We had a huge thunderstorm early this morning, while we were still sleeping. Rolling thunder, rain slamming against the windows, maybe a little hail? I can’t be sure because I was still in a sleep state. The sump pump has been going on and off for a few hours now.
There’s something neat about a middle-of-the-night thunderstorm.
Don had a gig last night so I decided to watch Allen vs. Farrow – an excellent documentary about the Woody Allen/Mia Farrow custody fight in the nineties. It’s a four-part series and I ended up watching all of it. For the record, the moment the news broke that Allen was sleeping with Mia’s daughter, Soon-Yi, I stopped watching his films. And I loved his work. That was long ago and I haven’t watched a new film of his since. This documentary is primarily concerned with accusations of sexual abuse with his adopted daughter, Dylan, but the situation with Soon-Yi is also covered.
He’s a despicable human being.
And Dylan is an incredibly brave woman who eventually spoke out about what happened to her.
I can’t stop thinking about it today.
It’s on HBO/HBO Max, if you’re interested.
More rain today, more thunderstorms. I was telling Don that I don’t think we’ve ever had so many thunderstorms during the summer. Rain, yes, but constant thunderstorms? No. Yet another extreme in this summer of extremes.
I have some chores to do today that I don’t like doing, but I’m forcing myself to do them. I guess that’s called ‘being an adult.’
And I continue to think about social media and my presence there. I’m definitely spending less time visiting Instagram and Twitter and Threads. I check in, but try not to stay there too long. I love Instagram, don’t get me wrong, but it’s entirely possible to spend hours scrolling through the feeds and I’m so aware of TIME at the age of 70. Do I want to spend that much time looking at something virtual? I don’t think so. We’re actually turning our phones off for portions of the day. I have a blog, a FB account (mainly for birthdays of my friends and former students,) 3 IG accounts – my main account, my Blythe account (because not everyone that follows my main account is interested in dolls and some of them would think I’d lost my marbles) and my book account, which was started when I had the book review blog. I scroll Twitter and Threads mainly as an up-to-the-minute news source. And I have this blog. That’s a lot.
Lately, the sheer amount of news and pictures and self-promotions and selfies and ‘influencers’ and dolls and everything else has begun to wear on me. So I’m taking more time to talk to my husband, to read, to walk in the garden, to meditate, etc. Quality of life going forward is important, so important.
So that’s where I am at the moment.
Stay safe.
Happy Sunday.
sounds like a very good place to be … home (indoors or outside), with don, appreciating a nighttime thunderstorm, focusing on quality of life, being mindful of time and how you spend it … i am happy for you, claudia!
also, thanks for the reminder.
yesterday i had something happen that feels a bit related to what you described. i wasn’t paying attention at the moment so can’t really say if there was a focused thought or what i was feeling, but i picked up a book and have since read 87 pages … something i haven’t done (sadly) for too many years. i felt and feel so good about that simple act of reading, in part for knowing that reading and sight are blessings not everyone has, and because my focus has been on many, many other things, not reading, and my attention span feels super short and most of the time on alert. all that covid wrought, some depression and a couple years of not sitting comfortably after my back broke only added to the problem. it’s only been a day so maybe i’m making too big a deal of it, but it feels rather miraculous to me and an answer to an unasked prayer, to be able to sit and read more than a page or two and to look forward to reading more. i am happy about that and thanking God! :)
i hope and pray that you, don and everyone else have a wonderful day and see blessings and ease all around you, answers to prayers …
kathy
Sometimes you have to rise above reality and take a break from our crazy world. Ordinary things take on more meaning – a chat with your husband, reading a good book, doing a jigsaw puzzle, working on the NYT crossword. Well, you get the picture. Enjoy your Sunday. Hugs, Elaine
Well, I do all of that every day. It’s up to me. I just need to resist being on it for too long.
Stay safe, Elaine.
I email with only a handful of friends who don’t live easily within a spontaneous “let’s go get a coffee” range. I read blogs of interest. But I’m not on any social media, no FB, no Insta, none, and I don’t miss what I don’t know. My older daughter is the same. My younger daughter is but she’s an adult and it’s her choice, as long as she’s careful. I fill my hours with reading, gardening and crafting (currently a memory quilt for the non-sewing daughter, made with my late husband’s t-shirts), with the occasional outing, and my once a week all-day visit with my Mom.
That’s a nice life, Wendy T. Sounds good to me. I also do not ‘do’ social media as you described. It’s nothing I miss despite others telling me I’m a dinosaur. The younger generations in my family do not understand me because they ‘live’ by their phones.
I go to the ocean beach a lot and I’m usually saddened by the numbers of people who are missing the world as they glue themselves to their phones instead of listening to the gulls, watching the pelicans skim over the sea surface, the sound of the waves breaking. These people aren’t using and developing their senses; I doubt they even have an awareness of the feel of the gritty sand beneath their feet. They might be with a few other people, but they’re not even ‘communing’ or talking with one another; they don’t look up from their phones unless they do a selfie where they can be the ‘star’ of their own, narrow world.
They are depriving themselves of necessary, calming, beautiful sensory stuff. I’ll see someone park their car, waiting for a coveted parking space with an ocean view. Then, they’ll just sit there looking at their phone, never leaving the driver’s seat, car music blasting. They are not looking at the blue sea at all, they’re not even hearing the sound of children’s laughter on the shore; not out there walking the beach and tasting salt spray on their faces or feeling the sunshine on their skin. They are missing out, and they don’t even know it.
I got into a bit of an argument with a cousin recently when she was making a hard bid (once again) for me to get on Facebook. (You see, she never calls anymore; everything is texting and communication via social media, which she can do on HER terms, apparently with no desire for the nuances which can come from audible-verbal communication.) She showed me all the things she feels I’m missing by not participating with that sort of social media. Photos, jokes; whatever it all is. There wasn’t one thing she showed me that I feel is vital or all-that-interesting to me and/or for my life. She continued to look at me, perplexed, as if I was an alien from another planet. Like, how can I possibly live my life without the various social-media platforms? Well, I can. Just fine, thanks.
I watched something with the journalist-host Katie Couric the other day. I’m not a fan although I credit her with getting me my first colonoscopy in 2001 which was one of the best decisions I ever made. I’m grateful she created an awareness with the general public about colon cancer after the death of her young husband, and I felt so badly for her to lose her spouse while she-herself was still so young and also raising children on her own. But, today, she has some sort of social media platform where she features (I’m sure among other things) 3-ingredient sandwiches. One last year was white bread, tomatoes, mayo. This one was white bread, peanut butter, bacon. How is this anything new or inspiring or innovative? I was eating those same sandwiches growing up in the 1950s and 1960s. Why is it interesting to see Katie Couric make a sandwich? It’s not interesting, to me.
It isn’t that I dislike social
Media for what it was originally meant to be, as a means to keep in touch with many friends at once without writing a few dozen letters or emails at a time. What I don’t need is the time sink, so I don’t do it.
Wendy I am with you
I have no media accounts
I don’t see the need and I can fill my precious time with exactly things like you
I work in the theater. I’m a former professor. I keep in touch with all my former colleagues and current contacts via social media. It’s essential in my career. I’m still working, remember.
Australia is a very big country, and our family is scattered from as far North as you can go to as far South as you can go. I only have FB to keep in touch with them, otherwise it would be very difficult. It’s the only reason I use it.
I keep in touch with former students through FB. And that’s very important to me.
Stay safe, Denise.
As I’ve said to a lot of the commenters, I still work. I have hundreds and hundreds of actors, directors, designers, teachers, fellow coaches, and former students that I keep in touch with – not just because I like them and want to know how they’re doing, but because it’s important for my presence to be known. I’ve had job offers through social media. Plus, I value those friendships. They mean a lot to me. Social media has become a necessity for those who freelance in the arts. It has also become a necessity for authors, who are expected to have lots of followers so they can publicize their books. And for musicians. All of our friends who are musicians have to use social media to publicize their gigs. It you work in the arts, you have to be on social media.
I read, garden, and craft, as well. I also mow the lawn and do lots of physical work on the property. The problem isn’t social media. I just have to measure out my time there.
Exactly. Social media serves a need for those who need to keep in touch and keep in the know. I have no problems with that. I don’t need a lot of social media but I find it discouraging that some people feel addicted to it.
xo
I think you’re going in the right direction on reducing screen time. I worry that my husband wastes a lot of valuable time on the internet, between his phone, the desk computer, etc. I watch how he turns to the internet for every answer instead of first thinking about something and coming up with his own answer, making his brain work. He’s ‘way too caught up in what I call ‘internet trivia’. At least three-quarters of the stuff he thinks is worth mentioning to me is just mushy-fodder stuff I don’t want to trouble my brain with (since my brain is already struggling a little more at this age).
Don’t get me wrong, there’s of course a wealth of important info on the internet but sometimes you’ve got to claw your way thru a lot of other stuff to get to it; too many layers of info; a glut of info; too much. I couldn’t get along withOUT the internet as I do a bit of writing and I love the research such as wonderful, archived articles about things I wouldn’t know of otherwise (and which are helpful to me with the writing). But it’s like politics and knowing when/how to cut it off when it is just.too.much info.
Illustrator/writer Susan Branch just posted (on her blog) something of trying to nail things down for a more streamlined life at this age, spending the time on what counts and what is enjoyable to her. I have a feeling her blog may fall away. She says she just wants to write books and paint now.
I feel that I’m continually running behind, never enough time for everything I should be doing and want to be doing. I can’t burn the candle for as long as I did when younger; I can’t pack as much into the day/night as I’d prefer, so this reduces ‘time’ even more. My list is still SO long for all the things I want to see, the people I want to meet, the places I want to go; stuff I want to learn. Very aware of age, the passage of time, how fast it is flying day to day and week to week. I guess we just get to a point in our lives where we realize we’re running out of time; therefore, make it count.
A ‘P.S.’: I refuse to watch or read anything with or about Woody Allen (although, some day, I’ll try to catch the special you’ve just watched). Avoid him like the plague. Exactly for the reasons you’ve spelled out. What’s your opinion of Ronan Farrow?
Well, I still work and I have hundreds of contacts – actors I have coached, directors I have worked for, designers, former students – that I need to keep in touch with. Social media has become part of working in the arts. People message me through social media. I get work through social media.
So I’m not going to disparage it. I just need to control how much I’m on there, that’s all.
Stay safe, Vicki.
I’m turning 70 in a few months and I too i’m thinking about time in a different way. I never spent much time on Facebook except to watch my sisters’ grandkids, and wasn’t introduced to a Instagram until late in the game. Since my husband died two years ago, I feel like I engage the world all my waking hours with this device in my hand. If not on social media, I am listening to audible or watching movies or spending way too long scrolling through Instagram. My cats have come to hate this little plastic rectangle and often get up and walk away if the phone should ring. One of them gets aggressive with the phone and chews madly at the corners. Since they are the only other living things in the house, and I treasure their company I feel guilty of the hours I waste away in a virtual world. The easy “entertainment “also prevents me from going out in the world. It’s a problem. But I hate the emptiness and the quiet and the lack of activity in the house. It’s great that you and Don are cutting down and even turning off sometimes. More real life time in our lives is where true value lives.
You are in new territory after the death of your husband, Nora. It helps fill the time. And if it helps that feeling of being alone, then do it! There’s no right or wrong here.
Stay safe.
I haven’t experienced very many thunderstorms, but with the ones I have it’s been pretty thrilling. However, the last thunderstorm caused all the devastating fires around here several years ago. As far as social media, I’m not techy enough to be involved, and I’m just not interested in FB, etc. I’m not even interested in reading books that way…just give me a good old fashioned book and I’m happy!
Well I read, too!
Thanks, Barrie.
Stay safe.
I have greatly reduced my screen time for the reasons you cite (“the sheer amount….”). I’m taking seriously how I want to spend my time. We are getting drenched up here in Mass.
We are also drenched here. I’m so tired of rain. Tomorrow we’ll get a day free of rain and then more on Tuesday. Sigh.
Stay safe, Lynda.
Yep, this inventory of how you spend your time in social media we all should do from time to time. I’m 73 and, until I retired at 69, my days at work were spent working on projects on my computer. Never did FB or Twitter but I am guilty of some mindless scrolling on IG. Trying to police that though. I’m sad that my husband’s side of the family ONLY posts family news on FB so I miss out on that. Our kids don’t FB, except the youngest, a professional musician and only in relation to news about his music. I never watch his YouTube videos but I do listen to his music on Spotify.
Last night we went out for frozen custard and while we ate I watched a nearby young family. The two boys, about 4 and 6, each sat with an iPad and talked only to each other. The father just concentrated on his meal, and mom scrolled on her phone the entire time they sat. I so badly wanted to walk over and shake her shoulders. “They’re only little like this for such a short time, mom!! Wake up and make some memories,” I so wanted to tell her.
The few thunderstorms we’ve had have been very different this summer. The other day one started with a huge thunderstroke that echoed for a minute or two afterwards. Then there was no more thunder and lightning at all though it rained for quite a long while.
Take care,
Kay
The issue isn’t with social media, which is a necessity for me with this blog and with the hundreds of actors, directors and designers I have worked with and need to keep in contact with. It’s that I don’t fall into the trap of being on it too much.
Stay safe, Kay.
We read a handful of blogs, although the exact number has diminished since so many of them seem to have switched over to some form of social media which has never interested us. (It’s nice for us that you still blog even though you apparently do Instagram too since we wouldn’t be able to be followers there.)
Summer is for reading, gardening, sorting/donating, time with loved ones, and hopefully recharging for the academic year ahead which is our life. And of course getting ready for the upcoming performance seasons. Anything else just isn’t that important to us. Time is such a precious commodity as it is and we just don’t want to have regrets from having been glued to screens instead of enjoying face to face communication. Enough of our family and friends are on social media and if something is really important we trust that they will let us know if they think it’s necessary. We don’t feel left out at all, after all, we have newspapers and emergency texts set up…it’s enough! We are happy to be preserving our personal ‘nest’ space! It’s not worth any extra collective stress that everyone seems to accept as the price for always being connected to everything…not meaning to preach, just our ancient opinion :)
Take care and thank you for sharing all of your amazing photos!
I do all of the same things you do. We don’t have family nearby – in fact all of our family members are thousands of miles away. It really is essential in my profession to keep up with social media. The actors and directors I’ve worked with and will work with are there. My former students are there and I keep up with their lives via social media.
The issue is not social media in itself. It’s taking breaks from it.
Stay safe.
Claudia…..no one could ever accuse you of “wasting time”, on social media or anything else. I do understand the value of it….and the convenience. I stopped checking in on a few of my relatives who never pick up the phone and call me….but every hour on the hour submit selfies and quotes and…It is a way to keep in touch ….a text here and there and an emoji. What I want is face to face or even a letter or note once in a while. I phone old friends at least once a month. They seem genuinely happy to talk to me….sometime over an hour. It is a mixed blessing….after all I found your blog….at the beginning of Covid….and I am so thankful.
Do whatever you need to refresh your mind and body. Have a good day.
Talking is always the best, but I must admit, I dodge that sometimes!
Thank you for your kind words, Maria.
Stay safe.