Women Over 40 Discovered New Passions and Hobbies

 

She'd taken on the role to prove herself—to her family, to David and even to herself. She'd spent a week assisting with tours, being trained—delicately, she thought now. Staff members treated family members with kid gloves.

It had jarred her to realize just how little she knew about the winery, about the vineyards, about the process and about the public areas and retail venue. It would take more than a week and some subtle education to learn how to handle any of those areas on her own. But by God, she could handle a group at a wine tasting.

And was determined to prove it.

She was going to learn how to handle a great many things, including her own life.

The Villa

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Kristin Hardwick, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

We're not sure about old dogs and new tricks, but for humans of a certain age, the science is clear: Being an absolute beginner is an absolutely great way to stay sharp and strong. Learn from eight women who mastered new skills in their 40s and beyond, and warm up for your next act.

MARTHA STEWART

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Struggling to crochet—her newest hobby—Sylvia sat on the porch with a pitcher of fresh lemonade and butter cookies while Fiona listened to the client repeat the gist of their phone consult.

The Search

‘I am still alive, I am still curious. I am not a piece of rotting flesh’ ~Agnès Varda

Turning, she studied the woman who sat in a royal-blue tufted chair.

The hair was pure white, but as full and thick as Laurel’s. It surrounded a face layered

and lined with wrinkles and unashamedly rouged. Olivia Armand wasn’t ashamed of

anything. Eyes as sharp and green as the emeralds in her ears studied Laurel in turn.

“Grandma.” With a sigh, Laurel bent to kiss her. “Will you never grow old?”

“Not if I have anything to say about it.” Her voice was raspy with age and stunningly

sensual.

Partners

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By Festival Internacional de Cine en Guadalajara - cropped version of 18.03.10 Agnès Varda.

 © Cortesía de FICG 25 / Oscar Delgado, CC BY 2.0, 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9855552

The 90-year-old giant of the Nouvelle Vague on her latest film, Faces Places, life with Jacques Demy, and that ‘dirty rat’ Jean-Luc Godard

Agnès Varda is a dizzying blur of dots – polka-dot trousers, polka-dot shirt, polka-dot socks, polka-dot scarf. “I’ve always loved polka dots. Ah, oui. It is a joyful shape, the polka dot. It is alive.” You could say the same of Varda. She is more joyously alive than anybody I have ever met.

GUARDIAN

The Perks of Ageing

English rose, she thought and let out a half laugh. 
Once, long ago, she might have appeared that fragile and dewy. 
She turned and studied one of her healthy stock plants. 
She was much more like that now, sturdy and strong.
And that, she thought as she got back to work, was just fine with her.


Black Rose

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By Athena1199 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Like traffic and taxes, aging is inevitable. 

But why cringe every time another birthday comes around? Wine gets better with age, and so do we. 

Read on for some compelling reasons why you should actually be excited about the years to come.

COUNTRY LIVING

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"She didn't want you coming out with me tonight."
"Apparently not, but that's too bad. Here I am."
He looked at her again. "Why?"
"I said I would, and I do what I say I will. Then you can add that she made me mad, 
and I don't back down, either. And lastly, I wanted to explore whether 
or not I'm going to like your company on a purely social level."
"You shoot very straight."
"I do. It irritates some people."
"I'm not one of them. Sorry about the sweater."
"So am I."
"We could speculate-"
"We could," Roz interrupted. "But I'd just as soon not, right now. 
She didn't stop the evening, so I don't see why she should drive it, either."


Black Rose

Women

He started to tell his kids to stand up, but he didn't have to bother. 

When Tereza Giambelli walked into a room, people got to their feet.

He'd forgotten she was so petite. They'd had two meetings in New York, face-to-face. Two long, involved meetings. And still he'd walked away from them with the image of a statuesque Amazon rather than the fine-boned, slim woman who walked toward him now. 

The hand she offered him was small and strong.

The Villa

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By Mauro Cateb - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18781082

Women in Their 60s on the Secret to Living Your Best Life

In today's youth-obsessed world, just walking out the door, flicking on the TV, or checking your Instagram feed can be a veritable minefield for your self-esteem. Even when you know deep down that you're scrolling through someone's highlight reel, it still impacts you IRL.

Thankfully, a slew of insanely stylish and savvy femmes in their 60s are breaking the mold with authenticity, honesty, and a zero–face-lift policy. These women are proud of their unconventional looks, disregard trends for personal style, eschew gender conformity for feminism, and exercise their sharp wits, all while they perfect the art of aging gracefully. 

MY DOMAINE

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The minute the door closed behind her, she did a high-stepping dance in the bold purple peek-toe pumps she’d bought that afternoon.

On a foolish giggle, she walked to the sink, studied her giddy face in the mirror. “Let the adventure begin,” she said, then took out her lipstick.

A few years before, she’d wondered, worried, all but assumed her life was essentially over. In a way, it had been, had needed to be to push her to start again.

So far, the new life of Ella Frazier brimmed with interesting possibilities. 

Chasing Fire

Beauty and Wisdom

"I can't believe how fast he's growing." 
Feeling very grandmotherly but sporting a sleek new hairstyle, Amanda sat in the bentwood rocker in Michael's new nursery and cuddled the baby.
...
"Does he?" Delighted Laura moved to stand over them. 
The baby smelled of talc -- Amanda of Paris.

Gabriel's Angel

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Culturally speaking, youth has a near-monopoly on our definition of beauty. But for photographer Robbie Kaye, the opposite is true. Her photo essay and book, Beauty and Wisdom, aims to combat ageism by documenting older women...

“Initially I was going to make these photos fun and frivolous, but in looking at the women, I realized how much dignity they had and how amazing they were,” 

YAHOO!

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And she’d had enough, Eli judged, and looked a little pale again. “What’s for lunch?”
“We should go down and find out.”
He helped her up, but when he started to lift her, she brushed him back. “I don’t need to be carried. I manage well enough with the cane.”
“Maybe, but I like playing Rhett Butler.”
“He wasn’t carrying his grandmother downstairs to lunch,” she said when Eli scooped her into his arms.
“But he would have.”

Whiskey Beach

Dutch sniffed, gave Coco the once-over. She'd done herself up good and proper, he
noted. The fancy-shmancy dress glittered and flowed down, stopping plenty short to
show off her legs. Her cheeks were all pink, too. And he didn't think it was from
kitchen heat. His lips curled back in a sneer.
“So what's he, your boyfriend?”
The pink deepened to rose. “Certainly not. A woman of my...experience doesn't
have boyfriends.” Surreptitiously she checked her face in the stainless-steel exhaust
hood on the stove. “Beaux, perhaps.”

Megan's Mate

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Style Advice from the World's Chicest Grandmas

 

 

 Style is one of those things that gets better with age, right? Well if that's true, then you have no better place to look to for inspiration than your elders.

 

>SHINE<

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 Nathan managed to nod through these rapid-fire statements before turning to greet Jackie's mother. This was what she would look like in twenty or twenty-five years, Nathan realized with a jolt. Still lovely, with her skin clear as a bell and the grace that only years could add.

Loving Jack