A Fur to a Bear

Years ago, women accessorized with fur coats, stoles, and capes especially for occasions like weddings, dinners and holidays. 

The fur fashion trend peaked from the 1930s through the late 1950s. It seemed to represent luxury and glamour, popularized by movie stars of the times. In the 1920s, fur became a staple of Hollywood style and evening wear. In the 1940s-50s, a fur stole was considered a symbol of elegance worn for day and evening affairs and sometimes featuring animal heads and tails. Wearing fur was less popular in the 1960s and years after due to various concerns, mainly ethical and environmental.

In recent years, real fur has experienced a comeback with social media sites popularizing the trend. Influencers have been showing vintage pieces worn with casual outfits. Preowned vintage fur is seen as a sustainable, guilt-free, and stylish option as many major brands and designers, Gucci, Prada and Chanel continue to ban new fur.

Because of the cost, fur was not part of most everyday, non-Hollywood wardrobes. Some women saved up to purchase such a costly accessory. 

My mother was one such woman. She was a homemaker and enjoyed dressing up when she and my father attended annual conventions for his trade (electrical contractor) or when they went to formal affairs. She very stylish as shown in these 1930s photos.

My late mother enjoyed stylish fashions of the time

In the mid-1960s, she bought a fur stole from a department store in my hometown of Plainfield, NJ. As this was an extravagant purchase, she bought in on a payment plan as shown by a receipt she kept with the fur.

My mother died over 10 years ago. My brother and I settled her estate and cleared out our childhood home. Many household items and clothing were either discarded, donated or sold. However, the fur (shown on the right) was not one of those items.

Until last week, it was stored in a closet here in Nashua, NH. Opening the closet door brought bittersweet memories, mostly good ones, of my mother's joy when she wore it.

My late parents dressed up and going out

It would never be worn again and it was long past time to do something with it. So, last week, I sent it to Dayton, OH.

Why?

Because a fairy godmother will transform my mother’s fur into a memory teddy bear. I found Fairy Godmother Creations through an online search. (There are other sites that offer similar conversions, but this one impressed me the most). According to its website: Fairy Godmother Creations can convert your clothing, fur coat or wedding dress into heirloom gifts that tie generations together. 

According to the website information, fairy godmother, Liane, has been creating these bears for over 25 years. The website included a phone number so that anyone interested in speaking to a human could contact her.

I called Liane and, during our chat, received instructions on how to package and send the fur. (The website contains order forms with complete instructions and costs.) She assured me that an email would be sent when it arrived, 2 days that email came. 

It could take a few months for the conversion from fur to teddy bear. As for the cost, it's not inexpensive — $185 with an added $16 for return shipping in addition to the cost of sending. To me, this expense is priceless.

And, I can wait. After 10 years, time won't make a difference. Once the bear is done and before mailing, an email will be sent with a photo. 

When the teddy bear arrives at its new home, of course, there will be a future photo post, so bear with me (pun intended). But, before then, I need to think about its name.

Your turn — Do you name inanimate objects in your home ?

Transcription by Crowdsourcing

Since my last post, I've joined over 40,000 others as a volunteer for the Library of Congress. No, it didn't involve moving, except within my own home. My involvement started after attending an intro session at the Nashua Public Library last week by someone who's been doing this a while. 

The Library of Congress is the oldest federal cultural institution in the U.S. 

Located in Washington, D.C., the Library of Congress is regarded as America's national library, but it's the largest library in the world with a collection of 160 million items — over 37 million books and other printed materials, 14 million photographs, 5.5 million maps, and 3.5 million recordings. Daily, over 10,000 items are added to the collection.  

My volunteer transcribing is done at home by accessing the Library 's By the People Program. It was created in October 2018 (crowd.loc.gov) and its name is from the last line of Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address: “...government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." 

Myself and other volunteers are crowdsourcing to transcribe, review, and tag digitized images of manuscripts and typed materials from the Library's collections. At some point, machines will take over and optical character recognition (OCR) will be able to do much of the job of transcription. But that could be years away.

Crowdsourcing describes the process of obtaining information for a task or project by enlisting the services of many people, paid or unpaid, typically via the internet. In the case of By the People, it invites the public,  nonspecialists and specialists alike, to engage with collections and process information.

To volunteer for By the People it's easy for anyone with an internet connection. You can then transcribe, review, and tag digitized images of manuscripts and typed materials from the Library’s collections. No sign-on account is needed to transcribe. I created one as volunteers with registered accounts can review and tag transcriptions. That, in itself, has been a learning process. As of April 2024, there are 40,000 registered users.  An account also them track contributions on a profile page. 

What is Transcribing?

Typing exactly what's seen on a page to convert the material into a readable text document. Volunteer transcribe (type) digitized images of text materials from the Library’s collections, traveling through history first-hand and gaining new skills – like learning how to analyze primary sources or read cursive, which I have found quite challenging.

How is Transcribing Done?

The Library's By the People team works with a range of technical and curatorial staff across the Library to import digitized items from the main library website (loc.gov) into the crowd.lov.gov website. Volunteers type what's seen in an image, then review transcripts created by others, only if registered for an account. 

By the People is a stand-alone website not directly tied to the Library’s main website. In the past 6 years, virtual volunteers have completed over 500,000 transcriptions to improve search, accessibility and discovery for papers of Theodore Roosevelt, Rosa Parks, Walt Whitman and Susan B. Anthony and more.

The first set of publicly transcribed materials was released in early 2019. As of April 2024, over 421,300 completed transcriptions have been integrated back into the Library's online catalog, making them word-searchable and readable by anyone.

Why is Transcribing Vital?

Since I wondered as well, here's what I learned. Documents used for historical research tell an invaluable story. Transcribing and digitizing historical records helps ensure wider accessibility of crucial items of history enabling anyone to read them and better understand their history.

It seems that computers can't accurately translate without human intervention, so the volunteer transcriptions improve search, readability and access to handwritten and typed documents . Enhanced access provides better readability and keyword searching of documents for everyone.

For example, transcriptions allow universities, research scholars, historians, analysts and others reviewing historical documents to examine past events, looking for context to better understand the impact on modern society.

I learned that anyone using an internet connection can transcribe, review, and tag digitized images of manuscripts and typed materials from the Library collections. It's easy and you don't even need to create an account to transcribe. I created one since those with registered accounts can review and also tag other people's transcriptions. That in itself has been a learning process. An account also lets me track contributions on a profile page. As of April 2024, there are 40,000 registered users. 

The Library has released over 1,056,000 pages for transcription across 41 campaigns; over 780,000 pages have completed transcriptions. There's 19 cataloged, full-text datasets of completed campaigns now available online with more to be done. 

Transcriptions can be done and/or reviewed for these notables on By the People

Current campaigns on the By the People website include: 

• Clara Barton, Angel of the Battlefield
• Yours truly, Frederick Douglass
• To Be Preserved, Correspondence of James A. Garfield
• Leonard Bernstein, Writings By, From, and To
• Sheet Music of the Musical Theater
• American Federation of Labor (A.F.L.) Letters in the Progressive Era
• My Great Mass of Papers Correspondence of Theodore Roosevelt
• Walt Whitman, projects devoted to his poetry, letters, speeches, and other writings
• Woman of the World: Political Thinker Hannah Arendt
• Herencia: Centuries of Spanish Legal Documents

It takes at least one volunteer to transcribe a page, another to review for completeness and mark it complete. Complex documents can pass through transcription and review several times before being completed, and then published on loc.gov. If you don't complete a transcription, just save it for completion by another volunteer. Save and Save often is important. 

Some Basic Transcription Rules

Text order - Transcribe in the order it appears on the page

Preserve original spelling, grammar, and punctuation, transcribe as seen

Preserve line breaks - Line breaks make it easier for someone to review a transcription

Page breaks - If a word breaks across two pages, transcribe on the first page. 

Illegible or unclear text - transcribe pair of square brackets around a question mark [?]

Blank pages -  Don't transcribe text anything. Check Nothing to Transcribe box and Save.

Accurate transcription of documents is essential. Careful transcription allows a search for specific words or sections of a text for further research collaborations and creates a narrative to the past. Volunteers can pick and choose a document to transcribe (or not). After checking out the Clara Barton collection, I took a pass as there's countless tables of data to transcribe. Yes, there are How-To's for table transcriptions.

Transcribing Can be Challenging and Fun

It's definitely a learning process to explore an era as seen through the document. To preserve the document's intactness, data must be transcribed as in the original record, including dates, abbreviations, names, punctuations and misspellings. Mistakes can distort comprehension. The transcript must mirror the original text including punctuation and spelling. 

A handwritten document to transcribe (left) and the resulting transcription (right)

To date, I've done some transcribing from the James Garfield campaign. Decoding documents can be challenging and often frustrating due to factors such as handwriting, spellings and abbreviations, obsolete letters and punctuation.

Spencerian Handwriting

Handwriting: Many written documents are in cursive that's very different from today's cursive font. Typical flourishes in the letters of the alphabet can pose a challenge to deciphering the correct letter. Some texts can seem illegible and require a lot of concentration for accurate transcription. If a word or phrase defines understanding, square brackets are used to enclose it.

The Spencerian handwriting example at the right dominated American correspondence until the Palmer method was introduced in the 1920s.

If a word or phrase can't be deciphered, another volunteer may be able to figure it out. And, when you can't read much of a page, save and look for another.

Spellings and Abbreviations: Variations in spelling present an issue, many words were spelled differently years ago. Understanding them in the right context is essential. Spellings are always transcribed as-is. Abbreviations are copied as written and not interpreted.

Obsolete Letters and Punctuation: Historical records often use words that are obsolete today. Punctuation like long dashes and tildes were used differently in the past and can be hard to understand in the right context.

Transcribing historical documents requires adherence to best practices. Before starting, I read and made copies of How-Tos on the By the People website. This took time, but they were very helpful, especially when looking at some completed transcriptions, it appeared that some guidelines were not followed by all volunteers.

Interested in Becoming a By the People Volunteer?

There's still plenty of documents awaiting transcription, review or tagging. Some 138,000+ pages have transcriptions currently awaiting a reviewer to check for completeness. Here's how to start helping to make historical documents more available, follow this link or copy and paste into your browser to get started: http://crowd.loc.gov

Before attending the library information session, I had no idea about this process which , so far, has been a very interesting experience. Other sites also where volunteers can transcribe documents include The Smithsonian and The National Archives.

Something Old & New

These are the familiar first and second lines of a traditional rhyme detailing what a bride should wear at her wedding for good luck. The entire rhyme mentions five items:

Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, and a sixpence in her shoe.

It dates to the late 1800s during the Victorian Era and comes from an English rhyme. The objects were considered necessary to include on a wedding day with the belief they would ward off the evil eye and lead to happy marriages, a superstition still popular today in the UK and US.

Something old is a family keepsake carried or worn by the bride to symbolize continuing her past life in her marriage. Something new offers optimism for the future. Something borrowed is believed to transfer luck from one marriage to another. Something blue is a sign of purity and fidelity represented in something blue worn by the bride. A sixpence is a silver British coin, about the size of a penny, no longer in use. It's meant to symbolize a life of wealth and prosperity. Traditionally, the bride's father would place the sixpence in her shoe for good fortune. The custom derives from a time when the bride would gift silver coins from her dowry to the groom.

But, as usual, I've digressed and here's why. When thinking about a post title, this rhyme came to mind, so off I went to learn more and, of course, opted to share here. However, this post is not about any upcoming wedding and, no, we didn't include any of these traditions at our own nearly 25 years ago and it's lasted regardless.

That said, there is something old and something new to post about, a bit of an extravagant and overdue holiday and birthday gift from myself to myself. Do you ever treat yourself? 

Older iMac desktop

The old is a nearly 10-year old, 21-inch desktop iMac computer purchased shortly after we'd relocated to NH. This was my first Apple computer, aside from an iPad and iPhone. Before buying the Mac, I'd always used HP computers based on Windows (Microsoft) operating system, switching to Apple meant learning to do things differently. I admit to still learning, overall it continues to have been a good decision to switch. 

The desktop is still working, but like most things, equipment tends to get slower with age, and with mine it was taking longer to open mail, documents and multiple tabs. All of these are not unexpected, as some issues associated with aging computers include:

Less reliability which can mean unplanned down time if they malfunction.

Expired warranty which can lead to unexpected expenses.

Slower running with more waiting for applications to load.

Older computers often become incompatible with some software.

Internet source

How long do computers last?

That's what I wondered as well. According to many experts, desktop computers generally have a healthy lifespan of five years, some longer, especially if well maintained. Laptops are estimated to have a lifespan to three or four years. 

The good news is that according to experts, Mac computers have a reputation for lasting longer. Apple offers a strong maintenance and support system. There's an added cost, but AppleCare is an available option that extends the warranty for an additional 2 years. Speaking from experience it has always been worth the added cost to buy the extra protection.

My computers are well past these estimates, not only is my desktop older than its expected lifespan, but so is a 2017 MacBook Air notebook computer, which is not being replaced now. It's mainly taken on road trips and still functioning quite well enough for that purpose. Perhaps, its replacement will come in a couple years.

In an earlier post, when I noted that plans were in the works for a new computer gift to myself and invited comments from fellow bloggers. Several responded they preferred a notebook. That's exactly what I was considering based on the limited size of my desk. The iMac consumed much of the available desk space.

New MacBook Pro

This MacBook Pro notebook is new with so much more memory, faster processor and other features, too many to list. True, its 16-inch screen is smaller than the 21-inch desktop, but having more desk space is a good thing for me. And, hopefully, it will last as long as its predecessor.

What happens to the old computer?

This week, files were migrated from the desktop to the notebook using Apple's built-in file migration system and Patrick's help. As soon as I'm sure the notebook is working with no issues, the desktop will be recycled at the Apple store in Nashua, NH. 

Last week, we went there not only for me to check out the available models and purchase a new computer, but to recycle Patrick's even older-iMac desktop. It had been replaced it with an Apple notebook over the holidays because it was also time for an upgrade.

What about donating older PCs?

Yes, we did consider the possibility of donating both desktops to a local organization in need (after first removing all personal data). However, that's easier said than done it seems. After calling a number of volunteer organizations and not finding any takers, we decided recycling was the best alternative. Some reasons given when declining the offer were that the organization did not use non-Windows computers, there was no need and, of course, the age of the computer even though it remains functional, just a bit slower.

Computers, monitors and other peripheral devices often contain toxic materials, such as lead and mercury that don't belong in a landfill. Just like Apple, many manufacturer and retailer-sponsored programs (like best Buy) will take drop-offs and then dismantle the computers for materials recycling. While Apple offers a credit toward purchase of another device or gift card, both our computers were too old and so no credit would be offered toward another purchase, so they would be recycled at no cost to us, win-win.

If and when you’re also ready to retire your old equipment through donation or recycling, make sure to completely erase the hard drive first. Then, donate or recycle the hardware whichever works best for you. 

Sunset over the Nashua River earlier this week

Are You Lonely?

First, a few words to say Thank You all for your comments on the recent post celebrating the 14th anniversary of this blog and so it continues. And, now so does this post.

Internet source

The post title may seem rhetorical, but the world is becoming a lonely place. Maybe you have noticed that as well.

Writing about loneliness, I thought of song titles with lonely in them. (Feel free to test your memory, then check out a list of songs at the end of this post. Some trivia included to lighten up a serious issue.)

While loneliness isn't new to the human experience, experts say it's worsened in recent years and today has become a serious issue affecting young and old, not only in the US but worldwide. 

Recent news articles have liked it to a public crises, some calling it an epidemic. Yes, another one that's ongoing it seems.

Besides making some feel miserable, loneliness also affects mental and physical health, a lethal combination. Like illnesses that prove deadly (heart issues, dementia, stroke) loneliness can have the same effect and has even led to early deaths. 

What is loneliness?

According to some experts, loneliness occurs when the connections a person needs in life are greater than the connections they have in life.

Internet source

Not everyone feels loneliness the same way or for the same reason. Because it’s subjective, it's believed to be experienced at various stages throughout a person's life. Also, it can change due to trauma, illness or the effects of aging, sometimes more than one of these.

Interestingly, younger people have reported the highest rates of loneliness accelerated by social media replacing human interaction. While "likes" and "followers" can make someone feel good in the moment, they don't foster genuine connections with others. 

Other populations reporting a high prevalence of loneliness and isolation include those with poor physical and mental health, disabilities, financial insecurity, those living alone, single parents and senior adults. That last group came as no surprise to me.

Struggling with loneliness doesn’t mean that you’re broken or that something is wrong with you. Experts say recognition and awareness are important first steps to escaping loneliness and that building social connections is to be a vital importance.

Sometimes that can be easier said than done, especially among older adults with friends and family at a distance, which includes myself. In my case, reading, cooking, exercising, getting outdoors and blogging are all great connectors for me. 

And, I know firsthand how much pleasure correspondence and phone calls can bring folks who are older and/or living alone as I keep in contact with several folks older than myself. Here at the mill apartments, I play Scrabble regularly with a 93-year old resident who often wins. 

Current LAI Flyer

That's why when recently, another blogger said she was writing letters for this organization, Letters Against Isolation I wanted to learn more. I've always enjoyed handwritten correspondence from high school days of writing to pen pals and now.

According to the website, during the Covid-19 pandemic, two sisters, Shreya and Saffron, supported their isolated grandparents through daily phone calls. Soon, they realized that other seniors deprived of the ability to see visitors or interact with others were lonely too. The sisters began writing handwritten letters to residents of assisted living facilities and care homes. 

When the growing demand for letters outpaced their ability to keep up, they started LAI which has since expanded to serve thousands of seniors in five countries: US, Canada, UK, Australia, and Israel. There's something special about receiving a letter as many seniors grew up with this method of correspondence.

Since April 2020, LAI has sent over half a million letters and cards to over 20,000 seniors worldwide. Over 22,000 volunteers belong to the LAI community. These volunteers come from over 15 countries worldwide and all 50 states. The organization has been featured in major news outlets: The Washington Post, NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, ABC, The Drew Barrymore Show, Good Morning America and MSNBC.

Internet source

How LAI Works

If you decide to participate, every other week, LAI will send a portal where you can sign up to send letters to care homes in the five countries it serves. You can write as many letters as you want, keeping in mind that the letters will be brightening days. Keep them cheerful and creative: postcards, jokes, word games, artwork is always good to include, but no gifts. Stumped for ideas on how or what to write? The LAI website and blog has lots of suggestions, many from volunteers.

Letters are sent in physical form, not email. Last week, I sent letters to facilities in TX, MN and IN and expect to send more in the next couple of weeks and beyond. It's one way of helping others feel less lonely, truthfully it helps me feel connected as well. You might feel the same.

Helpful Tips: Buying stationary supplies can be costly (and we won't even talk about postage), but Dollar Tree stores and perhaps other stores sell packages of blank note cards. 

Also, if there's a senior center you attend, very often there's an excess of donated blank cards with colorful fronts. This week, I shared details about LAI to the coordinator of the senior center that we're attend in NH. She invited me to take as many as you would like, which I did. Several blank cards contained heart images, perfect for Hearts ♥️ Day notes.

❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️

As for popular songs that include Lonely in the title, how many could you name? 

I named less than 10 on this list. There's more I'm sure. Feel free to add any in a comment.

Only the Lonely (Roy Orbison), Lonely Teenager (Dion), Mr. Lonely (Bobby Vinton), Lonely Teardrops (Jacke Wilson), Lonely Man & Are You Lonely Tonight (Elvis Presley), I've Been Lonely Too Long (Young Rascals), Lonely Man Am I (Temptations)

Hey There Lonely Boy (Ruby & the Romantics), Hey There Lonely Girl (Eddie Holman), Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (The Beatles), Ask the Lonely (Four Tops), More Lonely Nights (Paul McCartney), Lonely Boy (Paul Anka), Lonely People (America), So Lonely (The Police), One Lonely Night (Reo Speedwagon), Love or Let Me Be Lonely (Friends of Distinction)

Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight (Isley Brothers), Lonely Man & Are You Lonely Tonight (Elvis Presley), Have You Ever Been Lonely & Seven Lonely Days (Patsy Kline), Ask the Lonely (The Four Tops), Lonely Weekends (Charlie Rich), The Lonely Bull (Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass), Lonely Days (The BeeGees), Only the Lonely (The Motels)

Decorating is Done

Posting has been somewhat less often during the holiday season. Like many others, we've been busy at home. This year we put up fewer decorations (even if it doesn't seem that way) and the holiday village wasn't set up. That because it's an undertaking to be started before Thanksgiving. Since we were away for that holiday, it didn't happen but perhaps next year. (Here's a look at Christmas 2018 when it was set up.)

The exterior decorations went up right after Thanksgiving, not a day before. These are outside our apartment entry as we obviously can't have actual outside ones like we did when years ago in NJ and VA when we were homeowners. The upside is there's no worries about the weather.

This Santa door wreath was homemade this year using craft supplies leftover from the past couple of years. Once the holidays are over, it will be replaced with the winter wreath, also new this year. These were no cost as I had several shoeboxes of craft supplies leftover from a couple years of making wreaths during the pandemic.

These German-made wooden nutcrackers are nearly 50 years old. They were bought at a small gift shop, which is long gone, in my hometown of Plainfield, NJ. Both were originally given as gifts to my late mother who, it turns out, wasn't that fond of them and rarely put them on display. They now stand guard in our home every holiday season.

These wooden Santas also make an annual appearance. Both were bought at a flea market several years ago. The one on the right appears to have been hand made, a big plus for me.

Here's a couple of hand made trees that I did a couple of years ago, also during the pandemic when everyone was staying in and not going anywhere.

More favorites are again making their annual appearances. For the past 11 months, most of these have been in storage container hibernation. The lone exceptions are the reindeer and snowman pair which hang around our apt year round. We finally removed the battery from the snowman as it would repeatedly say Welcome to anyone who walked by usually ourselves.

These bear figures are colorfully decked out in holiday colors and have also been part of our holiday collection for years. The largest bear was a gift from my brother at least 10 years ago. That red wagon was bought at a Hallmark store many years ago and are no longer sold in the stores, like many other things no longer available.

Once again, the Peanuts Gang (Peppermint Patty, Linus, Snoopy, Charlie Brown and Lucy) are seated on the window sill. Charlie's tree needs a repair, so it's not on display this year. The gang has been joined by our colony of well-dressed penguins and this year they are hanging out at the penguin lodge, a recent purchase.

We have an assortment of snowman figures displayed on bookshelves. Several of these hold special memories as they were gifts from departed friends. 

This Nativity has special significance as well. Most of the figures are a set that formerly belonged to my late mother, except for the enclosure which is from a former set of mine. The sheep and lambs were bought many years ago, again at a Hallmark store, and are also no longer available.  

This is a close-up of the framed artwork at the far right of the above Nativity set. It's from an annual Santa painting by fellow blogger Linda, a talented artist, who blogs at Linda's Life Journal. She orders holiday cards of her Santa paintings. I was fortunate to receive this one a couple of years ago and it's become one of my favorite holiday images.

Of course, the highlight of our decorations is the Christmas tree. A couple of years ago, we were planning to get a live tree, until management here outlawed them due to insurance regulations and possible fire concerns. We were at a Michael's store when we read the message and bought this pre-lit tree. 

This year we added decorative ribbon (first time) and liked the result. Coincidentally, the ribbon plaid matched the tree skirt, which has been in use for at least 20 years. Since we don't have a fireplace, stockings are hung on the entertainment cabinet, which holds our collection of holiday DVDs. We've been watching one every night since after Thanksgiving.

This week I've been busy writing holiday greetings with a personal note in each. Despite my plans to cut down the list, that hasn't happened. To date, I've completed and mailed some 75 cards. There's still another 20 to go and these will be hand delivered to fellow residents in the mill apartments, so no postage needed (whew). Next comes cookie baking and Grenville has happily agreed to be the chief sampler of all baked treats—he's nice that way😉.

How about you?—holiday 🎄decorating, card 📨 writing, cookie 🍪 baking—any or all?

Thanks for all your comments on our grandson Bobby's birthday. He is the oldest grandchild and the youngest, granddaughter Lilliana, also has a December coming up next week.

Repair or Replace?

Do you repair or replace items (can be anything) ?

The reason for this query is that within the past two weeks, I've done both for two items that were costly when new (one more than the other), but not at all similar.

2007 Jeep Liberty

If that sounds confusing at first read, here's what happened. 

The first repair was more of a replacement, 4 tires for my vehicle, a 2007 Jeep Liberty, I'm the original owner. Yes, I know, this auto is considered old by many, but it suits me perfectly. The mileage is now nearing 111,500 miles and it runs well with regular maintenance. Compared to Grenville's 2019 Jeep Grand Cherokee which  has a complicated (to me) onboard computer, this car is easier to operate and maintain. It has the basics — auto transmission, power windows and locks, satellite radio, heater, AC and a CD player (hardly used). 

An unexpected flat led to the new tire purchase when a rear tire valve failed to seal after air was put in. Unaware of the air leak, we soon heard the unwelcome thump-thump of a flat — never a good sound. Luckily, we were not in a heavily trafficked area, so we pulled off the road, and called AAA. The flat tire was replaced with the spare and we continued on our road trip. Just to be safe, we took a longer route back home to avoid high-speed highway travel.

Maybe it's happened to you that  what's thought of as bad luck is a blessing. That's because when checking the service records, I saw that the tires were 7 years old with 38K miles, about time for new ones. Before arriving home, I had an appointment with a local Goodyear tire dealer who luckily had 4 of the same tires in stock. The day after our return home, the Jeep had new shoes tires. Total out the door cost with balancing, alignment, tire disposal — little over $800.

The next item was a repair that was much less costly than buying a new one.

Those of you who are iPhone users may already know that Apple unveiled its new lineup of newer and greater phones early last month. (Does anyone else enjoy watching these new product roll-our presentations? They're eye-popping to say the least.)

iPhone 10s

I confess, to have been seriously considering replacement of my older iPhone 10s which, when purchased new, was over $1,000 inc. extra AppleCare protection. After 3+ years, it wasn't holding a charge well and battery health was at 85%. Apple recommends replacement when the battery gets to 80% and provides more details here. Mine was very close to that point, so...

After considering a couple of BIG ?s, specifically: Do I really want to spend $$$ for a new one and, more importantly, was a new one really needed? The answer was no and no, so a non-issue. 

Instead, there was an easier (and less costly) solution. I went online to the Apple store here in Nashua, NH and made a service appointment for a battery replacement. After answering a few online questions, my time slot was this past Sunday.

Two hours later, not only did my phone have a new battery, but a new speaker as well. It seems the speaker needed removal to replace the battery and would be replaced at no charge—win-win. Total cost was $69 (no sales tax in NH). The battery level is now 100% again, so it's all good !

Within a couple of weeks, I've repaired/replaced two older yet very different items. Amazingly, the total cost of 4 tires plus a new phone battery was less than just the cost of a new iPhone. And, for me, these were good $ saving decisions, especially now. At some pointing the future the car and phone may be replaced, but not in the immediate future.

Your turn—have you replaced, repaired or bought anything new? If so, please share—what and why.

So Now I Know (Again)

There's way too many things I've read about/learned recently, some interesting and useful, others not so much. Whenever I go online looking for something, that path veers way off. 

Maybe, you know exactly how that goes. Especially the past couple of years (just saying). 

As most of you know by now, I like to share finds, whether new to me or not. This post contains some of those.

Some fonts are ink guzzlers . . .

OK, so that's nothing new and everyone who has ever printed something and is reading this post, already knows that the bigger and bolder the font, the more ink it will use and will not be the cheapest print choice. And, like with most things, size matters as well. The larger the font size, the more ink it uses and the more to be bought.

Surprisingly, one of the most popularly used fonts, which isn't the biggest or boldest in the group, is one of the biggest ink hogs — Arial. This font reportedly uses as much as 30% more ink than similar ones. That means that if it's a favorite of yours, you could be restocking ink cartridges or refills more often.

But there's workarounds and selecting another font can help, another long-time favorite—Times Roman, is reportedly more economical with ink use thanks to its thinner letters. If you're not a fan of this font, there's other choices — Calibri or Century Gothic are possible substitutes. 

Another way to select ink-saving fonts is to use ones labeled — Thin, Condensed or Narrow. It's a tip-off that since strokes are thinner, the font will use less ink; Helvetica Condensed uses less ink than standard Helvetica.

Studies by printing professionals (yes, there are such groups) have shown that the fonts named above use up to  30% less ink than Arial. Not only that, but they have been labelled as among the most ink efficient fonts. This example ↓ shows all three fonts at the identical point size. (In typography, the point is the smallest unit of measure used for measuring font size, leading, and other items on a printed page.)

Times New Roman is a serif typeface commissioned in 1931 by the British newspaper The Times and conceived by typographer Stanley Morison. It's become one of the most popular typefaces ever created. It's a default font installed on nearly all desktop computers. The Times used it for 40 years until 2004 when new production techniques and a format change from broadsheet to tabloid caused it to switch typeface several times. But, all those changes have been variants of the original New Roman typeface.

Century Gothic is a sans serif font created in 1991 for monotype imaging. Century Gothic is neat and readable. It's widely used for print material and headlines as it can be read from a distance and has delivered a 31 percent savings in printing costs over Arial. 

Calibri is a digital sans-serif typeface family in the modern style designed by Dutch type designer Lucas de Groot, and released to the public with Microsoft Office 2007.

And now, the next topic is decluttering.

But not in the usual way of thinking about getting rid of stuff, like I've been doing in recent weeks. Those boxes of stuff in the photo → were taken to a local thrift center last week. What helped with this process was following the process that once something went into the box and the box was filled, nothing came out, and the box was taped — out of sight, mind, and apt.

And, the same way that decluttering works for ridding us of physical things, like household items, it can also work for our minds. Mental decluttering is what older adults, aged 60 to 85 years of age need to do often according to recent research studies read about online. Cluttered minds are found to be common among older adults with a lot of accumulated life experiences, but don't we all? 

Why? 

Because, according to several studies, folks in this age group process and store too much information in their brains. This can lead to cluttering the memory with facts that are no longer needed, knowledge from years ago, creating distractions. The researchers found that overloaded memory can impair recall in older adults and account for age differences in memory tests.

By whatever name it's called, memory, mind or brain clutter. There are pros and cons.

What's a downside of remembering too much?

If what you want to remember is bound up with too much information this can slow down your memory processes. For example, if a place/person changes an address, older people can often recall older details. By comparison, younger folks suppress old information and replace it. Older brains can have a harder time doing so even when information is no longer useful. A lifetime of accumulated information and knowledge can lead to memory errors or reduced attention to detail. Aging also comes with reduced attention to detail as older adults can be distracted by competing thoughts when trying to remember something.

There's an upside to mind clutter.

Cluttered memory can be beneficial and knowledge retention helpful in what's called enriched memory. Decision making can also benefit from accumulated memory when older people are in positions where important decisions are needed. Accumulated memory and knowledge can help what seems like stored obsolete information is accessed to help with tasks that require creativity.

How to keep our brains healthy. 

It's as easy as staying physically active, still considered the best way to improve cognitive health as we age. Exercise is associated with brain health, including better blood flow to areas involved in cognitive tasks. 

Researchers who studied the effects of exercise on thinking ability in those over 50 including memory, alertness and ability to quickly process information found that physical activity improved all these skills — 40 to 60 minutes of moderate exercise as many days as possible. 

A 2020 study showed that a simple exercise, walking, could slow brain aging by up to 4 years. Previous studies showed it was an average of 10 years, but that required doing moderate to heavy exercise. 

Regular exercise I can manage by visits to the in-house gym here, heavier stuff not so much.

For those averse to or who can't exercise, the good news is that there's other options to keep the brain healthy and working well. It's sort of like flossing to maintain dental health, only it is brain flossing. Staying mentally active, trying new things, and being in mind-stimulating environments — as easy as taking a class, playing games, solving puzzles. That's why we're going to keep playing dominoes weekly.

That's enough this 'n that for now.  I'm going to watch some YouTube videos to learn a lot that's new to me — doesn't everyone do that?