing it to each other. Generally they like to throw it to me and I then throw it to the next one. That keeps us all on task and makes it easier for the little ones to catch it. When you do miss the ball, I highly recommend running to get it. Thus you get in some extra exercise while having lots of fun .

FLYING DISCS – All my grandchildren and I love a good game of tossing a flying disc around. There are so many varieties available now, starting with the most famous one, the Frisbee, and, for the most part, they are all very affordable. One of my favorites, which I picked up at the airport (not so affordable there!), is a soft rubber flexible one that is only about three inches in diameter. It is great for playing in the house on a rainy or snowy day. It’s soft enough it would be very difficult to break anything. Again, most of the exercise with this game comes from chasing it when you miss catching it.

GRAND TIMES AND GRAND EXERCISE – I remember reading an article when my kids were young that recommended playing with your children to help you stay in shape. That is just as true for grandparents as it is for parents. Not only that, these make a fun addition for your grandkids’ homeschooling programs. Have fun trying these out. Do write and share your favorite game/exercise with your own grandkids. Just leave the information in the comments below, or send an email to Kaye@SandwichINK.com .

“Oh Honey, don’t buy me anything. I don’t have anyplace to put it,” said my grandma whenever I asked how I could help her. I knew her budget was tight and wanted to help, but I could never get her to tell me anything she could really use. I finally came up with a cute idea that is also downright practical. And it took up so little space we were both happy!

I would buy her stamps. Yup, regular, garden-variety, get-em-from-the-post-office stamps! Except I would look for the interesting ones. I sent her Star Wars stamps because she loved those movies. I sent her exotic fish stamps because she loved Hawaii and its fish. I sent her wild cat stamps because she loved her cats. She enjoyed looking at the different stamps, always had plenty of postage available to mail bills and letters, and I was happy knowing that was one less expense and trip she had to worry about.

You can do the same thing today with your elderly relatives. Those particular stamps are probably long gone but they recently came out with some new ones guaranteed to be a hit with most of our elderly parents, and I suspect many of us Sandwich Generation folks will like them as well.

For the Hollywood lovers, they have stamps with pictures of Bette Davis and Frank Sinatra, as well as a five-stamp series celebrating Vintage Black Cinema which includes Duke Ellington and Josephine Baker. If sports is more your cup of tea, you will find a baseball stamp which celebrates the favorite song, Take Me Out to the Ball Game. Car fans will probably love the 50s Fins and Chrome collection of 1950s vehicles which includes a 1959 Cadillac Eldorado, a 1957 Studebaker Golden Hawk, 1957 Pontiac Safari, 1957 Lincoln Premiere, and a 1957 Chrysler 300C.

If they, or you, have a loved one with Alzheimer’s Disease, you might prefer the stamp recently issued to draw attention to this illness. It’s an excellent opportunity to help raise public awareness in this area.

Frugal Tips for Caregivers – For the ultra-practical senior citizens on your list, I would suggest the Forever Stamp with the Liberty Bell. It’s not quite as cute as the others, but they can use it as-is, no matter how much the postage rates go up. Now that makes good cents!

You can find all these 42 cent stamps and many more at http://shop.usps.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductCategoryDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10001&catalogId=10152&categoryId=21902

While you’re there, you can even order them to be sent to your house or your recipient’s home. Now that’s the gift of time which all of us caregivers can appreciate!

Standing in the post office in early September, I was amused at the shocked reaction the postal worker had to the customer’s request. “Christmas stamps! It’s too early for Christmas stamps!” The customer replied, “But I’ve finished all my Christmas cards and wanted to get them stamped so they’ll be ready to go right after Thanksgiving.”

I am not proposing that we as caregivers should plan quite that far in advance (though if you do – that’s wonderful!). I am suggesting, however, that the holidays are quickly approaching. Our duties as caregivers of elderly parents, coupled with helping our children as well as grandparenting rarely leaves us much time as it is. Throw holiday preparation into the mix, and we can all use some preplanning. Here’s a few ideas to get the ball rolling.

1. If you are going to be ordering any gifts, now’s a good time to shop. I’ve noticed a lot of discounts being offered to entice Christmas shoppers to start early.

2. I love to treat my children and grandchildren to a new Christmas CD each year. I usually opt for the Christian ones because there are so many great ones out there and more every year. That way we can enjoy the old songs we know so well as well as great new songs, all centered on the joy of our Savior’s birth. Last year my two favorites were Christmas Offerings by Third Day and Winter Wonderland by Point of Grace. I was interested to see that they have a new one for this year, Tennessee Christmas. Looking at the songs and listening to the samples, I think that will be at the head of my list. It has a nice blend of Christian and just plain fun songs done in an enjoyable, jazzy style. My favorite! How about you? What is your favorite Christmas music album? One great timesaver for busy caregivers is to shop for your Christmas cds at Amazon, www.amazon.com , or www.ChristianBook.com . You can usually listen to samples online, place your order, and wait for it to arrive. Saves time and, in my case anyway, money. If I go into the store, I will usually spend a lot more because there are just so many neat things there!

3. I love nativity sets and I love giving my grandchildren and children nativity sets periodically. One year, Sam’s Club had the most gorgeous Bethlehem City available for a great price. It was like the Dept. 56 Christmas Villages that you see all the time, only set in Bethlehem with camels instead of old cars, and the nativity scene instead of Christmas carolers. I love it as do my kids! I’m not sure if you can find that any more, but another great nativity set that is available and is great for kids is the “What God Wants for Christmas” set from Family Life. You can purchase this directly from them at, http://store.familylife.com/detail.asp?id=9878&p=&c=&g= . (Frugal Tips for Caregivers – ChristianBook.com also carries this. It is offered at a discounted rate of $13.99 and if you are purchasing other items you can save on shipping costs as well. http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?item_no=299313&event=51500NAT|1001399|87161 

In the past, I’ve usually given the cds and the nativity sets early, on Thanksgiving, so they can enjoy them during the current holiday. It makes a fun and festive addition to Thanksgiving Day and starts the season out focusing on Jesus!

4. I love to give Christian calendars with Bible verses as a way of encouraging and sharing God’s love with others. The really nice ones can get scooped up quickly, so now is the best time to shop for them. Most local Christian bookstores should have a nice selection now. If your time is very limited, though, you might want to call ahead to be sure your store has them in stock. You can also find them at Barnes & Noble and Amazon, but it’s not always easy. I usually have to find the ISBN, then look the item up with that. I generally buy in the store for calendars I’m giving to friends and relatives locally, but I like to order online for those I’m mailing. (Frugal Tips for Caregivers: By ordering calendars online, you often save on shipping costs. In addition, it’s really hard to find packaging for calendars as their shape is so big. Ordering online means you save on packaging costs as well.) One of my favorite calendars to give is the Thomas Kinkade Scripture Calendars. My elderly relatives love it, as do my kids, and everyone in between. You have to be careful when ordering this online as they also publish one without the verses. Amazon is currently carrying it at a great price and they are so easy to work with.

Well, that’s enough to get us started. I’ll have more holiday helps and tips in the upcoming weeks. In meantime, it’s such a gorgeously crisp, cool, autumn day. I think I’ll make myself a cup of hot chocolate, order some Christmas calendars, while I listen to some of my favorite Christmas songs and hymns. Merry Autumn!