Well, it's here. December. Countdown to Christmas, that started about September, has gone into hyper drive! To many it has become an over-rated, expensive waste of time. However, it need not be.
Several years ago we decided as a family that the opportunity to gather together for several days at the end of the year was an occasion to celebrate. It meant we had made it through another year with all the good things as well as the trials and tribulations. We still have a tree decorated with baubles from our childhood as well as our childrens' and add the odd new one now and then - themed it is not!
Presents are thoughtful gifts that have been fun to find often in charity shops - for isn't that what Christams is all about?
And the meal is the centre of the day.
So enjoy December; before you know it, it will be cold and dark January.
Thursday 1 December 2011
Sunday 27 November 2011
The Real Thing
There is a saying that you can never have too many books. With the invention of kindle that may well be true! However, for me the real thing can never be replaced. There is nothing better than holding a book and running your fingers through its pages. If it is an old book, the smell can even be evocative of a forgotten memory or times past lived by others.
I am not against technology and I can see that a kindle has its uses, but for me the real thing will win out every time.
I am not against technology and I can see that a kindle has its uses, but for me the real thing will win out every time.
Wednesday 23 November 2011
The buying of books
I love books. I love the feel of them. I love them to be around me and parting with them is like loosing a friend - unless of course it was a book I disliked, but even then they can have their value and you can be revisited and discovered to be more friendly in later years.
Many of the books on my shelves have been inherited from my parents and other relatives. These are books which I have always promised myself I will read "one day". I've also bought a lot over the years which have not been read for one reason or another. Well about a year ago I realised that if I didn't start soon, that "one day" might never come, so at the end of December I decided I would only read books that were in the house already and had been there for some considerable time. And I've stuck to it and loved every minute of it.
I have read such a variety - books that fascinated me as a child on my parents' shelves, books brought into our home by our grown up children and left behind, books given as gifts and long ago shelved for a moment such as this. I've discovered amazing authors who are long forgotten but who could write a jolly good story and it's given me a peek into the fiction-world familiar to other generations. It's been wonderful. One of my early reads in this experiment was "The Bond Maid" by Pearl Buck. She is well known for her book "The Good Earth" published in 1931 for which she won the Pulitzer Prize and then in 1938 she was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. But who has heard of her now? "The Bond Maid" is well written and she deserves greater attention. As a child this book's cover fascinated me - an Chinese woman arranging flowers; it seemed so enchanting. Well it was as enchanting a read as a cover!
I have not loved everything I've picked up, but I've certainly read more widely than ever before.
And I'm going to do it for another year. However, I have decided to change the rules a little. Some friends want to lend me books and in return I will lend them one of mine.
Do you know I think they used to do something like this long ago in the dark ages - people borrowed books and brought them back; I believe it was called a public library!
Many of the books on my shelves have been inherited from my parents and other relatives. These are books which I have always promised myself I will read "one day". I've also bought a lot over the years which have not been read for one reason or another. Well about a year ago I realised that if I didn't start soon, that "one day" might never come, so at the end of December I decided I would only read books that were in the house already and had been there for some considerable time. And I've stuck to it and loved every minute of it.
I have read such a variety - books that fascinated me as a child on my parents' shelves, books brought into our home by our grown up children and left behind, books given as gifts and long ago shelved for a moment such as this. I've discovered amazing authors who are long forgotten but who could write a jolly good story and it's given me a peek into the fiction-world familiar to other generations. It's been wonderful. One of my early reads in this experiment was "The Bond Maid" by Pearl Buck. She is well known for her book "The Good Earth" published in 1931 for which she won the Pulitzer Prize and then in 1938 she was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. But who has heard of her now? "The Bond Maid" is well written and she deserves greater attention. As a child this book's cover fascinated me - an Chinese woman arranging flowers; it seemed so enchanting. Well it was as enchanting a read as a cover!
I have not loved everything I've picked up, but I've certainly read more widely than ever before.
And I'm going to do it for another year. However, I have decided to change the rules a little. Some friends want to lend me books and in return I will lend them one of mine.
Do you know I think they used to do something like this long ago in the dark ages - people borrowed books and brought them back; I believe it was called a public library!
Sunday 20 November 2011
New Look!
No not the Dior New Look of Spring / Summer 1947, but an experiment with the look of my blog. Can't believe I'm actually talking about "My Blog"!
The leopard skin look? Why you ask?
Well you can take the girl out of Glasgow, but you can't take Glasgow out of the girl. And let's face it the leopard skin look is so Glasgow!
The leopard skin look? Why you ask?
Well you can take the girl out of Glasgow, but you can't take Glasgow out of the girl. And let's face it the leopard skin look is so Glasgow!
Greetings World
So here I am on my first attempt at blogging, spurred on by my friend Simon who is sure that I have lots to say of interest to the world. That of course remains to be seen. The world may not agree. However, for the moment I am here and we will see what transpires.
I am often descibed as a repository of useless information; perhaps some of you may find some of my bits and pieces of interest.
For instance, on the 20th November 1962 the Cuban Missile Crisis ended as the Soviet Union stood down with the removal of its missiles from Cuba. All over the western world sighs of relief could be heard, for this crisis is probably the nearest thing we have ever come to two nations ending it all.
World War II had ended with the nuclear attack on Japan and people were very aware of the catastrophic nature of what had happened there. Sixteen years had passed so developments had been made to nuclear capabilities - the possibility of disaster was very real. All over the USA and the UK families had returned home to be with their families in case the unthinkable happened. Radio and the new fangled televisions were watched for news as familes tried to make the best of what might be their last time together. In the end sense was seen for all sorts of reasons.
Interestingly it is suggested that there was a rise in the birth rate in 1963!
I am often descibed as a repository of useless information; perhaps some of you may find some of my bits and pieces of interest.
For instance, on the 20th November 1962 the Cuban Missile Crisis ended as the Soviet Union stood down with the removal of its missiles from Cuba. All over the western world sighs of relief could be heard, for this crisis is probably the nearest thing we have ever come to two nations ending it all.
World War II had ended with the nuclear attack on Japan and people were very aware of the catastrophic nature of what had happened there. Sixteen years had passed so developments had been made to nuclear capabilities - the possibility of disaster was very real. All over the USA and the UK families had returned home to be with their families in case the unthinkable happened. Radio and the new fangled televisions were watched for news as familes tried to make the best of what might be their last time together. In the end sense was seen for all sorts of reasons.
Interestingly it is suggested that there was a rise in the birth rate in 1963!
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