Wednesday, April 08, 2015

Define "Old"


 

Yesterday my daughter was telling us of some comments one of her students made to her.  The student told my daughter that she couldn't believe she was in her mid-thirties because she didn't act like it! My daughter took that to mean that the student thought she was immature.  The student assured her that wasn't what she meant but she didn't particularly elaborate.  We went on to discuss how I saw my daughter and I told her that it was probably her physical appearance that brought the student to that decision and not her behavior because my daughter doesn't look much older than she did in high school.

So, I couldn't leave it alone, could I?  I had to take it one step further, didn't I?  I had to ask -- "do I seem old to you"?  Her answer was -- "no -- well, yes, sometimes".  Hmmmm.......I think I need further clarification from her.  Is it my appearance?  Well, I am sure I look my age -- well, maybe not QUITE my age but not far from.  Is it my clothes?  Well, we do tend to differ in clothing styles.  Is it my attitude -- ok, every once in a while I open my mouth and my mother pops out -- I will agree but my mother had those attitudes when she was far younger than my age. 

I don't think I have "old" habits or mannerisms (and I absolutely loathe the color lavender).  I read a lot of the same books as my daughter and I still listen to rock and roll music -- current stuff as well as "oldies" (there is that word again), we watch the same movies and I am pretty current on pop culture -- I mean if those Kardashian girls were mine they would be so grounded!  I will admit to complaining about my joints hurting but then, they hurt when I was younger than my daughter is now. 

So, what makes us appear a certain way to other people?  Is it just because she knows my age or maybe if she feels older then I must be much older.  I don't know.  I look at people like Stevie Nicks, who is a couple of years older than me, and yes, she has aged very well in spite of herself.  In person I am not sure what she would look like but on television she looks pretty darn good.  I can't even comment on the recent media flurry of Christie Brinkley's appearance.  So, does this mean I should cut my hair so I don't look so much like a bag lady or maybe make it blond?  More makeup?  Yuck. 

I think I need to have more conversation with my daughter.  Or should I?  Hmmm...slippery slope, there, slippery slope.

The Persian Pickle Club -- Book Review



Recently I have been trying to read down my list of books on my Nook.  I was in the mood for something different and not too long.  So, I chose "The Persian Pickle Club" by Sandra Dallas.

The setting is Kansas, the time period is the 1930's.  The main character is Queenie Bean, wife to Grover Bean and a member of the Persian Pickle Club.  The Persian Pickle Club is comprised of the women in the tiny community of Harveyville.  On the surface their main purpose is quilting but their relationship goes way beyond that of a needle and thread.  They are there to support each other in good times and bad -- to celebrate and to mourn -- and to solve a mystery.  The characters are strong, sassy and not without humor.  It is a good account of the mores of the day -- even small towns in Kansas had their standards, after all.  As I read this book I could just picture many of the characters as people I have known myself.  However, if this were a movie, Rita would have to be played by Jen Lilley of "Days of Our Lives" fame.

I have never read any of Sandra Dallas's other works but I will in the future.  This was a fun read.  It was engaging, seemingly without typos and grammatical errors I am finding in so many e-books, and it ended well.  I would definitely recommend this book for a fast, light read.  I know, mystery doesn't sound light but this isn't really a mystery book it is.......well, you just have to read it for yourself.


Update

 Ok, so we visited our cardiologist yesterday to get the lay of the land for the Hubs.  Seems there is an issue with one of the grafts from ...