Done, finished, gone…

 

Hallelujah the northern hemisphere’s Winter Solstice is now behind us and with it the shortest day of the year. Although days will not get longer quickly, they will at least not get shorter!

I always look eagerly forward to the date as of the beginning of December – sometimes even the end of November – especially since where I live close to a large lake we have what we call the “eternal gray”, days where the high-lying fog doesn’t lift as the sun isn’t strong enough nor long enough to burn through.

Last Sunday I did get above it – well worth it to just see that the sun does still shine.

 

Anyway now we can look forward to not only the holiday period, the end of the year, the beginning of a new one, but also to lighter and longer days. The mood improves by leaps and bounds.

 

Sunset in the mountains - above the fog the 19th of December

 

COWs, or…

 

Definitions for “little ‘ol ladies”

Now that is not a category into which I would put either myself or a very good friend, but a few years back when we were both a bit out-of-sorts, she came up with “we are COWS”. I’m like, well not really, but explain.

 

Cranky Old Women

 

Ah ha, indeed that we are sometimes, but then there are also cranky young women, cranky young men, very cranky two-year-olds (that’s something that I know a bit as my oldest grandson is in that stage, even so he is adorable… a grandma will never find a grandchild too much, a lesson that I have just learned. In fact I even laugh sometimes at his temper tantrums, then am glad that he has a mind of his own and doesn’t simply blindly obey. He has what we used to call “character”). Cranky middle-aged of any sex, in fact ALL of human kind seems to be cranky at some point or the other.

 

Not going to make up monikers for all of them but for us older females perhaps these would also work

BIRD = beautiful, intriguing, rare, dames

CAT = Cute, affectionate, trailblazers

DOG = Delightful, original, gentlewoman

SNAKE = Sassy, naughty, adorable, kindly, empress (In deference to a friend ther

 

 

Wasting time productively…

I had gone into town to try and locate a present for my older grandson this afternoon. That involved sending a couple of messages to his mother to determine which of the choices would be the best. Poor me, I had to wait about 10 minutes so being just down the street from my favorite chocolate place in the whole wide world, Auer, I thought that the best possible wait to do so would be to go buy some chocolates. We are only mid-December, but the line formed outside (tiny store) lasted 15 minutes.

 

I was grateful to my DIL for not answering right away and the wait was very sweet in the end.

 

Auer chocolate, Geneva, Switzerland

 

Incongruous, or…

Park the mechanical wheelbarrow and have coffee in the elegant tearoom.

 

I really had to laugh this morning when in our village in front of the small grocers and elegant tearoom, a mechanical wheelbarrow truck pulled up, parked (correctly and only taking one space albeit rather large) and the two workers in their orange uniforms hopped off and proceeded to enter the coffee shop. They sat down, but then had to go back outside when the owner asked for their sanitary passes, but had their breakfasts before getting back on the truck and going on to whatever construction site they had left earlier.

 

Getty Images

 

He’s back

I was so excited this morning when out the window I saw on a far branch my winter friend robin redbreast!  Too far for a picture, but just knowing that he – or his offspring – have returned was enough.

 

It also is the day my dad was born – a day for remembering what was: as a friend said, it’s in the past and we can’t go back, to which I replied, “yes, but it’s our past that made us what we are and that allows us to go on”.

 

Look for the bright spots in this winter dark and you’ll find them.

 

iStock image Andrea_Hill | Crédits : Getty Images

 

 

Space

“You only have 17.51 GB of storage”…. My computer regularly tells me that I am lacking in space and must do something about it. Got down once even to only 6,51GB. This mostly has to do with the fact that I have close to 50’000 photos on said computer. Yes, I do sometimes go back and eliminate imperfect photos, but how to decide? And if I get rid of 10 photos you can be sure that the day after I’ll add 20.

 

Seeing this though got me to thinking about the second part of the phrase “Save space by optimizing storage” and how that would relate to other areas of my life, in particular to friendships, people relationships.

 

If I had to “save space” by giving up some relationships, how would I chose, how could I? I think that at this point I’ll simply be grateful that there isn’t a computer clock in my head telling me that I have to, because, frankly, I would be incapable of it. If my “computer” has to blow up due to too many photos, that’s one thing, if my life or head on the other hand does so due to too many relationships, it will simply have to happen: I can’t offhand think of any one that I would cut out of my life. They are all precious in their own manner and necessary to my well-being.

 

Storage in my head and heart for friends, family and even new friends is unlimited!

 

empty space can be beautiful

 

Birthdays

 Earlier in life I had birthdays mainly in the summer, then I married and my husband and a lot of our inner circle fell between February 20 and March 5, two even sharing the 28^th of February. The other two of us in a group of 7 actually shared the same day and month if not the year so we always felt equal to the “fish”. And parties there were.

Then the children started coming and we enlarged our horizon’s, but again with my in-laws it was interesting to note that one of the nephews on my husband’s side shared my own mother’s day and month. My sister-in-law (as in my husband’s sister as opposed to his brother’s wives) almost shared my dad’s birthday and there was many a year when we got them switched around. Wishing my dad a Happy Birthday two days before wasn’t such a problem, forgetting my sister-in-law’s for two days, not so nice.  Then my dad died on my sister-in-law’s birthday complicating things even more.

 

And now, although I perhaps will never reach my goal of having someone on each day of the year, all of the months have filled in quite nicely.

 

As we are apparently 20 million (yes, you read right) on this earth who share each birthday, happy birthday to all of you, who along with my dear sister-in-law, share this particular day.

 

Clipart library

 

Inspiration, or lack thereof.

I have friends who can simply sit down and write, anything, nothing, and it always makes sense, is entertaining or educative. This is not a particular gift of my, but inspiration can be found in so many places: today it was the weather and the miracle of my second grandson.

 

I woke up to 10 cm. of snow on the car, my older son sent a message to say that in light of the road conditions perhaps I shouldn’t come to which I replied, the meal is ready, I’ll be careful and might be a bit late.

 

The main roads in the villages were not too pretty, funnily enough the outlying ones where one didn’t expect it, were great and I was actually on time. And my two-week-old grandson was passed over to me for a moment of pure joy. There is nothing as precious as holding a new-born baby! The older grandson benefitted as well as he could go for a walk with his mother.

 

Blessed am I even if uninspired.

 

 

The end of a frustrating day….

 

Or administration is simply way too time-consuming!

I won’t go into my problems, but this morning I set out to solve two separate admin problems. After two hours, neither was entirely put to rest.

 

This afternoon was spent taking things to the recycling center, getting minimal groceries, picking up a couple of magazines: there had been at least 5 weeks of nothing. No one quite sure what had happened, but nice to see things perhaps back in order!

 

Then I took some toys up to the neighbor that have been here way too long, made another small carton of Duplo bricks for my grandchildren, spoke to my sister and my sister-in-law and all of a sudden the day is done, and so am I.

 

Some days are like that. 

 

Depositphotos.com

 

Escalade in Geneva or...

 

Scaling the walls and running for fun.

 

Last year due to the pandemic neither the race (the largest one in Switzerland) nor the parade took place. This year they were able to run the race, over two days and with half the participants of normal years, ie “only” 26’000 instead of the 43’000 of 2019!

There are categories from the 4 and 5 year-olds who run with a parent, through all the ages and up to the Elite.

This year I did watch part of it on Sunday, the atmosphere is such fun that one forgot that we were wearing masks even outside. The children were so enthusiastic and even I found myself cheering them on, I who had no one running!

 

The Elite saw mostly Kenyans winning, but even they, although happy to win, were in it more for the pleasure than anything.

 

This is the 43^rd edition of the run, the celebrations about Escalade having been going on much longer.

 

But what is “Escalade”?

In1602, Geneva, a rich and prosperous republic, attracted the attention and jealousy of the Savoyards. Charles-Emmanuel 1er, wanted to make Geneva his capitol to the North of the Alps and intended to combat Calvinism with the support of Pope Clement VIII, in spite of a “peace, sworn to and re-sworn to”.  So during the night of the 11^th to the 12^th of December (the longest night) 1602 a troop of 2000 soldiers tried to take the town by surprise. They came from the plains and mercenaries started climbing the walls, which surrounded the city (thus the name Escalade). The alarm was sounded, the cathedral’s bells (never mind that it was now a protestant church, we still call it the cathedral), in particular the Clémence (still exists), were rung. Citizens armed with whatever they found to hand and their courage joined the fray and come morning 54 of the enemy had died and only 18 of the Genevans and the Savoyards gave up. One figure of note was the Mère Royaume who was known to have killed one climbing soldier by pouring her hot vegetable soup on him. Still today we have chocolate cauldrons filled with marzipan vegetables to celebrate this fact!

 

In any case always good fun, great hot wine, chocolates and the like.

 

spectators of the race in Old Town Geneva

Runners, probably the 9-year olds

Hot wine... best part of the day!

 

 

Hostess gifts….

When we are invited somewhere, be it for a coffee or a several nights stay, we, or that is my generation, were brought up to bring something for the hostess.  I have several coffee groups and slowly we decided that we would no longer celebrate the birthday person, then we eliminated the gifts although I reserved the right to bring something – and continued to do so for those where the hostess goes to the trouble of making homemade cakes and the like. In other groups we have all agreed to not bring anything, but those meals and stays are a little more important and something is appropriate.

I have been told by one of my guests that I am extremely difficult to buy for: right, I don’t need anything, I have no particular passion or hobby to which one could contribute, however this past long-term visit by family members did prove to be very productive as things were bought that I actually could use and were even “needed” due to older items and the like. I do enjoy my new mats at the front door – and back.

And during this latest baking spree, the gift givers will be happy to know that I actually did use the apron!!!

It’s started…

 

What one might ask?

Knowing that I live in Switzerland – the snow? Well that started, stopped and in the coming weeks will be a reoccurring affair, or not – depends on the year.

 

The car? That’s always a good thing.

 

The flu season? Already a possibility, but hopefully not until I have my vaccination next week.

 

The aging process? Well in hand

 

The blessings of family? Ah, that’s ongoing and now that I am a grandmother again even better with the years.

 

The wrapping of presents in light of the upcoming yearly Christmas event? Nope, not good at that and it is often a last-minute-affair or bundled into a sack with a piece of tissue paper over it in guise of real wrapping: wrapping presents, as my handwriting, is NOT one of my strengths!

 

Ah, getting close, the Christmas baking marathon.

Just put the first of many batches of brownies in the oven  and from now through the New Year there won’t be many days when at least one lot of cookies gets baked. I take after my aunt, for whom I was named, and my mother. I love baking.

 

It would be a sad year when I can’t bake!

 

 

Getting older is wonderful!

The great thing about getting older is that you don't lose all the other ages you've been. -Madeleine L'Engle, writer (29 Nov 1918-2007)

 

I’m one of those “weird” people that has actually liked all of my ages… so far. Maybe I’ll change my tune at 80 or 90, but for the moment that holds. There are some that I would not wish to go back to: the angst of the 20s, the stress of the 40s, but bring them on, each birthday is simply proof that I was born, have had a rather decent life and continue to do so!

 

When I look at old photos, or find old letters, what a wonderful reminder of what I was, how things were, the family and friends that existed.  I remember once, back when neither of my sons looked like they would ever settle down or found families, I would think “I never knew my father-in-law, I may never know my grandchildren, but the one did exist and the others probably will”. Time has proved me right in that I now have two adorable grandsons and the hope that my younger son may too eventually have a family, at least I haven’t heard that he doesn’t want one.

 

There are many other great things about getting older, but just the privilege of doing so is enough for the moment. And I’ve always said that if I end up in a wheel chair, I’ll be doing wheelies down the corridor.

 

 

 

 

Friendly Stock

On being “serious”…

Ernest Hemingway, author, journalist, Nobel laureate (21 Jul 1899-1961) wrote 

The man who has begun to live more seriously within begins to live more simply without”.

 

The pandemic has helped some of us start down that road. Stuck at home, some – not me I have to admit – started taking a look at all the accumulated “junk” (was going to say “stuff”, could have prettied it up and said “things” or “belongings”, but no, most of it is truly junk) and doing something to eliminate at least some of it.

 

Others were able to finish projects started long ago, even others started new projects: one English magazine proposed doing at least 50 new things per year; imagine doing or learning something new every 7 days. I’m afraid that I would fall by the wayside very quickly. However, “they say” that something can become a habit if only one does it three times in a row, so there is hope.

 

I am going to may a concerted effort to live more seriously!

 

WITHOUT  =  SIMPLER

Lights of the season…

 

Help alleviate the dark and gray. I am sure that when the Celts first chose to celebrate at this time of the year it was due to the necessity to lift spirits by inventing something, anything, to lighten up, literally, their lives. The Christmas tree with lit candles was adopted by the English in the Victorian Era, coming from the Prince’s German origins. This custom, in turn,  was borrowed from pagan yule rituals that celebrate the return of the light of the sun as the days grow longer after winter solstice.

And they do indeed help: I smile at every Christmas Tree, every candelabra decoration, every string of lights around a chalet.

It’s the one time of the year where we don’t speak too much about the “waste” of electrical lights, but then we also are using more eco-friendly light bulbs.

Let your lives be lightened.

 

 

The light is gone...

16:15 and night is almost upon me: the winter gray and rain add to the earlier and earlier sun sets, that is if there were a sun to set, and it is NOT my favorite time of the year!

The only positive as far as I’m concerned is the upcoming festivities and the fact that as of the winter solstice in 3 weeks sundown will no longer come earlier: it will freeze for a few days then we will have turned the corner and start gaining again. Long life the 21^st of December, more important to me even than Christmas!

 

One of the best…

 Birthdays yet

 

Thanks to all of my delightful and thoughtful family and friends.

 

This year I had decided to go back to a favorite hotel with a long-time friend.

On the day itself, first message from my older son, then a continual flow of WhatsApp, sms, email and I am sure physical cards although I wasn’t home to receive them.

I was on a high even before attending the concert that we had chosen: Andras Schiff

Who played a Bach, then a Hayden, following by Mozart and Schubert. After that we were sure that he couldn’t do anything else, but the Brahms encore was perfect.

 

Back to the hotel where we were going to have our dessert: what a surprise, they presented me with a birthday cake! I had wondered when I got an email during the afternoon offering my a percentage on my next trip if they realized that I was actually in the hotel, yes – not only the computer program, but the people who run the hotel.

 

I went to bed on a cloud.

The only negative of the whole day was the rain, but that did NOT spoil my parade this year.

 

 

Credit goes to the chef of the Golfhotel in Saanenmöser, Switzerland. It was every bit as good as it looks!

And one thing led to another…

I am joining my family for a few days in the mountains soon and needed to pack my suitcase. Said suitcase lives on a luggage rack in my bedroom and as I to and fro, sometimes only needing a night’s affairs, sometimes 2 and very seldom more, things end up in it instead of getting put away. The suitcase is never empty and of course each trip being slightly different, there can be many mundane items, none of which are needed for the upcoming trip.  Such was the case this time, I will not have the occasion to need my swimsuit or bonnet so took them downstairs to rejoin the “swim sack” in the front closet.

 

Talk about opening up a can of worms: that led to emptying out the closet as the swim sack was in the far corner, which in turn led to the discovery of a sack full of stuff for the car, along with many other collected sacks, both paper and plastic. That meant sorting those, half to join the plastic bags in the cellar, half to be given to the local mini grocer who can use them for customers.

 

The later thus needed to go in the car…

Open trunk, see mess, decided that it too needs sorting, well that led to not only sorting, but having to vacuum, which in turn meant that the windows were too dirty. You get the picture.

 

Fortunately at about that point, with the suitcase emptied and ready to re-pack, with the hall cupboard clean, the car as well, my younger son needed a lift to the bus stop (I had proposed it in the interests of his not having to take two hours to get to his point of departure) and I was able to stop. Such a productive morning happens rarely, but then such is life that one thing leads to another and if one is lucky many more. Making progress.

 

I wish that this last were true!
 

I can’t believe I actually did it, or

 A clean desktop.

 

I finally had a bit of time to myself and with bills paid, letters and e-mails to various friends that I had neglected were first on the agenda.

 

Those done, my thoughts, and finally energy, turned to cleaning off my desktop.

 

There are many theories as to the validity of a clean desktop, most written by those who chose to see a cluttered desktop as a sign of creativity including Einstein’s

 

“If a cluttered desk is the sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign of?”

(sorry can’t resist: apparently even Einstein used dangling participles!)

 

"Never put off until tomorrow what you can avoid altogether. A clean desk is a sign of a cluttered desk drawer. All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence, and then success is sure." ~ Mark Twain

 

"If a cluttered desk is the sign of a cluttered mind, what is the significance of a clean desk?" ~ Laurence J. Peter, paraphrase of Einstein

 

"It's pointless to have a nice clean desk, because it means you're not doing anything." ~ Michio Kaku

 

"Clutter in its highest and most organized form is called collecting." ~ Ada Louise Huxtable

 

That being said every couple of years I make the effort: in between I simply sort important and less-so-important-but-need-to-keep-for-reference and offload the later onto another surface. I could probably solve every problem ever thought of, never mind give you details on minute projects, recipes, statistics or whatever. Sometimes I actually do find something worthwhile having saved, so it doesn’t encourage me to let go.

 

I finally tackled the desktop and am ashamed to report that amongst the “urgent-leave-it-on-the-desk” was an unopened birthday card from last year as well as a Christmas greetings from 2020! Help.

 

But in one afternoon I waded through the lot and to my credit only put one small pile of books on another flat surface. Most of the rest was filed or tossed.

 

I promptly told both my sister and sister-in-law, I mean what’s the point of doing it if no one knows? That is the problem in the first place as my office is downstairs and I am the only one ever using it.

Feels good, may actually do it more often, but don’t hold your breath. Here for prosperity is the proof.

 

 

Survival

How often throughout our lifetimes did first our parents, then various friends and family member, tell us that if a tree could start amongst the rocks, or a weed grow in seemingly no earth, or flowers bloom where it wouldn’t seem possible, that we too could survive even if the “ground” we were planted in seemed without nourishment.

This was brought home to me by the flower below: coming out from a crack in between a stone wall and a tar side-walk, this is the third lot of blooms this year!

Moral of the story: what everyone says is true – you can thrive even when there is seemingly little to thrive upon.

The myth, or letting go...

Of clothes, of possessions.

We have had a spate of rainy, cold weather and I have been trying to gear up to take advantage of it, other than simply checking emails, reading magazines, talking to friends, eating out and the like.

I have meant to do a serious sort, clean, toss and then something, or more likely someone, interferes.

With my blessings as it is so much more fun to go out with friends or drink coffee than it is to sort and toss, especially when there is no one to pat my on my back for what little I might accomplish.

Today, however, I opened the cupboard doors and said to myself: it is time.

Time to try on those trousers that I never wear, but shove to the back of the cupboard; time to try on those blouses that stay on the hangers day in and day out, time to take a look at the shelves and perhaps finally divest myself of the multiple single socks.

One always thinks that one will a) loose weight, b) find that missing sock or 3) get the top that perfectly matches the skirt one hasn't had on in years. All MYTHS!

And with age I have finally realized that if I don't wear it today, I am not likely to wear it 10 years from now when maybe I will have lost the weight, but also it will be out of date or moth-ridden. That being said, it takes a certain amount of energy to let go of anything and I am no better than the average person when it comes to doing so!

I DID let go of 17 items today - that just finishes off one of the spring months - remember my goal to dispose of one item a day for every day of the year? Far behind this year, but a few more rainy days and I might have a chance, that is if I don't get side-tracked sorting photos, writing letters or by better weather. Still what was done today, is done and I will celebrate a small step in the right direction.

From Megapixel.com