The following is a post from my website Chrissy…In Her Sixties, which I am currently working on shutting down. The website you are now looking at, That Hobbit Lady, has been with me since November 2004 (nearly 20 years) and contains over 500 posts. In Her Sixties only goes back to 2017, with less than 40 posts. So, you see…in the interest of consolidating, I could either send 500+ posts from That Hobbit Lady to In Her Sixties, or 30+ posts from In Her Sixties to That Hobbit Lady. In addition to the math of that first option not making much sense, it also happens that the term “In Her Sixties” will only to apply to me for a few more years. But I will be a Hobbit Lady forever. So: no-brainer.
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January 1, 2018
So today is January 1, 2018, and I feel like I should do a year-end review of 2017 and make plans for 2018. But somehow my heart isn’t in it. I guess I’ve spent too many years doing reviews and making and plans, and in the end I know that basically it doesn’t do a whole lot of good. New Year’s Resolutions are almost never kept, so why bother?
I recently heard that President Obama said something along the lines of he only tries to make sure each day is a little better than the day before. I like that. Just always be moving along in a positive direction. Don’t get too specific, because there’s no telling what any day might bring. But “resolve” (if you must have a “resolution”) to always be moving in a positive direction.
Now, as for review, I will say this much: last year Mom died, so that goes in “Minus” column, but as a result, I went and visited Dad five times during 2017, which goes in the “Plus” column. I don’t think I’ll make quite as many trips in 2018, but I’m glad I got to do what I did in 2017.
Last year I continued improving my health and losing weight, so that all goes in the “Plus” column, and obviously I hope to continue that trend, but I’m not going to obsess about it or set any specific goals about so many pounds lost in so much time. I just want to keep on improving my healthy habits every day (or, at least, almost every day), so that overall I’m moving in the right direction.
I have a few other ideas, but I don’t want to take the time to talk about them now, because today is going to be a busy day with guests and food and football, and I’m anxious to get started on all that!
Happy New Year!
And what about snow? I love snow! Well…a little bit of snow. My understanding is that the national average is about 25 inches per year. Way too much for me! That much snow in any given year would surely quickly lose its appeal. As I’ve been trying to identify the perfect retirement location, I look for a place that generally enjoys between 1-6 inches of snow per year.
First, a bit of background: I’m an amateur musician, having learned to play the violin when I was ten, and I’ve also dabbled on guitar and piano, but with much less impressive results. But my interest in music does not spring from playing it so much as merely listening. If there were such a job as a Professional Music Listener, I would be immensely qualified, and first in line at the employment agency. Of course no such job exists, but one of the things I love about my desk job is that most of the time I’ve got Windows Media Player going, providing everything from Strauss waltzes to Steam Powered Giraffe. In fact, I’ve often said there are only two types of music I don’t like: Rap, and Country. But under the right circumstances, if a bit of either is combined with any other musical genre, I will make an exception.
I particularly recall Sugar, by “The Archies,” (not a real band, apparently, just a group of studio musicians providing voice talent for a cartoon), and Lay Lady Lay, by the great Bob Dylan. I ask you, could there be two songs any more different? But I loved them both. I suppose this is where my eclectic taste in music began to take form. And remember, at this time I’m also learning violin, so I’m slowly being introduced to Classical music. Also, my family owns an 8-track, and what I mostly remember about that are the show tunes, from the likes of Gypsy and Fiddler on the Roof. All in all, I had a pretty diverse musical education. I was like a baby learning a language, absorbing it all in absolute glee! Not to mention, I was actually in the Glee Club at school around this time, where we sang not only The Battle Hymn of the Republic, but also the theme from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. And of course, I can never forget all the fabulous boy bands: Beatles, Monkees, Cowsills. Music was not only good for the soul, it was also a doorway to Romance.
I won’t go into detail about how my musical tastes have evolved through the decades (that would be a very long story), but let’s fast-forward to the early 2000’s. I’m a big fan of the X-Files TV show, and some time after seeing the first movie, while in my local library, I find the soundtrack and bring it home. Blown away! So many good songs! In particular, I love the dark, sad sound of One More Murder by the strangely-named Better Than Ezra (“Hey, have you heard that new band, Ezra? Yea, but this band is BETTER Than Ezra!”) From there, somehow (I don’t remember exactly how), I begin to collect and listen to all the music of Better Than Ezra. I now have my first official experience of Discovering New Music, and BTE is now officially My Favorite New Band.
So how did I discover all these bands (and others I haven’t even listed here)? Sometimes by paying attention to movie or TV soundtracks, and sometimes quite by accident. But sometimes it’s not accidental at all. My kids know the kind of music I like, and some bands have come to me by way of their recommendation. I distinctly remember Joey leading me to Blue October, and Mary suggested Placebo. Mary and I also share an interest in steampunk, so I know for certain she told me about Abney Park. But I remember stumbling upon Steam Powered Giraffe on my own, and giving her a heads up about their unique sound and “schtick.” 
someone who is otherwise not really so interested in adventures. Maybe a month would be enough before I would be ready to “return to reality.” Maybe a year. Maybe longer?
garage and car theme, with all the oil cans and signs, and license plates. Also, the whole image has a sort of nostalgic 1950’s feel, doesn’t it?
First, a little background: as a teenager, I was 100% what was then called a “teenybopper,” but is nowadays known as a “Fan Girl.” I had my favorite actors, singers and “Boy Bands,” decades before the term was ever coined. Bobby Sherman really got the ball rolling, followed closely by the Monkees. It would be difficult to count how many celebrity crushes I’ve had through the decades. I tend to get obsessed for a certain period of time, then move on to something (or someone) else. Whereas my teens were dominated by Bobby Sherman, the Monkees, the Cowsills and John Denver, as an adult, my tastes have been quite different. (Mel Gibson, Hugh Jackman, Harrison Ford). More mature, you might say. 
It’s kind of amazing that I can trace this all the way back to the Beatles, when I was only seven years old. It’s also amazing that this was probably the one time in my life when I was NOT a Late Bloomer! When it came to the Beatles, and Boy Bands, and teenybopperism, I was a maverick, ahead of the curve! 
I remember my mother wondering “How can they even hear the music, with all that screaming going on?” But I think Mom was missing the point. It wasn’t about the music. At least not primarily about the music. It was about the BOYS, and the hair, and the chance to step outside the mundane and connect to something bigger than you, something that seemed to transcend reality, something that represented the freedom of the spirit, and creativity, and optimism, and hope that we too might someday find and date and marry a CUTE boy with LONG HAIR.
