Archive for the ‘Lifestyle’ Category
Posted by Shirley Anne on September 3, 2010
It has been yet another fine day which began with a trip to a house three miles away to do a small job. They all seem to be small jobs for me. It could be that I advertise as a small job specialist! I find I get more work that way which suits me fine, in fact it is more lucrative and I don’t have to work my socks off to earn good money. That meant I was back home before lunchtime and because I wasn’t in the mood to do more digging in the heat I decided to take E out to lunch instead. We do a lot of that these days as you probably already know if you are a regular reader of my rantings. Years ago, when I had just started in my career, I never thought I would be in a position whereby I could take time out whenever I felt like it and furthermore to be in a position to be able to afford it! I feel I have earned the privilege having worked for 48 years. I would like to think that everyone should be able to enjoy their lives more as they get older. Of course I think we should all be able to enjoy our lives throughout our lives but unfortunately that isn’t possible for everybody because of circumstances or lack of opportunity.
I read quite a few of other people’s blogs from time to time, some regularly and others not quite so often. I like to look out for any interesting blogs and will comment there when I find them if appropriate. There are so many out there to read, some write about specific issues, some are personal diaries, some are very interesting and others not, that is to me anyway. I read about the difficulties that some people have to face each day and count myself very fortunate that I don’t have some of they problems they have. I wish I could say that it has been one fine day for them too. Maybe one day it will be.
Shirley Anne
Posted in Happiness, Life, Lifestyle | Tagged: Happiness | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on August 31, 2010
After a lazy weekend it’s back to work today. It has been gloriously sunny all day and it looks promising for the rest of the week. I plan to do some more work in the garden so that we can finally lay that concrete I was talking about recently. I have this afternoon off work so I can start today. It will take some time though.
E had won a prize many months ago, in fact it was last December, but she has only just gotten round to claiming it! It was a free ticket for two on a balloon flight. Hopefully we will be taking the trip soon. Next week, I think it will be Tuesday, E and I are going into Liverpool to see a show, another prize that E won recently! I don’t know how she does it! So life goes on in the same old way….but I like it!
Shirley Anne
Posted in Lifestyle | Tagged: Life | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on August 30, 2010
What is the most important thing in your life? What single thing is in your life that you simply could not do without? If you already possess it how are you keeping a hold of it? Could it be a material thing or a spiritual thing, something tangible or something unseen? Whatever it is would you give it up for somebody else’s benefit? Are you unselfish enough to let it go or is it something you would willingly give? Where does your heart lie?
If you do not have in your possession the desire of your heart, how far would you be willing to go to get it? Are you the hedonistic type of person who lives life to the full on all occasions? Are you ever satisfied with your experiences or do you find yourself looking for that something extra? Has this lifestyle become an addiction and could you live a much simpler existence instead? There is a danger in having things or experiencing too many ‘good times’ in your life. When you have to give them up you become an empty vessel with no purpose in life. You have lived for yourself and now you find yourself wanting. Without purpose in life it isn’t worth living. What then is the purpose of your life? What are you living for, is it something transitory or is it something lasting? Where does your heart lie?
Shirley Anne
Posted in Life, Lifestyle, Philosophy, Values | Tagged: Life, Philosophy | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on August 29, 2010
This weekend is a Bank Holiday and for many that will mean a trip in a car to some resort on the coast or some place in the country. As many as 16 million cars may be on the roads at the peak of the travelling period which is a lot of vehicles for a small country. Many will have spent hours stuck in traffic jams with the prospect of the same on their return journey home. Many people fly off to foreign parts with all the hassle that entails during these holiday periods. It is bad enough travelling during off-peak times! I have never been one to travel far if at all on public holidays. Why would I wish to be stuck in traffic when I can enjoy myself at home? There are plenty of opportunities to go travelling at other times. People are so predictable sometimes, their lives follow the same old routine year after year, following the same paths as everyone else. Soon it will be the annual ‘Air show’ here in Southport, that will be closely followed by other yearly events leading up to Christmas. All these things become tradition and it’s as though they need to be observed in the hearts of the majority. They follow like sheep without questioning their behaviour. We get pollution from the aircraft that fly during these displays when we are informed that we should be using less fuel ourselves. We celebrate ‘Guy Fawkes Night’ with fireworks to remember November 5th when on that date in Elizabethan times there was a failed attempt at blowing up the Houses of Parliament. Then there is Halloween a few days before when people ‘celebrate’ the time when goblins, spooks and other imaginary forces are at large. Nobody ever considers that if there were such beings at large they wouldn’t just keep to October 31st. Children mindlessly enjoy ‘trick or treat’ without understanding why they are doing it! Then there is Christmas. Well what can be said about Christmas? It is a man-made festival purporting to celebrate the birth of Jesus which may be fine but he wasn’t born on December 25th now was he? The festival has no origins in Scripture and it is celebrated in vain. In any case most people treat it as a time for anything else but what it was intended for. Many thing we do are pointless so why do we do them? I would say that people are trying to fill their lives so that it has purpose but many fill their lives with rubbish seeking one ‘thrill’ after another. Life has more meaning than that. Read the book of Ecclesiastes and you’ll see what I mean! This world, at least western society, is living at a fast pace but getting nowhere. Even as I write the tv is bombarding me with adverts encouraging me to do this or buy that and it must be now before the ‘offers’ end! I can save hundreds of pounds if I buy now…..yeah sure…I can save even more if I don’t bother! Life in the fast lane is not for me………what’s the point?
Shirley Anne
Posted in Lifestyle, Philosophy | Tagged: Behaviour, Philosophy | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on August 25, 2010
I had but one small job to do today and was back home at 10.30 but I did make a detour to the wholesaler to buy some in some stock. I like to keep a stock of materials in my van so that I am ready for most requests of me. I asked E if she would like to dine out, no problem there so that’s what we did. On the way home I received a call on my cellphone, it was a request for work. It always seems to go that way for me. I am at home resting now at 5.00 o’clock. E’s nephew, the bricklayer, has just arrived to drop materials for the job we asked him to do a week ago. He has just returned from France after visiting his girlfriend there. Thankfully E is looking after things. All I want to do is have a cat-nap!
Shirley Anne
Posted in Lifestyle | Tagged: Life | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on July 29, 2010
I had a lovely dinner yesterday. E and I went to a ‘carvery’ where we could fill our plates with as much vegetables as we could eat along with the meat of our choice. I had beef, she had pork or rather roast ham. It is one of those places where you buy your first soft drink (if you want one) and then you can refill the glass as often as you wish by walking to the vending area. I generally have a diet cola and E usually drinks the ‘full fat’ variety, that is the ordinary cola. Yesterday I had a fine bottle of red wine brought to the table but it was only I who was drinking it. We go to this place fairly often and so we are well-known to all the staff and we laugh and joke with them. Later, after we had returned home, I decided to visit the pub but didn’t go immediately. E drove me there and returned home to watch her favourite tv programs. I was immediately greeted by a few people whom I’ve not seen for a while and then I went to the bar to buy a drink. I had a pleasant evening and I actually spent very little money. Everybody wanted to buy Shirley Anne a drink and would not let me reciprocate! It is nice to be accepted and greeted like that. During the evening a girl who was chatting to some mutual friends was intrigued with me. It seems she didn’t know my history but because somebody had mentioned my transition she wanted to know more. I have no problem with that as long as I am treated respectfully and what I say is in confidence. We left the bar and chatted outside at one of the tables there. She thought that I was a lovely person, genuine, sensitive and kind. Now I am not sure why she saw all that in me having only just met me. Perhaps I ‘radiate’ love, who knows? I discovered that we did have something in common, she was a Christian too. We chatted about that. She is a nice girl and I think I have made a friend in her. She invited me back to her apartment to share a bottle of wine together with a guy I know very well who lives in the same building. They have a kind of brother/sister relationship and nothing more than that. Simply good friends. I had to decline the offer for a couple of reasons, one, it was very late in the evening and two, I’d had far too much drink already! They departed and I walked home. It must have been around midnight when I get indoors and I sat for a spell at my computer. E decided to go to bed but I opened my emails and received a lovely message from my friend Geraldine who lives in New Jersey. She sent me a link to a piece of music from ‘The Lion King’ which she had recently been to see in New York. I was in tears as I listened to it and found myself praising God, I was so happy. Life is good isn’t it? Oh yes, there are troubles but life is good. Anyhow I must have nodded off to sleep sitting there on the sofa and when I looked at the clock it was four-thirty in the morning! I wasn’t going to bother getting into bed but I changed my mind and eventually did so at six! I was up and about again by ten. I had planned to be at home today anyhow so that E and I could do some jobs together in the house. We got those out-of-the-way and had a late lunch. She has gone shopping with her mum as she does on a Thursday. As I write this she has just returned! Looks like I will be bringing in the groceries now so I will sign off.
Shirley Anne
Posted in Friendship, Leisure, Life, Lifestyle | Tagged: Friendship, Life | 2 Comments »
Posted by Shirley Anne on June 26, 2010
As I get older, and remember, we all get older, I seem to be less interested in all sorts of things. In the past I’ve written about how I sometimes cannot be bothered doing anything. It’s as though the life is being squeezed right out of me. The irony is that I am enjoying my life now more than ever I did in the past. This has much to do with my belief in God. This morning after breakfast I sat in the rear lounge reading the Bible, specifically Revelations and what a revelation it is! Many people of course don’t believe but are still vociferous when it comes to Scripture and they speak as if they knew everything that is to be known about it. In actuality it is their own beliefs which get in the way of them finding the truth. They think the truth lies elsewhere. I digress. I enjoy reading Scripture for it is the Word of God. Later I spent some time playing guitar. I found a ring-binder filled with old Christian songs and went through each one to see if I could remember them enough to play as many of them only had the words and chords, no music. I succeeded. Again, it is a beautiful day, sunny and warm. A day to rest, well it is the Sabbath, a day to enjoy. There are many things I could be doing I suppose, going for a walk, sitting in the garden, going for a drive, visiting a place that I’ve never been to before but somehow all that seems pointless. I will ask E what she would like to do and maybe we will do it together. Life is for living but how one does that is debateable.
Shirley Anne
Posted in Activity, Leisure, Lifestyle | Tagged: Activity, Life, Philosophy | 2 Comments »
Posted by Shirley Anne on May 28, 2010
Over the last few weeks I have been very busy at home and less so working at my job. I mentioned that it would be nice to get to work for a rest as the work at home was more tiring! Today however the tables were turned and I worked harder at my job. Nevertheless I still had some work to do at home when I returned late afternoon. This weekend is labelled a Bank Holiday Weekend in the UK. For those who don’t know, the last Monday in the month of May has been traditionally a non-working day for those in the banking industry. Consequently everyone else has followed suit. Most people will not be working and can enjoy a three-day weekend, Sat, Sun and Mon. I shall also be having a quiet weekend for a change. Any work I do will be minimal.
Shirley Anne
Posted in Lifestyle | Tagged: General Chat | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on February 13, 2010
I am just taking a moment to remember the sad loss of a Winter Olympic competitor who lost his life in a tragic accident during a training session preparing for the games. The sport he was active in was the one man toboggan run. He was representing his country, Georgia.
It is worth remembering that some activities come with a measure of danger but the loss of life is a very sad thing.
Shirley Anne
Posted in Activity, Life, Lifestyle | Tagged: Activity, Life | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on December 4, 2009
This morning found me up a tree, fingers numb with the cold wind and occasional shower raining down upon me. I was replacing a faulty floodlight. I seem to get all the nice jobs. The weather forecast was sunny but it wasn’t sunny at 9am! The other floodlight, in a more respectable place around the house was easier to reach but actually more difficult to fit. I can’t win can I? Anyway the job got done, I got paid and I went into town to get some Christmas wrapping paper and other paraphernalia. It was around noon when I got back home so I said to my ex. ‘Come on, we are going out to lunch’. About an hour or so later we did just that, to a carvery about 8 miles away. The meal, roast dinner, cost a mere £5 per head and as much as you could eat. I don’t know how they do it for the price. Later I was dropped at my local pub and I spent about four hours there…LOL. After a brief spell on my guitar I am now catching up with my emails and blogs. I have to retire early tonight as I have work early in the morning. I am no longer cold and up a tree but warm, rosy and sitting by the fireside.
Shirley Anne
Posted in Lifestyle | Tagged: Drink, Food, Work | Leave a Comment »
