You're never too old to learn new things, or hone your skills.

Marilyn Wiebe is a musician and substitute teacher in Morden. She turned 87 yesterday.

Wiebe calls herself a seniors advocate.

"I feel a lot of the times we are sort of -- not much is expected from us because we're old. And I don't think that that's a fair judgment because if we've got life we still have aims and goals and objectives that we'd like to fulfill."

Wiebe thinks more could be offered to stimulate the minds of seniors.

"In any area, be it entertainment or game or reading or a course."

Wiebe says she recently took a course on music therapy. She says she plays piano a lot and is currently trying to learn Mendelssohn and Beethoven.

Wiebe's birthday falls on International Women's Day. She was at the Fort Garry Hotel yesterday for the release of the Manitoba Women's Advisory Council's status of women report, where she was acknowledged and had happy birthday sung to her by those in attendance.

"I was shocked, it almost brought me to tears."

The report identified a need for disaggregated data. A lack of data on senior women is a concern for Wiebe.