Birthday Blogpost

It happens every year. I can't pretend that I'm not expecting it, because the date is consistent - but as the years pass, it seems to approach more rapidly than ever.

I speak of the anniversary of my birth, and my increasing incredulity that I can be, as one of my small friends put it, such an 'old lady' when I still feel about 26 on the inside. It's a shock, sometimes, to realise that my younger son is, currently that age.

Cake, at least in our culture, is usually a mark of a birthday. And since our closest friends in Cyprus were due here Sunday afternoon, I decided to bake a chocolate fudge cake a day early, so as to share the feast with them. I used a slightly runny icing and then decorated it with seasonal strawberries, and some American style chocolate chips which some visitors had given us last summer:

Nobody doubts my ability to bake and even decorate a cake, so long as nothing artistic is required. But in general I am not permitted by my family to cut a cake, particularly not with our large and rather sharp knife. However, given my advancing years, Richard and Tim felt that perhaps - with supervision - I should be allowed to try:

After all, as Tim kindly pointed out, it might not be many years before my hands become too shaky to use a sharp knife...

I succeeded in dividing the cake into twelve reasonably even pieces, without cutting myself at all. Pieces were passed around the table, served with fresh fruit salad which I had also made earlier in the day:

Katie enjoyed hers very much:

We didn't have anything much planned for the following day, which was the actual birthday. So I got up early and read for a while, as usual, and did my normal Monday blitz around to dust/vacuum/mop the house before Richard got up. Then I opened some presents: books, DVDs and some fruity teas from Richard and two of my siblings who passed their gifts to me when we saw them back in February.

Richard was working in the morning, so I pottered a while, read email, caught up on Facebook - including about thirty 'Happy birthday' messages which I responded to briefly - and a few other things on the computer.

Since there were ten people present for Sunday evening, there were two pieces of cake left for us to eat after lunch. Afterwards we went out to the PO Box where I found three packages awaiting, one of which was addressed to Tim. The other contained some books from another of my siblings.

I'd also wanted to buy a few flowering plants to put in the planters outside my study window, so we visited a plant shop too to spend a little of the birthday money I've been given. I thought I'd branch out from my usual petunias and geraniums, although I've no idea what I actually bought.

I planted them out soon after we got back.  There are two of this pretty purple thing:

and two of each of these plants:

Our Christmas poinsettia is still looking reasonably good, but with both Easters (Western and Eastern) past, and the weather warming up, I decided it was time to move it from the living room to the outside planter:

Then I couldn't resist a few more geraniums and a couple of petunias, as they do so very well in Cyprus. Most of them will go downstairs on the outside patio area:

Tim arrived about 6pm, tired after his first day back at work after the Easter break. The parcel addressed to him was in fact his present to me, which was a new and smart-looking chocolate-coloured case for my Kindle, as my old case had almost disintegrated.

And since I'm often asked exactly what my gifts were, here they are in collage form:

I had already decanted two of the boxes of fruity tea into jars and cut out the box fronts to label them before I thought of taking a photo. I've tried them both already, and they are extremely good.

Richard had asked if I'd like to go out for a meal in the evening, but we've been out to eat at restaurants four times in the past six weeks and I couldn't think of anything I particularly wanted to eat at a restaurant. About four times a year is more normal for us.

So I decided to make my current favourite meal of spanopitta, and just have Tim over to dinner. He then mentioned that he still had some pecans left from his last trip to the UK, and they needed to be used.. so he would bring a pecan pie for dessert. I wasn't entirely sure whether a pie following a pie would be a good idea, but was quite prepared to try.

Spanopitta isn't difficult, now I've realised that it's not necessary to cook the chopped onions before mixing them into the feta and hard goat's cheeses, along with eggs and spinach, but I wasn't sure if we'd eat more than one - and liked the idea of having some extra to freeze for a future meal - so I made two:

.. served with two of my favourite vegetables: roasted tomatoes with basil and garlic, and baked mushrooms:

I'd thought about doing some other veg, but didn't want us to be too full before the dessert, which looked good and tasted delicious:

We had played Settlers of Catan on Sunday afternoon, and we were all tired, so I suggested we play 'Kingdom Builder', a game that Tim bought us for Christmas, but which we haven't played very often. I like it very much; it's not too demanding, and doesn't take more than about half an hour. We played a couple of rounds:

However by about 8.30pm Tim was yawning after his early start (he has to get up at 6.00am in term time) so he went home, and I went back to my computer to find yet more birthday greetings on Facebook. By 9.30 I was almost asleep myself, so I went up to read in bed.

Having stretched out the celebration over two days, I thought that would be the end of it. Then this afternoon I had a message that it was a good time to phone Daniel, Becky and David who are at present on the Logos Hope in Malaysia. After several failed attempts, we got through on a reasonable line via the UK and USA, and I was wished Happy Birthday yet again. We chatted for about forty-five minutes, and were pleased to discover, on hanging up, that it had cost us the vast total of about 40 pence (sterling).

Amazon Kindle Keyboard

 I’m not what could be called an early adopter of technology. I like my elderly computer, my basic phone, and my hard-wearing digital camera. But I was reluctant to take any of them on board at first, and needed extensive help from my technologically aware family to get started and then gradually converted.

I am, however, an avid reader. Perhaps not so much as I was in my teens, particularly since having discovered the wonders of the Internet, but I still manage to read at least a hundred books every year. Since our town does not have a decent library, I have a great excuse to collect books which I lend to various friends; we have around three thousand, many of them bought from charity shops. 

KINDLE CONFUSION

When the Kindle was first invented, around the end of 2007, and marketed extensively by Amazon, it did not occur to me that I would ever want one. Why read a gadget, when real books are available? Who wants to stare at a screen for hours anyway?  I had tried reading free e-books on my computer but found it tiring and stressful; if I had to read a book or even a lengthy essay that could only be found online, I preferred to print it.  

My family told me about ‘e-ink’, the new concept that made screen-reading pleasanter and more relaxing, but I wasn’t convinced. Friends who had bought Kindles were enthusiastically positive... but I could not see the appeal. Still, I try to be open-minded... and sure enough, little by little, I began to realise that perhaps there were a few advantages of electronic readers.  

KINDLE CONCEPT

I was particularly struck with the idea that, when travelling by plane (as we do at least once a year) a Kindle could replace several books in hand luggage. I also liked the idea of being able to read out-of-print classics by authors whose work I enjoyed. I discovered that there are little-known novels and novellas which had never reached the mass market, but are now available electronically. Reading them on my computer does not appeal, but they were too long to print. 

Suddenly I realised that my mind-set had changed; the idea of a Kindle had a decided appeal. 

Perhaps. 

KINDLE CONSTRAINTS

We live a fairly frugal life, and although I had some birthday money, I wanted to see and handle a Kindle myself before splashing out on something I might never use. They weren’t cheap - they were around £200 at first - and I simply didn’t feel that I couldn’t justify a purchase. But from time to time I did vaguely discuss the possibility with my husband and sons. When I had a moment, I read reviews, and weighed up the pros and cons... and, every time, despite the cost gradually reducing, I put the idea aside.

CHRISTMAS KINDLE

Christmas 2010 arrived, and I was given a surprise gift. My husband and sons had bought me a third generation Kindle (now called ‘Kindle keyboard’) from the US Amazon site, where it was still rather less expensive, brought over by a visiting friend. I was astounded and delighted - and had no idea what to do with the thing. I was told that it was the basic wifi version, without 3G access, but as I had no idea what 3G was, I just smiled and nodded. 

KINDLE CONSTRUCTION

It came in a neat little box, with a long white charging USB wire, and also one with a plug. The instructions were brief, and told me that there was a user guide on the Kindle itself. Which was fine, except that we first had to charge it up to see anything at all. Thankfully this proved straightforward, and within a few hours the orange light at the bottom change to green, and my Kindle was ready to go. 

I have since learned that a single charge of a few hours (if plugged into my computer via the USB lead) usually lasts about a month, with daily use of up to an hour or two. I find this very impressive. 

KINDLE CONFIGURING

The on-off switch is a sliding one at the bottom, which is a little awkward at first; my husband then used the menu button to configure our home wi-fi network to enable it to go online. 

Since I wanted books from the UK Amazon rather than the US one, we had to change a few settings to get that to work, but it didn’t take long. We later learned that this was well worth doing: another friend, who also had a US Kindle, had not bothered to switch to Amazon UK, deciding that she could get hold of free classics just as easily from America. Unfortunately, despite them being free, her UK credit card saw ‘foreign transaction’ and whacked on the minimum processing fee for every order. 

KINDLE CLASSICS

I looked in the Kindle store on Amazon UK and was pleased to discover many old favourites - Jane Austen, Louisa M Alcott, Frances Hodgson Burnett, and more - well out of copyright, available to download at no cost. I was a little disturbed at the idea of ‘one-click ordering’ which the Kindle requires, but it seems to work well. The only problem is that there have been a couple of times when I ordered a book listed as free only to realise, just too late, that it was no longer free. I now check every order carefully before clicking ‘download’.

KINDLE CONTEMPORARY

More and more books are now being published in Kindle form almost as soon as they are available in paperback. While prices are still wildly variable, with the Kindle price sometimes higher than the paperback - which makes NO sense! - they are sometimes extremely good value.  Living abroad, Amazon charge high amounts for postage, meaning that I usually choose other sites if I'm ordering books. But with Kindle orders, there's obviously no postage charge, and, even more significantly, no waiting for the book to arrive in the mail. 

KINDLE CASE

Using the Kindle felt a bit awkward at first, and I was worried about dropping it, so my son suggested ordering a case.  The ones on Amazon were quite expensive at the time, so he found a £6 new case from eBay. I ordered it immediately and have been very pleased with it. Since putting the Kindle in its case, I’m a lot less worried about dropping or damaging it. 

KINDLE CATALOGUING

When I turn the Kindle on, I’m greeted by a list of book titles that I have downloaded. These can be put in folders, so I’ve created one for books I have read, but I keep most of my downloads in what I think of as my inbox.  I usually keep the most recently accessed ones at the top, so I can get back immediately to whatever I’m reading. However, books can be organised by title, or by author, if preferred.  I'm told that the capacity is for around 2,000 books in all, but as I've only collected around 300 so far, this is unlikely to be a problem. If by chance I do ever run out of space, I can 'archive' some of the books at Amazon. 

A feature that I particularly like is that if I return to the home page while reading a book, the Kindle remembers where I was. In other words, when I return to the book - by clicking its name - I will automatically be taken to the place where I stopped reading. That allows me to have, effectively, bookmarks in dozens of books at the same time.  There’s a menu button which enables me to navigate elsewhere in a book if I wish - such as to the beginning, or a particular location - but in general I like to be able to return to wherever I was last reading. 

KINDLE CONTROLS

To turn pages, there’s a little movable piece of the Kindle at each side, with a smaller bit above for turning back rather than forwards.  I was pleased that it didn’t take long before this felt very natural; I had been worried that it would be difficult to enjoy a book if I had to think about technology all the time, but I very quickly found myself caught up in the story, completely forgetting what medium I was using. 

I was particularly pleased to discover that I could hold the Kindle in one hand and turn the pages easily while holding a spoon in the other hand... making it the ideal accompaniment to my breakfast, most mornings. 

KINDLE KEYBOARD

On my keyboard-style Kindle, there’s a standard, tiny qwerty-type keyboard, and a ‘sym’ key which brings up numbers and other symbols if needed. I haven’t used this much, other than setting up a short password - protecting my Amazon account, should it ever be stolen - and also when entering other wi-fi networks. It’s possible to make notes, too, and to search for strings within books. I only rarely do either of these, but it’s useful to have the keyboard when necessary as I’m not a fan of touch screens. 

The keyboard also has a ‘home’ button to return to the home page, and a ‘menu’ button to bring up menu options - such as going online to search the Kindle store at Amazon, or navigating within a book. There’s also a button labelled Aa which allows me to control the font and also the font size. This feature is very useful for people whose eyesight may be poor, as it enables the text to be displayed in quite a large size. 

I did glance through the instruction guide - already on the Kindle - a couple of times, but happily I've found it intuitive enough that I can work most things out by myself. 

KINDLE CONTEXT

There are several more modern Kindle variations, some of them simpler and less expensive than mine, others with considerably more features, and a higher price.  However, there are still Kindles like mine available new from Amazon at £149. The wi-fi only version has vanished, so they all have 3G enabled, meaning that they can be used anywhere, whether or not there is a local wi-fi connection. 

KINDLE CONCLUSIONS

If I go out in the car with my husband to run errands, I put my Kindle in my bag, so I can pull it out for those moments when he pops into a dull shop 'for a couple of minutes'. It has saved me from considerable boredom several times. When travelling to the UK to visit family and friends, I use my Kindle almost exclusively and very much like not having to carry piles of books with me. 

I still read regular books, and continue to collect them, but I read Kindle books too. I usually have at least five or six different books on the go at any point anyway, one fiction and several non-fiction. These days, at least a couple of my current books in progress are likely to be on my Kindle.  

I don’t think it will ever replace real books - certainly not for me - but it’s a very nice addition.  All in all, I would recommend a Kindle for anyone who reads a lot, particularly if you travel.

2023 UPDATE

My Kindle is now more than 12 years old, and still works perfectly. I don't use it much when I'm at home, as I still prefer real books. But when travelling, it's invaluable. I have several hundred books, mostly downloaded free, which I read on flights and while away from home, and still like it very much. The case had to be replaced a few years ago, but the Kindle itself is still fine.

It won't last forever, I know. While there are still some modern Kindles that use e-ink (I don't like the backlit ones that are essentially Amazon tablets) I don't think any of them have buttons to press, or a keyboard. I'm less unhappy with touchscreens than I used to be, and will certainly replace the Kindle when I have to - but I hope my Kindle Keyboard (now almost an antique in technological terms) will continue to work well for years to come.  

I understand that there are still some Kindles of this style available from eBay and similar sites - so if you want a simple Kindle, I would recommend it highly. 

Becoming accustomed to Cyprus power cuts...

It's made a big difference knowing in advance when to expect power cuts, since the provisional schedule was published on Tuesday.

Even better was being able to sign up for mobile phone alerts. I appreciated the commenter who let me know how to do this, and signed up immediately. It wasn't all that helpful on Wednesday... the schedule had already informed me that our region's power cut would begin some time between 4.30 and 5.00. At 4.00pm a text message arrived, in Greek. I typed it quickly into Google Translate.. and it told me that disruption to our region would start some time between 4.30 and 5.00pm, and would last up to two and a half hours. Which is what I knew already. Still, it reminded me to turn the computer off around 4.25. I wasn't worried about the cut on Wednesday as we had been invited to the home of some friends.

On Thursday, however, I was very thankful for the phone alert. Assuming that between 4.30 and 5.00 was our regular scheduled time, I had not checked the Electricity Authority of Cyprus site. But around 3.00pm I had a text telling me that the cut would start some time between 3.30 and 4.00. We had been invited to the home of some other friends to eat, so again I wasn't worried from the cooking point of view - but it's much better to switch the computer off rather than have it suddenly go black due to a power cut.

On Friday, it was even earlier. And once again, my phone alert let me know that the cut might start at 2.30. So I was ready for it - and that's when it did start. It lasted for two and a half hours. I'd cooked a curry in the crockpot, starting it around 7.00am so I knew it would continue cooking gently during the power cut.

Friday evening, we had a second power cut. The site had said that it was possible, but this time the phone alert did not arrive until about five minutes after the blackout began at 8.40pm. Still, I had a feeling we might have a second cut and had been carrying an electric torch around with me. Tim lit some candles - it's pitch dark in Cyprus by that time - and tried to read his Kindle by candlelight:


But there wasn't enough light .And it was very humid, which felt worse without the ceiling fans running. So we went outside to sit on the front porch of our guest flat, almost as if we were Cypriots.

No cuts are scheduled for the weekend, and Monday's is supposed to start some time between 3.00 and 3.30pm, according to the EAC site. That means that we should have electricity back again some time between 5.30 and 6.00 so if I plan something in the slow cooker again, there will be plenty of time to use the oven for roast vegetables or similar after the power returns.

Confident that we would not have power cuts today - or, at least, that my phone would let me know if one became scheduled unexpectedly - I did the last work necessary to upgrade our family website, including concluding the notes for my rather rambling and detailed home education diary, ending in 2006 after Tim turned 18 and started on his degree course.