Author: Cynthia

Each year, usually in August, I begin my search for the coming year’s planner. My planners serve as a mini journal, chronicling my activities, thoughts, and musings day-to-day.  It’s a very serious process.  Okay, maybe not too serious, but I do agonize over which one to purchase. After all, I will spend more than 365 days with this little compilation of printed sheets.

The first entries will be subscription renewal reminders and birthday and anniversary notations (complete with stickers, of course!). Next, I record any meetings or appointments that fall on consistent days. (Book club meetings, volunteer activities, board meetings, and so on.) I enter my new year’s goals and list tasks I hope to complete in the coming year. Finally, I can begin to make daily notations – coffee and lunch appointments, medical appointments – you get the picture.

All that to say, my planner is truly a companion. Each day I make notes, once January 1 rolls around. So my planner needs to be sturdy and logical – my kind of logical. A-hem.

Over the years I have come to enjoy a particular style, often staying with a brand for several years in a row. Too often, however, the brand ceases to exist or the calendar style I have come to depend upon is no longer available. Some years I decide I want an 8.5” x 11” and other years I want a 7” x 9”.  For the past two years I have had layouts that I’ve come to appreciate. The goals pages are a double spread, and each turn of the page reveals the week ahead, with plenty of room to write, doodle, mark, and sticker. Unfortunately, however, that particular brand is extremely proud of their work. The 2026 planner is $40. Do I really need a $40 planner?!

Proudly this year, I am turning my back on the over-priced options. Determined to find a reasonably priced calendar journal I have searched for hours at a time.  Happily, I have settled on a $10.00, 6” x 8.5”, metal spiral-bound book that I believe will serve my needs. The smaller size requires a smaller footprint on my desk and can easily be tucked into a purse or bag making it easy to accompany me on errand-running days (opposed to rewriting the ToDo list).

Yes, I was in technology for over 30 years and yes, I still use my electronic calendar. But there is something satisfying in selecting a colored ink and highlighters and adding fun icons to each entry. Using a physical planner allows me to slow down and consider my day. Filling the blank slate shows me at a glance what I value in life (that’s for another missive).

As I traverse the holiday season, I find solace in stepping back and thinking about what is in store in the coming year. Penning this missive at the end of a full week of activities, I know there will be a time when a planner will no longer be necessary. Yet for now, I can rejoice in the knowledge that I still have “things to do, places to go, and people to see” as my daddy would say.

Remember when we put pictures in albums?  We would secure the photo using glue or tape thinking they would remain in perpetuity.  Over the years photo albums have changed. At first there were black pages and white “corners”.  Then albums advanced. (Or did they?) Some had self-adhesive pages. Others had a cellophane-type covering for each page. Still others had “pockets” into which pictures could be placed. Each of the options allowed us to view the pages, providing solace in knowing the pictures were preserved.

Fast forward to today. Most photographs are taken with digital cameras, stored in “the cloud” and rarely retrieved for viewing. Instead of having 20 pictures from a roll of film, we now have thousands … dare I say millions of pictures stored.

I discovered Amazon Photos. Well, actually, my son-in-law told me about it. As a Prime member I can upload unlimited numbers of photographs. In fact, within seconds of taking a picture with my mobile phone, the image is uploaded automatically.  The really cool thing about it is I can identify people in the pictures and Amazon is able to catalog them with facial recognition. Recently, I was looking for a picture of my mother. I clicked on her name and up popped 2.7K worth of pictures of her. It’s not perfect – mom’s twin shows up in a lot of those pictures. Granted, they do look uncannily alike. But I digress.

What does one do with the photo albums? They take up so much space. The pages yellow, or worse tear from becoming brittle. Plus the albums are of differing sizes and shapes making storage even more difficult.  Not to mention the full shelf of picture albums and boxes on the top shelf of my office closet, I have four shelves of albums! Many of those were my mother’s.  What to do?

During the time mom lived with me, we slowly began to review the pictures. So many pictures included people I had no clue who they were. In several instances, mom could not remember who the people were or why she had the picture. Needless to say, those were trashed.   Now that she is gone, the task is left to me to figure out what to retain. A sentimental and taxing task.

I began the chore of scanning the pictures. This is a slow process, especially considering that my scanner is an all-in-one printer and thus scans 8.5” x 11” regardless of the size of photo. So after scanning there is a lot of cropping. Again, it’s a process. But there is an endpoint.

Shutterfly is a fantastic way to recreate picture albums that take less room. It is so much easier to turn a printed page than it is to wade through photo albums in which the pages or the pictures have stuck together. Additionally, the Shutterflys can all be a uniform size, ultimately storing thousands of pictures neatly while still being accessible for others to view.

I am creating theme-based Shutterfly albums. Recently, for instance, I made one from the scrapbook of my mother’s 70^th birthday party. It was fun reminiscing of that time 26 years ago when friends and family gathered. At times I wonder if all this work is worth the effort. Then someone looks at the album and conversations ensue with “remember the time when ….”

The most special aspect of this exercise is reliving and preserving precious memories for oneself and those who follow us. Plan ahead and be certain you are not only behind the camera (phone) taking pictures, but that you are also *in* some of the pictures.

At times I think about my childhood and believe things were much simpler then. Of course if I remember correctly, my parents said the same thing. As the summer has come to a close and autumn is now upon us, so too is the autumn of our years. Let’s take a deep breath and enjoy the change of seasons as we remember, fondly, years gone by. And know that

“Age is just the number of years the world has been enjoying you.”

“Remember when” is a phrase that conjures memories. It is commonly used to think about past events, former life experiences, and activities with a certain level of fondness. “Remember when” is a way to recall past experiences, places, or times. Usually these thoughts hold positive meaning or special memories. The phrase may evoke a sense of shared history.

Do you remember when ….

… we rode in the back compartment of the station wagon or the back of a pickup truck and no one thought our parents were irresponsible?

… cereal was considered a good-for-you breakfast?

… you were your parents’ television remote? (“Johnny, change the channel”)

… you played outside until dusk? My dad would whistle shrilly, meaning it was time to go in … and all the neighborhood kids went home.

… you walked to and from school, often alone?

… your parents did not lock the house or the car?

… good manners were expected, not amazingly appreciated?

… “Beam me up, Scotty” and watches you could talk into were science fiction?

… you enjoyed the funnies in color on Sunday morning while your dad read the news and mom clipped coupons from the newspaper?

… paper bags were bad because they destroyed trees; the solution was plastic bags?

… you had to memorize the “times tables”, aka multiplication?

… when you dialed a phone number you actually turned a dial and the telephone number began with letters? FR2-2579

… the family ate together at the kitchen table and mom had cooked the food?

… the doctor made house calls?

… gay was a synonym for happy?

… kids had BB guns that would “shoot your eyes out” ?

… the family attended church and Sunday School or other religious traditions, as a family?

What do you remember about your childhood? Reminisce on days gone by, focusing on happier times when the world was your oyster. (What does that mean, anyway?!)

While we do not want to wallow in the past, sometimes nostalgia kicks in and we …

Remember when ….

My [third] beloved 2014 Toyota Camry is reaching 120,000 miles. So far, I have had no major repairs. I faithfully have kept up with the recommended maintenance, have occasionally replaced tires and a battery or two, and consistently vacuum and wipe down the interior. These cars last forever. Still, I decided to replace the Silver Bullet, if only so I can use the trade-in as a down payment, thus avoiding significant out-of-pocket expense.

Truth be told, I want a luxury vehicle. I will admit it. After years as a single mother, caregiver, and generous grandmother, I had decided it was time to treat myself. In the past I have been perfectly satisfied with a mid-range car. I have never been one to feel a need for a new car every few years, having had my last three Camrys 11, 10, and now almost 12 years, respectively. The cars look fine (although this last one suffered a couple of door dings and a scrape). They have been safe and reliable.

I spent several weeks reviewing cars, crossovers, and SUVs online. I read reviews, looked at features, searched for ratings.

Out I went in search of a new ride. Loving a good road trip, my goals were standard: safe, reliable, and comfortable. Those features that seemed like bells and whistles in years gone by are now standard in almost every [new] vehicle for sale.

I headed first for the Toyota dealership, being familiar with the brand. As is the case in most cities now, one owner holds the license to sell multiple manufacturers’ products. The autoplex or automall is not uncommon. On the way to Toyota, I stopped to look at other manufacturers’ offerings.

Admittedly car shopping is overwhelming. I dreaded the “hard sell” – but was pleasantly surprised that I received none of that. Some places had an abundance of inventory. Toyota had very little. What I found interesting was how similar cars are and how varied the prices can be. For the day, I settled on two that I test drove – one was a smaller SUV, and one was a larger, more elegant model. The larger was, as you may guess, almost $12,000 more, but still under what I believed I would have to pay.

I came home and searched for more information. The salespeople both gave me a printout of the car I drove. The printouts included the VIN and basic information about the vehicle. I used that information to find out more on the U.S. Department of Transportation National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website. https://www.nhtsa.gov/  It has a wealth of information. You can look up safety ratings and additional information. You can enter the VIN of your car to get full information on it, which I found was invaluable.

I was hoping to take advantage of the new provision to take an income tax deduction on the loan interest. The deduction is phased out for taxpayers who have a modified adjusted gross income of over $100,000. My research yielded the following additional criteria that must be met to take the deduction (even if you do not itemize.) https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/one-big-beautiful-bill-act-tax-deductions-for-working-americans-and-seniors . To summarize the vehicle interest deduction:

1. The vehicle must be new and purchased in after December 31, 2024, or in 2025 – 2028.
2. The vehicle must be for personal use and must be secured by a loan, not a lease.
3. The weight of the vehicle must be less than 14,000 pounds.
4. The vehicle must be made in or put together in America. Use the NHTSA’s VIN decoder to discover the vehicle’s plant of manufacture. https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/decoder/
5. The lender must report the interest paid to the IRS and provide a statement to the taxpayer, similar to a home mortgage.

I am fascinated by how much information is available, yet one must be informed to know to look for certain results. At least one thing has significantly changed in car buying. Dealers are no longer allowed (by law) to play around with extra fees, unclear interest rates, and other deceptive practices they used in the past. Once you sit down to pen the deal (supposedly) everything is open and on the table. So, off I go to finalize a purchase.

Wish me luck!

I just returned from my daily walk. I say daily because I have no set time to venture out.  I just know I have to walk every day, if possible.  As the temperatures continue to rise, it becomes harder to motivate myself.  Wishing I had heeded the recommendations when I was much younger, I now engage in some form of exercise every day.  The more aches and pains that arise, the more exercises I add. Once they become routine, they are not so bad.  The exercises take over an hour-and-a-half to complete.  I have to remind myself that I am retired and exercise will keep me healthier as I continue to age. It beats the alternative, I suppose.

As I stepped off my front porch and up and down the bridge-like front walk I heard the sounds of suburbia.  Across the street an old fence was being loaded onto a flatbed and new panels were being unloaded from another.  The voices of men instructing each other as they carried panels and installed the new fence reverberated through the neighborhood.

Continuing along my usual route I saw yard crews mowing and edging. In front of one neighbor’s house the man was visiting with a contractor about a repair that needed to be completed. A new air conditioning compressor was being installed at another home.

Rounding one of the cul-de-sacs I was deep in thought about the various flower beds and landscaping when I noticed a pair of legs, crossed, at the edge of an open garage door.  As I came closer, I noticed a hand waving, although I could not see the man’s face in the shadow of the structure.  I said hello and continued my turn toward the uphill slant of the street.

Later today Mosquito Militia will spray (organically) my yard and deck – my Urban Oasis – to cut down on that pesky population that I seem to attract just by stepping outside. Another indication of life in suburbia.

At last my house was in sight – a welcome abode where I would cool down and drink a whole glass of water before carrying on with my day’s objectives. I reflected on my observations, noting how grateful I am to have a comfortable home, food in the refrigerator, relatively good health, and a neighborhood where I feel safe enough to walk alone at any time of the day.