Life is about change...

We've all heard that expression before. Times change. We've got to move forward. Time doesn't stand still.

Hopefully I'll be seeing a change one of these days. I've decided to sell my house, and move just a bit down the road. Depending on how long it takes to sell, and what's on the market at the time, Mansfield sounds attractive. That puts me a little closer to work, and move convenient to the kids and grandkids. If it's soon enough, I'll buy Elizabeth's house...but I don't hold my breath because hers is showing quite a bit.

I've come to realize that having had thoughts of moving 3 times in the almost 6 years I've been here (hard to believe, isn't it?), I'm just not satisfied. Life is too short to not live it to the fullest, and if it takes moving to give me the greatest measure of satisfaction, well so be it.

You tend to forget how much work goes into moving, and how much "stuff" you can accumulate. Fortunately I got rid of quite a bit when I moved here, but I am somewhat of a packrat, so I've started the cleansing process. About 5 bags made it to Goodwill this morning, and several to the trash. More to go through. Robert and Elizabeth, you ought to appreciate this many years down the road!

If you know anyone wanting a house, send them my way!

Glen Echo Swing Jam Session Jan. 12, 2008 Part 2

Now this looks like a fun way to exercise!

Take what you can get

No, I'm not talking about greedy materialistic things.

I watched 2 of my little darling grandkids this afternoon so R and A could go out for lunch and have a bit of time to themselves. They're growing up so fast. When Rhett was little, he'd be so happy to see me, and cry his little heart out when it came time for me to leave. Now, he's so busy in his adventures that I might warrant a "Hi Grams" in passing, and if I'm lucky, a hug when it's time to go. And Ashlynn really prefers her Mama to hold her, though I do get some quality time with her when it's just me and the kids.

Well, this afternoon was one of those times that I'll have to hold onto. Ashlynn was napping when Mom and Dad left, and Rhett was drawing with his colored pens, so everything was fine. Then Rhett realized Mom was gone, and he cried some bucket tears, allowing me to hold him and give him comfort. He fell asleep in my arms, and I bet I held him 15 minutes, just enjoying it. Then about the time I put him down, Ashlynn woke up. When she realized Mom wasn't home, I was able to play patty-cake with her, and this-little-piggy her toes, and she'd smile up at me and we'd talk.

I cherish these times with the little ones. They grow up all too fast, so, yes, I'll take what I can get of their loving attention.

Thanks, Polaroid

I heard on the news the other day that Polaroid will no longer be making their instant cameras. Digital cameras have caused the demise of this part of American history. Naturally, this got me thinking about the role Polaroid played in my life over the years, and I went digging in the old pictures.

These pics are from 1970, and I would have been 20, not yet 21. My friend Janet had just gotten her Polaroid, and these black and white pictures were taken in a local park. Yes, I'm hanging from the monkey bars....see, I was once young!

It's hard to imagine since we now live in an era of instant everything, but if we took pictures with our little Kodaks, we had to take the film to be developed, and in about 5 to 7 days they would be ready to pick up. It was such a kick to have the Polaroids and see the pictures within minutes.

As years went by, Robert and Elizabeth came along, and eventually a color Polaroid. Here they are with Grampa C.

We didn't take a lot of instant pictures. Reggie got his 35 mm about this time, and that became the camera of choice. But in the whole scheme of things, the process of snapping the picture, seeing it eject from the camera, and the anticipation of seeing the picture develop before your eyes stands out in my memory.

A little history, a little trivia. Thanks for the memories, Polaroid.

Instructions?

It's amazing, but I'm finding that things operate much more smoothly when you read the instructions first.

Take text messaging for instance. I recently got a new cell phone, and while I had finally figured out text messaging on the old one, I had to start all over with this new one. Now I have to decide if I want it to guess the word I'm typing in by just hitting the key once (you know there are 3-4 letter choices for each number), or do I want to spell it out? Or do I want to switch modes and get into characters, such as the exclamation point, question mark, etc. Initially I kept punching the outer corner buttons because it would change things and sooner or later I'd get my message out. Then...I read the instructions! My next message was a breeze! Of course, never mind that I don't always remember those instructions from one day to the next, but at least I know where to look.

Then there's the camera portion of my phone. Well, that opened up a whole new world. The main problem so far is that I've taken a bunch of pictures of my steering wheel, or under my desk, or me looking at it with a question on my face. You see, the button to turn on the camera function is on the side where my thumb rests as I open the flip top. Then I'd have this grid on the screen so I'd know the camera was on, and as I bumbled around to turn it off, click! There's another picture. Instructions helped there too, as I'm learning how to delete. Haven't gotten to downloading the pics to my computer yet, but it will come.

What else? Oh, yes. The digital photo frame. Now that's a nifty little invention. I got one for Christmas, and have inserted the memory card with many cherished photos. It played through, and that was it. Then you'd see the screen with all the pictures at one time. Well, once I took the time to read the instructions (!), it miraculously plays the pictures continuously. That one only took me two weeks to figure out.

My next thing to tackle is a new universal remote. The thing is huge...probably 5 or 6" across by about 10" long, with great big letters. Hopefully the instructions won't be in tiny print...