Shopping Spree

Contrary to some popularly held beliefs, not all women (or even JAPs) enjoy shopping. I am one of those.

I do however enjoy coming home to a place where I am comfortable, one that is filled with things I love and that makes me happy to be home. I especially wanted my last home to be the one I loved the best. So I have been particularly careful in my choices for the new house and if I really thought something would make a big difference, I went for it.

Of course at some point the Piper has to be Paid. Happily I am a pay-as-you-go person so I am not faced with too humongous of a sticker shock all at once. With the last purchase finally made, I undertook the task of adding up my purchases and seeing the bottom line in black and white. Surprisingly, my guesstimate was almost completely on target with the final figure.

With my four month spending spree at an end, I am rededicating myself to my former thrifty habits - shopping the food sales, the clearance racks and the thrift stores!

;-)

Me Minus Five

A lot has changed for me in the last five years.

Five years ago I hadn't delved into Facebook which means I hadn't yet reconnected with the long lost friends and relatives - and the new ones - that are now part of my daily life.  I was working and more stressed. I wondered if retirement would mean poverty and if I would make it another year until my retirement health benefits were assured. I didn't have my blog and I hated my kitchen floor and I worried about two rental properties in addition to a big house. I never dreamed there was any place like The Villages or that we would be here and oh-so-happy in Central Florida. Riding around in a golf cart to do errands - preposterous!  I would never have imagined that an old acquaintance I made years ago at work would be my great friend here in retirement at The Villages. And I hadn't yet returned to visit Israel - a trip that of all my travels will always be the most meaningful and the most fun.

One of the most importance differences in my life came in December 2010 when I told hubby I would like to start attending Friday night services. His expression said he thought I had just said I wanted to book a seat on Virgin Galatic's maiden voyage to space! But this has made such a difference in both our lives and now it seems weird to miss a a Shabbot service.  Without this in my life I would not enjoy wonderful evenings with a family of friends or the Sisterhood or Hadassah or the beautiful songs and prayers.  And I would not know the peace and serenity that comes from being at home in my synagogue.

A great five years...

;-)

A Funny Thing

I'm excited about the upcoming event "A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Villages" next Saturday night at Temple Shalom. It was written and will be performed by the surprisingly talented members of the congregation and should be a  hoot.
 
Nothing funny happened to us on our way to The Villages. In spite of my impressive organizational skills and arduous labors, it was a very rough patch. Cleaning the house and beach condo and fixing them up for sale. Packing. Throwing out. Unpacking. Finding and negotiating with moving companies, reverse mortgage lenders, realtors, the rental landlord and service providers. Getting new drivers licenses and notifying dozens of banks and credit card providers. Changing our cousins' flight reservations for our vacation that was already planned. Having the sale of our house postponed for three months. Shopping for needed goods and services and finding doctors in a new environment. Saying goodbye to friends. Thanksgiving at Perkins. But the very worst of it all was getting through hubby's frightening and painful illness that stretched on for months.

No, there was absolutely nothing funny that happened to us on Our Way to The Villages. I can't wait to laugh next week at what might have been!

;-)

Social Cards

I have resolved to make new friends here in The Villages and now that the house is almost complete (new kitchen faucets, appliances and a new massage chair are still on their way) I have upped the priority of this intention.

Aiding this effort are Social Cards, a staple of life here in The Villages.  Everyone has them. They are like business cards but with your home address, personal phone numbers and email. Many have little descriptions like "Happily Retired Villagers", "Adventure Enthusiasts" or "Retirees Extraordinaire". I have collected about a dozen and when I look them over I see only a few that I recognize or remember who those folks are or where I met them. It helps when they put a photo of themselves on the card.

I have two versions of our Social Cards. On the second try I added our picture and email (which I had forgotten on the first attempt) and eliminated the cell phone numbers (too much information I thought). Naturally I picked a good photo of us, dressed to the nines and taken by the professional photographer on a recent cruise, which means no one will recognize us in real life even if they are holding our card in their hands. I am still not sure either version is my best effort and since my entire social life depends on making a good first impression (haha) there may be a third attempt.

I am not just relying on Social Cards to do the job. I am trying a new club today and following that age-old advice: "Smile! People will like you!"

;-)

Sophie

This print by Fernando Botero hangs in my bathroom. The fact that the Master Bathroom had yellow and green stained glass light fixtures, a beautiful yellow and green stained glass window and a big empty wall told me that my print would fit in perfectly and that this was the right house for me (the whirlpool shell-shaped bath, walk-in shower and window for Sheryl's stained glass were also big clues).

I call the lady in the print Sophie. Sophie lives near my scale and provides a bit of daily motivation to keep my weight down. She also reminds me of the tiny bathroom in our very first apartment, also yellow and green with old fashioned floor tile (little white hexagon squares) and wallpaper that held the ceiling plaster up (until one day it didn't). A parade of cockroaches invaded the bathroom one night necessitating emergency evacuation of the apartment.

Sophie reminds me so much of myself that I am convinced that Sophie is really Me, a Me primping in an alternate time and reality...

;-)

The Light of Other Days

Would anyone in the year 1914 believe what technology advances would mean to how life is being lived here in 2014?  I don't think even the most visionary of them would ever imagine the things we take for granted today.

But I will offer up one visionary who may have well predicted our lives in another hundred years from today - Arthur C. Clarke, the co-author of 2001, A Space Odyssey and Renaissance Man extraordinaire. In my opinion, his greatest prophecy came in 2000 with the publication of The Light Of Other Days, a novel based on his synopsis. This book has haunted me since I first read it almost fourteen years ago.

The premise is oh-so-believable: just as we are able to see light that emanated from planets millions of years ago and capture television images that were transmitted at the speed of light, technology at some future date has advanced to the ability to detect  light waves from the past and create a "time viewer" where people and events from any point throughout time can be viewed.

Just think of how this technology would change life on Earth! Personal privacy and embarrassing secrets would not exist. Crime would not occur or at least false imprisonment would be extinct. No need for lawyers to argue for clients - just view the event as it happened and learn the truth. History books would be rewritten. Great mysteries would be solved. Accepted religions would be questioned. The source of the Bible would be discovered. The life and teachings of Jesus (immaculate birth?) would be explored. Even how life on Earth came to be would become known.

Scary huh? But would this technology be any more amazing than what we experience everyday in 2014?

;-)

Dish Towels

I have a secret fetish - Dish Towels! Just like some women just have to check out the shoes wherever they shop, I need to zip past the dish towel aisle and check out the offerings. I have dish towels from every place I've ever lived, including ones my Mom embroidered in the 40s and my grandmother trimmed with crochet. I even bought a dish towel as a souvenir on my honeymoon!

When we decided to move I vowed to toss my old, ratty friends and buy fresh new dish towels with cheerful red prints. At the last minute I thought hmmm I'll just use my old friends while we're in the rental unit.  Then I thought hmmm these old towels will come in handy while I spruce up the new house. You guessed it, I still have them all (along with an impressive assortment of brand new ones with cheerful red prints).

But today I got this email from a neighbor:
I work at the Wildwood Soup Kitchen on Thursday and we are in always in need of gently used and loved kitchen towels. If anyone has some they would like to donate, I would be glad to pick them up. You can also leave them at our door. The soup kitchen is now serving close to 300 lunches a day and the towels get a work out. Being a dish washer, I can attest to that.
Thank you so much,
Leslie

I'll be dropping off a stack as soon as I finish this post. And, as fate would have it, they were already sitting on the counter in preparation for the new faucet and hot water dispenser to be installed.

"Gently used and loved"! How did she know??

;-)

Bottle Lights

My friend June got me interested in making pretty painted bottle lights.  They really do look gorgeous and are oh so easy to do. Her friend Carol helped us make our first one and I decided to try to make a second on my own. I am far, far from the most creative person and although I have been known to sew, embroider, crochet, knit and quilt, I will never be really good at any of them.

Here's my latest project. I can't wait for the sparkly lights to arrive via eBay. They will really make my bottle pop!

:-)

Welcome Spring

Spring is finally here after what seems like an interminable Winter, at least here in Central Florida.  All my (free) magazines tout Spring Cleaning tips and use such terms as "rebirth" and "fresh start". This truly has appeal to me as I feel like I've gone through a very rough patch with hubby being so frightfully debilitated and with the challenges of moving and what seems like endless shopping excursions.  I am ready to leave the last six months behind and finally embark on my new life.

I have even planned a special event to mark the transition to normalcy - a two night adventure to St. Augustine at the aptly named (I hope) "Peace & Plenty" Bed and Breakfast, only about 100 miles away. I booked the "Nirvana Spa" suite to assure tranquility and also because it boasts a Tempurpedic bed which is advertised as "wonderful" but which I've heard mixed reviews on from real people. Also reserved is a private horse and carriage ride through that lovely and historic city.

When we return I hope it will be to a sharp curtailment of shopping and a to a less hectic routine. I have yet to try the gentle exercise classes, find a regular Mah Jong group and experience my morning coffee out on the lanai.

Welcome Spring!

;-)

The Presidents

"Grand ol' Gang" by Andy Thomas

Spending a nice evening strolling the Spanish Springs Town Center had a high point - an impromptu visit to an art gallery where I spotted these two prints by Andy Thomas, artist extraordinaire.  Of course I wanted them but I really have no place for them - the logical spots like the library are filled already.  But I satisfied my yearning by buying a set of note cards with both the Republicans and the Democrats.

"True Blues" by Andy Thomas

I quickly sent off a belated birthday card to my friend John (staunch Democrat) and said it was from "all his favorite people". What fun I will have sending these cards out to my other die-hard Democrat and Republican friends!

My note cards feature the same Presidents - but with Obama included - playing pool but I prefer these two paintings of them playing cards. Somehow I think that is much more fitting. After all, each of them was dealt a hand and each had to gamble with big stakes - the well being of every U.S. citizen and the future of the free world. They had to decide when to hold, when to fold, when to bluff and when to go all in.

Yes indeed, I do so admire Andy Thomas and each of the subjects in his paintings - whether I voted for them or not!

;-)

Happy Purim

My incredible cousin Charles (known to me as "Chuckie" but I'm sure he no longer uses the diminutive of his name) called Sunday to tell me that his son David (I can't wait for his wedding in Toronto in June) read directly from our family heirloom - a hand written Megillah on sheepskin - at their shul. I was moved to tears.

Chuck knew how thrilled I would be to see our traditions passed through the generations. And my father was right to pass the Megillah and our other family heirloom - the ram's horn Shofar - to Chuck's family who can both read the Megillah and sound the Shofar.

I believe our family heirlooms date far past my Great-Grandfather Avignor but I will credit David with reading from his Great-Great-Great-Grandfather's Megillah. His lineage is: Avignor -> Shmuel Tzvi -> Gittel (Holocaust Victim) -> Ruth (Holocaust Survivor) -> Charles -> David. I am sure the ancestors are kvelling in Heaven.

Yasher Koach David! Good Job!

:'-)

Ah Sweet Mystery

Mom used to sing this song to me when I was a little girl

I heard on CNN today that the ill-fated Flight 370 has joined the ranks of the other Great Mysteries of the World.  That puts it in the company of the assassination of JFK, the whereabouts of Jimmy Hoffa and the identity of Jack The Ripper. Everyone seems super frustrated that despite the high tech capabilities of the entire planet we are unable to determine how a huge aircraft with over 200 souls on board has vanished into thin air. It's almost an expectation that we should know everything about everything, or at least be able to find out by Googling.

Truth be told, we know very little about anything of importance. Shouldn't we be able to determine the exact date of our natural death?  Our risk of cancer and other diseases?  Who, out of all the billions of people on earth, is our exact perfect soulmate? What career will best suit us? Why are we going through all this trial and error in our lives, sampling one partner or job or hometown after another?

Ah those are the sweet mysteries that are life itself.

I pray the families and friends of those aboard Flight 370 find answers soon...

One Word

Can I describe myself in one word and thereby "buld" my confidence? I think not but I will try with several one word answers.

Jewish
Retiree
Floridian
(hmm these are how I describe myself in the caption on my blog...)

Then there's:
Petite (preferable to "short")
Frugal (preferable to "cheap")
Homebody
Organized (preferable to "Type A")
Informed (but sometimes Clueless)
Energetic (usually)
Grateful (always!)

But mostly I am just plain Happy...

;-)

Stainless Steel

Have you noticed? I have not been blogging lately.  The reason is simple: I have been in a funk. What is the cause of my funk you ask? Stainless Steel.

For months hubby and I have disagreed about the merits of stainless steel kitchen appliances. In the last couple of weeks, with hubby finally recuperated almost 100%, the issue has escalated. I wanted to keep the current (old and outdated but looking like the day they were new) white appliances or at least buy new white appliances that keep the look of the Country French kitchen with brass accents that I love. Hubby feels that anything less than gleaming stainless appliances is putrid and makes appropriate gagging noises to illustrate his disgust. All friends that have offered an opinion agree with him.

One of us had to lose and it was me. After a few rough starts, a complete line of Kitchen Aid appliances will be arriving shortly. Also gone will be my shiny brass kitchen faucet ("French Gold") and cabinet knobs with brass accents, soon to be replaced by stainless and nickel substitutes. My creamy white and beige kitchen will be broken up by large swatches of steel, gray and black. I am royally bummed and praying it will not look as bad as I think it will.

The good news is that an instant hot water dispenser is included in our recent purchases. I guess I will make some tea and Carry On!

:-/

Pet Peeve

Do you have one? I surely do. It's dumb people comparing everything and everyone they don't like to Hitler and the Holocaust. Now it's Hillary Clinton comparing Putin's invasion of Crimea to Hitler. A month or so ago I responded to a Facebook post that compared followers of Obama to Hitler's followers. Can you imagine?

 

Listen up world. There has been only one Hitler and one Holocaust, Thank God. Oh there have been plenty of dictators, injustice, slaughter of innocents and more evil and pain than can be imagined. But unless your particular dictator has lined up millions of defenseless and unoffending men, women and children and systematically murdered them in ovens, tortured, starved and enslaved them, destroyed their cultural and religious artifacts and nearly succeeded in wiping them off the face of the earth in the name of ethnic cleansing or racial superiority please DO NOT compare him or her to Hitler. It mitigates the horror of the Holocaust and hurts the few remaining survivors who still bear numbers on their arms.

 

You too Hillary. I'm shocked at your ignorance.

 

:-(

The Call

Scott called yesterday to tell us about his latest performance appraisal rating at work: "Substantially exceeds expectations". A big raise and a big bonus accompanied the rating so his company definitely showed their appreciation in a large (and well deserved way). I could not possibly be prouder of Scott.

"I owe it all to the work ethic you both and Mom gave me" he said. Ah, thanks from young people - are there  any words sweeter? But I always wonder where this greatly exaggerated praise comes from every time he or Laura say it (pretty often and of course they know we love to hear it) since I am pretty sure we never actually lectured them on how to live their lives when they were kids. (Well maybe we shared a pointer or two...)

I think one thing that had a lasting influence on Scott was that he would come over to do work for us almost every weekend when he was just 13, 14, 15 - until he was old enough to get a "real" job. We paid him $5 an hour (tax free) which was a pretty good amount for a young guy at the time. If he slept over and worked Saturday and Sunday he could make $100. in a weekend, enough to buy the latest teen toy or upgrade his sneakers to the exorbitantly priced celebrity-endorsed ones. Scott learned that money came from work and it also kept him productively busy and away from any of the temptations that bedevil bored teenagers. Of course, he also learned a bunch of basic homeowner skills like carpentry, plumbing and electrical wiring which have served him well (the student has way surpassed the teacher hahaha). All I knew at the time was that things were getting done around the house and it was so much fun to have Scott around.

Thank you for the call Scott. You certainly have Substantially Exceeded Our Expectations.

And you always will.

Love you.