Nix the Jingle Bells

Holiday music is the topic for December 7 Fun Monday. Specifically, Cynical Girl , our host for this week, asks us to share that one Christmas or holiday song that we would prefer never to hear again. And why does that one song make us sad, get on our last nerve or just spoil the holiday mood in general? For me, it was an easy pick--"Jingle Bells". I actually feel like a curmudgeon even admitting this, but Cynical Girl promises no judging, so there you have it. I especially despise any version that is performed by Alvin and the Chipmunks or barking dogs, like this for example:




I usually associate animal performances of "Jingle Bells" with bad commercials on radio and TV urging us to get started with our holiday shopping by the last week of October. And as the weeks go on leading up to December, the mindless frenzy just keeps building, egged on by barking dogs and chipmunks. This morning I was looking on YouTube for performances of the song that I liked and no luck. Not even a bunch of cute school kids with their guitar playing music teacher. And when you really pay attention to the lyrics, where's the reality? "Dashing through the snow in a one horse open sleigh. . .O'er the fields we go, laughing all the way" Come on! I love the sounds, sights, smells and traditions of the holiday season, but think that we'd all be a bit happier at this time of the year if we had more realistic expectations for what we'll get from the season.

So, there you have a small glimpse at this Christmas grinch. But just so you won't totally give up on me, I'll close this post with a video that Kittyhawk sent me last night. I'm definitely against dogs barking "Jingle Bells", but it's okay for them to decorate the Christmas tree if they're as smart as this pack. Now that's being realistic! :-)



Be sure to head over to Cynical Girl's place and check out the songs that make other Fun Monday participants' most disliked holiday music lists.

Fun Monday Update -- I'll host on December 21. Promise it will be something simple since everyone will probably be in holiday prep overdrive. Check back here for the assignment on Wednesday, the 16th. We need a host for December 14. Going once, going twice. . . :-)

Sharing Time, Talents, & Treasures

This week it's a Fun Friday, rather than Fun Monday, post because I've been caught up with some dog silliness this past week. If that appeals to you more than holiday giving just scroll down to the previous post "Peggy Flobbins Look Alike". Anyway! Our host for this week's Fun Monday was Sayre . Her assignment asks us to examine our Inner Giver. At the start of the gift-giving season, what are our thoughts on giving? What do we give? Why do we do it? Well, in my mind the perfect gift is one that combines the sharing of our time, talents, and treasures. Most years I don't come up to my own standards, but here's some ways that I've expressed my Inner Giver:

Channeling Martha Stewart--many years ago my small circle of friends decided that we would stop buying each other "stuff". We had all the stuff we needed or, if we wanted something, most of us just went out and bought it. So, over the years we made group contributions to an inner city church soup kitchen where we once volunteered or we contributed to the Kentucky Humane Society. Still, around the holidays I get the urge to make something green and festive. Last year it was evergreen wreaths for everyone. For about two days the kitchen was given over to a wreath making assembly line. Here's an example. This year I'll do the same. Not sure what form it will take yet but it will definitely be fresh greenery and seasonal. Guaranteed to passed Martha Stewart's inspection. :-)


Volunteering with Hospice--this is something that I do all year long. When I retired, I decided to take the training to be a family respite care volunteer with our local hospice organization. I did this for several reasons. The first was rather selfish. I don't have family members that I can count on if I should ever need end of life care myself, so I decided that hospice volunteering would be something I could do now while I'm healthy and able to do it. Kind of a pay forward for the time that I may need the help of this great organization myself. I also thought I could learn more about caregiving since I have that responsibility for my older sister.

The funny thing about this whole experience is that I never had any illusions that I was well-suited for this job. I don't have a lot of tender feelings for people who are ill. Neither am I a "brow wiper." I am, however, practical and patient--and interested in people. So, that's what I do. I work with one family at a time, providing respite care. Right now it's an elderly couple. The wife is in a wheelchair and on oxygen, diagnosed by hospice as "failing to thrive." The husband is full-time caregiver. So, whenever he needs me, I sit with his wife at the kitchen table watching soaps or game shows. We talk about important things like hairstyles, who we like on Dancing with the Stars, dogs--they have one they love--and the frustrations and worries of being totally dependent on someone for everything you need. Meanwhile the husband gets a much needed break away from caregiving to play a few rounds of golf with his buddies or take care of some of his own needs.


Animal Rescue--this is an area of giving that's close to my heart. Last year before I became so tangled up with taking care of my older sister and getting her re-situated, I worked with area rescue groups transporting dogs wherever needed to different rescue organizations. What a great feeling to take a scared, sometimes almost wild puppy or adult dog, from a shelter and get them to the next drop off point--a step toward getting them in a forever home. There were the biting Great Pyrenees pups, Max the red heeler, the puking border collies, Jake the black lab companion animal trainee, and the little old woman grey poodle who was blind and broken toothed but still someone was willing to rescue. In 2010 I plan to get back into more animal rescue. What I'm coming to understand is that once you become a caregiver, it just goes on and on. And it makes no sense to put your own interests and passions on hold while you do the caregiving. You need to do both to maintain some balance in your life.

So Sayre, the areas above pretty much sum up where I am right now as a Giver--take a little bit of time, talent, and treasure; mix well; and then give it out to others. If I haven't made it around to all the Fun Monday posts, will do so today. And, thanks for stopping by to check out my Fun Friday post.

Peggy Flobbins Look Alike

Checking the mailbox is a pleasure these days since I started exchanging postcards with people from all over the world. Every day I eagerly sift through the bills and junk mail for brightly colored handwritten cards with exotic stamps from interesting people from many countries outside the USA. Recently I was excited to receive snapshots of the Great Wall of China; a sunset over Dresden, Germany; and the Empress Catherine I Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia.

And then a few days ago this sweet card arrived from Leicestershire, England. I did a double take at first because this dog(Samy? I think. Unfortunately her name was blurred by the postal metering.) looks so much like Peggy Flobbins, a favorite blogosphere dog of mine for several years who also lives and occasionally blogs from England.

Peggy Flobbins, my favorite blog doggy diva, can be found at Lane's Write . Check her out, you'll be amazed at how much they resemble each other. Now I don't know much about Samy except that she's a 13 year old rescue. I'm better acquainted with Peggy Flobbins. She lives in a cozy house with her owner(servant?)Lane and two girls who think she's very amusing and photogenic. Peggy spends her days supervising Lane who sits at the kitchen table every day tippety tapping on the laptop. Peggy can't understand Lane's obsession with this writing stuff. Personally, she thinks days are better spent curled up sleeping with her sister Teabag or supervising making yogurt cakes or buns. In warmer weather she doesn't mind going for a stroll with Lane and Teabag. And she never passes up a good bounce on the trampoline with the Younger One.

Peg has opinions about many topics and sometimes Lane allows her to guest blog on Lane's Write, much to the delight of her many reader fans. At other times she's just happy to have hers and Teabag's photos in a blog post. In fact, the two of them are featured in the latest Lane's Write post modeling a cozy crocheted blanket. Prompted MANY favorable comments! Now I've known Peggy Flobbins for about two years and that's long enough to have discovered the major disappointment in her charmed life. You see, Peggy has been disappointed in love like so many other beautiful girls. If you're familiar with Cesar Millan, The Dog Whisperer, you know he has a trusty sidekick, Daddy the Pit Bull. Daddy has always led a glamorous life, first as a rapper's companion and then as Cesar's assistant in working with dogs that have gotten off on the wrong paw. Poor Pegs saw him on Facebook and immediately wanted to friend him. Daddy, sadly, has ignored this little English rose. What's a girl to do? I'm thinking Pegs should write a tell all book or her own blog. That may get Daddy's attention.

Now be sure to pop over to Lane's Write to meet Peggy and Teabag and have a good blog read courtesy of Lane.

December 1 Update: Peggy Flobbins had taken over Lane's blog to spread the word to all her fans that she has a double! Check out her post on Lane's Write. Now we're just waiting for contact from her double in Leichestershire to see what happens. Will they meet at a halfway spot? Will they like each other? Or, will they just have to communicate via blogs and Facebook? Stay tuned. . .

December 3 Update: Well the Double Dog story just gets better and better! I heard from a very excited Peggy Flobbins this morning with news that she has gotten a message from her Leichestershire double, Sally. Not only do they look alike but they have many things in common except for age. Sally is a 13 year old gentlewoman while Pegs is still a young thing. They both enjoy naps and biscuits. Both are rescues and pretty much are in charge of their respective households. Peggy is liking this idea of "double dogs" and now wants to find her Teabag's alter ego. She also promised to be on the lookout for Summit Musings' Willie the Pit Bull double. Could there be an English reality TV show in the works? If so, I hope it doesn't take as long as Spooks or Robin Hood to get to BBC America. . .

Thankful

Giving thanks is the topic for this week's Fun Monday post. Our host is Wendy from Queensland in the great Down Under. In recognition that many Fun Monday participants live in the USA and will be celebrating Thanksgiving this week, Wendy suggests that we share things we are thankful for in our lives.

So, in no particular order here are five things that almost guarantee that every day is a G'day for me:

1. Willie the Pit Bull--he's 13 years old and my constant companion (sleeping under my desk right now). Taking care of him and going through our daily routines together is an on-going pleasure. Life would not be very much fun without a great pet.

2. Health--I just had a birthday a week ago and went through the annual pleasure and pain of physical exams and tests. Passed with good results, if not distinction. Sure, I could lose some weight and lower some of my vital numbers, but overall I'm strong, healthy, active and able to take care of myself and help my sister--that's a relief.

3. Secure retirement--in these uncertain economic times, I'm so thankful to have been in the workforce when saving for retirement was possible. Because I worked for two different organizations that had longevity and stablility, I was able to retire at 60 with an adequate income and health insurance.

4. Interesting friends--I am so lucky to have several long time friends who always have my back--in good times and bad. And then there's another whole group of friends that I've made through the magic of technology, like you dear Fun Monday bloggers. How great to be connected with interesting people from all over the world through blogging and my newest project, postcarding. Right now I'm looking at a beautiful postcard of the Rotterdam, Netherlands waterfront, last week it was the Great Wall of China. We do indeed live in a small world.

5. Books, films, and travel--the world is open to us through what we choose to read, great films we see and the places we go. I'm grateful to have unlimited access to all this on a daily basis. How better to understand and appreciate people who live differently from the way I do?

My list of "thankfuls" could have been a lot longer, but these five are tops from day to day. Over the weekend I was thinking about this post and trying to come up with something more original than a list when I ran across this youTube video of a soldier returning from Afghanistan being greeted by his golden retriever Gracie. The pure joy and love in this reunion is something I hope each of you experience in some way in your life.



Wishing each of you a very "thankful" holiday wherever you are. Now be sure to have a look at all the other thankful lists before Thursday!

When Christmas was Magical

This week's Fun Monday assignment is all about sharing some of our oldest possessions. Our host this week, Ari_1965 at Beyond My Slab , asks us to share some photos of our oldest possession and explain how we came to own it. Why have we hung on to it for all these years? For all of you who get crazy when you see or hear anything Christmasy two months before December 25, I apologize in advance. I'm with you. Thing is, the oldest possession I have is a rather fine collection of glass Christmas ornaments, many probably were made in the 1920-30s.

There was a time when I loved everything about Christmas--the sights, sounds, smells, and celebrations. I especially loved decorating my home with all the treasures I had collected over the years. A month before Christmas, I cleaned and polished everything, shopped for presents and wrapped each one in special paper and topped each gift off with a simple bow of fabric ribbon. A week before Thanksgiving I started watching the local tree lots and nurseries. When would they start selling Christmas trees and live greenery for homemade wreaths and roping? My tree of choice was always a fresh fraser fir from the mountains of North Carolina. Its fragrance was the essence of Christmas and its sturdy branches were spaced well to hold the largest and heaviest ornament.

Once I had the noble fir home and had gotten it to stand upright in the tree stand--a big challenge since I usually worked alone--it was time to get out my treasured collection of glass ornaments. For several years I rummaged through antique stores, flea markets, and yard sales on the lookout for the brightly colored ornaments that people gave up in favor of coordinated tree decorations in the 70s and 80s. These ornaments gleamed against the dark fir branches and multi-colored tree lights. I especially searched for ornaments made in West Germany, Poland and Czechoslovakia. Here's a sampling of some of my most prized ornaments:

In the lower portion of the photo you can see two examples of reflectors that fitted underneath a Christmas light bulb. The reflections from the colored lights made magic on the tree. In the center of the photo notice the brightly colored pendants. They were made in Poland.

Starting in the upper left corner, here's a close up of some extra large ornaments made in West Germany. I found these at an auction--about 10 in a box. Those with the indents are quite special:

Moving on to the upper right hand corner you can see examples of tinsel decorated ornaments, a pear shaped clear ornament with a tableau inside, and chenille tree that fitted over a bulb:

On the right the smaller, brightly colored balls are from Poland and Czechoslovakia and were made in the 1930s.

In addition to these European glass ornaments I also collected other unusual shapes:

Beginning in the lower left corner, the red clown is very old and almost patriotic. Perhaps made especially for sale in the U.S. Moving clockwise, you can see my collection of glass musical instruments. Also notice the lamp with a green shade and gold lace fringe--a great find. Beside the lamp are some of my favorite shapes of Shiny Brites. These familiar striped ornaments where manufactured in the U.S. after WW II and hung on many trees, along with large colored lights. In the front center are three kugel grape clusters. These ornaments are German and can be identified by their heavy weight and flat ornamental cap.

I stopped putting up a Christmas tree the year that Willie was a pup. I couldn't stand the thoughts of him breaking any of the ornaments or turning the tree over. Both catastrophes were distinct possibilities. That was 13 years ago. I haven't given these ornaments away so maybe there is a tree in my future. . .

Now be sure to check out the possessions that other Fun Monday participants are still hanging on to. Do you think it's true that we are our "stuff"?

Ben's Daily Schedule vs Mine

Our daily schedule is the topic for this week's Fun Monday. Our host is the very busy working student mom, Gracie over at Mama Rehema's . She wants a description of our typical day. When do we get up? Go to bed? What do we do to get going? Wind down? And all those activities in between? Now before I share my very laid back retired schedule, I thought you might be interested in another person's schedule for comparison. Say Ben Franklin's, a man famous for accomplishing a lot in a day. This daily schedule is from Ben Franklin: An Autobiography and Other Writings.

There's a lot to admire about Ben's schedule. I wish my day followed his pattern, but it doesn't. What better way to start your day than by asking the question: What good shall I do this day? Followed by taking stock at the end of the day--What good have I done today? In between Ben takes the time to connect with "Powerful Goodness", his perception of God. Franklin was not a traditionally religious man, rejecting much of the stern Puritan beliefs of his day. Instead he believed that the greatest service of God was in doing good for man. When I study Ben's schedule, balance and moderation come to mind. He rises, contemplates some higher purpose, gets cleaned up, plans and organizes his day, eats breakfast. Then he works until mid-day when he stops to rest and refresh himself with food for mind and body. After that he resumes work. When the workday is done, he puts things in order and then he spends his evening in pleasurable pursuits--dinner and conversation, music, reading. He ends his day by meditating on what he has accomplished, then he sleeps. A day well spent.

I imagined I would spend my retired days much differently than I do. I thought there would be a schedule that, like Ben's, balanced work and pleasure. I would maintain a very organized, efficient household and still have time to have fun and be creative. Instead, I spend a lot of time caregiving and then compensate by not using my free time that wisely--I escape from my current reality a lot. So Gracie, here's what my daily schedule looks like:

2:00-3:00 a.m. Go to bed

8:00-8:30 a.m. Wake up, leash up Willie for trip to paperbox, feed him, make coffee

9:00-10:00 a.m. Drink coffee, eat breakfast, read newspaper

10:00-11:00 a.m. On computer--e-mails, blogs, more news

11:00-2:30 p.m. Household chores, yardwork, errands & appointments, lunch, read

2:30-3:30 p.m. Walk Willie

3:30-4:30 p.m. On computer again, read

4:30-6:30 p.m. Cook and eat dinner, watch news, clean kitchen, straighten and tidy things

6:30-8:00 p.m. Watch Netflix DVDs on computer

8:00- 11:00 p.m. Watch prime time TV, read, paperwork

11:00-2:00 a.m More Netflix, read, blogging

2:00-3:00 a.m Go to Bed

My good friend S has just retired and she can't get over the freedom you feel after so many years working full time and being accountable for your schedule. I understand. My days don't have much form to them and I like it that way. Although, I keep thinking I could make better use of my time. . .

Kitty Knows

"After reading you blog I couldn't resist sending you this":

My longtime friend Kittyhawk sent this message this afternoon after reading my most recent post, "Listography Q & A". I laughed out loud when I opened the kitty attachment. After revealing that not only do I have years of journals, I also do very self-absorbed exercises like making life event timelines and personal photo collages from childhood to the present. I deserved a good ribbing and who better than a friend to do it!

Yep, you're right Kitty. I am a mess at times. And one of the advantages to blogging is that you can go ahead and reveal some of that in your writing without too much loss of face. Kitty knows and so do your friends, but they accept you anyway.