Thanksgiving

Posted on November 28, 2013 by freda

Special thanks today for Son #3 who has spent much of the day in hospital having a nasty abscess drained. Hopefully, he is now well on the mend. He has been much braver than I would have been. Childbirth? Yes x 4. Dealing with an arm half of which has become infected……… no thanks. He has my admiration and respect.

Thanks to friends and readers from the US over the Thanksgiving holiday. Such a wonderful-sounding festival. I always presume it means thanks for family, friends and freedom/justice of country.

Every Blessing to you and yours.

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Starlings then and now

Posted on November 26, 2013 by freda

When I worked in Glasgow in the 1960s it was an effort on a winter’s evening to dodge the starlings’ droppings. After a long day, office workers spilled out onto the streets to head for the trains and buses home. The streets were full of the sound of the birds settling on window ledges to roost. They had presumably gathered in the city centre for warmth. I can still remember the sound, see the droppings near the edges of the buildings and smell the vaguely warm detritus. Such is the stuff of memories.

Nowadays we celebrate a murmuration of starlings in the countryside. Fascinating to watch on youtube.

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The things that make up a day

Posted on November 26, 2013 by freda

The things that have made today special:

  • Birdies demanding food from a friend who then phoned to tell me about it.
  • Catching up with Grandson and his Dad. Dad was sailing underneath the Forth Bridges…….surreal.
  • Enjoying half an hour of my online course
  • Walking the dog round the village
  • Watching part of Footfalls online – Samuel Beckett since you ask.
  • Making some sort of sense of it.
  • Aberlour and Red Leicester

Another ordinary day.

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Moving

Posted on November 25, 2013 by freda

Son #4 and family moved house this weekend. They are settled in and have beds to sleep in and blinds at the windows, but there are all sorts of outstanding jobs that need done. Going to a new place to live is one of the post stressful things in our lives. It takes energy, sweat, toil, tears, memories and laughter…..and it is amazing when you look back over a lifetime to think of all the places you have lived.

Before I got married I lived in at least six different houses – there may have been a couple more than that, the end of the World War ll muddled things up a bit. They were all in cities and the most of my growing up was in London. When HBTW and I got married we continued in the tradition of moving around……… mainly to follow work or business opportunities. 14 different houses ending up in Dalamory in amongst the mountains. I always used to think I would like to retire to Argyll and assumed it would be beside the sea. It is indeed Argyll but we are surrounded by breathtaking mountains instead.

During our wanderings we have stayed in bungalows, flats, terraced houses, semi-detached, detached properties (better for keeping the noise of a growing family well away from any neighbours.)  We have had large gardens, small gardens and no gardens. We have had good neighbours always and beautiful views as well as the more mundane. As I write this it I think of the Israelites roaming in the desert in Bible Times. I feel sad and aggrieved for refugees or those who have no home. Home is indeed the place where you can be yourself. Somewhere at the end of the day where you can lay your head and relax into the business of restorative sleep.

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One of those days

Posted on November 23, 2013 by freda

Yesterday was one of those days. One of those days when you get into bed, heave a sigh of relief and be glad to lie still and quiet. Oops! Into my head popped the thought that I had not written a post in my blog. It was nearly midnight, should I drag myself out from under the covers and have a moan online? Or would I drift off…………

As you have probably guessed, I was in the land of nod before I knew it. As to my difficult day, I don’t want to go into details in cyberspace because it involves other people. Sufficient to say that it was cause enough for raised stress levels. One medical problem is on the way to being resolved and should be sorted in a week or two. The other one is ongoing. As to me – I am afraid I felt rather unwell and collapsed in front of the TV. Dance Class was not an option. Hopefully, another quiet day or two and things will be more back to normal.

Have a good weekend.

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Birthday Treat

Posted on November 21, 2013 by freda

B2013 CrinanvistaNext Monday Misty will be eight years young. HBTW is busy that day, so we decided to have a Misty treat today – a day out in the campervan having a picnic lunch at the Crinan Canal. There was even a yacht going through for us to watch, most unusual at this time of year. The puddles were iced over but as you can see it was a perfect day to go for a long walk beside the canal.

Of course it was a treat for us humans as well. Everything went smoothly until we got home. Emptying everything needed for a day – food, books, cameras, binoculars, kindle,walking boots, multi-layers of clothes, medicines and so forth – proved easier said than done. It was a case of many trips back and forth for things that had been forgotten. As you can see, Misty was too tired to help.

B2013 Mistytired

It has been such a cold day that it reminded me of winter picnics of long ago. One of the most memorable was on a New Year’s Day. Sons#1 and #2 were four and six months. The baby sprogit was wrapped up in a snow-suit. We cooked sausages over a gas hob beside  a loch in the middle of nowhere, then went for a slow sail in a puffin sailing dinghy. A marvellous way to celebrate a New Year.

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Achieved today

Posted on November 21, 2013 by freda

Today has resolved around my computer /imac for a goodly part of the day. It is amazing what can be done online.

  • Paying a bill
  • Checking friends and families on facebook
  • Email
  • Catching up with blogs – enjoying seeing what friends around the world say
  • Doing some online study for a mooc  – a short course on four common diseases
  • Listening to Classic FM
  • Watching a live debate on the Equal Marriage Bill from the Scottish Parliament.
  • Ordering a DVD, a new lead for Misty and some Shake n’vac
  • Communicating with a friend via instant messaging

It is quite likely there were more things than the above. I am just pleased to be living in a time where such wonders of technology exist.

 

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Language

Posted on November 19, 2013 by freda

2013 1119 SelfieLanguage is ever-changing and new words are coming into everyday use. I thought Onesie was the word of the year – basically a babygro (either with or without feet) for adults or children. I couldn’t be bothered with the whole palaver of going to the you know where.

Selfie is what the photo is of – basically a self-portrait photo. This one was taken on Photo Booth on my imac. Binge-watching was another new word I liked the sound of – we do that regularly when we watch boxed set re-runs of NCIS or Foyle’s War. I am told that twerk is a sexual dance; I wonder if our Friday night Dance Class’s rumba counts – or would it be a pole dance or something even more exotic?

Showrooming refers to the practice of going into a shop to look at some items, then going away and buying self-same things online. HBTW thinks shops may have to start charging an entry fee. I am so reliant upon online services and goods that I find it hard to comment. I suspect we have probably all been guilty of browsing in a shop then buying from home later.

Have you found any interesting new words recently?

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Friendship

Posted on November 18, 2013 by freda

We used to talk about babies and toddlers – nappies in the days before disposables ……. and all sorts of other things. Then over the years we talked on the phone about schools and exams and children growing up. After that it was all about going back to work. Thereafter it was snatched phone calls about weddings and relatives and wedding presents. Then it turned to looking forward to retirement: would it ever be possible? Would we enjoy it?

Today we had a telephone conversation about offspring, grandchildren, various ailments – but most of all about the pros and cons of Windows 7 and Windows 8.1  And I kept thinking how I changed to  a mac nearly 4 years ago.

Anyway, that is the story of a friendship lasting nearly 40 years. And of course I have left out more than I could ever include. Where did the years go?

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The Paradoxical Commandments

Posted on November 17, 2013 by freda

These were written by Dr Kent M Keith when he was a student. They were taken up by Mother Teresa as a good way to live.

People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centred.
Love them anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.

The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway.

People favour underdogs but follow only top dogs.
Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.

People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.
Help people anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you have anyway.

 

 

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