That Hobbit Lady

The following is the first 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.

And now…let’s go…

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September 17, 2017

I’ve been thinking about starting this website for at least a year, but I wasn’t sure if I could say I was “in my 60’s” when I was actually only 59. One way of thinking: after reaching my 59th birthday, I begin my 60th year, so yeah, at that point I am technically “in my 60’s,” but somehow it just didn’t seem right to say I was “in my 60’s” when I was only 59. See the dilemma?

But today is my 60th birthday, so at this point, any way you look at it, I am now “in my 60’s.” So it is now time to officially start this website. Before I share my vision for what this website will be all about, a word of caution: I am a human being, and like any human being, I sometimes get these great, even grandiose ideas, that start out really well, but eventually peter out. I have a tendency to do that, and have seriously considered not even starting this website, assuming that it was doomed to failure from the start.

But then I gave it some more thought and realized that if I cut myself off at the knees before I even got a chance to give it a try, of course it would be a failure. I would be a failure. Now, if I at least TRY, then MAYBE there’s a chance I could succeed. Maybe even for only a little while, or maybe only a little bit. Which ultimately would be better than being a complete failure from the very beginning.

All that being said, here is my vision for this website:

First of all, this is about ME. It is very specifically about my own personal experience as I enter this new decade of my life. I’ve known for a while that I am getting older….jeez! That sounds stupid. Aren’t we all getting older all the time? Yes, of course. But hitting this particular decade mark really brings the point home for me. This is the decade when a lot of life-stuff is likely to happen. For instance, I’m looking forward to retirement. There’s also the possibility that in the next ten years I could become a grandmother! There’s also a chance that horrible things might happen, like I could get a debilitating disease, or God forbid, be widowed. There’s probably a strong likelihood that I’ll become an “orphan.” (My mother died this past January, and my 85 year old father, though physically strong, has developed Alzheimer’s.) So you see, as decades go, this one has the potential to be eventful.

How shall I deal with all these events? That’s what I want to know. That’s what I want to document. Not only for myself, but also (and here’s my “Second of all…”) potentially as a point of contact for other women who are going through these same momentous life events.

Do I have something to contribute to society? I don’t know. Mostly, I think….no. Mostly, I am one extremely ordinary person who has pretty much nothing but extremely ordinary experiences. What I plan to talk about here might be of absolutely of no interest to anybody but me. And you know what? If that’s the case, that’s fine. Because every now and then, I need to have a good talk with myself, whether or not anyone else is listening in.

But I sort of hope someone might listen in, and might get something out of what I have to say here. Even if it’s just “Gee, that’s exactly what I’m going through, I guess I’m not alone, I guess I’m not that unusual after all.” Or maybe, “Hey! That Chrissy has some pretty good ideas! I ought to try that too!”

Now I’m getting ahead of myself. Which is something else I tend to do on occasion. But anyway, here’s the start of it. The hope is that I can post something here at least once a week, and if you’re wondering what the topics might be, take a gander at the subject icons on the upper right of this post. (If they are not there yet, it’s my intention to post them to THL in the next few weeks…) These are the things I’m interested in, the areas where I feel I either want to or need to pay special attention, or it’s all just going to get away from me, and the next thing you know, I’ll be starting a new website called “In Her 70’s” having never learned anything from going through my 60’s.

One of the guiding principles of my life is that I am always on a quest for self-improvement. I am always looking for ways to make any particular aspect of my life better than it was before, whether that’s by trying a new toothpaste, buying a new kitchen appliance, learning a new word, or discovering a new singer or band to listen to. They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but even as set in my ways as I sometimes feel I am, I also feel I am constantly willing to learn new tricks about how to survive in this crazy world.

Now, having mentioned that this is a crazy world, I feel compelled to say one more thing. I intend to talk about a lot of personal stuff here on this website, but there are two areas that I will leave completely out of this discourse, and those are: sex and politics. Sex, because honestly, that’s entirely too personal, don’t you think? (In many ways I’m a modern woman, but still maintain a sense of old fashioned decorum). And politics, because nowadays, that topic is simply too divisive. I don’t want this website to be a point of contention. And besides, most of the topics I’m going to write about here will be real and true for myself and anyone else who happens to mosey by and read my words, no matter who’s in the White House.

Okay, that’s enough for today. It’s my birthday, after all, and I still have a bit more celebrating to do before it’s back to work and back to routine tomorrow morning.

When I went to Florida recently, Joey gave me a CD of songs by his band, The Sweet Escape. They play out locally from Port St. Lucie, Florida, and they’ve even been in a few of those all-day “Palooza” type rock festivals. The CD sat in my bag until just a few days ago, when I found it and said, “Oh! Yeah! Let me give this a whirl.” Well, I listened once, then listened again, and by the third time, I was hooked. Officially: My New Favorite Band. And not just because my son’s in the band. I can’t get these songs out of my head.

The Sweet Escape has a bunch of homemade, shot-with-my-cell-phone-at-a-dark-bar type videos on You Tube, which are pretty much just awful, but they recently did this very professional music video. Take a look:

You’ll recognize Joey, of course, as the Sideshow Bob bass player, second from the left. In my evaluation, though I like their lead singer’s voice, he couldn’t lip synch his way out of a paper bag, so if they do any more of these, they should just stick to actual performance footage, or maybe tell a story that doesn’t involve lip synching. (And involves other members of the band…right??) But other than that, this looks pretty good. They’re “tight” and know their stuff. And I’ve always just been a fan of this style of music, which I think is called “punk pop” or “power pop,” or something like that. (Actually, I don’t know what it’s called, I don’t care what it’s called, I just know what I like, and I like this.)

Apparently you can buy their songs on I-Tunes. (You can Shazam this video for more info.) I don’t use I-Tunes much, it’s always been a bit confusing to me, and I can always get my music from other places—like Amazon, half.com, and now…directly from one of the guys in the band!! So I’m set. Though I will be asking Joey if they’ve got any new stuff I can get my hands on.

I’m making it official: If Russ and I win the lottery, I’m dedicating at least a small portion of it to helping The Sweet Escape get a publicity manager, get signed, or get whatever else they need to get into the national spotlight!

So I took a quick trip to Florida last week to see my folks. It was a quiet kind of vacation, just visiting family. In many ways, those are the best kinds of vacations. Here are just a few of the highlights.

Well, first of all, I flew Southwest, and I guess I’m glad we didn’t crash or get highjacked, but these flights were bumpier than any I’ve taken so far. Thank goodness for Dramamine! These flights were so bumpy that of the four flights I was on (two on the way up, two on the way back), only ONCE did I get served my ginger ale. The rest of the flights, they didn’t even serve, since even the attendants had to stay strapped in. And there were no peanuts or pretzels. Yes, I know—I’m being pettish. But at least I had my traditional traveling snack, York Peppermint Patties, (and my Dramamine), so I was alright.

The high point of the airport experience was seeing this gorgeous floor in one of the Birmingham Airport shops. Isn’t this fantastic? Russ calls it “The Universe Floor.” I almost think I would like something like this in our kitchen, but really, it would just compete way too much with our Uba Tuba granite counter tops. And that wouldn’t be good.

Another high point of my airport experience is actually coupled with a low point. The high point was when I utilized the newfangled technology of downloading my Boarding Pass to my cell phone, and actually made it work getting on to the plane! The low point was that I wasn’t sure beforehand exactly how to do it, so I went up to the desk outside the gate and asked the Southwest employee to step me through it. You know what the answer was? “Oh, I have no idea how that works.” Really? You work for Southwest, and they have this new procedure customers are using, and you are there for customer service, and you have NO IDEA how it works? Or maybe…you just can’t be bothered? Flabbergasted. All I know is that this experience reminded me all too much of a story I’ve heard about someone approaching a store employee in Wal Mart (wearing a giant “May I help you?” button, by the way) and getting the answer, “I’m sorry. My English not so good.” Again I say…REALLY? But now I’m beginning to go off on a rant. Let’s get back to the story at hand.

Now, as I mention, this trip was all about family, and I realize that on a general basis, I really don’t take enough pictures of actual, real people, but here are a few I managed to have enough sense to snap. Here’s my Dad, doing what Dads always do, reading the newspaper.

And below this, here’s Mom and Dad, hanging out on their big, comfy couch. Love that couch! It’s from Ikea. I wish we had an Ikea here, I would probably end up buying a ton of stuff there. (But again, how easy it would be for me to go off on a tangent!) The house may be small, but it’s bright and comfortable, and full of color. Don’t you just love the yellow walls? In a certain light, they are true yellow, but yet, in another light, they almost appear peach. And yet it’s all the same color. It’s like the walls are alive (just like that beautiful flooring in the airport.)

Mom and Dad seem to be doing well, though slowing down a bit, as is to be expected. There’s a sense of “same old, same old,” every time I visit, but that’s very comforting.

I also got to Terry and James on this trip, but the real highlight for me was visiting with Joey, not once, but twice! He drove me back and forth from the airport, and I even got to meet his girlfriend Kayla, whom I liked very much. Very real, and easy to get along with. I wish I could have gotten to visit with them in their cute little rental house up the coast, and see Reggie the pug, and meet their new kitten Meowzer, but alas, this trip was too short. Still, perhaps some time in the future, right?

I’ve known for a while that Joey’s been dabbling in art, but on this trip I discovered just how much talent he really has. He wanted to give a gift to his grandparents, so he put together this portrait of the four birds that used to be so much a part of their household. If you knew these birds, you would look at this picture and instantly see each of them, each of their personalities. So, not only is Joey a musician, but also a painter! (As you can see above, he prefers the Bohemian artsy look.) I’m so proud of him.

Speaking of art, take a look at this collection of jewelry I got from Mom. She had several “real” pieces she was willing to pass on, but I’m not a jewelry person in the traditional sense. I don’t really wear jewelry, except for the two rings Russ gave me, and a pair of earrings every day, but I’m not one to have bangles around my neck and wrists. But lately, I’ve become interested in the idea of brooches and pins—art I can wear on a sweater shoulder, or perhaps pinned to a purse. Besides being simply lovely to look at, a lot of these items have sentimental value for me, as a I remember my Mom wearing them when I was a kid. That makes a pretty piece even better.

Whenever I visit South Florida, I love to hit a few of the local thrift stores if I can, and my Dad and I went around one day to a couple of them, and that same evening, after eating out with Terry, we also hit another one. I got a top and a skirt, but my favorite find is this ceramic cat head. His ears come off, and you can store stuff inside. I have no idea what I’ll store inside, but this kitty’s uncanny resemblance to Squee made him a Must Have. Already he’s taken up a place of honor in my kitchen.

Now, one more thing I’ll mention: Mom and especially Dad are BIG puzzlers. They always have a jigsaw puzzle going in front of the sliding glass door, with lots of natural light, and if you can listen to some Mozart at the same time, so much the better! In fact, Dad played me some music, which I’m pretty sure was Mozart, but I’d never heard it before. It was some really crazy piano music. It made me realize that sitting down and doing a puzzle and listening to music can be just about one of the most relaxing activities you can engage in. I brought along my new puzzle of CATS by my new favorite artist Laurel Burch, and since it was only 300 pieces, it didn’t take that long to to. But it was a lot of fun!

So much fun that when I got back home, I set up a “Puzzle Place” on our dining room table, and in just a few sittings, Russ and I did the same puzzle again. And now, we have another one waiting in the wings, ready to get started on that one momentarily, in fact, perhaps as soon as I get up from writing this post. (As you can see, Squee does not seem to mind the puzzling. In this, as in all things, he likes to Observe and Supervise.)

So that is just a quick look at my recent trip. I feel like I timed it perfectly, after the busy time at work, yet before the snowstorms of January. Trying to find the time and opportunity to visit my family is not always an easy thing, but I’m hoping to be able to make it more of a priority in the future. Already, I’m planning another trip for early this Summer. But one thing at a time! Right now, let’s have at that new puzzle!

One of my favorite things to do is collect a bunch of pictures that have been sitting in my phone and post them here as a way of expressing the kinds of things that are going on in my life, sights I’ve seen, and stuff I find of interest. Haven’t done this in a long time, but now here’s another installment.

There’s a new baby in the family! Russ’s nephew Ryan is a new dad, and this is little Rhettin at Thanksgiving (notice the turkey on his shirt…). He was born early last summer, so I guess he’s about five or six months now, and gets cuter every time I see him. Before you know it, he’ll be walking and talking! Hey! When I first came to Alabama, the “babies” in the family were still in elementary school, and now they’re driving cars and planning for college. Time marches on, it’s time for a new generation to take over.

In August we went to the Beach for this big conference thingy that Russ’s work has every year. I love this trip! He has to WORK but I get to hang out in the luxury hotel and do basically…NOTHING! It’s fabulous! And then, when Russ is not working, we go eat in all the great seafood restaurants. I’m not much for actually going down to the beach, but I love this view from our hotel window. I think that’s a pirate ship passing by…

So I have this “Christmas Cactus” that I got several years ago, and it’s doing very well, growing a lot, but doesn’t really make any Christmas flowers. Last year it got ONE, and I was so overjoyed! This year, one bud came out, and I watched it every day for about two weeks until…it dropped off. Disappointing. But I’m trying not to be too disappointed, because as I mention, this plant is very healthy, growing like crazy. Maybe sometimes it’s okay not to flower, as long as you’re healthy. I feel like there must be a life lesson in here somewhere.

I found this cute little cat at the thrift store, and he’s been hanging around in my office with a thousand other little things on my desk (I exaggerate when I say “thousands,” it’s probably just a couple dozen or so), and I felt he was getting lost in all the hubbub, so I brought him to work, and now he has a prominent place on my desk, and a very important job to do: he’s the Keeper of the Clips! Previously, I had to open the drawer to get to my paper clips, but now I just give the little kitty a pet and ask if I might please have a clip, and he’s always very happy to oblige.

We’ve been working on remodeling our kitchen, and here’s one shot of the progress along the way, when the new backsplash was being installed. It’s all done now—the backslplash, I mean, not the kitchen! We’re still working on getting the entire project finished. Next week our new over-the-range microwave and dishwasher will be delivered and installed. After that, we have one “accent” wall to paint. THEN I think we’ll be done. Well, except for needing to buy a new kitchen table. And after that it sure would be nice to change the flooring! But I wouldn’t count on that happening any time soon. I’ll consider this project finished when the wall is painted, and I’ll be sure to post “before” and “after” pictures when we get there.

Christmas has come and gone, and while I don’t go in for all the decorating like I used to when the kids were little, I still insist on a bit of outdoor lights. The “web” of colors over the front bushes is a must! We don’t go for that stringing up strands and strands of twinkling icicles from the rooftop. Who wants to do all that going up and down ladders? I once worked with a lady who broke her leg falling off a ladder while stringing Christmas lights on the roof. Cautionary tale. Don’t go there!

When the kids were little, we used to drive around the neighborhoods at Christmas time to look at the lights, and every time we saw a nicely decorated house, we’d say, “Christmas Spirit!” And when we saw a house completely dark and unlit, we’d say, “Scrooge!” I like to put up just enough lights to keep from being a “Scrooge.”

You know I can’t get through a picture post without an image of Squee. In this shot, I just happened to catch him yawning while I looked right at the flash. I call this portrait “Scary Cat.” Horrifying, isn’t he?

No, not really. Squee is actually a sweetheart, and extremely well behaved. He’s matured quite nicely. He loves to lay about being a CAT. Here he is in one of his favorite places, a “bed” of cushions and blankets. Notice the “official” cat bed in the background? Won’t touch it. He’s really funny. He gets a certain idea in his head about what’s the BEST spot in the house for hanging out, and he’ll frequent that spot almost exclusively for months on end. Then suddenly, it’s no longer in vogue, and he switches to a new spot. Right now, his favorite spot is the upper basket of his “cat condo,” where he can be Top Cat. Wonder what it will be next month?

Walking about campus, one is likely to see all kinds of signs, and most are benign signs, but this one really jumped out at me. Just before Thanksgiving, this office was apparently going to have a party, so they posted a notice to let everyone know about it. I just have to say, though…11:00 at night until 1:00 pm the next afternoon?? That must have been some party~!

One of my co-workers always gets me a cat calendar every year at Christmas. I work with a bunch of “dog people,” but they respect my right to be a “cat person.” Towards the end of the 2015 calendar I ran into this adorable shot of a tabby checking out a snowman. But check out the snowman! Or should I say…snowcat? I showed this pic to Mary and she said that if it snows up in Seattle, she is most certainly planning to make her very own “snowcat.”

Well, speaking of cats…it seems there are a lot of cats in this post, doesn’t it? And here are some more! i’ve recently discovered this great pop artist from the 80’s and 90’s, Laurel Burch, and CATS are one of her favorite subjects. I fell in love with her art, and then found these wonderful socks. I’ve only worn them a couple of times so far, because really, if you’re going to wear such fantastic socks, you want the rest of your outfit to be extremely plain, so as not to compete with your “cats on my feet” theme. I really have to figure out the best way to wear these socks. In the meantime, I don’t mind looking at them draped over the back of the living room chair.

And now one more and I’ll call it a night. Christmas has come and gone, and I mentioned that I don’t dress up the house a whole lot, but I do love to bring out my little Christmas tree at work. (I spend more time at work than I do at home, anyway, so it sort of makes sense to have the Christmas tree there rather than at home…) Now, when I say I “bring out” my little Christmas tree, I do literally mean I bring it out. I have a cabinet, and I open the door, and I pull out the fully dressed little tree and put it on my desk. Voila! Instant Christmas. And when the season is over, I open the cabinet, and put the tree back in, to sit there and wait for next year.

It strikes me that one of the wonderful things about life is the cyclic nature of the calendar. I love Autumn, I love Winter, I love Christmas. It comes and it goes…and then it comes back again. Spring and Summer will have their own pleasures, and those too will repeat. There’s always something to look forward to.

I was outside this morning, feeding the birds, and I happened to look up and see this very unusual cloud formation—two giant holes in a sea of fluffy white. Now, to a meteorologist, this may not be unusual at all, and there’s probably some scientific term to explain just exactly what the clouds think they’re doing by making these two giant holes. But it really struck me, so I took a picture.

And then, something else happened.

I remembered a poem I wrote, long, long ago, when I was a relatively new Christian, so I went to look it up, and found it on my shelf, and see that this was written way back in 1976—which is, as I say, a long, long time ago. I’ve changed a lot since then, but the poem is still valid, and hopeful, and so I’m going to share it now.

CLOUD MAGIC
(Inspiration: Acts 1:11: “…why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken from you, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go…”)

Cloud Magic–
Swirling, twirling, floating
Dissolving into sky blue
Playing games…
Stretching, braiding, hiding
Meeting: thunder, lightning, angry showers.
Hanging low
Gliding slow
Giving
Reflecting the light.

Cloud Magic–
Expressway to Heaven
Ages ago received the Lord
Circled around a mere man
(Who was God…)
Swept Him up
Pillowing His body through the sky
Flying
Traveling first-class
This Jesus.

Cloud Magic–
Giving rain and shade
The coolness of the afternoon
Making shapes and faces
Imagination.

Then…
Giving a great reality.

Someday soon–
When sunlight sparkles
Upon their smooth, silky fullness
A Surprise:
These clouds
Royal transportation
Will return a King
This Jesus.

And all will see
And all will know
And the clouds will give up
The mystery of Heaven.
Breathing, pulsating
The clouds will join hands
And circle again
Taking up with fluffy joy
The friends of the King
To carry them Home
with Him
To everlasting gentleness.

(October 16, 1976)

It’s been a very long time since I’ve posted here. I gave Barbara the reason that I’ve been busy, which is true, at least some of the time, but the other part of the reason is that…well, I just don’t really know. It’s not so much about being busy as it is about being overwhelmed by all the things out there, possibly to be done. If that makes sense. But that sounds like another post, one I’m not quite ready to do today, because today I have a little Christmas dinner to cook, and then maybe some Christmas movies to watch, because after all…we are on our Christmas Break!

So, this being Christmas Day, and Christmas so much in the air, I thought I’d start back here with a few quick glimpses of Christmas Past. Actually, I have a LOT of Christmas photos…somewhere…but it would be complicated to find them all. So I’ll just start with these few today.

First of all, here are a couple of me as a kid, with each of my grandfathers, who, in Polish, are called “Dzydzyie,” though I’m sure I’m not spelling that correctly. (In the second picture, I’m on the left, and my sister Terry is on the right.)

The Polish grandmother is “Babcie,” and I feel a little more certain about that spelling, though I’m not sure I have any Christmas photos of me with my Babcies. And why? Because any good Babcie, on Christmas Day, is in the kitchen COOKING an enormous feast for her family, and doesn’t have any time for hanging out with the grandkids around the Christmas tree. But since Dzydzyies do have time for things like that (they are sort of an enhanced version of “Fun Dad”), here are my childhoods pics of me with my Dzydzyies.

Now we move ahead many years to when I have kids of my own, and here we find Joey and Mary making an early visit to Santa Claus at the Mall. It appears in the picture that they are past the point of being terrified by Santa’s big white beard, and I would guess no tears were shed or screams heard on this visit. I have another great picture of me and Terry visiting Santa way back in 1963 or 1964, and if I can find that picture later, I’ll put that up as well.

And finally (for now, anyway) we see Mary and Joey at Christmas a few years down the road from the last picture. You can tell they’re a little older, and once again, don’t those kids just love to hang around the Christmas tree? If you look closely, you’ll notice that Joey has a bird on his shoulder. That’s “Buddy,” who started out being our bird (Mary’s dad got the bird for her on her sixth birthday) but he soon went to live with my dad, Mary and Joey’s Dzydzyie, and spent many many years being pampered and having the best possible life a bird could ever expect to have.

Well, that’s it for now! Even though I am not yet a Babcie (actually, I don’t know if there will ever be any more “Babcies” in our family, that kind of lifestyle is probably too much a thing of the past, now) I still have some cooking and baking to do, and a nice, quiet Christmas to spend with my hubby on this, one of the first days of our long-awaited Christmas Break!