Tag: Time

1st time…

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For the first time on my blog I had someone leave a rude comment on one of my posts today! They actually told me to ‘f’ off. First I was astonished that I had offended someone so much that they felt this way. Then I wondered how an innocuous and supportive post could elicit that reaction? Is it because I’m a woman and I’m daring to express an opinion? But the person referred to me as male. And as I just use my surname why would they know my gender?

Eventually I logged it as Spam and didn’t actually report the blogger. I just wanted the comment gone. Perhaps I should have done. If I’m being trolled how many others are being too? I will see if it happens again. I spent years moderating websites so it didn’t upset me. It’s just childish. And unusual for Jetpack /WordPress. X

Heron on the bank

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Blurry photo of a heron chilling out on the canal bank today. It leant forward a few times and looked into the murky brown water but then resumed it’s original position again. I guess it must have seen a fish.

We have previously seen people magnet fishing in the canal, they said they sometimes find things, but nothing valuable. Is a shopping trolley or bike frame worth it? I guess you can weigh things in for scrap. In the meantime I hope the heron got his dinner!

Obsolescence

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‘That’s obsolete!’ She said.

‘Why? It still works?’

‘You can’t get the parts anymore!’

‘Well, it’s still useful’ he replied ‘and what about make do and mend? You think about it, make it last and you don’t have to waste limited resources.’

‘But what about the manufacturers?’ she asked ‘if they make less things, they won’t be able to keep going? they will close down and you won’t be able to build a replacement if your object breaks.’

He thought for a while ‘they could charge a slightly higher price? Or they could mothball plants until they are needed again. It would be a difficult balance to make, but we need to stop wasting materials and energy.’

It’s a conversation that needs to happen. The world seems to think growth is most important and is the only thing to do. But perhaps we should stop and think.

My dad bought home a bulb from work which was in our bedroom. It never broke, it was still working when we moved house. Imagine stopping built in obsolescence. The act of making things with a built in shelf life. So your kettle only lasts two or three years, your car only ten. Why not make things like that longer lasting?

I have a radio like this…

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We bought an old radio 30 years ago, and it still works! It’s a vaccum valve radio. It only picks up long wave signals, so I can listen to radio 4 and the shipping forecast. We have a 1960’s one too with a huge battery and a large dial to tune into different stations and a big grill on the front.

It’s amazing how these relics of a bygone era can last for decades. OK if they were on all day they might break down, but I think its marvellous. Nowadays people would gut the insides and bung in some Bluetooth speakers and headphones. But I prefer a traditional mechanism. Life needs relics to remind us of our past. It’s only around 100 years since the end of the first world war. And some people born then are still alive. Go back 20 X 100 years and you are back in bible times. We think it’s ancient, but it’s not really long ago compared with deep historic time, like the millions of years ago that the dinosaurs existed.

Being helpful

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I feel like I’m hiding the world on my shoulders and today has been one of those days.

First a phonecall/ interview I had to deal with. Then to my friends to help her contact a utility company. Then to the pharmacy to get my hubbys medication. Finally sending emails for a friend because she’s got problems.

Why do I do it? I tie myself in knots helping people. ‘I’m just a girl that can’t say no, I’m in a terrible fix’, as the saying goes. I guess after doing a helping job over twenty years it’s ingrained. I like helping, I’m not seeking acclaim. I just don’t like seeing people struggle. But sometimes I just want a day off.

Lovely afternoon

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We went out for an afternoon at the local pub to see “the boat band” playing cajun, west-indies and skiffle music. We had a great time. Actually saw a lot of friends and really enjoyed the lively music.

I got upset when someone asked about my sister. I started to explain, then started to cry, so had to tell my friend that I couldn’t talk about it. I don’t like how to feel but they were very understanding.

What I really enjoyed was the trombone playing in “Just a closer walk with thee”, really uplifting and energetic. Singing and music has a good effect on me mentally. I’m glad we went. After years of seeing hardly anyone it’s shocking to think how much time and friendships have been lost.

Chess

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What’s your favorite game (card, board, video, etc.)? Why?

I don’t really have a favourite game, but chess has become a way of socialising with a friend.

We only just started playing this week, but I found I enjoyed the challenge, and after ten years of not playing it, it made my brain work overtime! My friend is quite good and I was surprised how evenly matched we are.

I’d like to get better at it, but I don’t have the ability to think several moves ahead, I’m more of an artist, looking for patterns in the next move or so. It also means I can make random moves that surprise ‘real’ players. Is that an advantage? Maybe.

I used to like Scrabble, but the one friend we played against used to make up rules. For instance he would add words to another word to make a sentence! He insisted this was OK and would argue and lose his temper when we disagreed. So those games stopped (he would also sneakily swap tiles if he didn’t have good letters).

The final game I used to play was Monopoly with my sisters, that was very competitive. We used to squabble a lot over who was winning. It got too argumentative at Christmas when we used to play, so I was glad when we stopped playing it. X

The yard

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Very leafy, I need to pot some small flowering plants on but not while my arm is shaking and sore. I’ll try and use some pain killers to stop it hurting so much. Hubby has dumped a big bag of compost in the way and I need to get it moved so I can get further up the yard. Some of these plants survived the winter, they are very leafy, to be honest I could move them into the main garden but I don’t have the energy and there are some dodgy steps as you walk round the back. I must get hubby to get some sand and cement to replace some loose bricks.

Cats!

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Dogs or cats?

Sorry, I’ve always loved cats, I’ve had cats since I was a child. We never had room for a dog, I don’t think my parents had the time to walk one while they were looking after all of us children.

Cats always seem aloof, but once you get one, and start to understand it they can be very loving. I used to whistle a little tune to get our cats to come home. I’d do it when they were due to be fed, or at bed time, and I suppose they understood the reason behind the whistle so they would come. So cats can be trained. I had one which would jump from one gate post to another when I tapped the post and whistled. She was very special and liked climbing up on my shoulder and having a little ride around the house or garden.

Don’t get me wrong though, I do like dogs, it’s just that when you go out to work all day it seems cruel to leave them shut in the house or tied up in a garden. At least cats can use cat flaps and enjoy independence. And I know you can get dogflaps but they look like a burglar could get in through them…

Also, thinking about cats, I think they are not as expensive to look after, although when you have multiple cats it’s not cheap. Maybe one day if we suddenly have lots of money I might get a dog.

Apologies to dog lovers. X