BRRR, it's cold

Days like this call to mind several poems on winter

Frost's - Dust of Snow

EA Robinson New England

Keats The Eve of St. Agnes

The first poem is an interaction of the poet's narrator and a crow as related only to something which can happen in winter.  The second describes children's movements on "frozen toes" as a part of the character of a New England Winter.  The third poem shows the "bitter chill" of a particular night (January 19)  through descriptions of the animals who may remain outdoors during this season.

End of the Year/First of the Year--January!

If you are on Facebook, you have seen the FB offering of a year in review. Many of my friends have posted theirs.  I have not for several reasons.  First my posts are few and far between as related to the events in this year.  Thus the post would be a distortion.  Second sometimes these activities are depressing as it is too easy to compare oneself to others. 

What this action reminded me about is this blog  I had hoped to follow the year with thoughts and memories of the main events.  However, some computer glitches as well as other activities helped me procrastinate too much. 

As a result of this year, I have successfully navigated the first year of retirement to my satisfaction.  One of the ways it has been satisfying is that I haven't completed everything on my "bucket list."  Too many retirees try to achieve everything in the first year.  Sometimes this frenzy is necessary if health issues and other changes are forthcoming.  For me that wasn't an issue. 

Do I still want to go back to work?  Meh.  This week I put in two hours volunteering at my local public library and felt exhausted.  Perhaps what I need to do most is improve my stamina.  So far the combination of Social Security and private funds is working.  I am enjoying having more control over my time--an irreplaceable aspect of life.  My memory of working is willingly selling certain 40+ hours of time each week in return for an agreed upon salary.  I sometimes resented having to subordinate personal needs and outside commitments to meet that contract, but not usually as my job was very fulfilling, self motivating, and varied enough to avoid too much monotony.   I did resent those who took advantage of others schedules to rearrange them and seldom returned the favor as they were just too busy. 

So here we are at the end of the year.  As I said once this year was a true adventure.  My definition of an adventure is similar to The Hobbit and other stories where people encounter stresses, hardship, new experiences, new friends, chaos,  and confusion mixed with much happiness, joy, and celebration.  That's it in a nutshell.   Through it all, God has been present as He has for all the others who posted their FB accounts.  In that light, I can read their accounts and rejoice and mourn with them again as we are encouraged to do in the Bible.  I don't have to worry about feeling smug or depressed as I read their accounts.  Hmmm.  Maybe I'll post mine after all!

More tomorrow as my first resolution is to start posting the second year. 

A good time was had by all

A memory about this summer's reading project and thoughts about successful teamwork.

That phrase summarizes this blog and you can skip it if you wish.  With the exception of the summer of 2013, I've been involved in summer reading groups for several years.  At MPOW, we offered three years of reading "contests" for the students, staff, and faculty over the summer.  They were fun, but yielded few volunteer readers or ones who had the time to do it.

Since retirement, I expanded my volunteer work  in the library at My worship place to include the children's collection.  Children were not using the collection and  it was in danger of being removed because of space issues.

After working several months to inventory the children's materials, I wanted to see if we could reignite interest in using the collection.  I suggested a reading contest to the librarian and pastor who oversees this group.  My reason was that summer was a good time to encourage children to read those books which promoted Christian values and life.
We timed it to coincide with the Bibles given to graduates in elementary school.
I was rather apprehensive but I didn't need to be because God was in it.  The pastoral staff took the suggestion and remodeled it to fit a larger need while not excluding my concerns.  They included parents reading to children as well as other ideas.
 They even added a reward --ice cream at a popular ice cream spot.  They mentioned the project several times in church and even once the senior pastor talked about some of the books in the library during the children's section.

I continued to prepare the children's collection for the summer. The nasty fall and fracture I had in July occurred at the start of the contest and the next step:  purchasing new books.  However, this too didn't stop and actually the new material acquisition came at a better time for processing and promotion.  That first Sunday, parents and children came to the library.

I was unable to be at the library for several weeks.  The other librarians were "swamped" to use their words with children in the library.  We tallied around 88 books checked out. 
Thirty people, parents and children and staff attended the ice cream party which was held on a perfect Sunday.  We all thought it was a good end to the project and to the summer. 

Teamwork occurred here without a great deal of effort.  My thoughts on the word, "team," is that it is overused and misapplied.  In some workplaces, everyone has to be together all the time and in total lockstep or they are deemed not part of  the team and little value because their efforts are in a different section of the workplace.  It's like the story of the  boy and the dike.  He didn't need to call a committee to know what needed to be done.  No one questioned that his contribution didn't benefit them all.   Daily work may function better with common goals, but not everyone has to hold hands all the time.  Hearing people say," I'll contact my team."  usually makes me clench my teeth.  My experience has been this is a polite way to not follow through in a timely manner.

In this case everybody's contribution was valued and the benefits of this effort has already been blessed and I hope will continue to be a blessing and a great memory.

Tags past and present

OK.  I confess I've had a wasted life.  I've never ever not even once been tagged for anything or asked to do something odd for charity.

I see these tags and usually hoped I wont be added.  Im the one who breaks chain letters. However, there is always the sneaky ego trip when my name is included in something.   perhaps it's for the best as you will see by my list which isn't

but this last tag really is the final straw: name ten books that have affected you.  I'm the kid waving her hand saying yes,yes,yes.   Me,me,me. I know I know I know!  but the teacher smiles and calls on someone else.

Here are my 10, er 12 books.

1 Egermeier's Bible Story book
2.  A volume called Myths and Legends from a set whose title I don't remember.
3.   They Loved to Laugh by Kathryn Worth
4. Giants in the Earth by Ole Rolvaag
5. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
6.  A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
7.  The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkein
8.  Your God is Too Small. J. B.  Phillips
9.  True Discipleship by William MacDonald
10.  the Christian's Secret of a Happy life by Hannah W. smith
11.  The Spider King by Lawrence Schoonover
12.  Little House on the Prairie.  Laura Ingalls Wilder

Discussion Thoughts Chapter 2

Sorry--I'm in the ebook mode and can't copy/paste easily.

In chapter two, "Body and Soul," I felt a little out of my depth because of the theology, philosophy, and biological issues which are raised.  Do you believe the two temptations--acceptance or denial--, Packer raises are the only temptations experienced as we age?  If not what other temptations do you see in yourself or in others.

I agree with the author that people who are relatively isolated seem to become more narcissistic--if that's what it should be called.   Depression often is integral to this.  I agree that pride is the root cause of all even of depression.  However, I'm not one to root out pride in others without seeing its existence in myself.  How many times do older people have to ask for help with new technology rather than trying to learn the technology?  Sometimes it's  diminishing eyesight and hearing which may make such activities go slower.

I also think we do find people discounting our experiences because we are old  and just can't be worth listening to  in a respectful way. 

Biologically, aging is a continuum for all of us.  Our genes, DNA, and other factors precondition some health issues to occur if other factors are present.  This is not the same as determinism. I don't think people are predetermined to give in to the two temptations Packer mentions.  If they don't it may be because they have learned to ask for help and are not afraid of being alone or may have a lifelong curiosity and resilience.

I also remembered several poems when I read this chapter such as The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,  and Thanatopsis by William Cullen Bryant/

malware, malfeasance, mal, mal, mal

Boy am I fed up!  I have had to deal with spyware, adware, ad malware this past month  It got to the point that I had to either become a computer programmer and know how to root out those pesky files or spend money to have someone else do it.  Sigh.  I opted for door number too. 

This whole experience has renewed my appreciation for IT staff at colleges and the challenges they face.  I have also wondered again why why why PC and software manufacturers haven't forestalled these problems ages ago with better code.   And why why why we consumers don't refuse to buy another PC until this problem is solved.

With the almost  news that accounts are stolen by criminals all the time,   using a computer is less fun. 
I've changed passwords at least 2-3 times for some accounts and even more for others. 
I have a touch PC right now and it has aps which seem to be functioning better than just going to the Internet.  Time will tell, though. 

Hobby or job?

So, my love of handicrafts has finally morphed into more than gifts for family and friends.  I am not part of a group which crochets for charity.  I can now create washcloths, blankets, scarves, and hats to my hearts' content.  Although there are some proscriptions, it is always gratifying when people report back that they loved the item and want more.

Unfortunately I'm not getting paid except for the occasional pat on the back and the thrill of actually tackling more complicated patterns. 

Should we go into hobbies or pastimes with the idea in mind that they might morph into a paying job with a regular salary which exceeds the break-even point?  For me, this number crunching is usually too disappointing.  There is no way the expenditure is ever going to be less than any income.  I realized back in the '80s that such hopes were impractical for the enthusiast unless we charge what our time is worth.  I don't see adding  $25-100 per hour to a project for income ever going to surpass any competition which will give it away for practically nothing. 

Perhaps there are other avenues for remuneration for the expense of a hobby, such as learning design techniques or teaching a class.  Even so, the main problem is still crunching those numbers.

In the meantime, sharing the enthusiasm for crocheting and knitting with others and being blessed with donations of patterns and yarn and other supplies for maintaining my "habit" will have to suffice.