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Henry went\xa0on vacation to a Carob factory!\nHe\xa0visited a tourist attraction called Carobana, and discovered that one of the owners, Jean Hamey, had a lot more to talk about than just carob! \xa0She and her husband Ian operate Carobana, which is a tourist attraction, and a factory, which manufactured Carob coated treats.\nIf you have never seen carob, it is a large seed pod of\xa0the carob tree. \xa0We actually have them in San Diego where I (Kathe) live. \xa0First you remove the seeds. \xa0Then you dry and powder the pod. \xa0 Jean explains the rest of the process in the interview.\nJean agreed to talk about her carob organization with Henry.\nShe and her husband inherited the place after her in-laws passed away. \xa0They now have a successful\xa0\xa0manufacturing, retail and tourism business.\xa0 Much of the interview focuses on the development of the enterprise, and Jean\u2019s unique business skills.\nAs far as the carob business, Ian has built much of the machinery, and persistence and hard work have produced a steady growth which has resulted in the success Carabana is today.\nA couple of things to know about carob are:\n\n* The pod not only contains many small beans, but also a semi-sweet pulp.\n* These\xa0pods contain iron, magnesium, calcium, along with vitamins A, B2, B3, and D.\n* Carob pods are used\xa0as a cocoa substitute for chocolate flavoring. \xa0It doesn't taste like exactly like chocolate but it does work as\xa0a substitute.\n* On a diet? \xa0Carob contain just 1/3rd of the calories of chocolate.\n* Even if you are allergic to chocolate, you can usually eat Carob.\n\nHenry asked Jean what she was going to do after her imminent retirement. \xa0And boy does she have plans! \xa0Not only has she been running a business all these years, but she also does book-binding, writes children's books, AND writes craft books as well. \xa0 So she has a lot going on.\nHave you ever heard of “Quilling”?\nI, Kathe, had never heard of this before, but Jean has written a book on it\xa0Quilling Beauties of the Bush. \xa0You may have heard of it, but it's basically a way to make beautiful 3D pictures out of paper. \xa0Basically, you use strips of paper and then roll or shape them, and glue them together.\nThen you loop, curl, and twist the paper until it makes something beautiful.\nQuilling creates greeting cards, jewelry, or pretty much anything that you want to make in a 3D manner.\nI (Kathe) found the quilling part of the interview to be fascinating. \xa0It was fun to learn a little about a hobby that I'd never heard of. \xa0Of course once I looked it up, I realized that I had seen the finished works of these artists.\nIf you are in Australia you can purchase Jean's\xa0tasty treats at http://www.carobana.com.au/. And you can purchase her quilling books anywhere in the world on Amazon.\nHave you ever done\xa0quilling or eaten carob? \xa0Let us know what you think in the comments below.\nSpecial Thanks to:\n\n* Angie Strehlow who helps us get great guests that help us with our retirement lifestyle while keeping everything on track\u2026and helps with these show notes!\n* Les Briney, my husband, and Danny Ozment of Emerald City Pro who edits the show and makes my guests and me sound terrific\n* Henry Shapiro, host of Retired Excited that airs on Fridays\n* YOU for telling your friends about the show, leaving comments below, and sharing episodes you really like on Facebook, and reviewing the show on iTunes\n\nThis post\xa0about Retirement and\xa0Retirement Lifestyle first a...