I'm hoping to see Susan in Michoacan this winter or some time next year. It is truly a magical place. Getting there and living there are pretty easy if you do some homework. Susan and I have exchanged e-mails, and I hope she is well on her way to making the move south. geni

Fran, thanks so much for the first installment of your Antarctic trip report. The next time I go to Antarctica (and I surely hope there is a next time), I hope to go on an ice breaker. Would love to know the name of your antarctic specialists and lecturists. I can't image crossing the Drake Passage in something smaller than the ship I sailed on which held 800 even though there were only 400 on board for Antarctica. Glad you had the chance to see a bit of Ushuaia. I found the town quite interesting. Did you visit the prison/museum and go up to the glacier? Jodi-

It's hard, but first off - relax. You don't want to be making any decisions when you're in a panic mode. It's just too easy to make mistakes when you feel vulnerable. No matter what, retirement and/or a change in life is always a leap of faith and when you've done your best to work out a smooth transition, it generally all falls into place. In no particular order: Make arrangements to have a talk with your 401k administrator even though retirement is over a year in the future; they're in the best position to discuss options with you. Once retired and no longer actively contributing to the plan (and having reached the age of 59 1/2) you can start either taking the 401k in monthly installments for X number of years to augment the SS payments, or withdraw some funds for a purchase, etc. without the customary 10% early withdrawal penalty and leave the rest to keep accruing until you must start withdrawing funds at age 70 1/2. If you're a member of AARP, they have a personal health insurance plan underwritten by United HealthCare Insurance Company (www.aarphealthcare.com) that might be worth looking in to. I'm always a little torn on life insurance; is that something everyone needs? With grown children, etc., does life insurance do anything more than guarantee funds to cover funeral expenses or provide a few dollars for the surviving spouse to get grounded once again? I have a life insurance policy as a benefit of retirement - and with no husband or children, all these assets will simply plow into my estate for whatever will be left for my heirs after my final expenses are dealt with. I've also made it known I want no funeral of any kind and only a simple cremation. I do have a spot in the family plot (we took care of the cemetery business as a family about 10 years ago) for my "cremains" when the time comes - hopefully, many years from now - and will arrange in advance for my footstone to be placed and for my heirs to have the dates chisled, etc. Have all your legal documents in order - seemingly a less taxing factor while still actively working: wills, Trusts (Trusts are such beautiful instruments for avoiding probate), Powers of Attorney, End of life Documents, DNR's, No CPR's, up to date lists of beneficiaries, lists of assets and where they're located. These things have nothing to do with what is generally considered to be in the process of retirement, but they do tend to get put aside to be taken care of later. Sometimes "later" happens and people are caught unprepared. And I've dealt with a few elerly relatives who left messes behind because they trusted when the time came everyone would "do the right thing". Wow, if they only knew how much time and energy went into doing the right thing...!!! Keep track of your expenditures for the next year or so, no matter how small - it gives you an idea if a corner needs to be cut somewhere or if you're sacrificing some enjoyments in favor of saving. Some things will always be beyond your control - like inflation, the cost of utilities, gasoline, health care, home insurance and property taxes. Is this a time to start using some of the things you put aside for future use - like the nice table cloths, dishes, silverware, glassware? Time to declutter, either finishing or dicarding the old projects laying around? Too many old books you won't reread, old clothes shoved to the back of the closet? These things don't necessarily help with finances, but decluttering is liberating and frees you up for what you're really interested in doing. And some traveling and fishing and spending time with family sounds pretty good.

Have you seen what they call a "dogbone"? It is basically 4 pieces about 6-8 inches long shaped like a bone. It's skinny in the middle & fatter on the end. I would guess at 1 1/2-2" in the middle & 3-3 1/2" on each end. Tiny seams with a space left open for turning & filling & hand sew the opening once stuffed. You may be able to find a pattern to get it exact.