Were times simpler...or were we too naive?

I often find myself thinking "what did I do to keep busy before T.V.?"
As the eldest of 3 sisters, I was 14 when we received our first T.V. What a thrill ! Included in this wonderful cabinet was a radio and record player that played all my 45's and 78's. No more hoping for an invitation to my friends house to watch "Uncle Miltie". But what did I do before that Motorola entered our home? hmmmmmmm....
I never remember saying the dreaded 2 words I hear all the time from little ones...."I'm BORED"....horror of horrors ---- bored!!! Oh my God..that must mean you're a bad parent!!!
I remember riding my bike to my friends..."be back when the street lights come on" Wow!!! how did we get around on a no speed no hand brakes bike.. I could take that whole bike apart and put it back together by the time I grew out of riding it.
I found the whole Wizard of Oz series at my Grandmother's house and spent one summer vacation reading them all....sometimes sitting on the porch...sometimes sitting in a tree....but enjoying the whole series.
I remember sitting on that same porch in the glider and making a list of every word I could find in the letters of a long word that Mom gave us.
Best of all, I remember NO HOMEWORK through the first 5 or 6 grades....all books were left at school. I got all A's and B's. Hmmmmm...
Those of you that are younger and happen to read this are saying "yada-yada-yada"...I know, but this is MY blog and I can say what I wish.
Life certainly wasn't perfect.....but it certainly wasn't "BORING".

More "Stuff" I love to do

I love trying new things and going in new directions. I find it difficult to find one thing and stick just to that. Admittedly, sticking to one thing would give me the opportunity to fine tune the technique......but that's no fun. The thing I love doing best is talking to my Sister Jean in New Hampshire and discussing our latest venture......oh yes, we are birds of a feather when it comes to learning new things. Jean got me into ebay so that we have an outlet for all the goodies we enjoy making.
There are still people out there that love unique, hand crafted items and all the hours that have been devoted to them. They are the same folks, I think, that frequent their local gift shops and look for things that aren't mass produced.
Thanks to all of you that do that !!! So many of the arts have been compromised because of skimpy school budgets. I live in a state that used the support of schools to get a lottery voted in and after several years of all these so called lottery contributions, the schools are worse off than they were before. Oh dear, I'm up on that soap box again....... sorry.
Our latest venture into another medium is the creation of 24 fiber post cards that we will create and mail to a list of people that has been generated on the internet. Some of the members live in foreign countries. I'll put pictures of them in my next posting.

Things I love to do

Here's an example of something I love doing. It's called dry needle felting, which is sculpting with wool roving and a barbed needle.

Senior Moments

Hmmm.....blogs....what can they be used for?.....why would I want one?...what can I possibly write that would be of interest to anyone but my family?
Well, guess I'll find out.
I finally was able to retire in January of this year. I'm still enjoying every morning that I don't have to hear that cock-a-doody alarm clock!
It didn't take long before I discovered that Social Security will never make you rich...so I took on a little part time job as an assistant care giver in an after school program. I had forgotten all the energy that's bottled up in those little ones and have learned a new respect for the teachers (although I've always been a big fan of them). When that final bell rings and the doors fly open and the kids spill out into the play yard (weather permitting) I wish that I could bottle up all that energy and sell it as a new source of power! I love the little cutey patooties and all their stories, excuses and tricks. I love helping with their homework, or an art project or just reading to them, using my "voices".
I'm into all things creative and am always seeking out new art techniques. I try to take classes in whatever is around that's appealing and love the process of learning. It's fun to pick and choose what I want and what I love and what interests me! Sounds selfish, huh?....well, I've had my card punched....worked hard supplimenting the family income with grunt jobs and raising 3 wonderful smart, generous children while traipsing all over the world with a military career husband.
So, this time is my time....grandchildren grown, and not needing care....decent health still mine, and most of all curiosity about so many different subjects.
So, those of you out there that are getting close to retirement.....don't be afraid!!! There's a lot of living to do out there. Lots of things to keep you busy and your mind active. Don't dread the down time, enjoy it.
Now to figure out how to add more to this blog......