[caption id=“attachment_2471” align=“aligncenter” width=“800”] “Making a big life change is pretty scary. But know what’s even scarier? Regret.” (Zig Ziglar)[/caption] Downsizing has been a big job. I’ve missed blogging during the time that this important life change has been taking place. It hasn’t been one life change really but several, each one hinging on the other. ...
This book found me. “The Grace in Aging” by Kathleen Dowling Singh was staring me in the face on a recent visit to the Yorkville Library in Downtown Toronto. When I started blogging, it was my intention to cover many topics related to aging because of my own age. However, the blog took on a life of its own and evolved in its own way. Today, though, I highly recommend the above book to all the baby boomers out there who have been in the least bit concerned about aging. Notice that this book is not about aging gracefully but about “The Grace in Aging.” The concerns here are not about what’s on the outside but what’s on the inside. ...
My Gratefulness Newsletter arrived in my inbox this morning and there were reminders there that the year is still new and full of promise - which I had all but forgotten. It’s hard to believe that twenty-two days into the new year, I would have settled into old patterns and ways of thinking and being. A poem by Anne Hillman called “We Look with Uncertainty” was shared in this newsletter prefaced by these words: “At the beginning of the year, we stand before new doorways, and the vastness of yet unexplored passages stretching out before us, no matter how old or young we are. Beckoning us are all the moments and opportunities of our future lives in ever-unknown measure, and the only response is a wholehearted “yes.” In this spirit, how grateful we are to Anne Hillman for sharing this tender and inspiring vision through her poem: ...
“Don’t grieve. Anything you lose comes round in another form.” ― Rumi I accidentally knocked over one of my favorite vases which has served me well for many years. As you can see in the above collage, it’s a very beautiful one. You can also see that it was broken into many pieces and beyond repair. I was disappointed but not devastated. Whether that has to do with the aging process and the “letting go” stage of life or some other process at work is not quite clear to me. ...
We must always change, renew, rejuvenate ourselves; otherwise we harden (Johann Wolfgang Van Goethe) As another year comes to a close, it seems like a good time for me to look back on the year past and reflect for a short while on my journey through the course of 2014. It seems that it wasn’t so long ago when I began “Late Blooms” and wasn’t quite sure what I was doing. At the same time that I had the opportunity to make collages, I started writing, scrapbooking, and all the other elements you see displayed in my posts. I`m still learning and evolving as I go along and having fun at the same time. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine that there would be 51,727 reads of my posts. It is very humbling and, at the same time, very encouraging. Thanks to all of you out there and especially to my brother of Simply Spectacular Designs who gave “Late Blooms” a totally new look just before Christmas and is hosting this blog. ...
[caption id=“attachment_2132” align=“aligncenter” width=“584”] Gerrard’s India Bazaar - Toronto[/caption] Culture is transportable. There’s a huge Indian diaspora in Toronto and the Gerrard India Bazaar area is where many people shop for ethnic Indian clothing. I read that it’s the oldest and biggest bazaar in North America. Thousands of people were there recently for its Annual South Asian Festival. “The ethnic diversity of South Asian Canadians reflects the enormous cultural variability of South Asia’s people. About half of South Asian Canadians were born in India, where 14 major languages are spoken and hundreds of discrete ethnic groups exist.” (Canadian Encyclopedia) All the images for the collages in this post were taken in that area. ...
Age does not make us childish, as some say; it finds us true children. - Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe [caption id=“attachment_2081” align=“aligncenter” width=“584”] “The best way to pay for a lovely moment is to enjoy it.” – Richard Bach[/caption] Celebrating life whenever we have the opportunity and savoring all the special moments is an opportunity we should never pass up. Sixty-fifth and seventieth birthdays have their own blessings - because we didn’t ever expect to live this long. To wait for a child to be present for the celebration who also had a birthday we were not present for is a gift beyond words. “Love is, above all, the gift of oneself.” (Jean Anouilh) Our enjoyable celebration took place at Sassafraz in the Yorkville area of downtown Toronto. We savored the food, each other, and the passage of time. ...
“Aging is not lost youth but a new stage of opportunity and strength.” (Betty Friedan) Life happens. The day has come that I am officially a Senior Citizen. While I’m looking forward to receiving my monthly pension cheques and all the other discounts and perks that come with my senior status, this post contains some of my observations over sixty-five years. Sixty-five years is a long life. From the moment we’re born, the process of learning how to live in this world starts. We learn from our caregivers what are the social and cultural mores we are expected to live up to. Each and everyone of them does the best job they can to impact our positive growth and development. By the time one arrives at age 65, it’s alright to admit to oneself, if not to everybody else, that all these well-meaning and trusted souls were imperfect themselves. This means that I can’t be anywhere near perfect or any kind of saint. In our human nature, there are flaws. “Thinking well is the greatest excellence and wisdom: to act and speak what is true, perceiving things according to their nature.” (Herakleitos) ...
What a special day for us ladies! My day was made even more special by a young, handsome, well-dressed man, giving me a rose and saying “Happy International Women’s Day.” This happened in Downtown Toronto this morning. Unfortunately, I didn’t have my camera with me. All the images here were taken when I got home. The first Women’s Day took place in 1911 and we women have come a long way. There is still a long journey ahead though. “International Women’s Day honours the work of the Suffragettes, celebrates women’s success, and reminds of inequities still to be redressed.” Some countries take this day so seriously that it is a public holiday. The United Nations theme for 2014 is: “Equality for women is progress for all.” ...
Architecture is really about well-being. I think that people want to feel good in a space… On the one hand it’s about shelter, but it’s also about pleasure. – Zaha Hadid [caption id=“attachment_1661” align=“aligncenter” width=“584”] “We have no options to renew. We’ve been here 15 great years, and 15 years later, market conditions have changed. That corner is quite a valuable corner. The landlord can get far more money than we can pay, than we will pay,” said McGowen. “We’ve always loved the location. It’s an iconic building with great architecture and heritage that goes hand in hand with a bookstore. The community has been terrific, supportive and loyal.” (Drew McGowen - Vice-President of Real Estate for Indigo Books and Music Inc.)[/caption] ...