On a Whim

 

 

I was reminded today of why I wanted to live in Arizona.  The day started out like any normal day.  A few chores in the morning and then running some errands.  My last errand took me farther from my house than normal, which allowed me time to reflect on my feelings.  As I drove I noticed the sunny blue sky, clear air and a sense of calmness.  That was the feeling I always got when I stepped off the plane while visiting and never wanted to leave when the visit was over.  It's a feeling of being at home.

As I drove down the street, I had Camelback Mountain on my right and palm trees swaying in the breeze on the left.  I have driven down this street dozens of times, however today, I noticed the new architecture meeting the old and how well it all fit together.

I opened my sun roof to breath in the clean fresh air and I had this bubbling feeling of happiness that started deep within me and continued rising until it spread across my face in a huge smile.  I turned the radio up and pretended to know the words to the songs until I got to my destination.

I know the weather has been bleat and cold across the country, but try to remember why you love living where you are.  It will make these last few days of winter go faster.

SPRING IS ALMOST HERE ! 

 





Friends are Very Special People

 

A single rose can be my garden......a single friend, my world. Leo Buscaglia

 

The idea for this weeks blog came to me after my oldest daughter, Renee, told me that her very first best friends name was Denise.  I then asked my other girls if they could remember the name of their first best friend.  Rhonda's was Kristie Smithers, Brenda's was Kim Kinsey and Darla couldn't remember her name but it was "the girl in the apartment who moved out in the middle of the night".  I then asked myself the same question and my answer was Patsy Valdez.  I was surprised that we could remember who our first best friend was.  But Brenda told me it's because they are very special people.  I guess she is right or how else would we be able to remember them after so many years.  Unless you are one of the fortunate few who are still close with that person.

 

CAN YOU REMEMBER YOUR FIRST BEST FRIEND?

 

Most people meet this special person before or right after they start school.  I was in the third grade before I had met mine.  You're wondering why.  Well, until I moved to California I lived in the country, on a dirt road, and the farms or houses on Coventry Drive were very far apart.  The only kids I remember, lived down the road on a farm and were my sister's age.  Even though I tagged along with her once in a while, they were her friends not mine.  So friends have always been very important to me.

 

We go through life making all kinds of friends.  We have work friends, family friends, business associate friends, childhood friends and lifelong friends.  I have my scrap booking friends, work friends, IAOSKC friends, lunch buddies and neighborhood friends.  Many of them blend into other areas of my life because of our interests and personalities.  Then there's the friend that gives you a part-time job when you retire and have become restless and would like some extra income.  This job included working with two other casual friends who soon become best friends.  These friendships soon intertwined my personal and professional life into one.  It's a journey that I will never forget.

 

A best friend is kind and acts as a positive influence in your life.  They know your faults and who you are deep down and love you anyway.  They are there for you in good times and bad times.  Someone who will support your decisions, cheer you on, keep your secrets, celebrate your victories and cry with you when you are hurt.  If you have more than one person like this in your life you are very lucky.

 

Some people come into our lives for a short period and others stay for years.  A friendship doesn't have to last an entire lifetime in order for it to make an impact on you.  All friends are not best friends but think about what you have learned from them instead.

 

One of the hardest things for me is losing touch with someone that I really care about.  I don't mean the we have been busy and will catch up next week or next month losing touch.  I mean when you lose touch because you can't find this person anymore.  I have lost a childhood friend, that until about 10 years ago we kept in contact by letters, cards and yearly visits.  Suddenly my letters were returned, my attempts to reach her mother were in vain.  It was like she had dropped off the face of the earth.  I have tried every type of search I can think of and still can't find her or her family.  So, I go on hoping that someday I will run into her or at least find out what happened to her, her husband and children.

 

I lost touch with another dear friend for many years but this time it had a happy ending.  I found her again through my grandson and daughter.  At a Saturday baseball game, my daughter ran into Cheryl, whose grandson was playing ball on the opposite team we were playing.  A meeting was set up and it was like we had never been apart.  Now she and I stay in contact through Facebook on a regular basis.

 

Do me a favor and check your planner to see what day you scheduled meeting a new friend or finding a long lost one.  There isn't one, is there?  That's because you don't set a date to make a FRIEND or run into a FRIEND you haven't seen for several months or years.  They are special people and we don't take becoming friends with someone lightly.  Sometimes it takes a while to become close with a person and then other times you hit it off right away and it's like you've known this person all your life. 

 

People have drifted in and out of my life, just as they have yours, for a reason.  Sometimes it's for the good and other times it's not.  But each time we learn a little more about ourselves and how people affect us.  The people that stay forever are VSP's VERY SPECIAL PEOPLE.  I thank each and every one of my VSP's for sharing my life.

 

Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart. Eleanor Roosevelt

 

 

Side note:  Good grief! I think I used the word friend or friends 30 times in this blog.  But it the best word I could think of in most places. 

 

 

Please check out the two book reviews under the tab above.  Happy Reading!!!!!

 

 

 



For the Love of British Shows

  

 

Highclere Castle-from Wikipedia

 

This last week an OWW friend asked if I watched Downton Abbey on the PBS Channel.  She was having a conversation about this show with another person and she remembered that I love English movies of all kinds.  As “Call the Midwife” and “Downton Abbey” are my two favorite weekly shows and the fact that 50% of my ancestors came from England my answer was, “yes of course”. 

Now, if you’re not familiar with Downton Abbey, it is a great English drama shown on the PBS Channel on Sunday nights.  It is set in England, of course, era late 1800’s early 1900’s.  The story line involves the lives and current events of the Earl and Lady of Grantham, their three daughters, extended family members and lives of the service staff “downstairs”.  Both of which can get pretty dicey.  The main filming location for this period drama is an actual Castle located in Hampshire, England.  The Earl and Countess of Carnarvon are the current owners and permit the use of their home for the filming, weddings, etc. to offset the cost of maintaining this large Castle.  The Castle has Tearooms that are open to the public during scheduled times.  They serve coffee, tea and light lunches made in the Castle kitchen.  As I am also a huge fan of tearooms and going out for tea, this would be the perfect place for a lovely quiet tea.  I can just imagine Daisy and Mrs. Patmore, Downton Abbey’s Cook and Assistant, making up my order and Carson the Butler serving my tea.  I can picture my sister and I having a great chat over tea looking out onto the beautiful gardens.  Okay, enough of the whim of being in England drinking tea. 

  Highclere Castle Gardens - Wikipedia
 











As I watch this show every week I wonder how these large aristocratic families all lived in one big mansion together.   As husbands, wives and grandchildren were added over time, this had to be a full house.  All their lives were wrapped up in each other from birth to death.  I guess this was the accepted life of an upper class citizen.  I know their lives can look romantic and charming with all their money and castles or elaborate mansions, however, as in all households the truth is never known to outsiders.  This is made quite clear in Downton Abbey and the twisting of facts is a common place when certain issues are presented to the general public, as the marriage of the Earl’s daughter to the Chauffeur.  This could have been a big embarrassment to the family but the grandmother came up with a great twist of facts. 

However, as wars and economy changed the world, so many families were forced to down size and we began to see the single households of today.  Not that there aren’t still families living together, but by other means, such as the real Highclere Castle is currently doing.  Even though my whim or fancy would have me sitting in a lovely tearoom, in a castle, in England, having the staff serve me, in no way would I want the headaches of running or maintaining such a large residence.  I am happy to have my small house that I can clean and maintain myself and if I want to have tea in the garden, I have a very lovely backyard to do that in as well.  But I love watching how the British people lived in the past so I will continue watching  Downton Abbey every Sunday night.   And I'll be right there when the new season of "Call the Midwife" starts.  

References:

This same OWW friend was tooling around Goodreads and found a popular booklist called Downton Abbey-esque books.  The following is the top 10 books on that list.  As a fan of the show I plan to check out the books at my local library. 

1. The House at Riverton by Kate Morton
2. The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
3. Howards End by EM Foster
4. Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
5. A Room with a View by EM Foster
6. The World of Downton Abbey by Jessica Fellowes
7. The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy
8. Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey: The Lost Legacy of Highclere Castle by The Countess of Carnarvon
9. Below Stairs: The Classic Maid's Memoir that Inspired Upstairs, Downstairs and Downton Abbey by Margaret Powell
10. The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton