Ok, so I haven't posted in awhile. I've been so busy with spring cleaning....NOT! I have come to the realization that spring cleaning is soooo over-rated. I mean, really, if I get down on my hands and knees and scrub the baseboards with a toothbrush, is anyone really going to know it. And if they do notice, well then maybe they just aren't really my friend. A little dirt on the baseboards never hurt me or anyone else. Now wait, maybe it did hurt me because the very few times I have done it (very few) I realized just how boney my knees really were and how much it killed my back, and for what??? I don't even own that dang house anymore and whoever lives in it now probably never does the baseboards (and I for sure know they don't take care of the garden!) so what good came from it.
I think Jesus had the right idea....if you don't try to possess things, then they can't possess you. I DO NOT lose sleep over the fact that right now my windows are dirty, with crud from winter lining the outside edge and it would sure be nice to use some window cleaner and make them shine. So I will. The next time I open a window, I will clean it....one window at the time....not ALL the windows in one day. I have 12 so I figure if I clean a window a week they will all be clean by Fall. You say, yes but by then the first windows will be dirty again. Well, don't get your panties all in a wad....I know this but it's ok, because then it will be almost winter and they will be closed up and get dirty again anyway. Ya understand?
It's kind of like our little fish pond. Hubby takes nasty green water down to where he can catch the fish and put them in the smaller pond of clean water that has been dechlorinatin - then he cleans out the filter and cleans the gunk out of the pond and fills it all up with fresh water. Next day he puts those fish back in with nice, clear water with a cool fountain spray. And do you know those fish mess it all up again with a couple weeks! And they seem to THRIVE on the green funky water. They have lived through 4 winters, frozen in the bottom of the little fish pond and every spring there they are again, bigger than ever! I keep thinking that one spring they will float to the top and we can finally do away with the fish pond that has been giving us a lovely sound, but is way too much work. But NO! Those little Wal-mart fish were supposed to ge goldfish but they HAVE to be Koi because they just keep growing. So this summer I am going to do an experiment. I want to see just how long I can stand to not clean out the fish pond. I want to know what happens when I can no longer see the fish and I want to see just how green that water gets. I am also going to see how long it is before I just can't stand the nasty windows or baseboards any more!
You just might not want to come visit this summer, unless you are a kid...because kids just don't care whether your baseboards are clean or not! Happy spring cleaning, y'all. I'll be sitting on the porch, eatin pistachios.
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Monday, February 25, 2013
Retirement !!
February is almost over and I have yet to post this month!
As I get "more senior" I begin to pick up on the word, and watch or listen as people talk about what to do with their aging parents. It seems to be a big problem that is getting bigger, unless you are very rich. I watched a show where two sisters go to visit their dad and try to 'talk some sense into him' about going to a very nice 'retirement comunity' where he would have his own apartment, 3 squares and all the socializing he cared to do. Trouble was, he liked where he was (his own home) and he liked to go to a popular watering hole and visit with friends who were of the lifelong kind. In the end, he won out as he most graciously told his girls NO!
So I began to think.....watch out! Life insurance should be just that! If we pay money for years and years and we are still kicking at the age of, say, 70, the premiums should now convert to 'life care' insurance. If we die before that, then whomever we have chosen to be the recipient of our life polcy will receive it. If we make it past 70, (and this would be a lot of premiums, folks) we should have an option to convert to 'life care' insurance and pay for either someone to come and help us, live-in care, or retirement community payments. If we take this option there would be no one inheriting our insurance policy, but there would also be no worry or guilt, and very possibly no heavy burden on our families as they try to make decisions. And just in case we are in the throws of senility, we would make this decision early so as to 'be in our right minds' when we do so.
So what is wrong with this idea?? I can't think of a thing, can you? Opinions please!!!
As I get "more senior" I begin to pick up on the word, and watch or listen as people talk about what to do with their aging parents. It seems to be a big problem that is getting bigger, unless you are very rich. I watched a show where two sisters go to visit their dad and try to 'talk some sense into him' about going to a very nice 'retirement comunity' where he would have his own apartment, 3 squares and all the socializing he cared to do. Trouble was, he liked where he was (his own home) and he liked to go to a popular watering hole and visit with friends who were of the lifelong kind. In the end, he won out as he most graciously told his girls NO!
So I began to think.....watch out! Life insurance should be just that! If we pay money for years and years and we are still kicking at the age of, say, 70, the premiums should now convert to 'life care' insurance. If we die before that, then whomever we have chosen to be the recipient of our life polcy will receive it. If we make it past 70, (and this would be a lot of premiums, folks) we should have an option to convert to 'life care' insurance and pay for either someone to come and help us, live-in care, or retirement community payments. If we take this option there would be no one inheriting our insurance policy, but there would also be no worry or guilt, and very possibly no heavy burden on our families as they try to make decisions. And just in case we are in the throws of senility, we would make this decision early so as to 'be in our right minds' when we do so.
So what is wrong with this idea?? I can't think of a thing, can you? Opinions please!!!
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
It's February...but spring is coming!
I said it would write each month this year and this one is almost over! I am sitting in sunny Florida, while its still cold and possibly snowy in NC. yes!! Brought a little of the cold stuff with us, but it's really nice now.
I was watching a program on TV with some of the Sowell clan last night. It involved children talking to their father about going into a "retirement" center. He agreed to go see it so off they went. It was actually quite a nice place, and he would have had his own apartment and the luxury of having someone clean it for him! And...3 square meals a day that he didn't have to prepare. Ok, sounds good so far! (I think women understand this better than men because they are usually the ones who do the cleaning and 3 squares in the first place, but I digress. Ok, the cost was astronomical, but really what more could you want. Someone would take you shopping if you wanted to go, and it seemed like everyone was having a great old time. This father, though, would have none of it. "my friends are where I live".....I don't thinks he wanted to make new ones. He ate pretty well, sat and watched TV, and each day he went to see his lifelong friends, a table full of other old guys, who sat and drank coffee and laughed and talked and carried on...and then probably went home for a nap and some TV watching as well. Ok, so he probably needed more exercise. But there is something to be said about old friends and naps. And there is something to be said about being I your own home, even if it does have 4 bedrooms that you don't use, because you fall asleep in your easy chair, in front of the TV. He would not allow them to send anyone in to check on him either. He didn't want 'strangers' in his house. And really, when you think about it what are they going to do anyway? If he's dead then there is nothing they could do anyway, except call the family and say, " he's gone". And if he IS alright, then they probably came at his nap time and woke him up!
The closer I get to this time of my life, the more I like what this guy was saying, which is, "I worked my whole life, children of mine, and now I get to do what I want to do when I want to do it!". Selfish? Yes, maybe, but daggone it, I deserve it!! And when I get to the point in my life where I have decided I need something more, I will let you know.
I'm going to take a nap now. Love and hugs, nana
I was watching a program on TV with some of the Sowell clan last night. It involved children talking to their father about going into a "retirement" center. He agreed to go see it so off they went. It was actually quite a nice place, and he would have had his own apartment and the luxury of having someone clean it for him! And...3 square meals a day that he didn't have to prepare. Ok, sounds good so far! (I think women understand this better than men because they are usually the ones who do the cleaning and 3 squares in the first place, but I digress. Ok, the cost was astronomical, but really what more could you want. Someone would take you shopping if you wanted to go, and it seemed like everyone was having a great old time. This father, though, would have none of it. "my friends are where I live".....I don't thinks he wanted to make new ones. He ate pretty well, sat and watched TV, and each day he went to see his lifelong friends, a table full of other old guys, who sat and drank coffee and laughed and talked and carried on...and then probably went home for a nap and some TV watching as well. Ok, so he probably needed more exercise. But there is something to be said about old friends and naps. And there is something to be said about being I your own home, even if it does have 4 bedrooms that you don't use, because you fall asleep in your easy chair, in front of the TV. He would not allow them to send anyone in to check on him either. He didn't want 'strangers' in his house. And really, when you think about it what are they going to do anyway? If he's dead then there is nothing they could do anyway, except call the family and say, " he's gone". And if he IS alright, then they probably came at his nap time and woke him up!
The closer I get to this time of my life, the more I like what this guy was saying, which is, "I worked my whole life, children of mine, and now I get to do what I want to do when I want to do it!". Selfish? Yes, maybe, but daggone it, I deserve it!! And when I get to the point in my life where I have decided I need something more, I will let you know.
I'm going to take a nap now. Love and hugs, nana
Monday, January 21, 2013
A new year and a old idea
Ok, so we are well into January, 2013, and I am going to try to write something at least monthly...we will see how that goes! First of all, my granddaughter has just passed her one year mark - cancer free! Like the saying goes, she kicked cancers butt!! I love you, M.
I have spent a lot of time reading, as the weather has been lousy so going outside is no fun most of the time. To me, cold, wet winters = more time to read. My daughter brought me a book when the family visited for Thanksgiving, titled The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society! I know, the name just invites a look see anyway. She said that Stephanie Meyers (of Breaking Dawn fame) had suggested it. I was reading something else at the time but I just kept looking at that name and had to peek at it a bit. I finally just picked it up and started reading, which meant I was now reading two books at once ( three really but that's another story). In a nutshell:
It is a "story" told through letters. These letters take you deep into lives lived under the expectation of cruelty or confiscation of homes, lives, livelihoods, etc. on a German occupied small island called Guernsey, in the UK. Only by these letters are you taken down the paths of these individuals lives, as the more you "correspond" with someone, the more you learn about them, a little here and there, always with the ability to eventually feel their personality. Texting and email have sadly taken the place of the one on one, back and forth of letter writing. They are too hurried and too impersonal. They do not allow the writer the quietness of mind that is needed to convey a true and lasting thought.
By the way, authors are Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows.
Cleverly devised, it also made me want to go and see this island, which I someday hope to do. The description of the boat ride to the island, however, made me realize the need for my sea-sickness meds!
I have spent a lot of time reading, as the weather has been lousy so going outside is no fun most of the time. To me, cold, wet winters = more time to read. My daughter brought me a book when the family visited for Thanksgiving, titled The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society! I know, the name just invites a look see anyway. She said that Stephanie Meyers (of Breaking Dawn fame) had suggested it. I was reading something else at the time but I just kept looking at that name and had to peek at it a bit. I finally just picked it up and started reading, which meant I was now reading two books at once ( three really but that's another story). In a nutshell:
It is a "story" told through letters. These letters take you deep into lives lived under the expectation of cruelty or confiscation of homes, lives, livelihoods, etc. on a German occupied small island called Guernsey, in the UK. Only by these letters are you taken down the paths of these individuals lives, as the more you "correspond" with someone, the more you learn about them, a little here and there, always with the ability to eventually feel their personality. Texting and email have sadly taken the place of the one on one, back and forth of letter writing. They are too hurried and too impersonal. They do not allow the writer the quietness of mind that is needed to convey a true and lasting thought.
By the way, authors are Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows.
Cleverly devised, it also made me want to go and see this island, which I someday hope to do. The description of the boat ride to the island, however, made me realize the need for my sea-sickness meds!
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