TBT/This and That

I experienced a few waves of nostalgic sadness yesterday afternoon while standing at the kitchen island, emptying the contents of the wallet above and transferring them to a new Liz Claiborne model, purchased at J.C. Penneys. 

It was time----a statement reminiscent of the day my sister Laurie stood on a bale wagon at our Upper Place and said to me, "It's time, Marianne."  She was referring to my need to start doing something to hide the ever-increasing strands of gray hair appearing on my head. 

Well, that was easily 25 years ago, and my hairdressers have been "knowing for sure" ever since.  

It's probably been close to 20 years that I've carried around the wallet pictured above.  It traveled with me to the Southern Hemisphere in 2003 where Annie and I both received passes to visit the New Zealand legislative assembly building in Wellington. 

My pass has been affixed to the innards of the wallet ever since as a reminder of one of the "times of my life." 

The wallet has also traveled to Ireland, France, The Netherlands, Canada and back and forth to local grocery stores, etc. zillions of times. 

Of late, my credit-card collection has been falling out of the slots where borders protecting the slots have worn away, opening up more opportunity for those cards to wiggle their way out. 

More than once, the whole pile of cards has fallen onto a counter during a purchase.  So, yes, it was time to buy a new wallet AND a purse. My last purse, a classy black leather model, no longer looks too classy even though it's still completely functional unlike my wallet.

As I transferred items yesterday, memories resurfaced with restaurant business cards from abroad, email addresses of folks I'd met in my travels, scrawled on pieces of paper, way too many Wal-Mart receipts and canceled checks.

I made several decisions about which items could finally hit the trash and which would make the transition into the new wallet. 

Of course, those precious photos of Willie and Annie as adorable pre-teens, which have accompanied me everywhere I go, needed no pondering.  They melt my heart every time I find them tucked away safely in one of the compartments. 

Many business cards and old credit cards were discarded, but I took great care in making sure my insurance cards would occupy a secure but easily found spot.  After all, I'm getting older, and I might forget.  

I won't throw away the wallet.  I'll leave that up to the kids some day.  Some aspects of our life, which we sometimes take for granted but always take with us have the right to live on, even if stuffed in a box underneath a bunch of other items that only we view as treasures. 

So, if the wallet becomes another person's junk, so be it. I shall always treasure it by keeping it among the "stuff" that would be sent to the dump if it weren't for the emotional connections. 

The island also served as a nice setting last night to snap a photo of our evening meal, two thirds of which came from this place.  Only the Stouffers lasagna and those cukes had to be purchased at a store.  

I grew the lettuce, the asparagus emerges completely on its own every year (and this year has seen a bumper crop), and I baked the rolls.  Once again, I think it tasted better than usual because of its local Lovestead qualities.  

Always fun to eat a meal filled with personal touches. 

On another note, which could fit in the "throwback" category, I'm wondering if back in the old days when I was really young, people liked to fling put downs of others who talked on the telephone. 

I was too young to remember if that was the case. I just remember my mother talked on the phone a lot, and we loved it cuz we could sit and listen while she talked. 

Nowadays, people use social media like blogs, Facebook and Twitter to communicate, but it seems that our submitting to this relatively new means of communication brings out occasional barbs from cynics.  

Seems that some folks, often using their own Facebook post, no less--- like to communicate their disdain those who rather like its convenience and accessibility to people we probably never see or hear from had it not been for the continued development of social media. 

Granted, using Facebook, tweeting, texting or talking on the telephone, do require a sense of responsibility and caution, but when I think of the all the wonderful layers of awareness and communication all these entities have brought to us everyday, ordinary people who like to keep in touch, I embrace the technology. 

I can remember when many folks (me included) poopoohed computers, vowing never to allow our fingers to walk over a computer keyboard.  Times changed.  Our worlds opened up beyond what we could ever imagine as we gradually took baby steps and realized they weren't nearly as scary as we had imagined.

Now, look at the majority of us!  We can't imagine living without our modern means of communication.  And, so when Facebook is down for me and for a lot of other people who love the photos, the connections and other positive aspects of the medium, it's a big deal.

I'm so glad that because of some of the helpful comments I read on various Facebook posts yesterday, I finally was able to troubleshoot by unplugging my computer and wi-fi modem and, "voila!" Facebook had returned.  

And, though nobody sits around and listens to me while I'm on Facebook like in the good ol' days with the telephone conversations, it's just as much fun as it was when my mother cranked up that wall phone in the North Boyer living room and asked for "382" every day so she could talk to Ardis Racicot for hours on end. 

Besides, how many times could a cow chewing its cud out in a pasture in rural North Idaho enjoy some fame when all we had was the telephone. 

Enough said.  Happy Thursday.