Christmas and New year

 Christmas will come and go in the blink of an eye. One minute you are putting up the Christmas tree, doing last minute shopping, getting a makeover in an attempt to look younger, decorating the house and planning your parties, and the next you are putting away the dirty dishes, throwing away the accumulated garbage, labelling the packed decoration boxes and wondering why you feel bloated and exhausted. 

Then there is the X’ Mas post mortem – how so and so’s cake tasted, the ill-fitting dress worn by a friend , the boring party , the small talk (read gossip), the boring sermon by an ill prepared priest , the overcrowded malls – the list goes on .

Santa goes back to wherever he is supposed to have come from, the reindeers are put out to pasture and sanity is restored once again. 

Oh yes you also have gifts which you will probably recycle!

OMG where did the year go – the months really flew by !

And then everyone starts contemplating the New Year – fingers and toes crossed – hoping for good tidings. 

Yippee it’s New Year’s resolution time. Research has shown that about half of all adults make New Year’s resolutions. However, fewer than 10% manage to keep them for more than a few months and that too is stretching it a bit!

 The origin of New Year’s resolutions is quite interesting. The ancient Babylonians made promises to their Gods at the start of each year that they would return borrowed objects and pay their debts on time. The Romans began each year by making promises to the God Janus, for whom the month of January is named. Thereafter bedlam has reigned with the whole world jumping on the bandwagon and continuing, what has now become a craze 

New Year’s resolutions are quite a pain but “What’s your New year’s resolution”? is a question on so many minds in January every year so everyone starts thinking in advance so as not to feel out of sync during upcoming conversations?

 We all know how easily people can fall into bad habits and why on trying to give up those habits it is easy to relapse.

 New Year’s Resolutions usually come in the form of lifestyle changes and changing behaviour that has become routine and habitual can be hard to do.

Google the term ‘NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS’ and there are umpteen pages on the same.

The most common resolutions made every year around the world are: losing weight, doing more exercise, quitting smoking and saving money. All undoubtedly look good and meaningful.

 Who doesn’t want to fit into clothes better , drop a size or two, be able to run a mile without panting , feel healthier and have some sort of a healthy bank balance .

The main reason that people don’t stick to their resolutions is that they set too many or they’re unrealistic to achieve. They may also be victims of the “false hope syndrome”. False hope syndrome characterized by a person’s unrealistic expectations about the likely speed, amount, ease and consequences of changing their behaviour.

So here is my new year’s resolution- to try and be a better person than I was in 2022 – for myself and those around me. Also to do some more reading, writing and speaking. I love all three.

And yes - my book ! 

Not exactly SMART targets, but ok for me I guess.

On buying peas

 I wonder what Messi did today!

Probably relaxing and letting ' the win' soak in.

Meanwhile in another corner of the world another man went to buy some provisions.

The last item on the list was fresh green peas.

Ok the man was me.

Unfortunately, and as luck would have it , I ended up behind an elderly man who had either never shopped for peas before, or else he had a strict, fastidious wife, who had sent him to the market with strict, specific instructions as to how to choose the peas as they did not come cheap.

This poor guy picked up one pea pod at a time and looked at it from all angles. 

By the way - how many angels does a pea pod have ?

Not sure what the qualities of a ' good pod' are but he was doing a thorough job. 

After choosing about 10 he suddenly realized that the good ones were underneath, so he emptied the bag and started afresh with his new found discovery. 

The minutes dragged on. I was fuming. Was tempted to say something but restrained myself because he looked rather old.

Began picturing his wife - wondering what she looked like , especially when angry !.

Then suddenly she appeared out of nowhere. She was younger for sure and well attired. 

She literally pulled the bag out of his hand and peered inside.

She was not happy, because, before you could say ' Messi' or ' Goooooooal' She emptied the bag of peas while sniggering contemptuously. 

She then moved to the side and took carrots instead.

I quickly scooped up some peas, ( they were all good) ,got them weighed and moved to the payment counter.

Some people are so slow - others so strict .

I , me and myself today

 Saw no one walking today

Just I, me and myself.

Put one leg before the other 

And before I knew it

I had completed my walk.

It was a trifle dull and dreary today 

One lone cat recognised me

And ran up for its morning treat

The ducks were nowhere to be seen .

They were either asleep 

Or had been eaten by hungry cats.

Well the latter is a bit of an exaggeration!

But it is a possibility isn't it?

The music I chose to listen to today

Was slow and easy

BB King, Muddy Waters 

And the fantastic Clapton

With

' Have you ever loved a woman'.

No reflection on the mood

Was just not in the mood

For Elvis and his Rock and roll!

Another day - another holiday

A day older

We need to bake one of these days

Yes- Christmas is on my mind.

Keep Christ in Christmas

 So it’s the 16th December 2018.

Nine days to go for Christmas and there is excitement in the air.

Thanks to Facebook , Messenger, WhatsApp and the like , many of us have been receiving our FIRST CHRISTMAS CARD , OUR FIRST CHRISTMAS TREE , OUR FIRST SANTA , OUR FIRST SNOWMAN over and over again from the 1st December onwards . Not to mention being HIT by the FIRST VIRTUAL SNOW BALL .

 Nice – thank you - but a bit too much and over the top at times . 

Cakes and cookies, wine and chocolates are being made , Turkeys ordered and then there is that wild clamour to purchase gifts in the malls . More often than not there are the usual end of year sales where everyone ends up buying stuff they do not need in the first place . 

Christmas Trees went up during the first week of December and those who could not find last year’s decorations, as they had been put away safely and now can’t be found , went out and bought new ones – only to find the old ones in perfectly good condition a few days later !

Then there are the curtains and the cushions- the new crockery and the crystal glasses kept for those special occasions .  

Not to forget the urgent requirement for new clothes and shoes which suddenly become a necessity despite the cupboard already being stocked with recent purchases .

 If you are a lady , then this is a time consuming operation . Many shops are visited and bored, tired looking salesmen can be seen putting back dozens of pairs of shoes , folding meters of material and putting clothes back on hangers – obviously someone looked and walked on to the next shop where the same exercise was repeated .

 Most gentlemen are adept at quick shopping and are less fussy than their female counterparts . They know what they want – go in and get it and the job is over and done with before you can say Ho Ho Ho ! 

 Remember I said MOST . I know of many fusspots who spend ages and are somehow never satisfied with the goods on offer . These are the bespoke guys who take pride in giving measurements and going for umpteen trials- good for you .  

Schools are closed now and the children are suddenly in everyone’s way – wanting to eat meals at odd times , itching to go out , asking for gifts , begging to be taken to the park . 

All in all it’s a season of fun – friends to catch up with , time to travel if you so desire , great weather , plenty to eat and not to forget – WEIGHT TO GAIN !

And by the way for those Christians like me – let’s not forget to keep the CHRIST in Christmas.

Be kind to one another !

Spectacles

 While many believe that Benjamin Franklin invented spectacles, actually it was Salvino D'Armati, a 13th century Italian from Florence. In reality, I do not care who invented them, as I am not very fond of them in the first place. 

 Some believe that shades or dark glasses were worn even earlier than that to protect the eyes from the bright sun.

I started wearing spectacles in my 40’s and dark glasses about ten years before that.

This morning I woke at about five am, as I always do to read the newspapers and then spent around twenty minutes searching for my glasses. You can put this down to old age, amnesia, and the onset of dementia or whatever. You can call me careless, sleepy head or a forgetful old man- I DO NOT CARE!

I finally found them – they had slipped between the end of the sofa and the cushion. Thrilled, I opened the door, picked up the newspapers and sat down to read them. Only then did I realize that these were my “distance glasses”. The “reading” glasses had been near my pillow throughout. 

Now I know you are sniggering at me having different spectacles for reading and distance but that is me. 

I did try the progressive ones a few years ago for a few days- three to be precise- got splitting migraines, felt nauseous and put them aside for good.

So now, I carry two pairs around and that is the problem. Am usually wearing one and have the other in my pocket. Most of my shirts do not have pockets and if I am not wearing a coat, the second pair is usually deep in the trouser pocket.

This causes them to go out of shape and often become lopsided soon. I am quite careless with spectacles as well and often leave them lying around – on office tables , on peg tables at home , beside me on the sofa , on the seat of the car , in the receptacle between the car seats etc . When reading, the second pair is often on my lap and the obvious happens- I get up in a hurry and the glasses are on the floor. I have stamped them, kicked them and once smashed them as well. 

I am constantly being advised on how to look after them – get lanyards, use a case, treat them with respect, don’t let them lie around- this advice goes in from one year and out of the other . 

No, I am not proud of the way I treat my spectacles but I am so fed up with the two pairs. 

As a young boy I remember hearing conversations of people having used their spectacles for years – they never broke, were damaged or lost! How they managed with the same pair for years beats me.

In addition, I have not yet mentioned something else. Last week I suddenly put on my glasses (in the morning) and was definite I was losing my vision. Everything was a blur in the right eye. Thoughts of cataract and glaucoma raced through my mind as I rushed to the washroom and washed my eye and the glasses too. 

Only then did I realize that the lens were badly scratched and my eyes were fine. Thankful for small mercies!

Therefore, off I went to the optician to have the lens changed. He recognized me and seemed rather pleased – do not think any of his customers go through four pairs of glasses in a year.

While I sit at my computer, keying in this article, I am wearing my old spectacles. I used the old distance ones while driving this morning. Once I get the newer pairs back, I will give these in for a similar lens change – you guessed it right – both these pairs are scratched as well.

Do you know how tea was discovered

 Woke at 4.45. Tea, papers etc done by 5.45 and out for a walk. 

Was the first 'walker' and it felt nice- 'early bird catching the worm' and all that!

Took some quick photos for posterity and did three rounds of the lake,inside an hour. 

Then sat down on a bench and surveyed the scene around me.

The cats, the ducks, the little duckling and its siblings, the pristine lawns , the fountains ,and the morning walkers, who had all now appeared- familiar sights. 

There is one very tall man with a large dog who runs around the lake at a frantic pace- both morning and evening. Thankfully I was seated, because every time he passes me , I feel like a midget. He is probably six and a half feet tall and still growing ! 

Thought of getting home and having another cup of tea. However I felt like sitting for a while longer as the air was so lovely fresh air. 

 I decided to try and meditate as I had read how useful this was. However my mind began drifting, and hence I took out my mobile and began scrolling through the news. 

Surprisingly the topic that popped up first was ' tea' . 

Are these mobiles cleverer than we know? . 

Have always had a sneaking suspicion about this. 

There was an interesting article, on how tea as we drink it ,was discovered, which had me rather intrigued.

Apparently there was this Chinese emperor guy named Shen Nung, in 2737 BC. 

Like many of you , he loved drinking hot water for good health! So his servant was boiling some for his majesty. 

Some dead leaves from a tree fell into the boiling pot. No - his servant nor he took them out -"so they continued to boil. 

He then drank that water and yippee- tea was discovered. 

 A bit of a strange story ,but who cares , we have a lovely beverage ,thanks to him.

Cats, dogs and humans

 So while on a walk this evening my attention was drawn to cats ,dogs and humans. 

You see, it's a lovely one and a half kilometre walk around a large lake. There is an observation I made today. 

When someone is approaching from the opposite side, both people seem confused as to which side of the track to walk on. Believe it or not I have often had to step aside at the last moment to avoid banging into the person approaching from the opposite direction. Odd isn't it?

What strikes me as strange is that very few nod, smile leave alone wish each other the time of the day. I tried it on a few occasions with minimal success . Have stopped now. Don't want anyone to think I am trying to be extra friendly!

As we pass each other, we humans look down at the ground, look at our phones, look at the scenery around, up at the sky or just stare blankly ahead. Probably a trifle rude but that's the way it is.

Very much like cats- no emotion. All that's missing is the hissing !

On the other hand, watch maids walking their master's dogs. Or for that matter, the owners themselves. As soon as the dogs see their counterparts approaching they are all excited. 

They are whining , barking, straining on their leash and so excited. The closer they come, the more the excitement. 

As soon as they are together they are jumping, barking in excitement, licking each other, running around and one can perceive the pure unadulterated joy.

They put us humans to shame.

We are busy putting up walls and fences - busy wearing 'masks' and avoiding others just because we ' don't know them'. 

Dogs are good examples aren't they ?

Plenty for us to learn indeed.