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.

 

 

 

 

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Out with the old,

In with the new, or at least the working used.

For a couple of years now I have been struggling with alarm clocks. My old faithful – bought way back in 1984 (yes – happy wedding anniversary to my brother and sister-in-law!) has over the years, understandably, taken a few knocks. It has woken me up in many places throughout the world as I travel, never mind many a morning at home.

Indispensable that clock.

Now I know that the way to go is one’s smart phone, however, its’ owner not being quite so smart did not know until my sister enlightened me a few days ago, that the alarm rings even if one has it on mute. Who knew?

The other function of the old clock that is almost as precious as its’ alarm is the easy-to-push-in-the-middle-of-the-night top bar. It lights up the screen so that one can see if one has half the night left, or only an hour or two. My source of good rest is that top button.

So it was my safety blanket, my one and all, my be all.

Ever since the back half broke I have been looking to replace it. One would be amazed at the lack of those two functions on modern alarm clocks: either there is no convenient button to light it up in the dark or the sound on the alarm is so low that I miss it half the time (yes I will freely admit that I have slight hearing problems, but one wouldn’t wear hearing aids to bed in any case, would one?). Then the back broke off entirely, then the cover for the battery disappeared so half the time the battery blinks out by just picking it up. In short it was no longer a viable alarm and I had had to haul out one of my larger ones, albeit one without a convenient light-up button.

Knowing that my sister would be coming this way for Christmas I checked the Radio Shack store online and found one exactly like the old one. It only existed in white – never mind, I requested that she purchase it and bring it.

She did better: she also brought her old travel alarm (same model as mine!). Life would be good as I now am probably “in alarm clocks” for many years. I could wish to outlive them, but that may be pushing it if they last as long as the last one as I would be around 150. Still stranger things have happened and at least I would be able to wake myself up or orient myself in the middle of the night.

Won’t however throw out the old until I am sure that the used and new actually work.

Out with the old, in with the new!

Too trite to be true... but hey, having spent all my philosophical thoughts on the past year...

Trying to determine the origin of this statement led to some very interesting trivia, including one person who maintains that it originated with Lee Douglas IV – of the 5^th clan of the Doogals, who eventually became the Douglas clan- its meaning being ‘out with the old‘ (his mother who was a lady of the night) and in with the new (his mistress). Hmmm...

So then I went on to “wiping the slate clean” as that is what I have done in preparation for THE NEW YEAR.

Finally able to see the design on the bulletin board!

Command central.... ready for 2014

 Now last December 31^st after the death of my sister, I reckoned that 2013 was going to be a good year. Maybe I shouldn’t be making predictions as it was a very mixed year at best.

However, “hope springs eternal” (to use another cliché… maybe my goal should be not to use clichés in 2014? At least I know the origin of this one – Alexander Pope in An Essay on Man) and I am going to think that the possibilities for a lovely year in 2014 are endless.

So greetings and best wishes from my own village!

Out with the old

Only five items put out today for the “voluminous objects” trash pickup tomorrow, but oh the memories.

The office chair has seen our first office; our moving the office home and then was given to my housemate as it was small enough to fit into her bedroom along with the desk. However, the mechanism was worn out and the chair would no longer hold its position – gone.

The sofa corner: gotten 25 years ago “for just a few years” whilst the boys were growing – we had every intention of replacing it well before now, but somehow that never happened. It was used as a scratching board by all three cats and now that we are a cat-free household, it is time to find something new. O.K. so there are five more elements to go, but at least it is a start!

The garden chair: suffered a broken arm during one of the many parties that this house has seen, was it during one of mine? Highly doubtful, more likely one of the son’s wilder do’s… in any case time to eliminate it so that it doesn’t hurt another guest. We think more of them than that.

The large wooden box: a separate story, which would take more room than I have on this blog: let it simply be said that son #2 procured it for me – made to order – to encase our favorite painting… and then was never used as it wouldn’t fit into the car that transported said painting to the Island of Poel in Northern Germany. The box may not have been used, but D-L and I got two trips out of the fetching of the painting then returning for research on her 9^th novel “Murder in Poel” which is slated to be published next year. Check out her website: http://www.donnalanenelson.com/

It wasn’t much to put out compared to all the other items needing sorting after 32 years in the same house, but it felt good to at least get that much done.