Welcome Dan! I'm another 50ish year old man... a bit over 50. I'll add my $0.02 to the mix and say you've found a wonderful resource here with many very friendly people with great advice. Connecting Threads and Missouri Star are my go to online fabric shops and the clearance section at Connecting Threads is a bit addicting. Connecting Threads is also my go to for kits, they are generous with the included fabric so a few mistakes don't leave you short and they sell a quality cotton thread for an extremely reasonable price.
Most of all, have fun and in no time at all you'll be very accomplished at the art.
Tom