Surely it’s not Christmas-time already?

September heralds the end of summer, apple harvest, shorter evenings, golden leaves and Christmas. Yes, Christmas! The first leaves have only just started to fall and already the shops are putting out displays of Christmas biscuits. It just seems so wrong when it’s still 24°C (75°F) outside.

Although I’m not ready to pack away my sandals and sunglasses quite yet, there are 2 presents I need to prepare long before December, the first for my friends in Mexico (snail-mail takes FOREVER to get there) and the second for an unknown child via Samaritan’s Purse “Christmas Child” action. With only 2 months before the deadline on 15^th November when these shoebox presents have to be at your local collection point, it’s definitely time to get started.

The last couple of years I’ve started buying things throughout the year, partially to spread the cost but mainly to snap up bargains and make my money go further. Spending around about 10€ a month I can keep a look out in the sales etc, for example, last month I picked up 7 cute T-shirts for just 12€! I’ve now got a whole Curver© box full of cloths, toys and school supplies ready to be sorted and packed. I’m going to make up 2 shoe boxes this year and all the “left-overs” from my collecting goes to the main collection point where the volunteers make up Christmas Boxes from all the different donations that come in, from companies and private people as well as checking all the boxes that come in already packed.

So I’d like to encourage you to make your own shoe-box present, or if you can’t afford to pack a whole box for a child, then think about adding just 1 extra thing to your basket each time you shop, some soap, toothpaste or a colouring book, over the next 8 weeks and help bring a smile to a child’s face this Christmas.

New Glasses

Yesterday was glasses buying day in the Harrison household, 3 pairs in all. Poor Matt’s been suffering headaches for the last few weeks and eventually got his eyes checked. Yep, he needs a new prescription for his glasses AND has reached that dreaded middle age marker of needing reading glasses (he’s been doing the “stretched-arm” reading pose for a while now). So off we tootled to check out the heart-stopping costs of German opticians, 2 hours later, a large gulp when signing the credit card payment and Matt gets his new glasses in 24 hours.

I also ordered my new glasses yesterday. I chose an online company in the States – Warby Parker. Now, in many ways I’m very particular about my eyecare. Unfortunately I have a bad genetic heritage where eyes are concerned, glaucoma, macular degeneration and early onset cataracts in my immediate family but my contact lens specialist and ophthalmologist look after me really well in that department and I only want glasses for the early morning/late night anyhow so decided to try a little online bargain hunting to balance out the costs.

That’s rather a long winded way of telling you about the company Warby Parker and a part of their business philosophy that I like. Not only do they want to be able to supply glasses at a reasonable cost, they also promise to donate a pair of glasses to a person in need through their Buy a Pair Give a Pair program.

Over 2 billion people in the world don’t have access to glasses, that’s 15% of the world’s population who are unable to effectively learn or work because they can’t see clearly! A simple pair of glasses can increase their earning potential by 20% so it a very effective tool in helping lift people out of poverty. I think all of us would like a 20% increase in our income but can you imagine what a difference that would make to the 3 billion + people who live on less than US $2 per day?

I can’t imagine how I would manage without contacts or glasses, can you? I certainly couldn’t do the work I do, could not drive, even cooking would be a problem, quite a scary thought! However, just by changing where you shop you can make a significant difference to another person’s life. So if you live in the States (or like me can get a friend to bring them over), next time you need new specs check out Warby Parker : http://www.warbyparker.com/Buy-A-Pair-Give-A-Pair

How do you measure significant?

N° 7 on my goal list: Make a significant (positive) difference in 40 people’s lives.

This sounds great and a very noble goal but I’m struggling with a unit of measurement. I mean how DO you measure significance? Centimetres and metres? Pounds and ounces? Speed or strength? None fit the bill, and then you add culture in to the mix, it plays huge part, something I would never have thought. For example, I just recently did “meals on wheels” and stocked up the freezers for 2 different friends with home cooked meals, one who’s poorly and the other who was having a tough old time of it. That makes a difference, but it hardly seems significant (a couple of hours and a few Euros) however 3 people have told me that it is a big thing here!

My direct neighbour, Kathrin, and I have a great relationship, she borrows my baking equipment or comes round to watch football occasionally with Matt, pizza and movies with me, we do the “post/plants/pets” thing for each other when we’re on holiday, I took ice-cream to the hospital when the doctors stole her tonsils and am currently helping her write her CV in English. Coming from NW England/SW Scotland this is so normal it’s not even noteworthy, but here it’s so exceptional her parents even sent me a small present for being so neighbourly.

A couple of months ago I came home Saturday afternoon and whilst parking the car noticed and heard an older man (German) talking loudly to an elderly Turkish lady. After turning the engine off it became apparent that he was actually mocking her for being poor and using a rollator!!!! I got out of the car and (with a friends’ warning ringing in my ears) chickened out of shouting him down so just gave him The Stare. As he walked away I turned to the lady and apologized that she had to experience that, asked if she was ok and wished her a nice day as she shuffled away. Since then, whenever I see her pass by I greet her and now she smiles back, I hope over time she will eventually talk to me, which I would consider significant even if she doesn’t. Unfortunately this is not an isolated incident, many of my female African and Asian language school colleagues experienced verbal abuse when out alone :(

I recently watched the film Pay it Forward (thanks for the tip Kathrin). Basic synopsis; a class of 12 year olds are given the assignment “Think of something to change the world and put it into action” and Trevor comes up with the idea of paying it forward. Do 3 good deeds to 3 different people, it doesn't have to be a big thing. It can just seem that way, depending who you do it for. Then, instead of paying it back they are then to pay it forward to 3 other people. The film is based on a book by Catherine Ryan Hyde and along with a few others, she started the Pay it Forward Foundation which has spread across the US and into other countries as well. http://www.payitforwardfoundation.org/

So, I’m back to the question, how do you measure significant? To some people, hours of hard work giving your best hardly makes an impression, yet for others a couple of minutes of your time and a friendly smile can make a huge impact. I would love to hear your comments and experiences. AND if I do you a good turn, don’t pay me back, please pay it forward.

Last but not least, think you’re too old or too young to make a difference? Have a look at these 2 links:


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/20/huffpost-greatest-person-kristal-burns-superheroes_n_864784.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmZtoEMiMpk&feature=player_embedded

Still proud to be British!

This last week of riots, triggered by the police shooting of an innocent man (wrong place, wrong time) has created lots of media outrage, condemnation from politicians and celebs and many a dramatic photo opportunity. However there is one aspect that isn’t reaching the front pages and relegated to the “Magazine” page of bbc.co.uk etc etc. The Broom Army!

The morning after the riots, crowds gather wearing washing-up gloves and carrying brooms. Once the crime-scene investigators have finished they wade in to clean up the mess. All volunteers, mostly locals, all ages including children and when the Mayor of London turned up they started chanting “Where’s your broom”

This is British tenacity and community spirit that always rises up in the face of adversity  and makes me proud to be able to say I am British J

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-14475741

When I am old I shall wear purple!

As you know, we love having visitors and meeting new people. Today Vivien and Rebecca came to stay with us, 2 students giving their weekend to help out at Extreme Day, our church’s youth event.  Rebecca comes from Florida and was obviously brought up to be very polite “Yes, sir.” “Yes Ma’am” etc etc so she started off calling me Miss Kathy.

Aaargh! I feel so old.

As the saying goes, growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional. My mother only stopped saying she was APPROACHING middle age shortly before her 60^th birthday, yet my mother-in-law tells me that each new decade is better than the last.  If I can’t fight it, I might as well enjoy it. Jenny Joseph said it so well:

When I am old I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick flowers in other people's gardens
And learn to spit.

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickle for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple. 

Genesis – Revelation

At the age of 13 I made a commitment to Christ as my Lord and Saviour, although at the time I didn’t fully understand all that it would mean, it has proved to be the best decision I ever made. As the Bible is the Word of God what better way to get to know Him than to read it! So over the years I have regularly and irregularly read my Bible but *hangs head in shame* I have never read through every single book of the Bible. I love reading the New Testament, Proverbs and Psalms, but Chronicles, Numbers? I write enough lists of my own without reading anyone else’s!!

But actually that attitude is rather skew-wiff. If I believe that the Bible is wholly inspired by God (which I do) then it stands to reason that Numbers, Chronicles, Ezekiel and the like are included for a reason and therefore I'm missing something quite important if I ignore them. There are many reading plans for reading through the Bible in a year but I decided just to start at the beginning a work through.

For those of you who have dismissed the idea of God just because some Christians or some Churches aren’t living or acting or loving the way Jesus instructs them to in the Bible I would challenge you to do your own research. Are you really going to make such a big decision based on someone else’s opinion? People don’t reject marriage just because 45% end in divorce.  

Anyhow, here’s what a few other people have said about the Bible:

Resolve to edge in a little reading every day, if it is but a single sentence. - Horace Mann

Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ. - St. Jerome

I believe that the existence of the Bible is the greatest benefit to the human race. Any attempt to belittle it, I believe, is a crime against humanity. - Immanuel Kant, German idealist philosopher, 1724-1804
A thorough understanding of the Bible is better than a college education. - Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States, 1858-1919

The New Testament is the very best book that ever was or ever will be known in the world. - Charles Dickens

Reading the Bible without meditating on it is like trying to eat without swallowing. – Anonymous

ps: I’m not a perfect Christian, I know that all too well, in fact there is no such thing! However, with God's help, I aim to improve, little by little, day be day. 

Sail the 7 seas, tickle the ivories and throw myself off a cliff!

These three are purely fun personal goals. Although I was born and breed less than 2 miles from the shore I never learned to sail. Paddling about in an inflatable dingy on holiday doesn’t count! I have no intention of following Tracy Edwards or Ellen MacArther in circumnavigating the globe, but to jibe and tack across a lake or round a Greek island in the summer sounds like fun don’t you think! One of my best friends offered her husband to teach me to sail but that would be in the Celtic Sea/ Severn Estuary so unless I can find a heated wet suit………..Nnnnoooooooooo! Don’t, do, cold :/

One of the things I love about visiting my in-laws is that my father-in-law is hardly ever off the piano. Having a musical accompaniment to everyday life is rather lovely, cooking with Chopin, reading with Rossini and chatting to Tchaikovsky. I started learning the piano as a child but was very shy and would only practice with the door tightly shut or preferably when no one was home, eventually I gave up. I now regret that decision but have never done anything about it. So it’s time for action. Just this week a friend told me she is moving and offered me first refusal on her piano once she’s had it valued, Matt’s comment was “Well I’m not being involved with carrying it up 4 flights of stairs!!!” 

Staying on the subject of Mr H, this last fun goal will give him scary tingly feelings in his feet just at the thought. Paragliding!

There is a school at the Achensee –Tirol, so Matt can keep his feet firmly on the ground (under the kitchen table) drinking coffee at the Plattner house whilst I jump off the top of a mountain. J

This is what my next birthday present should look like Matt!

http://www.gleitschirmschule-achensee.at/Download/tandemgutschein_muster.pdf