House memories

Well, if you haven`t already guessed, the house is my dolls house!

It`s one of the few childhood toys that I still have and treasure.

I can remember the Christmas that it was given to me, (no, I`m not going to say how old I was at the time!) I spent all day playing with it, setting the table with the miniscule pink plastic cups, saucers, plates, knives and forks no bigger than ¼ inch (sorry aren`t into metric! I`m English), putting things into and out of the various cupboards and drawers in the furniture, putting the dolls in it to bed, moving the furniture round, winding the handle of the wringer on the tiny washing machine. I can remember too the excitement of saving up to buy something else to go in the house, the toy shop which had such a choice that it was hard to decide what to get.

It also brings back a memory of my uncle who made it for me, which is another reason I treasure it, to think that it was made especially for me.

I spent hours with that dolls house, contented happy hours, not just on that Christmas day but for weeks and years afterwards. I suppose in a way, it was an educational toy, in that I copied what went on in the home and relayed it into play in the dolls house. Wonder if that says anything about my contentment with being at home on my own now-a-days?

More about my house

Having posted that photo of my house yesterday, I must own up and say it`s not the house I live in!

But it is my house, and it is a house that has a lot of memories for me.
A lot of happy times have been had at that house. It was built about forty six years ago, and has four rooms – a bedroom, bathroom, lounge and kitchen, plus hallway with stairs up to the landing. It has been well carpeted throughout, wallpapered and redecorated several times. Countless sets of curtains, have been sewn and hung at the windows, and quilts and bedding provided. The rooms are well furnished with polished wood table, chairs, sideboard, bed, wardrobe etc., the kitchen has clean all white fittings including a cooker, sink, fridge. In the bathroom there is a large bath, along with a toilet and pedestal basin.
There are five people in the house, mother, father, two girls and a baby who often sleeps in the pram in the hall.

Where is the house?....I`ll tell you more tomorrow!

My house

Thought I`d share a picture of my house with you today, so here it is

A man in the house

Having said yesterday that I`ve got the house to myself this week, I should add to that, that I have actually got a man in the house! Wonder what the neighbours will think?! Looks good doesn`t it, as soon as I`m on my own I get someone in?

But its only during day time I hasten to add! He`s doing something for me to surprise a certain person.... at least I hope it will be a pleasant surprise and not too much of a shock when they return!

Freedom

I`ve got the house to myself this week, and it’s a lovely feeling. The parent that lives with me has gone off for a week, so it`s just me, well and the bird! It`s somehow as if a weight has been lifted off of me for a while. I suppose its not having the feeling of responsibility for someone else, particularly someone in their 80`s. Sub-consciously being listening for them, wondering if they`ll have a fall, whether they`ll slip over in the shower. Even, wondering (and I write this, I hope without sounding too morbid, but its always in the back of my mind) in the mornings when you go in, if they will wake up or not. It`s one of my biggest fears.

So, this week is a real treat, to just be able to be me. To relax and be at ease.

Prayer thoughts

I heard a prayer in church this morning, that I really found so good. I`m not saying that they aren`t all good but there was just something about this one that made it stand out for me. I think it was because it was so “down to earth” using everyday language and a fresh way of saying things. It certainly made me realise something that I hadn`t ever thought about or contemplated before, and gave me something to think about. It was along the lines of (I can`t remember the exact words) that God doesn`t expect us to be perfect, that he knows we are imperfect but that we are accepted as being such. I know that doesn`t mean that we have to be the opposite; or that it doesn`t matter what we say or do; or that we shouldn`t try; because it does matter. But somehow hearing that expressed was very helpful and strengthening.

Questions, questions, questions

I came across some intriguing questions the other day, so I`ll share some of them with you here. Wonder who can answer them!

Why does someone believe you when you say there are four billion stars, but check when you say paint is wet?

If people evolved from apes, why are there still apes?

Why is it that whatever colour bubble bath you use, the bubbles are always white?

Why is it that whenever you attempt to catch something that`s falling off the table you always manage to knock something else over?

Why do people constantly return to the fridge with hopes that something new to eat will have appeared in it?

Why doesn`t glue stick to the bottle?

Rocket fault?

I blame the space rockets.
What for?....
….all the atrocious weather that the United States are suffering from. Can it only be coincidence that shortly after they again sent up a spaceship, to pierce the atmosphere that unusual weather happens?
Is it really all the fault of global warming? To my mind, unscientific as it is, it stands to reason that if you interfere with nature something`s bound to happen, and surely sending rockets up is damaging to the world.

Left behind

I`m looking round the town where I live for a man!! ….

He`s probably limping along, maybe wondering why he`s suddenly developed a limp, why one leg seems to be shorter than the other. If it`s raining he`s probably wondering why one foot is getting wet. To solve the mystery I suggest he returns to a shop in town where there is his Shoe!

It`s a bit like people who leave walking sticks behind and never coming back for them…. It makes me wonder how they got home without them! And why didn`t they miss them later even?

There`s a lot of mystery to lost property isn`t there. Wonder what the strangest thing that`s ever been left anywhere is?!

I`m a turtle

Wonder what animal others were in a former life?... I`ve just discovered in another of these quizzy things that I`m supposed to have been a turtle. It said…
“Come on out of your shell; in your former life you were a turtle named Spiros. The details are a bit sketchy, but we do have a brief summary based on public records: You were born in a small pond beside a taverna on a small Greek island. Despite having an exceptionally athletic father, you seemed to prefer sunbathing and mud baths to more active pursuits. Contrary to the rumour, your favourite colour was never green, but actually blue. Few people knew that you were a talented poet because most of your work was destroyed during a flash flood that swept not only your library, but your entire community into the Mediterranean Sea. Fortunately, you were sunbathing on a rock at the time so you only suffered the minor indignity of being stranded on your back until a kindly donkey set you right. You showed courage and determination and had the pluck to settle down, make some eggs, and live happily ever after with your wife Aphrodite and your 20 offspring”
(If you`re wondering if I did the Menace on the Road, yes I did, but aren`t going to boast by showing the good result I got on it! not a menace!)

Testing time

I enjoy trying out IQ tests, and have just done this one. And got a score of 133. I wouldn`t like to say that their assessment of me is completely correct though!
“Your IQ score is significantly above average. You have a wide range of exceptional skills which are much stronger than those of the average population. You are also skilled at answering the types of questions that are asked in a classic IQ test. The test analyses your strengths and weaknesses based on your mathematical, linguistic, visual-spatial and logical skills. Even though you have high scores in all of those areas, we are able to analyse your results to discover the areas in which you have the strongest abilities.You are gifted with the natural fluency of a writer and the visual and spatial strengths of an artist. Those skills contribute to your creative and expressive mind.”

I`ll try the Menace on the road one tomorrow!

Three lives

Is it really only a week since I went back to work from a holiday?! It feels and seems so much longer. Memories of the holiday seem quite distant. I could do with another one now! Things at work, not the actual job, but the unfairness of some things, the attitude of the boss, have got me today just feeling that I want to walk out and leave everything. Once it was enjoyable to go to work, now it’s a feeling of do the job and get home. I could do with a change, but yet, for what? Something more worthwhile and useful, but where to find it?
Still, at least I`ve got more interesting things to do at home in my “other” life. In a way I seem to have three lives! – one the working one, two the church one, and three the home one. And I know which two I prefer!

Flower

Its been a good day today, but I can`t think what to write about. So here`s a photo I took of an usual flower I saw whilst on holiday. I thought it quite a spectacular flower.

A bit of paper

It`s the way of the world… to have a “bit of paper” to say you can do something – or so someone said to me the other day.

Now, I`m not decrying those who have studied and worked hard to achieve “bits of paper”, those certificates are earned and deserved. For what I`m talking about see Thursday`s Blog.

But, does that “bit of paper” really make any difference?!
One can fill in all the correct answers because they`re so obvious – but – there`s a world of difference between knowing and doing! So, is that “bit of paper” really so important? What a strange way the world is getting into, if it thinks having a “bit of paper” makes any difference to how things are done.

I`ve got a “bit of paper” from primary school that says I can swim, but I can`t swim a stroke!

Qualified to shop

Following on from yesterday, maybe this could be the training form for Customers…….

1. What do you need to take with you to shop?

2. What should you take to use when entering a supermarket?

3. How should you speak to the staff?

4. If something is out of stock, what should you do
a) complain bitterly to the staff that it`s their fault?
b) Accept the fact and look for an alternative?
c) Accept the fact and wait until another day?

5. What should you do if your mobile phone rings while you are at a counter/till?

6. What do you do if you`re at the back of a long queue and another checkout is opened?

7. How do you pack your bag?

8. Do you idly stand and wait until your shopping`s all been checked through, then start packing before paying?

9. You think you`ve been wrongly charged for something, what do you do:
a) Shout at the cashier?
b) Accept that everyone is human and can make mistakes?
c) Politely ask for it to be checked?

10. If the price is right and you are wrong do you:
a) Apologise for doubting them?
b) Say nothing and stalk off?

11. If something is broadcast as going to be is short supply do you:
a) buy up as much as you can?
b) buy just what you need, so that all can buy some?
c) not buy any because you`ve got plenty already?

12. Do you think that you are superior to those who work in shops?

If you pass all those questions you can have a piece of paper to say you`re qualified to shop!

Letting off steam!

I`ve been working in a retail environment for well over 30 years, and today I was asked to fill in a Customer Service form, On it were questions such as:
“What do you say to a customer when they come to the till?”
“How do you pack a bag of shopping?”
“How do you answer the telephone?”
“What is the uniform like?”
“What do you do if a customer asks for an item not on the shelf?”
“What do you do with a customer that`s lost?”!!

What a total waste of time and paper. What an insult after spending all those years doing the job “unqualified”. On querying the need to do it for the `long serving staff`, I was told, “its to get a bit of paper saying you can do it – it’s the way of the world today everything needs to be qualified”.
What a load of old rubbish.

Haven`t whizz kids in offices got anything better to do?! Have they ever worked at shop floor level and experienced it first hand?

And, whilst we`re all spending hours filling in these useless forms, shelves go unfilled, queues grow longer and longer. I wonder would the customers be happier knowing they`re being served by a person with a bit of paper, or would they rather see more tills open and full shelves?!

Maybe everyone will soon be required to fill in a form before they can come shopping, to see if they`re qualified enough to shop!

The one above sees all

Going back to my window seat, which I was writing about the other day, it was interesting all the things one saw from a different height and perspective! And without being seen! There were joggers some young and going quickly others older and trying to keep up! A race type rowing boat with a crew of six on the sea which would have looked more at home on a river; the sad sight of an old man picking up a discarded newspaper from a bin to sit and read.
But the thing that I found most touching, was seeing that almost all of the older couples were walking along together hand in hand.

Association

I`m going to confuse people in the next few days or weeks!
If they`re looking for something they recognise or associate with me they won`t see it.
They`ll see something different!
But, what it is, I`m not going to tell you here!
At least not yet!

View from the Window Seat

One of the joys of my holiday was that my bedroom had a window seat, something I`ve always fancied having in a room, but have never had. There wouldn`t be much point in having one in the house I live in because there`s nothing to see, and I certainly wouldn`t see the sea even if we had another storey or two on top! But there sitting on this one first thing in the morning it was lovely to see the sun sparkling on the sea. The photo though doesn`t really do it justice.

Worth it

Having written a few days ago wondering if all the work entailed in preparing for a holiday is really worth it. I`ve just come back from a holiday and can say I`ve found the answer.

On my second day away, walking along a promenade by the sea I suddenly realised that tension, which I wasn`t consciously aware of having, was gone. I felt free and relaxed. There was no clock-watching, nothing to be done by a time deadline. Just time to walk, sit in the sun and read, time to just “be”. To get up each day, look out of the window and then decide what to do, nothing planned, no daily routine to be stuck to.

But, was it a rest – not really! Mentally, yes it was, but physically, no it wasn`t!, The walking, apart from a couple of hours all week, wasn`t just walking, it was wheelchair pushing. It`s surprising how even a flat looking pavement or promenade isn`t actually flat, they either slope right or left or up or down.

Was it worth it? Yes it was
But now I could do with a few more days to have a rest!

Nothingness !

I`ve been “busy doing nothing” today! Lots of bits and pieces but nothing to really settle to. And can`t get any inspiration for what to write either. My minds blank. Funny isn`t it how some days lots of ideas come and other days nothing. So I`ll just put a picture on here today instead.

"Ready for take off?"

Holiday memories

Thinking about holidays, it came to me how different they are today to when I was a child. Yes, I`m going to reminisce today! I had memories come to me that I`d not thought about for years. Strange isn`t it how something suddenly comes back to you.

Anyway, memories of holidays…… We would have just one fortnight holiday each year and always the same weeks. I can remember Mum, on the Saturday about tea time, taking me walking up to the railway station where we`d stand and wait for my Dad, who having taken the suitcase back to work with him at lunch time, would come straight from work to the station. I can remember Mum getting anxious one year when the train had arrived at the platform and there was no sign of Dad, then just in time he came running up the road, he`d got delayed getting away from work. But we made it.

We`d go into what was then called `apartments`. No, not flats! This was where you stayed in someones home, in the way you would for B&B today, but you chose and shopped for the food you wanted for each meal and they prepared the meals, - breakfast, dinner and tea. So it was like being at home, but in someone else`s house with them doing the work. I can remember there was a butchers on the opposite corner to where we stayed, and I used to be sent over the road with a piece of paper saying what we wanted that day. I was about 6 ot 7 at the time.

How different to today.