Cordelia's Mom, Still

Decisions, Decisions

Posted on February 13, 2024 by cordeliasmom2012

Some decisions are hard. Some are easy. And some decisions make themselves.

My longtime readers know that for quite awhile now, I have been vacillating on whether to continue photography and/or my blog. After doing both for so many years, the thrill is pretty much gone, and subject ideas are few and far between.

Last year, I decided to terminate my paid subscriptions to photography sites Flickr.com [see the right sidebar for a link to my site] and YouPic.com. Neither was generating much follower interest, and both had become a bit costly considering my upcoming retirement. I successfully changed my Flickr subscription to the free membership, and made note to do the same for YouPic before its automatic renewal at the end of the year.

Guess who forgot to drop the YouPic paid subscription and got socked with a hefty automatic renewal fee?

Yep. So I’m stuck for another year as a “Pro” member. Which kind of sucks because my pictures really aren’t good enough to justify calling myself a “pro.”

Anyway.

I also planned to drop my paid WordPress subscription. Not because I’m not a good enough writer (because we all know I’m awesome), but because the cost was no longer justified due to my recent lack of posting. Seriously, now that I’m fully retired and seldom leave the house, it’s really difficult to come up with anything extraordinary to write about.

But then I realized that dropping the paid subscription might result in my earlier (much better) posts being deleted, or the photographs attached to those posts being deleted, and it would break my heart to lose all that hard work. Especially after re-reading some of the older posts and the comments made on those posts – many of which comments were by bloggers who have since either closed up shop or died.

So I flip-flopped between wanting to keep this blog open regardless of the cost, or simply cancelling the paid subscription and letting the whole thing fade away.

But then, guess who missed the WordPress subscription renewal deadline (again)?

So it seems that you and I will be “seeing” each other for at least another year. Are you excited? I know I am (sort of).

Perhaps this will be the year my muse returns; perhaps not.

I can promise this, though. A lot has been going on in Cordelia’s Mom’s life recently, and as soon as I can get my ass in gear, I will do at least one (totally awesome) catch-up post. Keep an eye out for it!

After that, we’ll see how much inspiration I have. Of course, I could always start re-blogging some of those great earliest posts. There are those of my followers who may not have read them.

Hang in there with me, folks. I’m not quite done yet.

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I love to hear from my readers. You may comment on this post, comment on my Twitter page (@cordeliasmom), or email me at cordeliasmom2012@yahoo.com
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Image by Cordelia’s Mom/TeddyRosalieStudio

Posted in That's Life | Tagged artistic muse, blogging, decisions, expenses, retirement, writing | 14 Comments

The Christmas Cordelia’s Mom Was Financially Distressed

Posted on December 13, 2023 by cordeliasmom2012

Christmas is coming! Only a little more time to shop for those special gifts.

But what if you’re a young parent with tiny children, and you’ve run into hard times this year? What if there’s no money for toys because you’ve had to spend it all on rent (or mortgage payments), utility bills (including heat), groceries, and gas for the car to get to the store to buy those groceries?

Many years ago, hubby and I found ourselves in just that situation. I don’t recall what year it was and I don’t recall whether we had three daughters, or two daughters with one on the way. I also don’t remember whether our financial crisis was because one of us was out of work or whether it was due to medical bills, car repairs, household repairs, or some other costly emergency right before the holidays.

What I do remember is racking my poor little brain to try to figure out how I could make my girls’ Christmas morning happy with no cash on hand and very little available credit on any of those stupid plastic cards. If I recall correctly, we did manage to buy one modest “Santa” present for each child (’cause Santa always brought the best gifts – don’t judge, I believe everyone needs a little magic in his or her life).

But what about presents from Mom and Dad? Sure, my girls were maybe old enough to [sort of] understand that money was tight, but they still deserved something, right? We could swing a few stocking stuffer items like candy and hair barrettes, but I wanted to give them a bigger present they could enjoy for more than a day or two.

Finally, it occurred to me that a gift doesn’t have to be something new and shiny; a gift can be pretty much anything so long as it’s given with love.

It also occurred to me that little girls love to play dress up.

So, I scrounged up an old duffel bag which had barely been used and put in a couple pairs of high-heeled (worn only once for some special occasion) shoes and a variety of clothing I had “outgrown” or which (again) I had worn only once for some special occasion. At that time, I worked for a large law firm, so I went around to some of the other moms and explained my situation, and many of them donated items from their own homes – which made the dress-up bag even better because it would include things my girls had never seen before. My group of mommy friends even managed to come up with some costume jewelry to add to that bag.

Best Christmas morning ever! My girls loved their dress-up bag and played with it for years, often using some of the clothing and accessories for Halloween costumes as they became older. When they finally outgrew both dress-up and Halloween, the bag and all its contents was given to a friend who had a number of children younger than mine, and she told me her kids loved it, too.

The moral of this story, if there is one, is that being financially stressed doesn’t mean you can’t provide your family with a memorable Christmas. Even the youngest child can somehow understand that a gift obtained and given with love is better than one purchased at the risk of the giver’s bankruptcy.

If this post helps even one reader feel better about facing the upcoming holidays while struggling to pay daily expenses, then I’ve done my job. I’ve given you one idea for an inexpensive yet exciting gift; if you’re looking for ways to provide a special, but simple, holiday for your children, an online search will bring you a bunch of thrifty alternatives to expensive, store-bought gifts.

Hugs, all.

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Posted in Holidays, That's Life | Tagged budget, Christmas, economy, finances, motherhood, parenthood | 16 Comments

A Little Help From My Friends

Posted on November 20, 2023 by cordeliasmom2012

Last night, I dreamed I returned to my pre-retirement job.

No, it wasn’t a nightmare, but it also isn’t something that’s going to happen. I’m loving not having to set my alarm, and having nowhere I need to be at any particular time on any particular day (well, except for medical appointments, of course).

So, sorry, former bosses – I am, in fact, permanently retired.

As noted in some of my prior posts, my only retirement concern is financial. Trying to live only on Social Security is not easy, especially since the real estate taxes went up again this year. Knowing things would be a bit difficult, I stocked up on many essentials prior to quitting my job: things like yarn, books, my favorite soap and shampoo, and household items like cleaning supplies and canned goods – pretty much anything non-perishable which I knew I would evetually use up.

Yarn and books were my main concern. They are expensive, and there would be no stretch in the budget to accommodate them. Reading and crocheting are the main activities to keep me entertained now that I no longer go to an office.

Imagine my surprise when I recently received a text from a colleague with whom I worked a number of years ago. Her sister, who was a crocheter, had died and my friend was cleaning out her personal effects. There was “some yarn” in her sister’s house, would I like to have it?

Say what? Of course I’d take any yarn I could get my hands on!

Imagine my further surprise when “some yarn” arrived at my house: there were 5 huge bags with an incredible assortment of various weights of yarn, including crochet thread, and there were even needlework tools, like needles and hooks!

I won’t have to find room in my limited budget for yarn for a very long time. Heck, just going through those bags and sorting everything out will keep me occupied for quite awhile.

Awesome, isn’t it? Even my husband commented on the incredible timing. While my friend knew I had retired, there’s no way she could have known that I was fretting about being able to afford my yarn.

BTW, this is the same friend who helped me out previously by taking custody of my mother’s piano when I realized it would not fit in my new house. I cried when the piano movers were loading it onto the truck, but my sadness was eased knowing that piano would be loved by it’s new owner as much as I had loved it.

I will see that the newly received yarn is treated with the love it deserves. Since most of my finished projects are donated to local charities, my friend’s kindness will be extended beyond only me. “Legacy Needlework” has taken on a whole new meaning.

Hugs, all.

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I love to hear from my readers. You may comment on this post, comment on my Twitter page (@cordeliasmom), or email me at cordeliasmom2012@yahoo.com
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Images by Cordelia’s Mom/TeddyRosalieStudio

Posted in Relationships, That's Life | Tagged budgeting, crochet, friendship, retirement, Social Security | 11 Comments

Watching the World Go By

Posted on November 13, 2023 by cordeliasmom2012

After my first week of full retirement, I am feeling very relaxed.

The hardest part has been adjusting to the fact that on most days, I really don’t need to be anywhere at any particular time. I keep finding myself thinking that I must finish these chores today ’cause I gotta get ready for work tomorrow – and then I remember I don’t have to work tomorrrow – or the day after or the day after that. I must admit that after working for 50 or more years, it hasn’t been the easiest adjustment to make.

For many of my 50+ work years, my greatest dream was to merely get a day or two of peace. Like most employees, I would sometimes call off “sick” simply to have a day to do whatever I wished or to lie around doing absolutely nothing.

Well, I have that now. This is probably the quietest neighborhood I’ve ever lived in.

(We won’t discuss the gun fight a couple of years back. That was an isolated incident during a drunken party at a rental house around the corner, and no one was injured. There have been no such incidents either before or after that one.)

Seldom do I see anything much when I look out my front windows. Puppy Cody lets me know whenever there’s an Amazon, UPS or Fedex truck anywhere on the street, or if any of the neighbors have a plumber, electrician or other contractor in their driveways. She does tend to disturb the neighborhood peacefulness whenever she sees someone she doesn’t think belongs here.

However, for some reason, Cody never barks when the local daycare staff walks their tiny charges down the street every weekday morning. I can hear them coming, I don’t know why Cody doesn’t. Or maybe beause they’re such little strangers, she doesn’t feel threatened. I never know what the silly dog is thinking.

Anyway.

If I get bored, I can always look out the back window:

Sometimes there are rabbits, birds and/or squirrels running around back there. Once, I even found a tortoise. It’s not a huge yard, but it’s mine, and I always enjoy looking out at it.

Mostly, I’ve been sleeping late, watching videos, and crocheting. A lot of crocheting – I promised a local women’s shelter a dozen hat/scarf sets to help keep the residents warm, and with the colder weather arriving soon, I’ve been pushing to get those finished. It doesn’t help me supplement Social Security, but at least it makes me feel like I’m still contributing something to society. Maybe someday after I’m dead, someone will find a hat, scarf or afghan with the Legacy Needlework/Teddy Rosalie label and remember me with fondness.

Or not. But at least those ladies won’t have their ears freezing off this winter.

Hugs, all.

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I love to hear from my readers. You may comment on this post, comment on my Twitter page, or email me at cordeliasmom2012@yahoo.com
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Images by Cordelia’s Mom/TeddyRosalieStudio