Am signing off for a couple of weeks and will see you again in the New Year. I wish you all the very best for 2010.
The Old Biddy
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
A Victorian Adventure
About one month ago, four nearly old biddies, Aileen, Norma, Pat and Betty decided to go to Victoria. The Royal British Columbia Museum had been advertising an exhibit of Artifacts from the British Museum, and the girls thought it would be interesting and would make a pleasant day out.
Aileen, who is a very efficient organizer, agreed to take care of reservations for the one night stay in the hotel. The rest of the girls were quite happy to let her get on with it. The only stipulation they made was that the hotel had to be close to the museum which was in downtown Victoria.
There were three hotels in the area, the Queen Victoria Inn, the Chateau Victoria and the Executive House. However, they were all a little more than the girls wanted to pay. Aileen did note that one of the hotels advertised that there would be a price reduction shortly, so she decided to phone later when the lower prices became an option.
The four left Nanaimo early with Betty at the wheel of the car. The drive to Victoria was excellent and they decided en route, to get settled in at the hotel before going to the museum for the rest of the day.
As they reached the outskirts of Victoria, Betty asked what hotel they were staying in. Aileen replied that she thought it was the Chateau Victoria, but wasn’t quite sure, but she would know it as soon as she saw it. Their first call was the Chateau Victoria, but when it came into view, Aileen decided that the Chateau was definitely not the hotel they were looking for. Putting her hand on Betty’s shoulder, she confirmed that it was not the Chateau Victoria, so maybe Betty could turn the car around and head for the Queen Victoria Inn.
“Yes, this is our hotel”, Aileen said with a sigh of relief as they drove up to the entrance of the hotel. Everyone got out of the car and followed Aileen to the reservations desk. They relished the idea that within a few minutes they would be off to the museum, which, of course was the whole purpose of the trip.
“I’m very sorry,” said the girl behind the reservations desk looking at the slip of paper Aileen had provided, “but this is not one of our reservation numbers and we have no record of you coming to stay with us tonight.” Aileen looked stunned and the girls’ faces mirrored her concern. Aileen’s mind then went into overdrive. Having dismissed the Chateau Victoria as their destination after seeing the hotel, she now thought she must have booked there.
“Would you be kind enough to telephone the Chateau Victoria,” she asked the sympathetic looking receptionist, “to see if they have a reservation for us”.
But even after that telephone call they were no further ahead. The Chateau Victoria had never heard of them.
Poor Aileen, who was usually the epitome of efficiency, now looked decidedly fussed and her mind was frantically trying to work out what had happened. Of course, it didn’t help that the rest of the girls and the receptionist were trying to offer some helpful hints, even though they didn’t have a clue as to how the mix-up had occurred.
Frantically trying to sort out the booking procedures she had used back home, a vague notion occurred to her. What if she had mistaken the telephone numbers on the brochure? She asked the receptionist if the hotel had a copy of the visitor’s guide she had used when she did the initial bookings by phone. Ten minutes later the guide surfaced and was almost snatched up by a grateful Aileen.
Turning to where the Queen Victoria Inn was listed, she ran her fingers down the page until she reached the Queen Victoria Inn and then moved across the page. In the next column there was The Quality Inn, and there next to it was probably the telephone number she had used, thinking it belonged to the Queen Victoria Inn.
A quick call to the Quality Inn confirmed they were booked in. From that moment onwards, Aileen began to feel considerably better. Of course, it was not as close to the Museum as they had wanted it to be, but it was only four blocks further out and at least they had a bed for the night – at the lower rate. All four of them were beginning to have nightmares which involved sleeping in a tent in the nearby park!
After thanking the receptionist profusely for all her help, the girls departed in the car for the Museum, which they enjoyed very much – comforted by the fact that they didn’t have to worry any more as to where they were going to sleep.
The following morning, after a comfortable night and a good breakfast, they left back to Nanaimo after thorough enjoying their Victorian adventure.
Aileen, who is a very efficient organizer, agreed to take care of reservations for the one night stay in the hotel. The rest of the girls were quite happy to let her get on with it. The only stipulation they made was that the hotel had to be close to the museum which was in downtown Victoria.
There were three hotels in the area, the Queen Victoria Inn, the Chateau Victoria and the Executive House. However, they were all a little more than the girls wanted to pay. Aileen did note that one of the hotels advertised that there would be a price reduction shortly, so she decided to phone later when the lower prices became an option.
The four left Nanaimo early with Betty at the wheel of the car. The drive to Victoria was excellent and they decided en route, to get settled in at the hotel before going to the museum for the rest of the day.
As they reached the outskirts of Victoria, Betty asked what hotel they were staying in. Aileen replied that she thought it was the Chateau Victoria, but wasn’t quite sure, but she would know it as soon as she saw it. Their first call was the Chateau Victoria, but when it came into view, Aileen decided that the Chateau was definitely not the hotel they were looking for. Putting her hand on Betty’s shoulder, she confirmed that it was not the Chateau Victoria, so maybe Betty could turn the car around and head for the Queen Victoria Inn.
“Yes, this is our hotel”, Aileen said with a sigh of relief as they drove up to the entrance of the hotel. Everyone got out of the car and followed Aileen to the reservations desk. They relished the idea that within a few minutes they would be off to the museum, which, of course was the whole purpose of the trip.
“I’m very sorry,” said the girl behind the reservations desk looking at the slip of paper Aileen had provided, “but this is not one of our reservation numbers and we have no record of you coming to stay with us tonight.” Aileen looked stunned and the girls’ faces mirrored her concern. Aileen’s mind then went into overdrive. Having dismissed the Chateau Victoria as their destination after seeing the hotel, she now thought she must have booked there.
“Would you be kind enough to telephone the Chateau Victoria,” she asked the sympathetic looking receptionist, “to see if they have a reservation for us”.
But even after that telephone call they were no further ahead. The Chateau Victoria had never heard of them.
Poor Aileen, who was usually the epitome of efficiency, now looked decidedly fussed and her mind was frantically trying to work out what had happened. Of course, it didn’t help that the rest of the girls and the receptionist were trying to offer some helpful hints, even though they didn’t have a clue as to how the mix-up had occurred.
Frantically trying to sort out the booking procedures she had used back home, a vague notion occurred to her. What if she had mistaken the telephone numbers on the brochure? She asked the receptionist if the hotel had a copy of the visitor’s guide she had used when she did the initial bookings by phone. Ten minutes later the guide surfaced and was almost snatched up by a grateful Aileen.
Turning to where the Queen Victoria Inn was listed, she ran her fingers down the page until she reached the Queen Victoria Inn and then moved across the page. In the next column there was The Quality Inn, and there next to it was probably the telephone number she had used, thinking it belonged to the Queen Victoria Inn.
A quick call to the Quality Inn confirmed they were booked in. From that moment onwards, Aileen began to feel considerably better. Of course, it was not as close to the Museum as they had wanted it to be, but it was only four blocks further out and at least they had a bed for the night – at the lower rate. All four of them were beginning to have nightmares which involved sleeping in a tent in the nearby park!
After thanking the receptionist profusely for all her help, the girls departed in the car for the Museum, which they enjoyed very much – comforted by the fact that they didn’t have to worry any more as to where they were going to sleep.
The following morning, after a comfortable night and a good breakfast, they left back to Nanaimo after thorough enjoying their Victorian adventure.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
What Happy People Know: Just in Time for Christmas
Bookstores and libraries are my favourite places to visit (besides ice cream parlours and beautiful gardens). On a recent visit to two excellent bookstores in Courtenay, The Laughing Oyster and The Blue Heron, I noticed how many books there were on happiness. It is an interesting phenomenon of our times that while we have more material comfort than any previous generation, our happiness levels are very low. I checked out several of the books and noticed that similar ideas or themes appear in many of them, such as:
Focus on the present. Living in the past or the future detracts from life now.
Create a family life which is satisfying and healthy. If you’ve had a difficult childhood with poor parenting, take steps that allow you to break the cycle.
Accept responsibility for your life now. It’s easy to blame others. YOU control how you respond to situations--don’t let others control your life.
Develop good friendships. We can’t pick our family, but we can choose friends who help us be better people. Loving friendships help us be healthy, long-lived adults.
Avoid negative or unhealthy friendships. Seek out people who make you feel good!
Find a hobby or sport that you love--even grownups need to play.
Make choices that develop character. Be a person others can trust. Keep your word. Avoid gossip.
Work on meeting your own expectations of yourself, those are the ones that really count.
When negative thoughts enter your mind, press the delete button.
Create a well-balanced life, with time for family, work, friendships, exercise and hobbies.
Count your blessings. An old saying, but so true. We are 'the keepers of our own contentment.'
Learn to live within your means. Worry about debt is a prime cause of unhappiness and marital problems.
If you are frequently sad and experience little joy or enthusiasm, you may be depressed. Research the symptoms of depression online. If you have several, talk to your family doctor. A great deal can be done to improve the quality of your life.
The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance, the wise grows
it under his feet. James Oppenheim
(c) 2009 Virginia Brucker. Virginia is the author of Gifts from the Heart: Simple Ways to Make Your Family’s Christmas More Meaningful. It’s the perfect book about creating a recession-proof Christmas. Order copies for everyone on your Christmas list.
Focus on the present. Living in the past or the future detracts from life now.
Create a family life which is satisfying and healthy. If you’ve had a difficult childhood with poor parenting, take steps that allow you to break the cycle.
Accept responsibility for your life now. It’s easy to blame others. YOU control how you respond to situations--don’t let others control your life.
Develop good friendships. We can’t pick our family, but we can choose friends who help us be better people. Loving friendships help us be healthy, long-lived adults.
Avoid negative or unhealthy friendships. Seek out people who make you feel good!
Find a hobby or sport that you love--even grownups need to play.
Make choices that develop character. Be a person others can trust. Keep your word. Avoid gossip.
Work on meeting your own expectations of yourself, those are the ones that really count.
When negative thoughts enter your mind, press the delete button.
Create a well-balanced life, with time for family, work, friendships, exercise and hobbies.
Count your blessings. An old saying, but so true. We are 'the keepers of our own contentment.'
Learn to live within your means. Worry about debt is a prime cause of unhappiness and marital problems.
If you are frequently sad and experience little joy or enthusiasm, you may be depressed. Research the symptoms of depression online. If you have several, talk to your family doctor. A great deal can be done to improve the quality of your life.
The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance, the wise grows
it under his feet. James Oppenheim
(c) 2009 Virginia Brucker. Virginia is the author of Gifts from the Heart: Simple Ways to Make Your Family’s Christmas More Meaningful. It’s the perfect book about creating a recession-proof Christmas. Order copies for everyone on your Christmas list.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Musings on Imagination
Much has been written about famous men and women who have achieved success in spite of hardship and difficult childhoods. We admire them for what they have achieved, seemingly from nothing.
Imagination is something inherent in everyone but successful people have used their imagination to motivate themselves to succeed. How did they do this? Very simply by using an event or situation that appeared in their daily lives. In their mind they turned that subject into something they wanted to believe in, so they could recall it again and again.
For example, every young child who sees Peter Pan would like to think that they, too, can ‘fly’ like the boy who never grew up. After parents put a stop to the actual flying, the children then go on to imagine flying and other situations involving Peter Pan, Captain Hook and the Crocodile, etc. Children build these situations into their imagination so they have a clear picture in their mind of what they would like to see.
Other children might decide that if they cannot fly like Peter Pan, then they are not going to follow through on anything associated with the play, so the story and the meaning are soon forgotten. This may change if there is encouragement by parents, family, friends and teacher. For example, a friend of mine, when she was young , started to copy the actions of famous people. She consciously incorporated some of their character traits into her everyday living. This practice did not catapult her to fame, but she did develop a strong and sensuous personality which has been very beneficial to her in work and relationships.
There are a myriad of ways to encourage this creative power called imagination, through events in everyday living such as: books, films, television programs, discussions, trips, sightseeing, socializing, the theatre – the list is endless. Definitely one of the most popular ways to encourage the creative visions in a young person is through books. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis exposes young readers to a story rich in adventure and belief.
In another set of adventure books called Hell’s Gate Trilogy, a young person has the opportunity to see how belief affects their every day lives. This is demonstrated by the extraordinary adventures three young people fall into and the three angels/animals who accompany them. These books are set in three different places in the world and in one adventure the youngsters travel through time. There is plenty of opportunity for readers to use their imagination in these books.
If the family likes to participate in games with their children, putting imagination to work in a game can be enjoyable and interesting. Just organize everyone into small or large teams, give them a subject, and ask them to write a one page story about that subject. There is a time line for completing this, and the results are read to the rest of the gathering when everyone has finished. It can be very funny and a powerful use of the imagination.
The more children practice imagination, the more likely it is that they will be successful in various aspects of their life. This is not an easy task to accomplish; as it becomes more difficult to sustain the image developed initially and then follow it through to success. Many have done it. They have taken the image they created, have kept it in front of them and pursued it with a passion. In all probability, they had lots of encouragement from people around them, which is most important. Perhaps in some cases they have not had any inspiration from other people, but have hung onto their vision until it became a reality. We may never know the circumstances behind success, but one thing we do know is that imagination counts in the lives of our children.
It counts in our lives too, it keeps us going!
The Old Biddy
©2008 Susan Lancaster.
Imagination is something inherent in everyone but successful people have used their imagination to motivate themselves to succeed. How did they do this? Very simply by using an event or situation that appeared in their daily lives. In their mind they turned that subject into something they wanted to believe in, so they could recall it again and again.
For example, every young child who sees Peter Pan would like to think that they, too, can ‘fly’ like the boy who never grew up. After parents put a stop to the actual flying, the children then go on to imagine flying and other situations involving Peter Pan, Captain Hook and the Crocodile, etc. Children build these situations into their imagination so they have a clear picture in their mind of what they would like to see.
Other children might decide that if they cannot fly like Peter Pan, then they are not going to follow through on anything associated with the play, so the story and the meaning are soon forgotten. This may change if there is encouragement by parents, family, friends and teacher. For example, a friend of mine, when she was young , started to copy the actions of famous people. She consciously incorporated some of their character traits into her everyday living. This practice did not catapult her to fame, but she did develop a strong and sensuous personality which has been very beneficial to her in work and relationships.
There are a myriad of ways to encourage this creative power called imagination, through events in everyday living such as: books, films, television programs, discussions, trips, sightseeing, socializing, the theatre – the list is endless. Definitely one of the most popular ways to encourage the creative visions in a young person is through books. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis exposes young readers to a story rich in adventure and belief.
In another set of adventure books called Hell’s Gate Trilogy, a young person has the opportunity to see how belief affects their every day lives. This is demonstrated by the extraordinary adventures three young people fall into and the three angels/animals who accompany them. These books are set in three different places in the world and in one adventure the youngsters travel through time. There is plenty of opportunity for readers to use their imagination in these books.
If the family likes to participate in games with their children, putting imagination to work in a game can be enjoyable and interesting. Just organize everyone into small or large teams, give them a subject, and ask them to write a one page story about that subject. There is a time line for completing this, and the results are read to the rest of the gathering when everyone has finished. It can be very funny and a powerful use of the imagination.
The more children practice imagination, the more likely it is that they will be successful in various aspects of their life. This is not an easy task to accomplish; as it becomes more difficult to sustain the image developed initially and then follow it through to success. Many have done it. They have taken the image they created, have kept it in front of them and pursued it with a passion. In all probability, they had lots of encouragement from people around them, which is most important. Perhaps in some cases they have not had any inspiration from other people, but have hung onto their vision until it became a reality. We may never know the circumstances behind success, but one thing we do know is that imagination counts in the lives of our children.
It counts in our lives too, it keeps us going!
The Old Biddy
©2008 Susan Lancaster.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Book Review; A Fascinating Story
Here is a book you will need to curl up with in front of the fire over Christmas time – if you ever have any time to curl up! The book is called ‘Audition’ and is a Memoir by Barbara Walters.
Although I saw her a few times on television, she was not a person in whom I was particularly interested. But the book reviews were good and I felt that if nothing else it could be an interesting read and I would gain a bit more insight into her life. My goodness, she is one super lady who can honestly say – ‘been there, done that’. The great thing about this book is that you can almost feel the presence of the narrator. It’s as if she is telling you the intimate details of her life and her career and you are the only one in the room listening.
Barbara Walters is warm, open and honest – not a bit like the person I thought she portrayed on T.V. The times when I did see her interviewing people in the past I felt a bit uncomfortable because I never knew how much pressure she would put on people to get the information she wanted. Having read the book, I find now that this is the trait of a good interviewer.
Her own personal life has been far from idyllic for her and I’m sure that many people will equate with her and the family problems she had to deal with.
In her extraordinary life she has interviewed thousands of people. ‘What she said and what he said’, are all there to read. She certainly doesn’t skip over some of the spicy and risqué comments that came from some of her interviewees. This makes us appreciate the interesting, personal and funny side of all the conversations.
Somehow, I connected her TV shows with interviewing celebrities; not a bit of it. The people she interviewed came from all walks of life and all nationalities. They were a cross section of presidents and first ladies; celebrities who had affected Barbara in her life; heads of state, holy men, uncommon criminals and murderers and, of course, Joe public.
She was really a ground breaker in her chosen profession and in many cases she wrote the rules. She had a lot to put up with, especially sexism in her early years. Her kind of journalism was cornered mainly by men in the early years and she was viewed as an intruder. But, she triumphed over everything and went on to become a legend in her own time. How she ever managed to accomplish all this and have a family life is beyond me.
She has shown through this story that a woman can be tough, driven and successful and still be a woman. Through it all she exuded a warmth and compassion which I never imagined she had.
Just read it and enjoy.
Although I saw her a few times on television, she was not a person in whom I was particularly interested. But the book reviews were good and I felt that if nothing else it could be an interesting read and I would gain a bit more insight into her life. My goodness, she is one super lady who can honestly say – ‘been there, done that’. The great thing about this book is that you can almost feel the presence of the narrator. It’s as if she is telling you the intimate details of her life and her career and you are the only one in the room listening.
Barbara Walters is warm, open and honest – not a bit like the person I thought she portrayed on T.V. The times when I did see her interviewing people in the past I felt a bit uncomfortable because I never knew how much pressure she would put on people to get the information she wanted. Having read the book, I find now that this is the trait of a good interviewer.
Her own personal life has been far from idyllic for her and I’m sure that many people will equate with her and the family problems she had to deal with.
In her extraordinary life she has interviewed thousands of people. ‘What she said and what he said’, are all there to read. She certainly doesn’t skip over some of the spicy and risqué comments that came from some of her interviewees. This makes us appreciate the interesting, personal and funny side of all the conversations.
Somehow, I connected her TV shows with interviewing celebrities; not a bit of it. The people she interviewed came from all walks of life and all nationalities. They were a cross section of presidents and first ladies; celebrities who had affected Barbara in her life; heads of state, holy men, uncommon criminals and murderers and, of course, Joe public.
She was really a ground breaker in her chosen profession and in many cases she wrote the rules. She had a lot to put up with, especially sexism in her early years. Her kind of journalism was cornered mainly by men in the early years and she was viewed as an intruder. But, she triumphed over everything and went on to become a legend in her own time. How she ever managed to accomplish all this and have a family life is beyond me.
She has shown through this story that a woman can be tough, driven and successful and still be a woman. Through it all she exuded a warmth and compassion which I never imagined she had.
Just read it and enjoy.
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