I sure hope I’m like Marylou Denyer when I am 90 years young!

My good friend and business partner, Circe Denyer, has the most fantastic mom. Marylou Denyer – high among people I admire!

Marylou and the Computer

So often I hear seniors lament the fact they cannot figure out computers. They hate computers. Don’t do email. Don’t do social media. On and on I hear the whines.

Marylou has never been and still is not, intimidated by computers. She started using computers when in her early sixties. Posts go out daily from her blog with “Thought for the Day” quotations.  Says Marylou:

I post on this blog as often as I am able about all sorts of things.  It could be what I am currently doing, my family, the news, and things I like or dislike, whatever occurs to me.

 

She uses Twitter and Facebook to promote her one-of-her kind handmade jewelry for the working woman.

Marylou as a Jewelry maker

 

Marylou makes the most beautiful earrings and necklaces. She sells them on her Jewelry Alamode website, Etsy, and even Amazon! She had been making earrings for years to match the clothes she wore and shopped at the local beads stores for ideas and supplies. So it was natural for her to expand that hobby into a business. Says Marylou:

Making handmade jewelry for me is a personal and enjoyable affair. I am an artist at heart but cannot draw, so I have never pursued that activity. But I can make jewelry. The jewelry I make is for working women over the age of 30. They need to add style and accessorize the outfits they wear to work every day. I search for new beads and findings and order beads from many sources, so I have lots of choices. Color is a significant factor in how I select the parts to use in an item, so each bead, each finding, each element is hand selected to mix and match with each other in a complimentary way. I love to play with the beads until I get just the right combination of color and style. I am always making design decisions on my journey even to the very end of the design. Sometimes it takes several attempts before I am satisfied.

Indeed, she is an artist. Her pieces are beautiful. I own several pieces myself. She has a whopping 205 items for sale on Amazon. That’s pretty amazing.

Marylou as a hearing-impaired senior

Marylou’s hearing loss, a natural decline as she grew older, is something we have in common. She has been the inspiration for some of my posts about ways to communicate on the phone despite hearing loss. The most helpful for her is the CapTel phone – a telephone that has a built-in screen to display everything a caller says as text.

She does ear hearing aids. But those of us who wear them know darn well they do not restore one to perfect hearing by any stretch of the imagination. She expresses frustration often at her inability to hear well.  Still, it does not keep her from driving (yes she still drives) to the market and visiting friends. She lives by herself and functions well.

Marylou as an Inspiration

Marylou is an inspiration to me. As I move deeper into the senior yes of my life, I look to her as a reminder that age need not stop one from pursuing their passion, expressing creativity, and even owning my own business.

Thank you, Marylou, for who you are and all you do!