The First Indigenous Fashion Designer to be Invited to New York City Fashion Week
Zestful Aging
I had the honor of speaking with Mary Homer of Oneida Nation's Wolf Clan in Upstate NY. Mary spent 10 years dreaming of designing clothes. She wants her clothes to express “class, not trash.” She loves working with velvet, although it’s a difficult fabric As a fourth-generation bead worker, she began showcasing her brand at local Native craft shows, selling earrings, necklaces, bows and more. Soon the small business shifted into a fashion brand, Homer Couture. Today, she's the first and only Indigenous fashion designer to show collections during Syracuse Fashion Week....
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Who Needs a Nervous System Reset?
Zestful Aging
Today’s episode is with Meg Tobin, a Mental Health Counselor and the owner of Breathing Space Psychotherapy. Meg is an expert in mind body approaches to help regulate the nervous system. She uses EFT (Tapping), Brainspotting, Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy, and several somatic techniques to cut through the defenses we use to protect ourselves, but ultimately keep us stuck in the same old patterns. Lately she’s been taking groups on international retreats for more intense healing and adventure. I met Meg about three years ago and was inspired by her dedication to helping people feel better...
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What it Takes to Write a Humor Novel in Your 60’s?
Zestful Aging
This episode features a long time friend I met while dog walking. He definitely looked out of place in the Syracuse winter, with his shiny new cross country ski equipment, fancy tech coat and dog who looked a bit like Al Capone. My dog walking companion and I speculated that he was enrolled in the federal witness protection program and his dog, Nate, was his cell dog. It turned out that wasn't the case. Jeff had been a popular and award-winning humor columnist in Southern California and suburban Boston. Soon he was at it again in Syracuse, addressing topics from family life to local...
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What Can I Do to Help the Environment?
Zestful Aging
One of the many joys of being a podcaster is that whenever I run across a zestful ager, which is often, I can invite them on the Show. It’s a great way to meet people that look interesting. Recently I was at an Earth Day celebration and I noticed a group of unmistakably zestful agers. I just knew I wanted to introduce myself and get to know them. They had that dynamic, postmenopausal energy. Today’s guest has spent her life promoting environmental stewardship. Mary Bartlett is part of a local organization called United Climate Action Network (UCAN) which is all about building...
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Would You Sell Everything and Live in an RV?
Zestful Aging
What if you had a major life transition in middle age, decided to sell your worldly belongings and buy a RV and travel around the country solo? Would you be that brave? I don’t know if I would. I had the opportunity to speak with full time RVer, Kathy Macdonald, on the Nelson swamp trail, just having been introduced by our mutual friend, Sue Parker. You may remember Sue, the hot shot firefighter who did a similar thing. And here’s a tidbit I love…how did Sue and Kathy meet? Sue reached out when she saw that Kathy and she both had the same obscure trailer brand! That’s the secret....
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Caregiving: What You Need to Know
Zestful Aging
You may have noticed that the caregiving crisis is finally receiving its due. Our conversation today is part of promoting the film “Caregiving”, the documentary created with executive producer Bradley Cooper highlighting the challenges and triumphs of caregiving in America. Caregiving will premiere Tuesday, June 24, 2025 at 9 p.m ET on PBS (check local listings), and on the PBS YouTube Channel. “Caregiving” will be available to stream on PBS.org and the PBS App beginning Tuesday, It’s narrated by Award-winning actress Uzo Aduba (you will remember her from “Orange is the New...
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Adventure, Courage and Healing
Zestful Aging
Today’s episode is about resilience and courage. What it is, why it’s important, and how we can create more courage in our own lives. I don’t know about you, but in this phase of life I don’t want to miss any opportunities because of fear. Sue Parker is the co-founder of the Creative Hub in Cazenovia NY. She loves bringing women together to craft, share and be in community. It’s the most fun Sunday of the month. But what I have discovered is that Sue is a true adventurer, although she’s pretty modest about it. She has had an adventurous spirit from the beginning–she was one of...
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Understanding Mental Health and Aging
Zestful Aging
Did you know that the majority of older adults with mental health concerns do not get the mental health care they need, resulting in worse medical problems, higher health care costs, family strain, and needless suffering. Loneliness, depression and addiction are just some of the challenges older people may face. Dr. Regina Koepp is a gerontologist and aging expert with a wealth of information about everything related to mental health and aging. This is a new topic and is coming more into play as the world's population is aging. Questions might include "How do I support my parent who is a...
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All of Our LIttle Lies Add Up
Zestful Aging
Laurie Gerber is an expert in the field of life and relationship coaching with over 20 years of experience coaching thousands of individuals and couples. She has a unique focus–on the mental and physical problems associated with lying. She calls it “personal pollution”. All of us do it. Examples include shopping more than we admit, drinking more than we say we did, sending our kids money and not telling our partner. She suggests we try a “secret free diet” and points to the research looking at ways even little lies have deleterious effects on our mental and physical health. Find...
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What Makes a Good Death?
Zestful Aging
Suzanne B. O’Brien, RN was named the Humanitarian Ambassador for “Oprah Magazine” for her work to bring peace and comfort to those facing the end of life around the world. Her life's mission is to increase access to high quality end of life education and care for patients and families She has firsthand experience as a hospice and oncology nurse and palliative care professional at the bedsides of more than 1,000 end of life patients. Today we’re going to talk about what makes a good death. Find out more at Suzanne B. O’Brien, RN at and her new book: Find out more about the Zestful...
info_outlineLaurie Gerber is an expert in the field of life and relationship coaching with over 20 years of experience coaching thousands of individuals and couples. She has a unique focus–on the mental and physical problems associated with lying. She calls it “personal pollution”. All of us do it. Examples include shopping more than we admit, drinking more than we say we did, sending our kids money and not telling our partner. She suggests we try a “secret free diet” and points to the research looking at ways even little lies have deleterious effects on our mental and physical health. Find out more at LaurieGerber.com.
Listen on Spotify at https://open.spotify.com/episode/4SXrtW1dCVSatkHtcNoN90
Find out more about the Zestful Aging Podcast at ZestfulAging.com