Contentment

The secret of contentment is knowing how
to enjoy what you have, and to be able to
lose all desire for things beyond your reach.
Lin Yu-t'ang

I have a theory about life. The theory goes like this... Your best talents and strengths are also your worst traits and weaknesses.

Take CONTENTMENT for instance. I consider it to be one of my strengths. I have lived within two miles of the area where I grew up, with no desire to live anywhere else. I live in a small house, in a great neighborhood with no aspirations to be rich or famous. I have a wonderful husband and great kids....what is there not to be content about. I don't buy a lot of things or want very much. My rule is "if it still works fine why replace it" Like I said....I considered this to be one of my strengths.

It was pointed out to me that many people disagree on this issue. Some people even consider it one of my weaknesses.

I had a microwave that had no display on the front of it for at least 2 years. I didn't see a problem. It still worked great. You just hit some buttons and when your food looked done you opened the door and took it out. If the package says to cook something for 2 minutes on high, who turns the microwave on for that set period of time and just leaves it to shrivel and die. You always watch it and pop it out early anyway!

I had an old couch that I loved. It was great. Comfortable and the best sleeping couch we ever had. It still looked good so I was content. I just had to sew it up at least 2 times per month on the sides of the cushions. I was very content with an old van that I drove for years. It was perfect to haul kids and to loan to teenage drivers. I drove it until the paint and the wheels fell off. Finally Gary was embarrassed and made me give it up for a new car.

This weekend it was brought to my attention that my family room, which I am content with, is in need of a remake. I am having a hard time with it. I am content with my pineapple border, it has lots of memories attached to it and I love the colors in it.

I am content with the half dead plant on the table. It was given to me as a gift and it has been there for years.


I am also content with the 1980s entertainment center, the old school T.V. and the antique components. I am used to the mega-boss, mondo speakers that are so huge they don't fit to the side of the entertainment center. We have to put them on top.

Contentment is, after all, simply
refined indolence.(idleness, laziness)
Thomas C. Haliburton

I guess it is time to make some changes!

Travel Tips

TRAVEL TIP #1
Beware of hotel toiletries--All bottles look alike!

This seems to be a real problem for our family. Last spring Gary got the bottle of lotion from the hotel bathroom in St George and rubbed it all over his body after his shower. Gary then passed the lotion to Sam who rubbed it all over his arms. A couple of minutes later Sam began itching and broke out in a bad rash. It was actually hair conditioner they had used.

Last week on vacation I was in the shower washing my hair. I reach for the conditioner and put a "liberal amount in my hair, massage and rinse." Boy did that conditioner make my hair soft, actually greasy. Lotion this time instead of conditioner!

TRAVEL TIP #2
Cell phones for alarm clocks-- make sure it knows you are in a new time zone.


It was the night before our big whale watching cruise. We did not want to take a chance with the cheap hotel clock radio and miss it so we decided to stick with the tried and true. Gary uses his cell for an alarm every morning. We might as well use it to be on the safe side and set my cell as a back up. The Gary's alarm went off at 6:00 a.m. and I am up quickly to take a shower and get going. Good thing we set two alarms because mine has still not gone off. Gary wakes up and both of us are showered and dressed in record time. Sam wakes up and asks us "Why are you guys up so early?(3:00 a.m.). We laughed so hard. We laughed 15 min then laid down in our clothes to sleep 3 more hours. Apparently Gary's "smart phone" is really not that smart and my dumb phone is the one smart enough to change time zones when you travel!


TRAVEL TIP #3
Buy light weight souvenirs.
We always try to travel light and just use carry-ons for luggage. We then buy too many souvenirs and always the ones that are huge or weigh a ton. This year we ended up buying several things made out of Hawaiian wood from a man that carved them while we watched. We then had to buy Gary a huge Hawaiian bag to put everything in. It ended up weighing more than his luggage.