February can be a dark and dingy month for many people. Winter is in and it’s cold in most areas north of Florida!  A little home maintenance can make February a bright month in you home. Estimated time for this visit: 3 hours This months visit covers: This February Home Maintenance Checklist was developed for education and entertainment only. If you need assistance, please contact service@gocustodia.com Also check Recommended January Home Maintenance.

March is a great transition month from winter to spring and opens up a whole new set of maintenance tasks around the home. Let’s explore the recommended Maintenance below: Estimated time for this visit: 2 hours 30 minutes This months visit covers: This March Home Maintenance Checklist was developed for education and entertainment only. If you need assistance, please contact service@gocustodia.com 

Spring is here and the world is brighter and starting to grow. Green is coming back and the rain is coming down. Many things need to be checked and maintained this month. Let’s explain the April home maintenance: Estimated time for this home maintenance: 3 hours This months visit covers: Recommended April Home Maintenance This April Home Maintenance Checklist was developed for education and entertainment only. If you need assistance, please contact service@gocustodia.com Also check Recommended May Home Maintenance.

Spring is in full swing and things are growing all over the place. More time spent in the yard and some key items indoors. Let’s discuss the recommended May home maintenance tips below: Estimated time for this maintenance: 3 hours This months maintenance covers: Home Maintenance For May This May Service Checklist was developed for education and entertainment only. If you need assistance, please contact service@gocustodia.com Check also: Recommended June Home Maintenance

Blazing trails since the 1960s, Gloria Steinem, at 84 hasn’t begun to slow down. Author, journalist, activist, and speaker her name still commands immediate understanding and you know something big is happening. From the first cover of Ms. Magazine in 1972 to her most recent talk with Barbara Smith of Kitchen Table Press, Gloria remains at the forefront of social and political happenings around the world. At 79, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Barack Obama, and watches in wonder at the next generation of women leaders. Make no mistake though, Miss Steinem still leads and does not sit the sidelines. Here’s Gloria’s video interview with Barbara Smith at the 2018 Maker’s Conference. For some, it’s an eyeopener, for others, an affirmation. Which camp will you be? Author of nine books, editor and creator of Ms. Magazine, writer for New York Magazine, and political activist, she says of today’s women’s movement, “I’ve never seen this much activism in my life,” referring to gun control activism, the Women’s March and the increasing number of women running for office. “It’s way, way more than anything I’ve ever seen.” Sitting down for a video series on Human Heroes, Alex Spurt, head of creative at Everlane said of Gloria Steinem, “For over 50 years she’s fought on behalf of disempowered and disenfranchised women all over the globe and even now, at 84 years old, she still uses her voice to educate and inspire every day.” Her calendar remains full as she speaks at colleges, continues her writing, interviews other makers, and is looked to as an authority in leadership for women everywhere. Though Kim Jong-Un just crossed the DMZ a few days ago, Steinem and a handful of Korean women did it in 2015. The Women’s March in January 2017, yes, she was there – in the lead. Gloria Steinem is oft quoted, but if you’re a trailblazer, too, we thought this quote fit the bill best, “Without leaps of imagination, or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning.” You’re never too old to follow your dreams or to create new ones. Whatever you want to do, do it. Whoever you want to be, be it. Age is a number, not a state of mind. We are discovering more and more remarkable older adults.  There will not be enough time to catalogue them all but we will keep going and finding people and tactics that will help Older Adults live a better life. With advancements in modern medical technology, the rise of healthy living at every age, and a new lease on life for independent seniors, we have more time than ever to connect with our elders. We all have goals, aspirations, family and expectations, and we are constantly on the lookout for stories to inspire and drive us. Life doesn’t end at 65, 70 or even 100 for that matter. For some, over 60 is only the beginning. Are you 65 or older and have an amazing story to tell? We want to hear from you. We want to hear stories about seniors that break the mold, like our 83-year old competitive bodybuilder and Guinness Book of World Record holder. Or our oldest athlete in the 2012 London Olympic Games, now eyeing the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games as an Equestrian. Or Gloria Steinem, woman of vision, political activist, and journalist, still thriving at nearly 85. Do you know any amazing older adults that we can feature on our Blog?   Let us know in the comments below.

Meet Hiroshi Hoketsu – Horseman and Hope for Old Men Eyes 2020 Olympic Games Over fifty years after Hiroshi Hoketsu first took the world stage at the 1964 Olympics, this Japanese Equestrian isn’t just horsing around. He now holds the record – as of the 2012 London Olympic Games – as oldest Olympian ever to compete for Japan, and third oldest worldwide. He shares the distinction with shooter Oscar Swan of Sweden who won the 1920 Olympics and Arthur Von Pongracz who competed in Dressage at 72, Hiroshi’s sport, in the 1936 Berlin Summer Olympics. Though the Road to Rio wasn’t in the cards for Hiroshi due to his horse’s health, he’s already eyeing the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo for his best in show.  According to an interview he gave Reuters, when he had to bow out of the 2012 Games, he shared this, “If I can do it and be in Tokyo, that would be marvelous. Four years from now I will be 79 and I have to see if it will still be physically possibleâ€. Now that’s a homecoming! Check out this video of his 2012 London Olympic Games attempt.  He came in 17 of 24. Not bad for a guy in his 70’s! And watch for his return as he pushes 80 in the 2020 Olympics. For many, Olympics is not only their dream, but in preparation, it is their life. Yet, Hiroshi Hoketsu didn’t begin competing internationally until his early 60s, when he retired from his pharmaceutical executive role. It is around this time, he chose to make his home in Germany. From there he moved from show-jumping to dressage, and is affectionately nicknamed, “Hope for Old Men†in Asian media. Life has its stops and starts, its setbacks, and its successes, and Hiroshi takes it all in stride. His personal slogan is, “I will stop riding horses when I can no longer find progress from myself and my horse.” But, to come full circle back to Tokyo in the 2020 Olympic Games? His career will come full circle, a completion, or a new jumping off point for a man who knows age is a number, not a state of mind. We are discovering more and more remarkable older adults.  There will not be enough time to catalogue them all but we will keep going and finding people and tactics that will help Older Adults live a better life. With advancements in modern medical technology, the rise of healthy living at every age, and a new lease on life for independent seniors, we have more time than ever to connect with our elders. We all have goals, aspirations, family and expectations, and we are constantly on the lookout for stories to inspire and drive us. Life doesn’t end at 65, 70 or even 100 for that matter. For some, over 60 is only the beginning. Are you 65 or older and have an amazing story to tell? We want to hear from you. We want to hear stories about seniors that break the mould, think Edith-Wilma Connor 83-year old competitive bodybuilder and Guiness Book of World Record holder. Or maybe someone like Hiroshi Hoketsu, oldest athlete in the 2012 London Olympic Games, now eyeing the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games as an Equestrian. These are just a few ideas to get you started. Do you know any amazing older adults that we can feature on our Blog?   Let us know in the comments below.

Summer is coming there has never been a better time to get ready.  Here are the recommended home maintenance tasks for June. Let’s find out the recommended June home maintenance below: Estimated time for this maintenance: 3 hours This months maintenance covers: This May Service Checklist was developed for education and entertainment only. If you need assistance, please contact service@gocustodia.com Check also, Recommended May Home Maintenance.

Celebrating her 84th birthday in Chicago last month, Jane Goodall is a household name in both activist circles, animal rights, and as a stand-out primatologist. But, in 1944, WWII was in its downhill slide and little girls from Britain didn’t dream of Africa. Well, except for ten-year-old Jane Goodall, whose naturally curious and inquisitive nature drew forth a natural scientist, primatologist, activist, and student of the apes. The subject of over 40 films, author of over 25 books for both adults and children, and recipient of over 35 medals and awards – the most recent in 2017 International Cosmos Prize, Jane Goodall is as active today as she was over 50 years ago. Still traveling 300 days a year to support her work with chimpanzees, Africa, and the environment.She’s known for a number of quotes about apes, activism, and primatology, but the one that most embodies her spirit might well be this: “Tarzan married the wrong Jane,” from her speech to Auburn alumni. Quoting this Native American saying, “We haven’t inherited this planet from our parents, but borrowed it from our children.” Jane shows us our world is not a legacy to be left behind, but to be nurtured and cared for – for the generations to come. How do you spotlight a woman of Jane Goodall’s indomitable spirit? How do you begin to lay the foundation of what she’s accomplished, the glass ceilings she’s shattered, and the lives she’s changed – both human and primate in a smattering of words. Much like that ten-year-old, you make your answers come to life, you take the time to learn from books and from others, and you pass along your own knowledge as best you can. Are you an indomitable spirit? Then we want to hear your story – 65, 75, 85 and beyond.  We want to hear stories about seniors that break the mould, like our 83-year old competitive bodybuilder and Guiness Book of World Record holder. Or our oldest athlete in the 2012 London Olympic Games, now eyeing the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games as an Equestrian. Or Gloria Steinem, woman of vision, political activist, and journalist, still thriving at nearly 85. The beautiful painting of her above is by Steve Simon Do you know any amazing older adults that we can feature on our Blog?   Let us know in the comments below.

Bonnie and Frank may have met later in life, but it was their time to shine. Frank, a third-generation insurance salesman had never been much farther than the neighborhood he’d grown up in. He’d done the standard gap year abroad in his college years, but it wasn’t until he met Bonnie their adventures really began. Bonnie, a voice major in college, found her voice not on the stage, but in fundraising. Her voice became that of the nonprofit world – she began work for PBS, the National Conference of Christians and Jews (NCCJ), the Girl Scouts, her local symphony orchestra, a local junior college, CTRC, and many more organizations throughout South Texas and across the USA. As the financial crisis hit the US in 2009, the Gittinger’s planned for an uncertain future. Bonnie got her real estate license, and the two got into the real estate game, which as it turned out, was part of Frank’s history, too. Frank’s family had once been in the real estate business before going into the world of insurance. Armed with Bonnie’s real estate license, their connections in their community, and good old-fashioned gut instinct, the Gittinger’s created Gittinger Companies, parent company to Frank’s insurance business, Bonnie’s fundraising work, and their real estate endeavours – all within the last ten years of their sixteen-year marriage. They’ve purchased, flipped, and rented seven properties in an up and coming neighbourhood, and have added Property Manager to their already impressive array of endeavours.  They are philanthropists, friends, confidantes, and more celebrating each day one moment at a time. Bonnie, now in her 70s, lifts weights. Frank hiked the Arctic Circle in his 60s. For this couple, age is only a number and theirs is unlisted. Today, their businesses are booming and they’re celebrating life with an epic adventure on the Blue Train across South Africa, an African Safari, and they’ll round out their summer with Florence and Rome, Italy. These are everyday people over 65 who show no signs of slowing down. No, they’re not winning bodybuilding championships nor are they competing in the Olympics. They’re not household names, well, outside their city, like Jane Goodall or Gloria Steinem.  But, they’re doing amazing things every day for someone. Whether its housing, help, healing, or something else, their hands and hearts lead to doubled efforts – making them better, together. Do you know any amazing older adults that we can feature on our Blog?   Let us know in the comments below.

Today Custodia was in the field for the first time working with our first Silver Membership Winner, Nancy and Guisette.  They are wonderful people who are the first to win a free membership in our Grand Opening Sweepstakes.   We are giving away 5 free memberships between now and July to lucky older adults in the GTA. Guisette needs some help getting around the house and out to doctors appointments; it’s getting harder for him to walk around so his wife Nancy called us and organized the first visit and a follow up visit early in June. It was a rewarding day.  Helping them in their time of need really allows us see the core of what Custodia will become first hand.  Understanding the obstacles they face and their unique individual requirements has helped us get a clearer picture of where we can be most useful to the community. We are grateful to have Nancy and Guisette as our first members at Custodia, and their feedback has been so valuable. Looking forward to supporting them for many years to come. Read 27 Highlights from the Toronto Seniors Strategy Toronto Public Library’s digital literacy initiatives. Impressive housing benefits for Toronto seniors