Hi, World
"Hi, World"

It was nine years ago when I sat down and made my first post.

I didn't know what I was going to blog about and had no idea what doors it was going to open for me but one thing I knew:

"Hi, World" was a good title!

Not until recently was my mind refreshed by an interview I had with Setarreh Massihzadegan who writes for Brooksby Village's Erickson Living Tribune.


Image: Erickson Living Tribune

Apparently she did her research and looked back and read my very first blog and used "Hi, World" as the lead-in to the write up.

Read all about it here, ‘Hi, World’, One of the Internet’s most seasoned bloggers begins tenth year with new material:

“Hi, World,” Millie Garfield addressed readers of her first blog post, written more than nine years ago. At 77 years old, she was diving into a world created and managed largely by younger generations.

An article in The Boston Globe piqued Millie’s curiosity about blogs—online discussions or diaries created by a series of “posts.” She conveyed this to her son Steve, a video blogging expert, who asked if she wanted to give blogging a try. Seeing it as a way to connect more with Steve, Millie said yes.

“My Mom’s Blog by Thoroughly Modern Millie” launched in 2003 with her shy greeting, an admission that she was new to the scene, and a promise to “write something exciting” the next time. Initially, her short, comical, and honest musings didn’t elicit many comments from readers.

“How come you people aren’t responding to me? I’m 78 years old!” Millie says she posted in frustration.

Fame and reward
In the years since, the world has responded. Millie, who now lives at Brooksby, an Erickson Living community in Peabody, Mass., gained fame in the blogosphere for her status as one of the Internet’s most seasoned bloggers. She has grown her readership with her optimism, humor, and thoughtfulness.

continue reading...

Thanks Setarreh for your visit and nice write up. You really got me.

posted by Unknown @ 4:32 PM | Permalink | I LOVE COMMENTS >> 5 comments

 
MY ONE AND ONLY
When you read this blog heading you just might think I mean "my beloved." Not in this case! What I'm refering to is my cleaning lady.



The house that my husband and I lived in for many years needed to be painted periodically.  He was not about to paint it himself, so he went to the local paint store and asked them to recommend someone for the job.

What do you know, they recommended a "woman who turned out to do a better job than any man we ever had scrape and paint our house."  And that's a direct quote from my husband! 



As time went by I started to think that it would be nice if I could find a good cleaning lady to give me a hand with the housework.  I asked my house painter if she could recommend someone and she said, I would be happy to do that for you!

From that day forward she's been "my lady" - when I lived with my husband and son in our first home, when I lived  in my condo, and now in my apartment - we go way back and continue to share good times and sad times.

Now to tell you what prompted this post.

She's a fun person, open minded, interested in many things and very good company.

The other day when she was here on her monthly visit I invited her to join me for dinner at one of the casual dining rooms here at Brooksby Village.

She was delighted with the invitation but here she was in her "cleaning clothes."  Fortunately she had a change of clothes in her car, SO we got into her car, and she changed there!

That meant she had to take off what she was wearing and change into her "outfit."

What got us laughing was - what if an elderly gentleman (and there is no other kind here)  walked by and saw her pretty bare body, he just might have had a heart attack!!!

That didn't happen but it gave us a huge laugh!!!

Like I said, she's a fun lady so all in all we had a delicious dinner and a great time together!!

Do you have a cleaning person and are you happy with them?

posted by Unknown @ 5:26 PM | Permalink | I LOVE COMMENTS >> 8 comments

 
ANOTHER GOOD MOVIE
LOST LUGGAGE (Left Luggage)



The first thing I want to say about this movie is, "I would like to see it again!! 

There was so much to grasp, to think about, and to appreciate, I want another opportunity to "get it all."

The featured actors were Maximilian Schell, Isabella Rossellini, Laura Fraser, Chaim Topol and  Adam Monty .

I'll attempt to relay a little of the story:

The 20 year old Chaya lives in Antwerp, Belgium in the early 70's.  She needs a job, has an opportunity to work as a nanny for a Hassidic family which consists of five youngsters.  Her first reaction is, "no way, this is not for me."

She changes her mind when she feels a strong connection with the four year old boy who can not speak. She takes the job and learns a lot about the lifestyle of the Hasidic culture.

Her father tells her about the luggage he had to bury when he had to escape the country.  He  has a strong desire to find the luggage.

The important words his wife says is, " It's not the luggage he lost in that filty war, it was himself."



What I found most interesting was when Passover was approaching and the neighborhood was preparing for the holiday -  the Hassidic community was out in the street burning all the "treif  (Not Kosher) food" and cleaning all household items.

When I was a child I  remember seeing my mother cleaning everything, emptying the pantry and buying all fresh foods for Passover but it wasn't anything like the way they showed it in this movie.

They cleaned, burned, and the children danced in the street!

There's a lot more I could  tell you about the movie  - like when I first looked it up on Google I found the title in some places listed it as "Left Luggage."

Whatever the title, it's worth seeing!   

posted by Unknown @ 9:00 PM | Permalink | I LOVE COMMENTS >> 2 comments

 
DINNER at 4:45, then a MOVIE with Gerard Depardieu
HOW I SPENT SUNDAY EVENING

EARLY DINNER
For me dinners at Brooksby Village start earlier than what I am accustomed to.  Some of the friends I go to dinner with like to go to the dining room by 5:00 pm.  Rarely have I met anyone who likes having dinner at a later hour.

These early birds have arrangements most nights to play some type of cards which start at 6:30 pm.  That's not my style, if I do play any game I prefer the afternoon.

So what's a person to do?

If  I want the company I go with the flow.

This past Sunday I had to be at the dining room at 4:45 pm, reason being there was a foreign film to be shown that evening  at 7:00 pm.

These residents know that you have to get there early in order to get a "good seat."

We were the first people there, so we had front row seats, no trouble reading the subtitles!

By the way, the dinner was excellent, as usual.  What I really enjoyed was the cream of carrot soup and the apricot chicken!

THE MOVIE
My Afternoons with Marguerite



This is a French film starring Gerard Depardieu and Gisele Cassdesus.  Depardieu plays the part of Germain, a sloppy, heavy handyman that has been beaten down by his mother, teachers and friends.

He's a sweet, loving and sensitive man who thinks he's nothing, and knows nothing, because even his mother doesn't love him.



One day on his frequent visit to the park he meets a petite 95 year old woman who is passionate about books and starts reading to him.  They develop a relationship and "what do you know" - he's transformed through the books they read.

"I can read after all."

He finds that he did learn how to read while in school but was never encouraged by his teacher or mother and was made to believe that he was not capable.

I loved the plot, the acting and even the background music.

There's one thing that seemed unrealistic to me: the 95 year old lady was a fast walker!!!

Maybe there are some old ladies that can walk that fast but I haven't seen any yet.

Only in the movies!!  ;-)

posted by Unknown @ 6:40 PM | Permalink | I LOVE COMMENTS >> 7 comments