PNewL PNewS
Volume 25 Issue 4 “All the pnews that phits.” (just under the wire) December 2017
Volume 25 Issue 4 “All the pnews that phits.” (just under the wire) December 2017
We All Bring Something Different to the
Party
It was a few days before Christmas and lo
and behold: I turned on the faucet and nothing.
Perfect timing—I had things to do and places to go and people to see. This was
not the time for the well to fail or the pump to break. (Expletives deleted.) I
panicked…and then I paused and went to make coffee and as we do because we are
creatures of habit, I turned on the water. It dribbled out. I paused again.
What would Jeff or David do? I went down to the basement and changed the
filter. It worked. Despite the fact that I changed the filter just a few weeks
ago, it was mucky and spent. Disaster averted.
Then the other night, I got an email from Betsy who is hell
bent on learning to cook after a lifetime of avoiding it. I looked at her
question and was puzzled. How do I explain to someone who doesn’t have much
background at winging it when it comes to cooking that I don’t have to have a
recipe for something but I am willing to make an educated guess? And how do I
help her when it’s something I can do because of a fair amount of practice and
experience? It was then that the light bulb went off.
We all bring different things to the party. We all have
something we are good at—either because we have natural aptitude or more often
because we have worked hard and have experience so we know stuff. Some of us
can go to the screws and bolts and nail aisle at the hardware store and just
know which ones are needed rather than wandering aimlessly and having to ask
someone. And others of us know things like sometimes a little bit of sugar or
even some cocoa in a savory dish boosts the flavor. It’s why some folks don’t
have to panic when something I deem worthy of panic occurs. Lucky them. But
then there are times when it’s lucky me, because there are those times too.
Things I am Learning
& Miscellaneous Observations
• My
Christmas guests this year include a 12-year old black lab named Madge and a
labradoodle puppy named Bernie Sanderdoodle, both dogs of friends away for the
holiday. Well, frankly they are the only guests. Roger is skeptical. (After: It
actually worked out well despite feeling a little much at times. And as I know,
it’s just not right to shove them all in a closet and leave despite all
inclinations to do just that. But other than that it was fine. The weather
accommodated—it was mild when it wasn’t cold and raining so we got to be
outside a fair amount. Puppies do bring their own terror and magic to life. It
still surprises me when a puppy takes a walk or plays in the backyard and then
comes in and takes a dump. It just does. And they are entertaining in their
interest in the world. Bernie was fascinated by the wind, and the goats next
door, and any unfamiliar noise, including especially whistling and audible passing
of gas—not ‘fessing to anything, I’m just saying…. Not to mention he was so charming in the way he bounced around. It makes me laugh. Meanwhile, Madge was willing to go with
the flow and Roger warmed to the occasion…eventually.)
• So it’s
the run up to the holidays and Amazon says my package will arrive on Sunday,
which seemed excessively fast but what the heck. Then there was a notice that
they apologized but the carrier was overloaded so it would come on Monday. Late
Monday, they apologized that there was some sort of technical difficulty and it
would be here on Tuesday. Imagine my surprise when it was.
• In
November, I ordered a new pair of glasses. I’m still relatively new to glasses
so when they say 10-14 day delivery, I am counting the days. It’s now been almost
a month and I want to hurt someone. I offered to get my money back and they
said, Oh look! They are here and they are PERFECT. We shall see.
• A friend
asked me if there was anything she could do for me. I said, “Find me a nice
funny man with a tool belt...and a good credit rating. (I started with a nice
man, but then I thought, at this stage, I need a little more....)” Yes, I amuse
myself.
• I went to
the gym for the first time in a couple weeks. When I got inside, I had
forgotten my ear buds and the pouch I keep my phone in (no pockets). And I
spilled half my water bottle on my workout pants. I think I should get big
points for actually sticking around.
• My
horoscope the other day started with, “Everyone is flawed, and someone is
really liking the way you’re flawed today.” I liked it. ‘Course Roger is the
only someone I interacted with for any length of time that day and he’s always
willing to cut me some slack.
• The
Weaverville librarians offer stickers to little kids when they check out books.
I heard one of them say that their supply was pretty sad—and it was good that
people were bringing in the pictures off their address labels. Some of them can
be pretty good, I think. As I have been in a (probably short) blast of Fall
Cleaning, I came home this evening and started snipping. Two hours later, I had
cut pictures off of years of address labels including all of those from Florida
from ten years ago. I also found plenty of other stickers as well as
Thanksgiving stickers my mother used for name cards on our Thanksgiving table,
dated 1989. I save stuff, and I am getting over that…or maybe I just wish I
could.
• I am a
big list maker. There are piles of them all over. Before I went away last
month, I lost a pile of lists. I found them a month later in the closet where I
put wrapping paper, decorations and games. (Yes, odd collection though it’s
kind of an odd closet, but it was a particularly odd place to find the lists.) One
reads:
Margins
Dad
Gloves
Hmm. Wonder
what that was all about.
• I was
talking to Jeff about aging. We are all at different stages in this process and
I find it interesting to find out where people are. He said they are buying
bigger trees. It’s time to get something to enjoy now rather than in 20 years.
I like the way he thinks.
•
Alexa died on Christmas morning. If you don't know who Alexa is, she lives in
the cylinder on my counter and answers questions but mostly plays the radio for
me. Christmas Day she stopped talking. The little white light in her base
wasn't on. I had a good long "chat" online with a guy whose name I
can't remember how to spell. After attempting a reset, we determined she was
dead. After googling the issue, I learned that other people had had issues with
the cord (power surges or something and we've been having all kinds of power
coming and going this month) so I suggested to the nice man (wow, I wonder why
I assumed he was a guy? That's shocking!) rather than accept the offer to buy a
new Alexa at a discount, I try a new cord. Okay, s/he said, and because I am among the
building blocks or foundation or something...this person was a bit
verbose...that has helped to make Amazon the success that it is (Really? Time
to change my spending habits, I know.), they will send me a free cord. (We'll
see.)
Okay,
that was way too long but then the power went out for another couple hours and
when it came back on: so did Alexa!!!! It's a miracle—a Christmas miracle! She
has risen! (But why? If anyone has an idea, I really am curious.) And I have a new
unused cord and so far, I've paid for it.
•
I tend to lose things in groups and they often come back the same way. I am now
missing the lid of the pitcher that lives in my fridge, the cord to the Instant
Pot (fortunately they sent me two), and the charger for my fitbit. Hello????
• I have been reading a lot
about Ernest Shackleton, the Antarctic explorer, and the more I learn the more
I marvel that they survived as long as they did—going to Antarctica with a crew
most of whom couldn’t ski, and who also didn’t know how to run the dog sleds
which were to be run by what included something like 65 dogs on board, all of which were untrained mongrels.
• At this
time of year, I often like to say a little something about Things I am Thankful For,
but I’m behind and while I try to be grateful regularly, it’s been a tough year
to keep that in mind. I thought I would rely on one of my favorite people,
Uncle Laymon, to say something smart and while not totally related, it is in
the same feel good spirit. His daughter Lucy posted this on her Facebook page
and I’ve saved it for a time like this to share:
“For general well being, live carefully, keep
mentally alert, keep physically active, be humane in all relations, be honest
and follow the Golden Rule. I just believe these are things that will add
enjoyment and satisfaction to our lives...and they will keep us out of
trouble."
•And
finally, this is also a time I like to post something like a New Year’s
Resolution list (though looking back I have skipped it the last couple years.).
All the usual suspects continue to apply: Eat better, get more exercise, laugh
more, have more fun, dance more, and new to the list but most important: remember to bring all the layers. I am in countdown mode for what I believe will truly be
The Big Trip. Sara and I will meet in Miami to travel together to Buenos Aires
and Iguazu Falls (a Bucket List item since before I knew about Bucket Lists).
Then Betsy arrives and we go to Ushuaia and worlds beyond: the Falkland
Islands, South Georgia and Antarctica! (Because the season is short and the
demand is high, we booked this a while back so the suspense has been a little
more suspenseful than usual.) Last night
I loaded a bunch of YouTube videos on the Roku and watched a couple hours of
people on boats bobbing around in the Southern Ocean. AND SOON THAT IS GOING TO
BE ME (and a bunch of other people). I confess I spent most of the time looking
at what people were wearing as I am worried about having enough clothes and
layers.
I hope 2018
is a good year for you, and a better one for our country and for the world. I wish you peace
and good health, lots of laughs and adventures. Here’s to us all. xoxox
“Few are guilty but all
are responsible.”
Rabbi Abraham Heschel
