BLOGG # 116- COUNTING MY BLESSINGS

One of the good things about Blogging -at least my way of doing it, is that there is no pressure. There are no deadlines, no implied subject matter , not  even political correctness. I can write whenever and whatever moves my spirit.A true free spirit. The problem is that my spirit does not feel like moving right now as there is very little in my life  to write about at the moment hence no blogg . I refuse to comment on "Trumpism" or Hiliary's penchant for wearing pantsuits-so politics is out. News in general is too depressing and I have promised myself -the only person I answer to- to not write about depressing things-I won't touch international politics not even my beloved Greece whose difficulties are breaking my heart. I can't imagine the pressure of writing daily commentaries or even daily  bloggs so in spite of my inertia and being in the doldrums spiritually, I have decided  to count my blessings that I have this great obliging vehicle for expression without pressure. There is an old saying-another of my collection of old sayings-believe them if you want-I sometimes make them up--" when the chips are down; when life overwhelms; when it kicks you below the belt and you see no way out, this is the time to count your blessings" I have over the years found this helps so now as I am in the doldrums I am counting my blessings. One of the challenges of an octogenarian is filling in time with meaningful activities and working towards a goal. I have chosen a goal to fill my time in relearning the scales and chords on the piano to reach the goal of perfection in fingering with no mistakes and of course, improving my failing memory. Every day an hour is taken up practicing them-not the minor scales of course -only the major ones.It is always wise to know your limitations.I have a poor memory and keep forgetting the fingering and the chords so I have to repeat the same scales over and over. This is very comforting to me and a great blessing that I am so lucky to be  gifted with a poor memory because obviously this simple goal will last me a long time-perhaps a whole life time. The next saying  I will give you is "Older women-note -not men-are invisible" this is also a blessing- because on days when you simply are in too much pain to draw on your eyebrows you can, knowing you look a mess, go to the local store for your necessary bottle of red without anyone seeing you. This is a great blessing. On the other hand I have noted this is not necessarily true. I have often had people smile at me as I cross the street. I assume it is because I am looking particularly well in my trendy trousers, fashionable top and of course the all important scarf-making an interesting sartorial statement.I refuse to accept that I am invisible and this stubborn nature of mine is a blessing too-I don't give up easily so I expect to think I look attractive for the rest  of my stay on earth. Living alone is one of the hazards of growing older and ,as the experts say, can cause great unhappiness and that is true. On the other hand one has the control of the remote and can choose which side of the bed to sleep on-not a bad blessing though in disguise. Another blessing to count is being able to eat alone- though this is another another drawback according to these experts. I enjoy the freedom of cooking for myself and often cook creatively -sometimes with disastrous results. The great blessing is that I am not a judge or critic. I either eat the results anyway or ,because I live alone and there is no one  to see me, sneakingly dump the meal in the compost-no one the wiser.What a blessing that is. The big blessing today is that it is raining which means my planned activities for today- all involving  sunshine -are cancelled. This negative thing turned into a positive as it started me counting my blessings because I felt dull and blank and had no where to go. A blogg came out of all this and now you all have the blessing of reading my blogg.Ha! So -count your blessing when down -my advice -do it now.




 

BLOGG # STREAMING MY LIFE AWAY

I have not written a blog in a long time as I seem to have lost my sense of humour  and a humourless blog is a blot on the literary screen. Fortunately I have got my groove back. What I have been doing with my time instead is "streaming." Streaming is a new word and concept I have learned from my grandson. I have joined "Netflix" which offers me an unlimited access to T.V. programs. One chooses a TV series and then "streams" the episodes until one is bored or runs through them all. As I have only recently been initiated into the TV world, there are huge gaps in my knowledge of TV series and I can literally stream away for hours and not repeat an episode. In these past months I have cavorted with Dame Maggie Smith in a Yorkshire village and Dounton Abbey, I have attended akapella concerts in Wigmore Hall in Oxford-and quaffed beer with that reprobate Oxfordian detective Morse.  I also have enjoyed countless cups of coffee at Perks in Manhattan with "Friends."  Next on my wish list is  to  stream "Sex and the City" and stride -in my six inch Balanciaga heels-with Carrie Bradshaw down fifth avenue in Manhattan.  I had been introduced to Friends-an innocuous  bland sit com by my grandson while recuperating at my daughter's home. I had a lot of  time on my hands. To my amazement, this grandson ,immersed in such violent entertainment as Sombbie  or vampire movies or worse ,deadly combat computer games, was delighted with this light oldfashioned  sitcom-not only him-the New York times had an article about this popularity of Friends  throughout the TV world and teenagers are  rolling in laughter across the entire world-streaming this comparatively innocent series. I suppose it makes sense-to balance out the violence the young are exposed to-real or unreal-with a  cozy escape venue. Laughing at the capers of these twenty- something- characters beats listening to drones overhead or tuning in to American election coverage or the coverage of world news in all it's folly. I do realize I need to curb this new addiction and reach out to the real world but it is seductive.A big sign should be placed on the TV screen-Danger to health-to warn us about "streaming" that's why I am now humming the song-"I,m busy doing nothing  -streaming my whole life through -trying to find lot's of things not to do- -I'd like to be unhappy but I never do have the time"  Talk about "opium for the masses-" so-enjoy your streaming but watch out!!-it's dangerous.