…International Museum Day and I discovered a new tool I can use for my blog. I spent hours trying to figure it out and I am quite happy with myself for sticking with it, well not exactly. I worked for several hours Sunday and one time it worked but I could never get it to work again. That drove me crazy as once it worked I knew I was missing one step and I just couldn’t figure it out. Today I logged in, figured I’d try again and it worked. Sometimes you just have to walk away and come back another time. Apparently I was doing one to many steps or not enough steps for it to work. At this point you are probably saying, or shouting get to the point. Okay, I will. I can write a sentence, underline it and you can click on it. After you click on it, and you will go right to a website. The article I was reading that introduced me to International Museum Day had a sentence you clicked on and a world of museums popped up. How great, I want to do that. I’m sure my generation is impressed with my technical abilities, where the younger generation is rolling their eyes thinking “It’s so fundamental I can’t believe she thinks that’s so great”. Back to my researching the day, I virtually walked through many museums and really found the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC extremely interesting. So I am taking you to the Gallery and hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Click on my underlined sentence, click on Explore in the top menu and enjoy your day. A particularly great option for a home browse.

…it’s Friday. Enjoy a relaxing pretty tune in a relaxing pretty place and as I do I’m thinking of all those things I am thankful for, and all those precious people in my life, and all those happy memories I have. Again enjoy.

…after. To be or not to be…organized. As I spend all this time at home you would think that I would spend a little bit of that time getting organized. I really got thinking about my procrastination and what makes one person more organized than another. In my research to find the answers there was very little said about why someone is organized but a lot said about those of us who are not. There are books written for us and businesses that will come in and actually organize everything for us. There are built in closet organizers, shoe, and spice organizer, and on and on. However, I just don’t think it is that important to have color coded underwear, rolled up and lined up, like soldiers in the drawer. As long as they are clean, folded and then thrown in the drawer that is fine with me. I found there are four types of people: organized and clean, organized and messy (dust in the corners), disorganized and clean and disorganized and messy, (that’s the worst). I am organized on the outside and disorganized on the inside, in other words I look very organized but do not open a drawer or a closet as you may be very surprised. My organizational style was formed many years ago.

For years I would read the Paterson Evening News while the boys were napping. There was a syndicated columnist by the name of Jim Bishop who wrote a daily column and I always looked forward to his stories of his life’s experiences, observations and wisdom. A particular column he wrote one day has stuck with me and basically laid the ground work for my form of organization. He worked in a very busy newsroom with many people at many desks and working different shifts. He found that the people with the messiest desks were the most interesting people to talk with and hang out with. However there was one exception to his theory and that was because of one of the night shift reporters. He was one of the most interesting people and Jim loved having great conversations and shared stories. When he came in in the morning the reporter would be finishing up and that’s when they would sit around and talk. The one thing that perplexed Jim was the reporter’s desk was immaculate, which totally debunked his theory. Until one day he came in a little early to work on a column and low and behold this reporter’s desk was the messiest desk he had ever seen. Turns out that when the reporter finished his shift, he opened the drawers of his desk and swept everything into the drawers. Jim was happy to see that his theory still held up. I really liked the idea of whisking things off into drawers, of course with the thought that someday I will organize the drawers. Hence my outside-in organizational skill was born.

I know when the quarantine is over I will kick myself that I didn’t organize everything better. I have found that the older I get I do have to put things like keys, and pocketbooks and cell phone in a specific place because if I don’t I will never find them. Organization is really good for finding things, that’s for sure. Ted Duncan, who passed away recently, said that his “to do list” had been replaced by a “to find list”. I think if I made a list a to find list would have many more things on it than a do list.

Thank goodness a Mother’s love is all forgiving.  I feel I have to write this, as there is a special person in NJ (now in Charlotte NC)checking in to see if I would mention this.  Would I really want the world to know her son did not call on Mother’s Day.  His  flowers arrived early on Friday morning, with a loving note from he and his wife.  My thought was they are beautiful flowers and he is preparing me.  There were even chocolates with the flowers, so I knew this can not be good.  I called and spoke with Laura his wife and thanked her, and we had a nice long chat and I  got caught up with all the news. I thought he would like to see what he sent, so I emailed a picture of the flowers and in my email, for good measure, I ended with I’ll talk to you tomorrow.   Mother’s Day I enjoyed my coffee next to the vase of roses, even ate a chocolate and waited…..fortunately I gave birth to two sons and I did get a call from my second son, who validated my  good Mothering.  Sorry Joe, I had to do it.   I could not resist the opportunity.  Actually, the above was written tongue in cheek, and mostly because I don’t think he thought I would say something.  However, I wasn’t home to take any calls as I left the house at 8:30am, did water aerobics, brought a change of clothes, and from there went to a late Breakfast Buffet at Bonifay Country Club with Carole and her sister Gerry.  We ate outside, the weather was beautiful and enjoyed each other’s company.  (Sean was ambasssadoring)  When we left we were going to go to a movie, but settled in at Carole’s house where we literally put our feet up, relaxed and talked some more.  When he called early, early this morning he greeted me with the saying he always uses when he knows there may be trouble in river city.  Did you take my pictures down?? (that’s another story for another day) I think he was a little surprised that I was upbeat and happy and that is because I really did expect his call today.  If he didn’t call today he probably would have been in real big trouble.  I think many of the Holidays now take on a different importance.  Mother’s Day was a real big day when the boys were young.  I really needed a day where I was the number one concern of  the entire family.  It was really nice not to cook, or clean up or do anything.  It was fun to see what a five year old had so carefully wrapped up and given with such loving pride;  a rock, hand painted red and yellow with a picture of themselves glued on it, or a picture of themselves mounted in a popsicle stick frame which was also hand-painted. That is what Mother’s Day is all about..home made gifts, no cooking, no responsibility just relax and have fun.  Actually I am more concerned that my sons honor the Mother of their sons, now all three teenagers,  and from the sound of it they did and they all had a nice day.   Unfortunately the day goes too fast.  However, the no cooking, no responsibility, fun and relaxation sounds to me like I’m living Mother’s Day everyday and with that in mind, I should be the one making the phone calls.

…is today, May 6th. It was designated in 1965 as a day to raise awareness of the important roles nurses play in society and it marks the beginning of National Nurses Week, which ends May 12th. I think in the past we have always respected and appreciated the role nurses play in our lives, and are so grateful that they are willing and able to do a job many of us could not do.

We grew up hearing the names Florence Nightingale and Clara Barton, but did we really know their history. As I was checking out their biographies they were both very compassionate woman. They were all about a person’s human rights and I suggest that if you have nothing to do look them up. Both are quite fascinating. Just a little tidbit.

Florence Nightingale was born in England on May 12, 1820. She was an English social reformer and statistician and founder of modern nursing. She felt health was a human right. Nightingale was put in charge of nursing British and Allied soldiers in Turkey during the Crimean War in 1853. Her experiences led her to establish the first scientifically based nursing school, opening in 1860. She was called the Lady with the Lamp by the troops. She died August 13, 1910.

Clara Barton was born in Massachusetts on December 25, 1821. She was an educator, a nurse and the founder of the American Red Cross. She was a teacher at a private school in NJ at the age of 15. she later opened a free public library in the state. In the mid 1850’s she went to Washington and worked in the US Patent Office. She did a man’s job and demanded she get paid like a man, which she did. She joined the Civil War effort delivering supplies and in 1862 became a combat nurse and was on the front lines. After the war, while visiting Europe, she worked for a relief organization known as the International Red Cross. After coming back she lobbied for an American Red Cross branch. The American Red Cross was founded in 1881 and Barton served as its’ first president. She was called The Angel of the Battlefield. She died April 12, 1912.

What was interesting to me was they were born at about the same time. Were very dedicated to rights of their fellow man, whether it was health or wages. Both got their first nursing experiences during war times. Both were given names; Lady with the Lamp, and Angel on the Battlefield. After the war, one established schooling for nurses, and the other founded an organization that is there for any and all disasters. They more than deserve to be honored, and now more than any other time in my life every nurse should be honored and put on the highest pedestal we can find. Thank you, thank you, thank you to Florence and Clara and all those dedicated people who were inspired to follow in their footsteps. There are no words that can sufficiently express our thanks to you for your courage and dedication to your profession. We have a National Nurses Day and Week, and I think a National Nurses Year should be added.

…and carry on. My days have been just a little frazzled lately, nothing earth shattering but today I’m getting a little closer to screaming, more so than I have in the past. I feel embarrassed even talking about what has me a little over the edge as the things are pretty petty. For instance, Sean not receiving a package from Amazon that contains a product that will let him continue a project he has going in the garage. Tracking said it was delivered Thursday so it seems every 5 mins since Thursday it surfaces as a problem. Several phone calls to the Post Office, trips to postal station where it should be. I think you get the picture. I had a package that was suppose to be delivered a few weeks ago according to the tracking, never got it and it is a medical supply that I can’t get again for 6 months as insurance won’t pay.. Trying to straighten that out. How many buttons do I have to push to get the message – wait time 1 hour. Sean cleaned up after dinner, had leftover meat and gravy, and he threw the gravy away. Thought I hit on a great way to get produce, a farm stand, went to four yesterday and they were all closed, it was Sunday. I did have a nice two hour drive though. See, all of the above is nothing I should complain about. Unfortunately though when I become distracted I can’t write, so I really felt I want and should write and that was what was really eating at me. Until, I thought of Winston Churchill’s quote. Stay calm and carry on. How appropriate is that? So I was off and running with that quote. When I looked for images of Churchill I wanted to start with one where he didn’t look to calm and end up blog with the picture you see. Success…we can get through all this if we just stay calm. Every picture I wanted would not allow me to save it. Couldn’t figure what I was doing wrong. I had never had a problem. Tried this, tried that, and most of all tried to stay calm. Finally, like a child running to their mother for the answer, I ran to google. Why can’t I save a picture of Churchill? Because you didn’t pay a Royalty fee. Oh ok, so I figured my google mother would also help me with that, royalty free images of Churchill and up came some. Interestingly there were many pictures but I felt the peace sign gave me hope that all will be fine, and that certainly is a calming thought. Also along the path of my Winston googling I came across many Churchill quotes, which if you google you may find as interesting as I did. By all means, stay calm.

…you get? I don’t know about you but this quarantine has made me very lazy. I think I always had a little lazy streak in me but don’t we all. However nothing compares to the laziness on steroids I’m experiencing lately. I’m wearing the most comfortable clothes day after day after day. My hair is flying in all directions, I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror and can’t believe what I look like. I liken myself to a bag lady, but with a home. And the worse part is I don’t care. I let everything slide, takes days to put the newspaper in the garbage, or sort through mail, and just straighten the house, put things back where they belong. I’ve got books all over, painting supplies, brushes, watercolors, paper, colored pencils, I have a recipe binder with recipes that looked good, some tried some not, that is pulled apart all over the dining room table waiting to be organized. And speaking of organizing, I have closets that should be organized and century old business clothes that could be donated. along with five varieties of winter coats, when one would suffice. I was really getting a little upset with myself until I spoke with my neighbor next store who is normally a real go getter. She brought up the fact that she was lazy and we discussed the problem in depth. It really bothered me that I had no ambition to do anything, but did feel a little bit better after talking her. So I wallowed a few days in my laziness., guilt free. I have always been a very positive person and it is a great attribute as friends will attest to, but down deep, between you and I , I am deathly afraid of the negative so I will not in any way entertain it. Really I’m a big chicken., a henny penny the sky is falling kind of person. So what did I do I googled laziness and here are my results.

I found many quotes to make myself feel better. Tony Robbins says, ” People are not lazy, they simple have impotent goals – that is, goals that do not inspire them.” I found that to be true. It’s the lazy person who invented the wheel and the bicycle because they didn’t want to walk and carry things. So we are inventive. Bob Hope splashed a little water on us by saying, “People who throw kisses are lazy.” And we are not judgmental as the next quote insinuates, “Fanatic is often the name given to people of action by people who are lazy.” But the next quote hit a nerve, “I never read comics as a kid. I guess I was lazy and watched cartoons instead.” It made me face the fact that I was watching everything on TV, Netflix, You Tube, and movies. Rather than pick up a book and read I surf the TV for entertainment, isn’t that like watching cartoons rather than reading comics. I think so. My last quote sums up my feelings which is neither positive or negative, but is true. “Lazy people are always anxious to be doing something.”

…baby. This phone was a little before my time. You had to crank it for it to work. Not quite sure how the crank worked on a phone, I know if you cranked your car the engine would start but I don’t think the early phones had engines. I wonder if, depending how long you were talking, did you have to crank it again.

The phones I was first used to was a version of the above phone. The older phones were rotary dial phones, then they went to push button phones, wall phones, with super long cords. When my sons were teenagers we had one phone in the house and it was in the kitchen. Many a time I would hear them making plans that I didn’t approve of and I was able to jump in and say, “oh no you are not going to be doing that”. I don’t know how parents do it now with cell phones. Their plans are all thought out in a text, and unless a parent can get into their phone you would have no idea. Which brings me to the cell phone.

Actually the beeper became a way of communication prior to the cell phone. Business people mostly used the beeper, but the more successful people graduated to a cell phone, which originally was quite expensive. And big and bulky.

As a Realtor the cell phones were a real blessing. Prior to their existence you would have to wait in the office for a client, or lawyer or mortgage representative to call back. As a professional you never gave out your home number, so many a day I would rush in by 9:00am to make sure I didn’t miss a call.

Now our phones are not only phones, but can do everything a computer can do, plus you can even play games on them. In case you are wondering why I am talking about phones it is because I learned something that really surprised me. How much do you spend every year charging your phone? A.) under $1.00 B.) Approx. $25 or C.) Approx. $75. The answer is in the comments.

…days when cousins got together and were stuck inside. I came across this photograph and thought, so this is what you do when you are young, and you can’t go outside, and before an adult comes and tells you to clean up your mess. This is yesterday’s version of not leaving the house. In my day the worst thing for me was not to be able to go outside. It was sheer punishment. Inside there was nothing to do except read or play board games or do a puzzle. I had dolls and a doll house, but by 10 I had grown out of that. I did spend time in the attic, not sure what I was doing up there, but I liked being there, and also liked the detached garage. There I could at least sit on my bike. I believe these two areas were the recreation rooms of the 1940s. There was no TV, a radio that barely ever played in our house and things to do with a partner, like cards and board games. And as I have mentioned before, being the youngest I was never invited to play with my sisters and their games. I was too little and I probably was. I loved to watch them play “Go to The Head of The Class”. A school room setting and all the playing pieces were students and as they answered a question correctly they moved to the head of the class. Again, because I was the youngest I was never allowed to touch their things, so unfortunately that rule made me become a little devious at times. I would wait until I knew they were gone for a little while, I would sneak into their rooms and touch their things. I specifically remember I loved playing “Go to the Head of the Class” so I would make a beeline for it, set it all up and play by myself. I was the teacher and the student and I could ask the questions and answer them and because I always knew the answers I would go quickly to the head of the class.

When I look at the picture I see what the modern day, stay in the house child is afforded. What decisions they have to make; should I put the model plane together that I am working on, or maybe play a CD, but I’m watching TV, or I could play a game with the poker chips, but I could buy Boardwalk and oh yes I could turn off the TV and challenge my cousin to a video game. Wait, I’m a little thirsty, should I have some water or maybe a soda, but I’ve already had a few of those. Do I want to drink out of the can or bottle or should I use the mug or maybe the cup. Wait, wait, where are my chips? Who took them?

As we find ourselves at home, and being of a generation that spent a lot of time outside, we have to take stock of the younger generation’s ability to entertain themselves and get on board with their program. I know technology has really allowed me to entertain myself for hours. and I have even worried that when it is safe to go out, that I just might be very happy staying in.

…you were a very busy man and I’ve been a very busy lady keeping up with you. My last few dizzying days started with a thought to blog the praises of google. A simple post “can’t believe google can give me the answer” has turned into an information sunaime. Not quite knowing where to start, I guess it’s best to explain Jeez, Jeeves. I kind of remembered that before I used google I used www.askjeeves.com. So what did I do, I googled Jeeves. What I found out was he was a sagacious valet character in several books written by English author Sir P.G Wodehouse around 1915. He was a valet, a butler, and helper who fills the model of a “helpful servant”. He was so good at his job that Wodehouse wrote many books about him: Right Ho Jeeves, The Inimitable Jeeves, Carry on Jeeves, Thank you Jeeves, Very good Jeeves, to name a few. It was apparent that Jeeves knew everything and solved any and all problems. It then made sense that if you wanted any information, you went to Jeeves. It also makes sense that the founders Garrett Gruener and David Warthem were in Berkeley, California the home of the University of California campus, where they might have been students and might have even been literary students, in fact I will go so far as to say curious literary students, with the desire to gather information. And in their world who had all the answers, Jeeves of course. Jeeves also was a friendly fellow and the just emerging computer and internet in those early days, did not seem so friendly to many of us, but Jeeves did. So we were not afraid to ask Jeeves.

Talk about friendly Jeeves, how about Archie, Veronica and Jughead, our comic book heroes.

Can’t get any friendly than Archie. This is where my google investigation led me. Back to the first search engine that was developed in 1990. (Google, you tube, ask.com, facebook etc. are all search engines) It was developed by two college students and they named it Archie. Archie gathered information, and rather then call it Archives, Archie was much friendlier. Word of mouth about Archie grew and another group of colleges students developed Veronica and then another college group developed Jughead with the same purpose of gathering information. Veronica and Jughead used Gopher to gather information and also send information and have you guessed it yet? Gopher was created by Archie and how appropriate a name. Gophers dig underground tunnels and an intricate burrow system.

I find it interesting that before the internet everything we knew came from books, even in some cases comic books. So the early beginnings of search engines had names familiar to us. This is just the teeny tiny tip of the iceberg, the Model T ford of internet. How about familiar names like Elon Musk was a creator of x.com which became Pay Pal who created You Tube which Google bought for 1.65 billion. You now know why I was absent from blogging, I felt like Sherlock Holmes. What I was learning led me deeper and deeper and more entangled in all the goings on. I was caught up in the Web like Charlotte did, but this time it was not a spider web but the world wide web. World wide web or is it the wide world web. I must google that.