Each antique needs a place

 Now that the holidays are over, it's truly time for me to put the decorations away.  I usually wait until right after epiphany to do that, but this year it has been delayed.  Mostly because of the weather.  Now, you may think that being cooped up inside the house would be the perfect opportunity to take down the decorations, but it's really not for me. Why?  All of my containers are out in the garage, and I didn't feel like stomping through the ice and snow to get to the garage to bring the containers inside.  Lazy, I know, but there you have it.

Anyway, as I prepare to take down Christmas this week, I am thinking about restocking the house with my antiques and collectibles. I know that I have too many of them, but I love them, and I love having them in my home. On a side note, this will be a good opportunity for me to cull my collections and find loving homes for things I no longer need or use.  But besides that, I have been thinking a lot about where to put things.  In many ways, I want my things to have a home.  Not as in be in my home, but to have a place inside my house where they belong. 

I think a lot about the houses of my past:  the home I grew up in, Grandmother's house, Aunt Billie's house, Aunt Sara's house, and I can tell you where things belonged in that house.  Most of what they had belonged in specific places in their homes.  In some ways, that is the comfort of those houses.  You went into them and you knew where things were.  I remember one time going to Billie's house and not seeing her cobalt beverage set in her curio cabinet, where it had always been.  When I asked her about it, she said she'd decided to take it out and wash it because it had been a long time. Then she offered it to me.  Of course, I said yes and now it sits in my dining room in the same curio cabinet I later inherited. 

But I can remember and tell you things about how the houses were decorated that, while they are of no consequence to others, bring back comforting memories for me.  Like I know that Aunt Sara's chocolate set sat on the chest of drawers in her living room.  Grandmother kept her mother's potato salad bowl in a pine cabinet in the breakfast room. Mom kept her printer's tray display hanging on the wall in the kitchen by the back door.  All of these things had specific homes with homes.  That's what I want.  As fun as it is to move things around, I like the routine of putting my antiques in their place.

So that is what I'm going to work on when I put my house back in order. I want to create a nostalgic home that people want to come and spend time in. I love it when people look around and ask questions. It's the little things that make my life happy right now.

That is all. 

Today's Moment of Mindfulness

 

Look at a tree,

a flower, a plant...

Allow nature to

Teach you stillness

Eckhart Tolle

50 at 50

 

This year, after just turning 50 years old, I have decided to attempt to do 50 different things throughout the year to celebrate my birthday.  In some ways, I see that as being totally possible.  In other ways, I find it very daunting.  I started compiling my list last month right after my 50th birthday party. Let me tell you, it is not that easy to come up with 50 different things that I want to do. As of today, I have just over 20 items on the list.  Maybe one of my 50 things should be to come up with 50 things LOL

So far, my list is comprised of several travel goals.  Just places that I would like to visit over the next year.  While some are doable like the NC mountains and Wilmington, some will take a little more strategic planning like NYC and Canada.  I'll need a passport for Canada, so that's on my list as well.  I have several practical goals like saving a certain amount of money and getting my credit card paid down. Then there are hobby goals like reading 25 books over the next year.  If you know me, even though I love reading, I'm a slow reader so this one is going to push me and I look forward to it!

There are some cultural goals like listening to live jazz and seeing shows.  In fact, my first goal is to the The Nutcracker on stage. I'd thought about going ahead and getting that one checked off over the holidays but even the cheapest seats were well over $100 and that just wasn't going to happen. This will help me to plan better during the year!

So, if you have any advice or any ideas on things I might want to consider adding to my list, just let me know.  By the way, I have a pretty good fear of heights, so anything like bungee jumping or skydiving will not be considered LOL  But I would really love some input and ideas from people who have either done something similar when they turned 50 or plan to when the time comes.  Thanks!

John 15:12

 Too many cherry pickers have forgotten this verse and what it means. Take His commandment to heart and life others up.  It's really not that difficult and can make a world of difference to someone.

Dream of the Forgotten Child - David Lanz

 One of the things I love about David Lanz's music is that is always brings scenes of nature to my mind.  After looking at many videos people have put together using his music, I know that I am not alone in that thinking. Looking out my front door this morning at the blanket of snow on the ground and the stillness of it all, this haunting melody creeped into my mind.  It's a beautiful piece of piano music.  I was never able to play this one well, but it's on my bucket list to conquer!  Thanks again to Tanya for introducing David Lanz to me decades ago!!

Remembering snow days

 As we await today's winter weather, I would be remiss if I didn't remember the snow days we had growing up on Brookgreen Drive.  Ah, those were the days.  If the snow was happening on a weekday, we would wake up and have to watch the local tv channel to see if school was going to be closed.  And that was agonizing to a kid.  There was absolutely no guarantee that we wouldn't be in school.  Our eyes were glued to the bottom of the screen.  We would be reciting the alphabet in our heads as the names of schools scrolled by, holding our breath, waiting to see Walter Bickett or Monroe Middle School or Monroe High School.  If ours wasn't there, then we would have to sit and keep watching all of the other categories before it got back round to the schools. It was very intense!

Once it was determined that there would be no school, it just became a matter of picking the right time to go out sledding.  There was a pretty big hill in our neighborhood.  From where the Griffin's tennis court was and running down to the creek behind the Derrick's and the Davis's house.  Somehow all of us kids of all ages managed to get there around the same time.  Most of us had the cheap plastic sleds but they worked.  Sometimes people would bring boxes to slide down the hill on. One time, I remember that I actually slid into the creek.  I had to go home after that because I was all wet and frostbite could have been an issue.  I also remember a time when Amy Arnold got stung by a bee when we were sledding.  She sat down in one of the boxes and a bee that had died was in the bottom of the box was stinger side up.  Oops!!

Another fun thing I remember about snow days is that Grandmother almost always came over to stay with us.  Either Mom would get her the night before or Dad would go that morning and pick her up.  She used to love to make snow cream.  I haven't had that in years!  And there would always be a fire in the fireplace.  That came in handy if the power went out.  If you've never had the pleasure of experiencing a real fire in a fireplace, you are missing out!  After the obligatory snow sledding, the afternoon became filled with puzzles, playing cards, coloring. I'm so glad that I was a kid before personal computers became a thing.  I feel sorry for kids who have to spend snow days in online classes instead getting to just be a kid all day and enjoy the snow.  Of course, that was back in the old days when we were taught to learn and not just taught how to take a test.  

And then, just like that, it would be over.  Normal life would resume but we would have those memories of the snow days to last a lifetime. Since it didn't snow every year in Monroe, these snow days were very precious.  How I would love to get out into the snow again one more time with the gang of kids from Brookgreen Drive.  We didn't really know how good we had it at the time.  Ah, sweet memories. 

Quote of the Week

 As we are expecting snow tomorrow, my anxiety is pretty high right now.  On the one hand, I love snow and winter weather when I can stay and home and enjoy it.  But when I might have to be out driving in it, it honestly petrifies me. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the snow does not start until after I'm home from work but the chances of that are pretty slim.  So, I need to do my best to remain calm. Wish me luck!

The first step of my capstone class/project

 I have a lot of preparing to do for my last class/capstone project.  While I still don't know what I'm going to do, I still have a few months to figure that out.  I've had a lot going on the past several months, so I'm not worried that I have not figured that out yet. This gives me something to focus on.  Luckily, my professor for the capstone, Dr. Caro, has already sent out the capstone handbook and the syllabus for the class.  That is going to give me a good foundation for the class and help me to pick my project.

The first thing that I have to do is get my application in for the class. Exactly why I need to apply for it, I'm not sure.  I think it is to make sure I have all of the other classes in place that I need to have taken before taking this one.  My plan of study has been updated and submitted to my advisor, so I am good to go on that end.  I just need to print off a copy of the application, fill it out and submit it.  I can do that!  It's going to be a good class and experience I have no doubt.  I will update more as I make my choices on what I would like to do.  I am looking forward to this challenge!

Daily Challenges for 2025

 

I enjoyed doing my daily challenges over the past two years and I feel that I was somewhat successful with what I achieved.  I will admit that not every challenge has maintained a place in my everyday life, but they are all definitely still in the back of my head. So now I am looking forward into this new year to see what kinds of challenges I want to pursue. With all of the things going on in the world, especially this country, right now I feel like my first challenge is to not go crazy every day.  LOL I will definitely modify that by looking at challenges such as not spending as much time on social media and finding ways to be calm every day.  

I also want to look at my physical self during these challenges.  Of course, exercise is always important so there will be an element of that in my challenges coming up. I'm not sure how extreme they will be because last year's challenge did result in some physical problems.  Honestly, I went too hard to fast and probably did some damage.  Damage that can hopefully be repaired! But I do know from that experience that I did feel better after exercising, even when I hurt myself.  I felt better mentally, most of all, which is quite important. 

I am sure that I will come up with some fun challenges and some challenges I feel are necessary.  Now that I am 50, I am to the point that I have a "now or never" attitude.  I can't keep putting these things off if I truly want to achieve them. We will see how that goes. And, as always, I am open to suggestions so if you have any ideas, please let them in the comments!

That is all.

The Cell Phone Account - Escapades in Adulting

 

This week, I had to take over the cell phone account that I was once an additional line on.  I was filled the trepidation because I have heard such horror stories of dealing with cell phone companies.  But as an adult, I have never had to do this before.  For over a decade, I had a cell phone through my work.  Up until then, I had only had land lines.  Which I do miss, by the way.  Well, after work ended, Michael put me on his plan.  That was 2014 and I have had the same number ever since.

Michael changed his phone carrier several months ago and it was time for me to take over this account.  However, the charge was way too much for me to afford. There had been some miscommunication when Michael left the account.  I was supposed to be charged only what I had been paying to be the additional line, but it did not look like that was happening.  I know Michael spent several hours on the phone with them trying to get this fixed but to no avail.  And, I'm pretty sure that it was not a very friendly exchange.  Ah, well.

So, I had been looking at changing carriers because I could get a better deal with someone else.  I did my research and settled on Spectrum.  I have them for internet and I have been pleased with the service I have had for the past two years.  And I could bundle the services, get a new phone, and still come under budget.  Sounds pretty great. 

I called T-mobile to cancel the service.  I was quite nervous because, as I said earlier, I have never done this before.  But, I'd had a difficult day at work so I was prepared for battle. The gentleman I spoke with from customer service couldn't have been nicer. On a side note, I work in customer service so I know what it's like to be on the other end of it.  And from that point of view, if you're nice to me I will be nice to you and go above and beyond to help you out.  So that is what I went into this conversation with.

I explained my situation about why I needed to cancel the account.  He listened and looked back at the records for my phone line.  While I did not ask for any deal, he admitted error on their part and that the cost should only reflect the one line.  Everything got verified and my plan is what I have been paying all along.  That was almost too easy.

So, I will have my same number and my same phone. My coverage is the same at the same price. I feel now that I can mark this one off of my "I adulted" checklist! I just hope I don't have to do it again any time soon.  But if I do, I will at least have this experience to fall back on.  And the bottom line is if you're nice to customer service representatives, they'll be nice to you!

O Little Town of Bethlehem - Tabernacle Choir

 I am wrapping up the Christmas season with another of my favorite carols.  O Little Town of Bethlehem is a sweet, simple carol about the birth of Christ. There are two melodies associated with this carol and here the Tabernacle Choir performs the Lewis Redner version, more popular in the US than the "Forest Green" melody often heard in the UK.  It is a beautiful carol, and I hope you enjoy.  Merry Christmas!

The First Noel - Josh Groban and Faith Hill

 This is simply a beautiful version of The First Noel.  Josh is here singing with Faith Hill, another favorite of mine. This is from his first Christmas album, and I just love it.  Enjoy!

The Holly and The Ivy - Natalie Cole

 On the 10th day of Christmas, I have chosen the traditional carol, The Holly and The Ivy.  There are many beautiful versions of the carol out there and I have opted for this version by Natalie Cole. Like her father before her, Natalie has a strong, yet relaxing singing voice.  And, thank goodness, she knows that all she has to do is sing the song and she's golden.  I hope you enjoy!

I Wonder as I Wander - Vanessa Williams

 On the 9th day of Christmas, I have chosen Vanessa Williams's version of I Wonder as I Wander.  I was listening to her 1996 holiday album Star Bright.  I have always thought this was a hauntingly beautiful song and Ms. Williams does it justice.  The entire album is worth a listen if you haven't heard it before.  Enjoy!

Silver Bells - Doris Day

 Another holiday classic that makes the rounds on various albums of the period is this version of Silver Bells by Doris Day.  While it's on her own Christmas album, you can find it several places.  She does a very nice job singing this classic tune.  enjoy!