The things! All the things!
What if you were caught in Medieval London and wanted to get somewhere by subway/el/tube/underground? There wasn’t one, you say? Tell that to The Londonist, which has posted a convenient Ye Olde Medieval Tube Map.
I’m very lucky, in that my aging mother lives next door already, in a single-floor house. When she had my husband build it, my grandparents lived with her, so she thought ahead and chose a design that was aging-friendly and modified it to be even friendlier. Even so, the MedCottage appeals to me because of its built-in monitoring and care-giving elements. Plus, it’s tiny!!!
TheDustSeason is a blog that’s anything but dry. This post on Of Butterflies and Other Disturbing Things That Float, for instance, with an exciting medical anecdote, gorgeous photos of butterflies, and the most genuinely amusing comments/replies ever.
If I say Regency Cant and you say, “Regency can’t what?”, this next site is not for you. It seems there’s an online role-playing game called Regency Murder Mystery. A forum is involved, which should tell you from the get-go I’m not a participant. Fora are like the Rubik’s Cube of the internet to me — impossible and frustrating. HOWEVER, they have a wonderful dictionary of Regency Cant and Slang that took me back to my days of devouring Georgette Heyer and Marion Chesney books. ~happy sigh~
I plan to do Story A Day May again this year. I’m registered with the site, so I get wonderful campaign emails with writing encouragement and how-tos. I recommend signing up, even if you never participate in the challenge, just for the resources. A newsletter I recently received, for instance, recommended finding stories you love to read by searching for anthologies edited by authors whose stories you love; it makes sense that, if you love their work, you’ll at least like stories they love, but I’d never thought of that. Duh, me.
A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: A character suddenly appears medieval London and tries to get by using what they’ve learned from reading Regency Romances.
MA
A.C.Flory
April 22, 2016 at 7:33pmJust had a look at the MedCottage and I love the idea that people are starting to think along those lines. By the same token, I wonder if we wouldn’t live longer, happier lives if we just dumped the idea of ‘retirement’ altogether.
I first started thinking along these lines after reading about the nonagenarians in Okinawa who work in vegie gardens and generally look after themselves [with community oversight], pretty much until they die. Then, just yesterday I was watch Queen Elizabeth of Britain celebrating her 90th birthday by doing the daily round of duties that she normally does. She was accompanied by her 94 year old husband, Prince Phillip. Neither looked as if they were slowing down.
I think we humans need a reason for living just as much as we need food, shelter and health care.
Marian Allen
April 23, 2016 at 8:53amI think one of the keys to living happily at any age is meaningful work. You can sit at a desk or stand at a station on an assembly line and go home utterly exhausted and empty. Or, like my archeologist daughter, you can shovel dirt and rock all day in the blazing sun and go home invigorated. Doing work you care about, that you know has a purpose, and that you feel invested in — especially if you can have some control over it — makes work nourishing to the spirit.
A.C.Flory
April 24, 2016 at 6:58amOh well said. YES! Let’s hope that we’ll both be writing into our 90’s. Beatcha to 100. 😉
Marian Allen
April 24, 2016 at 8:19amGood luck with that — I’m more than halfway there already! 😀
A.C.Flory
April 24, 2016 at 9:10amHah! I cheated. This is a competition I can’t help winning. 😀
Jane
April 23, 2016 at 10:38amI took a while to look into the recommends, and WOW are they good this week!
Thanks.
Marian Allen
April 23, 2016 at 10:51amThanks! That Londonist site knocks me out!
Kirizar
April 24, 2016 at 10:39amThank you for the kind shout-out. I appreciate you make my whinging about life sound purposeful and entertaining. I laughed when I considered surviving entirely based on my knowledge of Regency England. I suspect my best aspirations would be ladies maid or, dream of dreams, wallflower companion. In fact, if that title isn’t already taken, I claim it for the occasion upon which I am transported in time and write my memoirs of the experience. (I’d use ‘Lowlander’ but I suspect no one of the era would get the joke.)
Marian Allen
April 24, 2016 at 1:20pmWallflower Companion totally sounds like a soft psychedelic band name from the 60s. Go for it! Oh! That reminds me: Did you ever read The Unicorn Girl by Michael Kurland? A bunch of 60s hippies are transported back in time — or are they?