I have made the transition to keeping my calendar on my iPhone. It took me awhile to commit to using my phone as my primary calendar, but it became obvious that it was the easiest way since I always have my phone with me and adding appointments right then and there is the most convenient and most reliable. I don’t even take the little appointment card reminders from the dentist or hair stylist any longer; I just put the next appointment in my phone. Easier and less clutter, too.
But I do still keep a paper calendar at home. Mainly because I find I need to see an entire month laid out in order to really know what I have planned. I also keep a paper calendar because I am a calendar addict in many ways. I love calendars.
The first calendar I ever remember (and no, it wasn’t from 1916 as is the above illustration) was the one hanging in my grandparents’ kitchen. It was a freebie that they got from a local business, usually either Britt’s grocery or Nowell’s drugstore in their hometown of Wendell, North Carolina. Printed on newsprint with only two colors (usually black and red), it showed the months with the dates as well as the phases of the moon and when the sun rose and when the sun set. There were, of course, ads on those calendars as well. I can remember being fascinated by their calendar.
I feel certain we also had a calendar hanging in our kitchen at home and knowing my mother, it was a pretty one with flowers or songbirds or the like. But I don’t remember my mother writing on that calendar, keeping track of appointments on that calendar. I wonder how she remembered when the PTA met or when we had doctor appointments or Little League games.
I still keep a paper calendar on my desk. The one I order every year is from a small company in Bar Harbor, Maine (35 employees) called Gallery Leather. I love how well their products are made as well as the fact that I am helping support a small company. You can sometimes find Gallery Leather products at Barnes and Noble stores or even on Amazon, but I like to order directly from their Maine shop. I pick a different color cover for each year and always use the Large Monthly Planner, which just means there is ample space to write in the date box. They sell a variety of stationery products but I have only purchased the planner. I ought to think about branching out. Their products are beautifully made and beautiful to look at and to use. Check them out at www.galleryleather.com
My life with and love of calendars has another Maine connection, too. For years, my brother and sister-in-law have gifted us with an Abacus Calendar by Maine artist Dana Heacock— www.abacusgallery.com. These calendars have an individual poster, an off-set lithograph, for each month of the year. We pop the month into a plexiglass box frame and have original art for each month of the year. There are several Abacus stores in Maine but my favorite is the one in Boothbay Harbor. I love what Dana wrote this year with his calendar months:
I’ve been fascinated by color for as long as I can remember. When I was a little kid my mom made me color samples by cutting small squares of solid color fabrics with pinking shears. I kept them in a shoebox and would spend hours sitting on the floor and spreading out the colors in different combinations….Thanks, Mom!
Here’s what is coming up for October:
We have a calendar hanging in our kitchen created by our daughter on Shutterfly with photos of our daughter and the Massachusetts grandchildren. It’s a joy to turn the page each month, often being reminded of how quickly time passes and how quickly children—and grandchldren—grow up.
My husband has a calendar over his desk made by his sister Anne, an excellent graphic designer/artist. Her calendar this year features intriguing monthly designs she created by computer manipulation of photographs.
Then there is the delightful calendar made by Vermont friends that feature Barbie in a variety of monthly settings. It is a happy, happy day when this arrives in our Christmas mail.
In past years, long ago, I made two rather primitive calendars of original drawings, one which featured our pig, Mr. Natural, and another which starred the mischievous groundhog who wrecked our garden one summer. I made these as gifts for family and a very few friends. These were made in pre-computer days so the two are what one might call very limited editions!
We also have a small calendar known as a perpetual calendar which hangs in our kitchen. This is an old-fashioned version of what is the repeat function on my iPhone calendar. We use this calendar over and over every year as it contains birthdays and anniversaries and other special days that we want to remember every year. It never needs replacing because it is, as the name indicates, perpetual.
The word calendar comes from the Old English word calends which denoted an appointed time and often referred to the first day of the month. That was a significant date as it is when accounts were due and bills had to be paid. Fortunately, calendars have a more extensive and more joyful meaning for us today.
What kind of calendars do you use? Do you have a particular one you love? Have you crossed the bridge to using only your digital calendar? Have you ever made a calendar? I’d love to hear from you.
I love calendars and plannners, too! I bought two teacher planners yesterday—I am on a quest to find the best one!
Nicely done! And sooner than you might think, you will wonder why you waited so long to go electronic. I have come to really appreciate making calendar entry on my phone, and there it is at the same time on my laptop, desktop, pad, and watch. No more excuses for missing an event!