Posted on August 27, 2014
In line with yesterday’s blog about pushing seasons ahead of themselves, I submit that Christmas is the ultimate event that comes too early to the party these days.
When I was a child, Christmas didn’t appear in newspapers or magazines or catalogs until Thanksgiving had its due. Major department stores didn’t reveal their festive decorations or glitzy windows until the turkey was eaten. On the flip side, it was understood that the days between these two holidays were all about Jesus and Santa.
Fast forward to today. Labor Day, Halloween, and Thanksgiving are taking a back seat to Christmas. Today, for instance, we had half a dozen catalogs in our mailbox, and two of them (which would be 33 percent) had Christmas promotions. I understand that retail is tough nowadays, but couldn’t some agreement be considered that each season, each holiday, deserves its due?
Oh, how I wish! And, yes, the maintenance man did come yesterday to prep our furnace for winter. (See previous blog.)
Posted on August 26, 2014
Labor Day is a week from yesterday, although summer doesn’t officially end for another three weeks after that. Still, it feels as if she is packing her bags and readying to leave town soon.
Lifeguards will disappear at Silver Beach; so will pier jumpers and bikini-clad girls. School starts September 2, and school busses become forces to reckon with if one wants to get somewhere around seven-thirty in the morning. I don’t like these changes, but I succumb anyway.
The days grow shorter, and the last of my gladiolas has bloomed. The furnace guy comes in the morning to make sure our furnace is ready for heavy duty in the coming months. Two days later the window washers come.
It’s the changing of the seasonal guard; the “to every time there is a season” rhythm. I only wish we were more programmed to do it closer to the end of the current season instead in advance.
With that in mind, I could cancel my furnace guy and my window washers to prove my point. But I probably won’t.
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Posted on August 25, 2014
I don’t know what possessed me. Me, who won’t play piano in public. Me, who envies prodigies who started playing before attending kindergarten. Me, who is fighting weakening wrists and arthritic fingers. Yes, that me.
I voluntarily volunteered (as opposed to being commandeered) to play background music at my family’s annual Thanksgiving dinner this November. I must have been without my senses at the time.
So here I am, with about ten weeks to put together my first “concert.” The audience will be forgiving – I know that – but the real question is “Will I forgive myself if I don’t do well?” Remains to be seen, but it is spurring me to practice. And enjoying it.
My piano teacher has always accused me of hanging on to music that I’ve mastered instead of eagerly pursuing new music ahead. The thing is that every time I revisit a piece I learned a year or two ago, the knowledge that I’ve gained in the interim re-informs my understanding of the former assignment. So this concert plays into that.
I’m making a plan. Choosing various arrangements that I’ve enjoyed mastering over the years; interspersing them with simpler pieces; and mentally psyching myself that the more I practice the easier it will be.
I’ve never been afraid to talk or give a speech or speak extemporaneously in public. Maybe this will be my breakthrough with music.
See more 10 Minutes in category Me/Family, Special Events
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Posted on August 24, 2014
Today we had a farewell party for a couple in our group that is moving to Arizona in September. We reminisced and promised to keep in touch, but long distance relationships sometimes become brittle. Which prompted me to Google® what some famous people have said about goodbyes. I offer a few here:
J.M. Barrie, author of Peter Pan, said: “Never say goodbye because goodbye means going away and going away means forgetting.”
Jack Kerouac from On the Road: “What is that feeling when you’re driving away from people and they recede on the plain till you see their specks dispersing. It’s the too-huge world vaulting us, and it’s goodbye.”
Jarod Kintz: “Goodbyes, they often come in waves.”
Jeff Thomas: “There’s nothing good about goodnight when it means goodbye.”
All these and the other sayings I researched made goodbye a sad, lonely thing. But these friends are eager to move to Arizona, are excited about the next phase in their lives, and will truly do their best to keep in touch.
Maybe goodbye is what those who are left behind feel.
Posted on August 23, 2014
Earl makes a smoothie every morning in the name of healthy living. Then he claims the right to avoid vegetables the rest of the day. My son, Kevin, also makes a smoothie most mornings; but it’s because, as a vegetarian and a marathon runner, he needs to consume around five thousand healthy calories a day.
Me? I’ve come to the table lately. Don’t like spending all those calories first thing in the morning when I’m not hungry. Besides I love vegetables, can eat them all day long, and am not on a five thousand calories-a-day diet.
However, the health club I belong to has a café that offers various kinds of smoothies. As a treat for doing an extra workout last week, I purchased the one called “Strength.” It contained spinach, banana, pineapple, mango – all fresh — some sort of powder, and almond milk.
It was really good too . . . and filling. I made it almost to dinner without snacking. So I bought another one this morning. That’s when I discovered the unsavory truth about this potential treat: It was six dollars!
Let’s see. If I bought one a day for a month, I’d have spent enough money to purchase a truly nice juicer or blender. If I bought one a day for two months, I’d have spent enough money to purchase all the ingredients too. And, since Earl already has a machine that chops spinach, purees banana and pineapple and mango, the obvious solution for me is to have Earl make a smoothie, put it in the refrigerator, and enjoy it at lunch.
I’m off to see if he’ll agree.
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Posted on August 22, 2014
A couple months ago I noticed there were several items in our home that needed attention: my bicycle tires were flat, my pedometer wasn’t working, lightbulbs had burned out, and our alarm clock was mysteriously set to go off at midnight, which was the most annoying item of all.
Most likely many of these things occurred when I was working. Then I was preoccupied with budgets and payroll and employee morale, so I didn’t pay much attention. But I’ve always liked fixing things, so now that I’m no longer employed I set about to see what to do. Bought an air pump and got the bicycle tires inflated. Determined what was wrong with the pedometer and recalibrated it, changed the lightbulbs, and figured out what needed to be turned off on our alarm clock. We’ve slept through until morning for the past week.
Also fixed our hose, cleaned scum from the crock pot, re-attached a molding, and figured out how to use our portable DVR. Have solved minor computer problems and re-set the TV.
“I’m going to get you a tool belt,” Earl said with awe in his voice. No offense to Earl, but he isn’t particularly handy and this sort of regular household maintenance impressed him. I assured him it was born in other parts of my life when I had no money to hire someone to fix things and even less money to replace them. So I learned to be handy.
I can paint, wallpaper, lay carpet, strip cupboards, and hang window treatments. I can oil squeaky hinges, replace faulty washers, and touch up paint on a car. I haven’t had to do these things lately, but who knows. If Earl buys me a tool belt I might go into the handy “man” business.
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Posted on August 21, 2014
I usually re-set all the clocks in our home twice a year, when we move into Daylight Savings Time and when we move out again. But I can’t wait. The clocks have minds of their own, and I’m frustrated.
We have a dozen clocks in our house, which leads me to believe that if you have more than one clock you have no idea what time it is because they do not talk with one another. You are at their mercy.
So today I reset all the clocks according to my cell phone’s time, since Earl believes that is the most accurate information. I carried my cell from clock to clock and made adjustments from one to five minutes. Hopefully, we’ll have a better sense of time now.
Otherwise, I think I’ll toss all the clocks and buy a sundial.
See more 10 Minutes in category Annoyances, Technology
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Posted on August 20, 2014
I am often struck with the term ‘thoughtful’ and its meaning. People who think of others and try to help them are thoughtful. People who send cards for birthday and anniversaries are thoughtful too. And the world needs more of them.
At the same time, ‘thought-filled’ may not even be a word. But I believe that being thought-filled is just as special as being thoughtful. Thought-filled is about thinking, coming to conclusions based on logic rather than emotion. Not that there’s anything wrong with emotion, but it can gum the works when substituted for being thought-filled.
Thought-filled is about waiting until all the evidence is in before making judgments. I think of the current problems in Ferguson, Missouri. Thought-filled is about questioning one’s position to make sure it’s sustainable. Again, think Ferguson. It is also the best way never to eat crow.
As I age, I want to be both thoughtful and thought-filled, regardless of what dictionaries say and our culture ignores.
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Posted on August 19, 2014
I was going to fire up the grill again last night, but in the end decided to broil inside. The oven is something I’m familiar with, something I know. The grill requires concentration and timing; and I just didn’t feel like tackling it even though my dinner would have been great that way.
At the end of the day, I learned something and it had to do with tomatoes. And what I learned is that grilling and broiling are not the same.
Grilling is more work , at least at this point in my Weber career. But there is more flavor. The tomatoes I grilled a couple nights ago were charry and crunchy on the outside, flavorful on the inside. The ones I broiled tonight were merely soggy and burnt. The steak I grilled was also charry on the outside and medium-rare on the inside; the salmon I had tonight was primarily baked with a little crispiness on the top.
I’ve always thought one could grill in the oven, but last night I learned it isn’t the same. The good news is that this lesson encourages me to practice grilling more often while summer is in season.
See more 10 Minutes in category Dining/Food
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Posted on August 18, 2014
When my Mother died, I inherited her Seth Thomas clock; but it needed repair. So I put it in the hands of a local clock shop owner who assured me he could fix it. After it was in his possession an entire year, I decided I wouldn’t wait any longer.
I retrieved Seth Thomas and found another clock smith. This one didn’t wait a year to provide feedback, although he wasn’t particularly speedy. In the end, however, he fixed the clock which still runs on time today.
Last year, another clock in our possession ran amok. It refused to chime; in fact, it refused to tick. We lived with the situation for several months since we have eleven other clocks in our home and wouldn’t miss an appointment if one of them didn’t function.
But in May I took the errant timepiece to the same man who’d fixed Seth Thomas. I listed its ailments and was told it would take six to ten weeks to fix. Last week, three months later, I retrieved the clock and brought it home. I’m pleased to announce it’s in working order.
Still, what is it about clock repair people? They don’t seem to have any sense of time. They promise one deadline but ignore it. Which makes me wonder . . . Is time relevant? Do clocks enhance our lives? Are we slaves or masters of our schedules? I have no answers.
I only know people who fix clocks seem to work on a different time schedule.
See more 10 Minutes in category Annoyances, Things to Ponder
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