Stressless

It was another hot and somewhat muggy day, but it’s now raining heavily.  When we were out this evening, the rain started, and I had a little struggle as Jerry doesn’t like getting wet so he was heading off at a rapid trot and I can’t keep up with that.  My back is a bit sore now, but I got home and sat down to rest and took my meds waiting for the pain to subside.  On balance, I admit that I’ve had more pain-free days recently than for quite some time.  The pain really only becomes problematic when I’m tired or have over exerted myself.  I noticed that tiredness causes several other disruptions which I’ll need to learn how to manage.  Don had a little setback today, and reported feeling nauseous and having tummy issues.  I hope that he feels better soon.  The little dictator is right now curled up on Don, watching me out of the corner of his eyes.  It’s always nice when there’s a rainy night like tonight for us to relax together.

I received a letter from a friend in Vancouver this weekend; well, it must have arrived on Thursday or Friday, but I only checked my mailbox on Saturday.  I really have to reiterate how much I enjoy getting physical mail.  I appreciate the rapidity of email and videoconferencing, but there’s something really special about getting a handwritten letter.  I spent some time today writing a few cards and letters to send out — I know that I’m part of a small group of people who still hand write notes.  Surprisingly, though, there’s a fairly large community of people who do hand lettering as an art form.  I learnt recently that there are a few dozen groups that teach lettering and calligraphy, and a lot of information on the different types of tools that can be used.  I remember when I was in high school, one of my friends, who was very artistic, worked on “faux” calligraphy — drawing the letters in the absence of having calligraphy pens and specialist nibs.  We all tried our hand at different lettering styles, most of which were unsuccessful, but some people did some very creative designs.  We’d pool our stencils to draw report covers to submit group projects, or the more artistic girls would draw letters and fun designs.  In those days photocopies were expensive and hard to get; we’d have to carefully select what needed copying and try to reduce the number of pages.  On special occasions, we’d “cut” a stencil to run through the mimeograph to make multiple copies of pages… the typists (usually my aunt or the mother of one of the others) had to be extremely careful to not make errors.  Getting access to a word processor was world altering!  I was never a particularly fast typist, although I was reasonably accurate — my sister tried teaching me to type, hiding my hands so that I could touch type!  I eventually developed a decent speed, and could type using all 10 fingers (I still have challenges with the numbers and symbols.)  Many of us who specialized in computers at university were accomplished hunt-and-peck typists, but once I learnt that I could be faster and still accurate with 10 fingers, I set myself to learn.

Anyway, as I was saying, it’s impressive that there are so many groups devoted to hand lettering and to other forms of art.  It’s also so much easier to get access to materials than when I was a teen.  Art and craft materials have always been expensive, but now it’s possible to find a huge selection of products that range in price and quality so it’s fairly accessible to a wide range of people.  I remember doing paintings with potatoes, okra, and other vegetables; using popsicle sticks to make crafts; stringing together the rubber lining of coke bottle caps to make jewellery and doing dough art (using flour and water to make dough that we then used like plasticine)  I mentioned this to my niece, and she just sighed and told me that I must have had a sad childhood.  Cheeky brat!  😂  

I know that I sound like those other elderly people who wander down memory lane talking about bygone days and saying things like, “You young people have no idea what you’re missing!  When I was your age…” It’s true that there are things that we did that are unthinkable now — piling into the tray of a pickup truck to go joyriding; or packing 8 people into a small sedan; throwing toys off the roof to make parachutes; building mud houses or racing leaf boats down a canal after a rainstorm.  Heck, leaving the house with friends and being out all day with no way to contact home!  My niece was stunned to hear that was possible — you mean, she asked, no cell phones?  Nope.  We’d use pay phones if we could find them, and if we had money (which was the limiting factor) I also remember when we got our first VCR and what that meant for entertainment!  We owned maybe a dozen videos which we’d watch repeatedly; same with records — we’d play the same ones regularly.  Or the excitement of being able to record a song off the radio — I think that I still have a few cassettes and mix tapes that were carefully created for me. I’m not wishing to return to those days, but I do miss the feeling of it — that holidays stretched forever, that we were immortal and invincible, that our friends would always be there.  I’m old enough now to know that vacations don’t last forever, that I’m not invincible, but my friends are awesome people who are just wonderfully supportive and caring.

All of that reminiscing from a lovely, long, news-filled letter from my friend!  I had a marvellous time reading it over a cup of tea and eating a delicious chocolate truffle.  It was almost as good as sitting with her over dim sum and discussing life-changing things like new recipes to try, or new little patisseries with delicious offerings!  (Yes, my friends and I spend an inordinate amount of time enjoying food.  Feel free to join or emulate!)  I wish you all a good night, pleasant dreams, and loving friends to cheer you up when you need a boost.