“universal design”

Universal Design: What Is It and Why You Should Care

Posted on 05/8/2013 by | Home & Family blogger | Comments

Caregiving | Home & FamilyST. LOUIS — I’ve spent the past two days here attending a conference dedicated solely to Universal Design. Una-what? In spite of what it sounds like, Universal Design isn’t a Carl Saganese approach to designing the cosmos. The definition of Universal Design, some shorten it to UD, is a process of designing spaces — cities, streets, buildings, homes, rooms – “that enables and empowers a diverse population by improving human performance, health and wellness, and social participation,” according to Edward …

Your Facebook News Feed is About to Change (Again)

Posted on 03/7/2013 by | AARP Blog Author | Comments

TechnologyLet’s get the hard part out of the way: Sometime in the next few days, what you see on your Facebook homepage – or News Feed – will look a lot different. Not again! Yeah, we know. Here’s the good news: It seems a whole lot easier on the eyes. You’ll notice much bigger photos and less clutter. Here’s two things we think you’ll notice first. First, let’s say you shared a photo. Below, left, is how it looked in the …

Choosing Your Forever Home

Posted on 09/14/2012 by | Rosemary In the House | Comments

Caregiving | Home & Family | Your LifeIt is lazy summer day and Wendy and George, avid birders, are visiting for the weekend. Over a delicious lunch with one of our local friends, Beth, we sit on the deck and watch the blue herons fly overhead. The conversation quickly turns from birding to country living and eventual retirement. City dwellers for years, Wendy and George now long for a place in the country. Wendy is smitten by our new home and its views of the pond and …

Hey, Entrepreneurs: What’s Your 50+ Strategy?

Posted on 09/11/2012 by | AARP Blog Author | Comments

TechnologySo many age 50+ customers –yet marketers obsess about youth. So I wonder, being exactly in the age demographic of the prospective buyer of BMWs, what’s up with their marketers? BMW seems on a quest to reach the young through social media. But the actual buyer my age isn’t shopping for cars that way – and today’s young people don’t have the money for that car! Here’s the reality: baby boomers own half of the nation’s wealth. That’s $2.3 trillion. …

Putting the Joy Back Into Cooking

Posted on 08/8/2012 by | Rosemary In the House | Comments

Home & Family | Your LifeI think I was born to cook. Ever since I was young, I’ve enjoyed cooking for friends and family. I even catered my own wedding reception for 80 when I was too young to know better. A large 3-tiered lime coconut wedding cake was the piece de resistance. But over the years the joy of cooking became more like the drudgery of cooking due to aching feet and nagging back aches. Hours of standing on an unforgiving stone floor and …

3 Steps to a Safe & Soothing Bedroom

Posted on 05/10/2012 by | Rosemary In the House | Comments

Home & FamilyWe spend one third of our lives in our bedrooms and, like you, I want to relish the time I spend there. But that’s not so easy if the bedroom is cramped, cluttered, or uncomfortably warm or chilly. And for anyone who spends more time in the bedroom because of a medical condition, a comfortable bedroom is a must. If you’re looking for ideas on how to redo your bedroom, read on.  I’ll share with you three simple things I …