I believe you need a good talking to!!!

Here I am, right back where I started! current stats: single (widowed and living in Oregon), aging...next birthday I will be 84 years old, health is passable, and it is fall-rainy, chilly. The people I need are very busy. Andy and Amanda are both in Abu Dhabi, Susan and Doug are here in Hillsboro (both working), and Larry and Kim (running a business and working) are close by in Cornelius. 

This is the time of year when we would typically return to Arizona, but I don't miss going there at all. The decision to move back to Oregon permanently was the right one. I feel content and happy. For anyone who has done that thing, it is simply normal.

When I was much younger, I noticed that old people would turn on the light outside, turn down the bed, and even put on their jammies at around 7 in the evening. The top of their fridge held liquor bottles and pills. (Yes, I did love to drive by park models in Arizona after it was dark. Sorry!) In fact, when we were in Green Valley in the winter, the village would simply go dark. 

In Tucson, we lived in an RV resort on the east side of the city. Unlike Green Valley, the people were more active and seemed younger. I often wondered how it was that they didn't seem to age. In the end, I attributed their life to constant companionship and social life that never stopped. We truly loved it and the people who lived around us.

As time passed, people like me who had moved away returned home. Being near home and family, even when the snow is drifting and rain is falling, is comfortable. At the age that feels right for each individual, that is what we do.

And all that expertise we gathered on being a "snowbird" is no longer needed.

For me at least, the only problem remaining is my need to talk. I know stuff and for some reason need to share it with anyone who will stand still. The idea of buying "mouth tape" seems like a very good idea. 

If you are reading this and you are one of those people who has been trapped by me because I believe you need a good talking to, I apologise.

b+

Please leave a comment. I am interested.

What do you pretend to do?

English: Manufacture of self-sealing gas tanks, , . (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I have often thought about pretense. According to Barbara's Questionable Dictionary of Words, the word pretense means:

pretense: The act of pretending to do stuff while not doing them at all. "The pretense of cleaning was all she could muster. It was evident when you walked through the door she had never cleaned anything."

Back in the day, women talked a lot about cleaning this and that. Spring cleaning, fall house cleaning and scrubbing floors was actually the subject of conversation at any gathering for women. Washing on Monday, ironing on Tuesday and then the week moved on from there.

I always loved the idea of cleaning. But the truth is my husband and I had not spent more than a month together as husband and wife that I figured out that cleaning and being a working women was not easy! In fact, from the first weekend until this very day, my goal has been to find easier ways to keep up the pretense that I actually am very clean.

Let's be clear here. There is a very big difference between being "neat" and being "clean". The former takes attention to the small stuff but is easy. The latter is just plain hard. But...if you are neat your house actually looks clean. How cool is that?

Another job that took so much time was ironing. Like making the bed, all I could think was that we were just going to wear the clothing and it would appear to be ironed for about 5 minutes. For many years I pretended to iron. I left the ironing board up, kept a ironing basket and dreamed of a laundry room. But, the reality was I ironed twice a year whether I needed to or not.

But now there are very few pretenses at my house. I take the clothes out of the dryer and put them on a hanger in my closet. The ironing basket is always empty. I haven't let myself dispose of it yet. Maybe someday soon it will go away. I declare without shame that I do not iron much anymore.

I have also discovered the wonders of:

• the leaf blower (no more outdoor sweeping)
• week killer in a large container with a sprayer (no more hoeing and weeding)
• dimmer switches inside (dark hides dust)
• carpet the color of dirt (every fleck of dirt doesn't show)
• the all-in-one window cleaner from Windex (no more squeegees) 

Yes, I do make my bed, clean the shower, vacuum and dust (occasionally). There is no escaping some things. When there is a way do those things with less effort, I will be the first to jump on the bandwagon. Life is good!

b+

Related articles

• Contractors: Does begging work?
• Humor: How Many Things Are You an Expert In? I am up to 9!
• Do You Need an Emotional House Cleaning!