Author: Fee Writes

Fee Writes

Paper Maps vs GPS

A Nostalgic Journey with a Modern Twist

I’ve just returned from a bit of an adventure in a new neighbourhood I don’t know very well. You know the kind of outing—stop for petrol, a quick dash to the supermarket, and a lot of driving down unfamiliar streets. By the time I was on my way back, it struck me how lucky we are to have GPS. My mind wandered back to the late ’60s and ’70s when I was single and constantly on the go. Back then, there were no helpful voices telling you to “Turn left in 200 metres.” We had paper maps. Big, fold-out, impossible-to-manage paper maps!

I was pretty proud of my map-folding skills—most of the time. But when you’re in a rush, it’s a whole different story. Folding one of those maps felt like wrestling a fitted sheet that had just come out of the dryer. You try your best, but it always ends up in a messy bundle. My glove box quickly became a graveyard for paper maps, each one crumpled and slightly worse for wear. The car started looking like a mini archive of my travels, with maps poking out from under seats and crammed into every available space.

Fast forward to today, and I’m completely in awe of GPS. It’s nothing short of magic! This morning, it took me down tiny streets, round unexpected corners, and safely back home without a single wrong turn. Without it, I would’ve been hopelessly lost. What a game-changer!

But just when I thought my little adventure was over, I hit an unexpected twist—a breathalyser checkpoint at 11 a.m.! Surprised, I said to the officer, “Bit early, isn’t it?” She smiled and said, “Not really. You’d be amazed how many people we catch still over the limit from the night before.” Whoa. It’s a bit of a wake-up call, isn’t it? Apparently, there are plenty of people who party hard and then try to drive home in the morning, still feeling the effects.

That aside, I just can’t get over how much easier life is with GPS. No more pulling over to squint at a map under a streetlight, no more trying to fold it back neatly, and no more stuffing it into the glove box with a resigned sigh. GPS, you’re a lifesaver.

Paper maps, you had your time. But GPS? You’re the future—and I’m never looking back.

Fee Writes

Combat Loneliness: Simple Ways to Reconnect

This is the most brilliant quote I’ve read for a while.

It certainly resonated with me and got me thinking. I hope the same happens when you read it.

It was by a guy called Jean-Paul Sartre. He was a French philosopher, playwright, and novelist born in 1924—quite a remarkable philosopher and very interesting.

That whole concept of being alone for me is fine. I’ve lived alone for 18-odd years or so. But the lonely part. I will admit there has been an odd time when I have been a bit lonely. But thankfully, I recognised the feeling early on and did something about it so I didn’t spiral into that loneliness.

It’s at the beginning of that spiral when you need to do something. So here’s a couple of ideas:

Go for a walk listening to a podcast, music or audiobook.
Get yourself out into nature.
Go to a café, get a coffee and people-watch.
At the same café, take your computer and write emails or ‘journal your thoughts’.
Don’t hesitate to read out to someone. It might be a neighbour or whoever, but reach out to someone.
Watch a movie at home or go to the theatre and watch one there.
Go to the library and get a book. As my mom always used to say, “if you’ve got a book to read, you’re never alone because books use your imagination and you can absorb yourself into the story“

Perhaps try and learn something new. Go online and have a look and see if there is something in your neighbourhood that you would like to do. Is it is it dancing? Is it comedy? Is it learning how to work a computer?

Is that anything that gets you into a group situation, and especially a group situation where you’ve got younger people? So it’s not all just your age group. (I’m talking to the older people here now.) Younger people bring in a fabulous vibe. It’s brilliant when you talk to young people as they offer different perspectives. So, if you feel like you’re spiralling into loneliness, go online, find a group to join, get out there, and participate in your community.

Fee Writes

Random

Making Choices

We all have choices, and making them determines our lives.

I was thinking recently, and I sometimes wonder if it’s such a good idea to sit down and ponder things, but when you get to a certain age, well, any age when you’ve got time on your hands, you tend to contemplate life.

One of the things I was thinking about recently was how all the decisions I have made up to this point have led me to this point.
They have led me to who I am, where I live, my friends, and everything that makes up my life. And this has all come from choices that I have made in the past.

Now, am I happy?
Too right, I’m happy.
I’m very grateful that I was born with the sunshine gene. Even my mother used
to tell me that I walked around with rose-tinted glasses on. I love it, and I still have those glasses.
In saying that, I know reality and understand what’s happening in the world. I keep myself up to date with world and local events to keep in the loop.

So I do know what’s happening. I’m not in La La Land, but I always look for the good in people. I always look for the good in things and think there is; how can I put this? It’s like the sun is always shining, regardless.
It doesn’t matter if it’s storming or cyclone or whatever, the sun is always shining because you get up beyond the rubbish and there you have the beautiful blue skies.

It’s like there is yin and yang.
We all know there are two sides, negatives and positives to everything.
And we always have a choice, regardless. We always have a choice of how to react to whatever is in front of us.
You can be bitter and twisted about something, or you can choose to be happy. It may sound simplistic, but if something is out of my control, it is up to me to find and be grateful for the silver lining, no matter how thin it is.

I used to always tell my children that they had a choice. When something happened with the kids, for example, they asked for or to do something, and I said no. Now, I would explain why they couldn’t have it or do it. But the answer was still no.
Generally, the first reaction was to pack a tante. get all upset and and say please, please, please, mama.
And I would say.

“Sorry, but you know the answer is no.
And this is the reason why.
Now you have a choice.
You can go away and cry, get upset and angry.
Or, you can go and find something else to do and be happy about it and focus on some good
thing that you can do.
Ride your bike or draw a picture or something.
The answer is still no.
It’s your choice as to how you react to it.”

They didn’t like it, but they understood it.
And later on, as adults, they told me that they used to get so angry when I would say that because they knew I was right. But it didn’t take them long to understand the principle, and once they got it, they embraced it.

You are always in the best place.
It’s the only place you’re in.
So make the best of it.

It’s simply that. It’s the choices we make.

Fee Writes

Random

The Effect of Smiles

Nothing beats the effects smiles have on you.

While housesitting a few months ago, I had quite a remarkable little time when I went out to a mall. Now, I’m not big on malls, but where I was staying, there was no high street (so to speak). It was the mall or nothing, and my general thing the mall visits is to put blinkers on, do what needs to be done and get out. However, while there, I decided to stop at a cafè and have a coffee.

As this was a new mall, I decided to have a wee look around.
Now, there was one thing that I was looking for, and that was arm warmers. It was getting cold, and sometimes, a little added warmth on the arms was needed. Of course, one can always use leg warmers on the arms. It doesn’t really matter. So I looked for either arm or leg ones.

I went into one store. It’s a large franchise store, and I’ve bought items I like from them. I thought they might have what I was looking for, so rather than look around the store, I thought I would go and ask.
I went up to the counter and asked a pretty young woman if they had any arm or leg warmers.
And she said, “Oh, I don’t think we do.”
But she said we may have leg warmers.
And she takes me into a particular shelving area.
Realising there were none, she said, “Oh no, they’re all gone.”
Next thing, this guy walks over.
He was gorgeous. He was charming, a Pacific Islander, and adorable. I’m sure he was a manager or something similar.

The young woman asked him if they had any arm or leg warmers, as none were on the shelf.
He replied, “Oh, are we really? Oh, that’s not good enough. I will get onto that immediately because we definitely should have some at this time of the year.”
I quickly responded that I wasn’t from this neighbourhood and would check this store when I got home.
He then said, “It’s still not good enough. I will get onto head office, and I will get some. In the meantime, maybe you can go to (and said the name of another store) and see if they have them.”
He went on to add. “It’s a very, very beautiful store.”
And I said, “Oh, I love that place.”
And in unison, they both said, “I know it’s gorgeous.”
One thing led to another, and the next thing he was talking to the young woman about candles, saying what sort of smell of candles he likes, and this young woman was confirming that she loved the vanilla and jasmine smells.

They continue chatting amongst themselves about different candle perfumes, and the next thing he says, “Oh, we should get some in here and have them going. How beautiful it would be.”
Then he turns and looks at me and says, “How funny. I should be asking
you to spend money. What am I doing? I’m getting the store to spend money!” With that, all three of us burst out laughing.

It was just absolutely delightful. I left there feeling very positive and uplifted and realising how magical the effect of smiles is. It crossed my mind that I should have taken a video of it. I was tempted to go back and ask him if he wouldn’t mind being on social media because he was absolutely delightful.

A beautiful spirit.

Fee Writes

Health

Alzheimer’s and Dementia

Alzheimer’s and dementia are crippling diseases.

It is crippling not only to the person who has it but to their family. I’m getting to that age, and know some people who have it or have early signs of it.

Thankfully, there was none in my family, although my mother died at 75, so who’s to say she could have got it a bit later on? My dad died at around about 96, and he definitely didn’t have it. In fact, he was cognitive right up to the day he died. Also, none of my aunts and uncles nor grandparents who lived to old age suffered from the disease.

My parents were both born in the early 1900s, and I wonder if they were a product of their generation. They were brought up on whole food, nothing processed, and, at that time, plastic hadn’t been invented. Bakelite was invented in 1907 and was the first synthetic resin ever created.

I don’t even remember anybody who had it through the years I was growing up. Because of this, I wonder if it is like a modern disease that has become more and more prevalent. I would have been in my 30s when I met the first person I ever knew (or knew of) who had dementia. She was the grandmother of a friend of mine. I didn’t know anything about Alzheimer’s or dementia at that time.

Now, I haven’t looked into any research on it, but I know there is a lot of research about it. But my brain works in funny, mysterious ways. And I do wonder if it is because we have so many chemicals in and around us nowadays that have caused the surge.
Chemicals have been found all around our planet, including in Antarctica and the Arctic. Perhaps these chemicals have something to do with it. Also, we have to consider the fact that we eat way more processed foods now. And if you look at the ingredients in processed foods, a lot of them are chemical or chemical-based.

Then there is our water—you know, the water that we drink, which is supposedly fine. But the pipes are flushed out with chemicals, so realistically, we are ingesting chemicals there. I even wonder about bottled water. Why? Because most of that bottle of water is ‘processed’ and ends up in plastic.

Does all of this have a compounding effect on our brains?

These chemicals must hit us at a cellular level. It stands to reason. And even if we’re eating organic food, with so many chemicals worldwide, is that being drawn up into the atmosphere and then rained down? I’d like to know if somebody has actually researched this or knows what the component of rain is.
So now it rains on all crops and pastures; is it acid rain?
Are there traces of chemicals? Wouldn’t that mean that even our organic veggies are exposed?
This brings me back to the point of chemicals hitting the cellular level of our bodies.

I am one to have whole food. I have the occasional processed food, but not an awful lot. The bulk of my meals and everything is always whole food. And, and so I feel happy about that.
I don’t grow vegetables, though. I grow herbs and am an excellent herb grower. You name it—I can grow it.
But I’m not very good at growing vegetables. I have tried on numerous occasions with limited success.

Hmm, my simple logic, that’s all. I’d love to know your thoughts. Bye for now.

Author: Fee Writes

Paper Maps vs GPS

A Nostalgic Journey with a Modern Twist

Combat Loneliness: Simple Ways to Reconnect

This is the most brilliant quote I’ve read for a while.

Making Choices

We all have choices, and making them determines our lives.

The Effect of Smiles

Nothing beats the effects smiles have on you.

Alzheimer’s and Dementia

Alzheimer’s and dementia are crippling diseases.

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