Things to be glad about

It occurred to me the other day that I’m extremely glad never to have to darn a sock again. I’m mildly pleased that I know how to do it but some decade or so ago was forced to the conclusion that socks were a) cheap b) frequently no longer made of wool and c) that darned socks are extremely uncomfortable to wear.

I’m glad that I no longer have to visit a bank, and that all my financial transactions are electronic. And I’m glad that I can understand just enough about electronic banking to actually do it.

I’m glad that my extremely low capacity for abstract thinking no longer troubles me. Take e=mc²; I’m lost before I get to m. I cannot understand what philosophers mean when they philosophise and my eyes glaze over when faced with certain levels of political discourse.

Discovering Dandelion Tea is another thing I’m glad about. I have never before liked “smelly” teas but I’ve become used to Dandy T which is a good thing as the water you use to make the tea is counted in your daily water intake. I know it’s very Byron Bay of me to mainline an alternative to real tea but it’s working well.

I’m especially glad we now use doonas instead of blankets. Blankets were so heavy that in my debilitated breathing state I doubt I’d be able to lift them.

I’m glad all the way to thrilled to open my diary and see no entries. I love pottering about with my knitting, sewing, embroidery and other crafting and do not love what sometimes seems like perpetual doctors’ appointments.

Not having to sing the National Anthem at the cinema is another thing to be glad about. Also, the cinemas up here on the northern beaches are delightfully old fashioned and never full, at least when I’ve been there. And thinking about entertainment has made me realise how glad I am that I’m not 20 today and don’t have to listen to the awful music that the rest of my family loves.

As the weeks go on I’m sure I’ll find more to be glad about, but I’m now going to segue back to he topic of interesting phrases and sayings.

Why do we have a “pair” of pants? A pair of shoes makes sense but why are pants a pair? Is it because they have two legs? And while we’re in the shoe department, do you remember referring to someone as a “goody two shoes”? Why two shoes? Why not wellington boots (or should that be Wellington?) or “goody bananas”?

When we’re flustered, we often say we’re “hot and bothered”. It’s very expressive but what does it actually mean?

I found myself the other day saying a movie we’d just seen was “not a patch on” its predecessors. This phrase is a complete mystery. Less mysterious is a “splitting headache”. I suppose it means that your head feels like it’s splitting open but it could so easily be a “thundering” headache or a “pounding” headache.

Equally close to being meaningful is the sentence: “I cried my eyes out …” It seems to imply that you were crying so much that you had no more tears left. But it’s still a trifle quirky.

And finally still on the topic of eyes, there’s the possibly politically incorrect assertion that “blind Freddy” could have seen what’s going on. Why Freddy? Why not Marmaduke or Evelyn or Peregrine?

 

Quote of the week from Chambers Dictionary of Modern Quotations:

US writer Mark Twain: “Golf is a good walk spoiled.”