Week 48 - Planning and Turkey

Lots got done this week - cleaning, cooking, planning trips and online work. There were lots of zooms involved. What did we do before zoom?

I started the week zooming with the other moderator of my online sock group who is American but lives in Germany. We had to arrange the 12 voted on challenges for the different months next year. It was fun to chat with Lia and we got it done. There was drama later in the week when one of the members took offense at another member's post. I had to email the offender and ask her to change, which resulted in zero change and an irate return email. Oh well. It all seems to have blown over. Tempest in a teapot. Since Sunday was December 1st, I had to do the monthly tally so I spent quite a bit more time than usual on my Socks from Stash this week but it's all good.

I zoomed with Anne and Rene on Tuesday morning to plan our trip to Palm Springs at the end of January. Under the banner of everything's harder than it should be, Anne's credit card didn't work, our zoom got cut off at 30 minutes and nothing else was easy. It took some time but we got a VRBO, rented a car and bought our plane tickets. Anne had to pay through the nose for a fully refundable ticket because Rene has a free companion ticket that can't be redeemed until January so we had to reserse the seat. Sheesh!

I was hosting Thanksgiving so spent Wednesday cleaning and making pies - pumpkin, a small blueberry and banana cream for Anne (NOT a festive pie but it's what she wants.) I didn't sleep well that night and had stress dreams about broccoli, only to get up and find that my broccoli had frozen in my fridge and was nasty. Good thing I had some Brussels sprouts. Everything else went fine. I had the turkey stuffed and in the oven first thing then prepped all the veg and set the table. Rene and Anne arrived at noon and we ate all the yummy food. They left before it got dark and I had everything put away, pots and pans washed, the dishwasher running and the tukey carcas in the crockpot before I went to bed. Nice.

I spent Friday doing online stuff for my COBRA and flex reimbursements. I screwed up thinking I'd only put in $50/month on flex when I'd actually done $64 so was short with things to reimburse. I will have to dig for receipts for over the counter stuff. Hopefully I'll find some. : )

I was madly working on Christmas knitting and had finished Dee's socks and started Bob's. I had sent an email to Ginny, who shares an email account with her husband,  asking if her socks fit OK. I got a terse answer back saying they needed to be smaller. I had cast on a smaller pair for her - fewer stitches on smaller needles - and they were a slog. When I mentioned this to her, she had no idea what I was talking about. Her idiot husband had answered for himself so Ginny's socks fit fine but Bob's are too big. And what was I almost done with? Another pair of socks for Bob that now I know wouldn't fit. He laughed it off but I was pissed. I was not going to reknit his pair and it was my last pair for him so he will not be getting a better fitting pair from me. Jerk. At least I got to rip out the smaller pair for Ginny.

Other than a quick trip to the farm store to stock up on cheap birdseed, I spent the weekend inside cooking all things turkey. I made soup with the stock, turkey salad for sandwiches and put some dinners (stuffing, turkey, gravy and cranberry) in the freezer and finished up making a yummy cottage pie with the last of the turkey and gravy with the leftover mashed potatoes on top. Yum! It tasted different from all the rest, which was a good thing because I was getting sick to death of turkey, just like most of the country at this point. Until next Thanksgiving.

I hope you all had a great holiday. Christmas is only 3.5 weeks away now. Yikes!

Week 47 - Lots of Socializing

I had a busy end of the week coming, which included friends coming over, so I had lots of cleaning to do. Long overdue, as usual. But the end of the week was just day after day of fun. 

I had to things to accomplish in the first days of the week - clean my house and finish the book for book club. Nothing exciting about neatizing, vacuuming, cleaning bathrooms and such. I interspersed that between bouts of listening to The Huntress, which was my pick for book club. I'd read 2 books by the same author so thought this would be good but it was way too long and boring because of it. I'd given up on reading it because I'd fall asleep right away since it wasn't holding my interest so had downloaded the audio book. I listened during breaks from cleaning and finished it Tuesday evening. I still did some cleaning on Wednesday but also went through the 2 bins of ebay linens from the laundry room. After 3 days of that, it was time for some fun.

On Thursday, Rene, Anne and I were going to Crete to check out a new yarn shop and then eating Thanksgiving dinner at the dorms. This was supposed to be a celebration for Anne's birthday, which was on the previous Sunday, but there wasn't much that felt birthday-ish. The yarn shop closed at 3:00 so we left Lincoln at 1:00 and it was a lovely shop but there wasn't much else to do in Crete so we ended up killing time at Starbuck's before heading to campus. We'd had this dinner last year and it was delish but it was in a different dining hall this year and we all concurred that it was better last year. We split up and I headed north to go straight to book club. We ate early enough that it wasn't even going to be tight.

Well, I was driving north on 77 with my cruise set but a car was right on my tail. I sped up to pass someone and change lanes but the person got right behind me in that lane too and were so close that I was worried and contemplating calling 911. Then lights came on. I pulled right over and was rummaging for my paperwork when a state trooper knocked on my passenger window and asked if I knew why she stopped me. I didn't but told her she was following so close that I was scared. She apologized and said she was trying to read my plates, which were expired. What???? I had no idea that I'd neglected to send that in. Sheesh! She gave me a ticket that would be waived if I registered the car within 10 days. Sheesh! 

I made it to book club right at 6:30 and we had a good discussion. Everyone agreed the book was WAY too long. Do not read The Huntress by Kate Quinn. The Rose Code and The Alice Network by her are definitely worth reading.

Lori had a hair appointment in Wahoo on Friday so had suggested lunch on Friday, hence the cleaning. But Andrea had to work until 2:00 so we decided to do tea after her appointment instead. I washed the kitchen floor, washing myself out the door to register my car, and then had time for a nice lunch while watching Silo (great books and good series on Apple+) before putting a blueberry cake in the oven. We had a lovely afternoon of tea, cake and knitting in the sun. It was so worth all the cleaning. : )

Earlier in the week, someone had contacted me about buying a skein of my yarn and after going back and forth a bit, it turns out it was a 15 year old boy from Omaha who knits baby things for charity. When I saw this, I said I'd set him up with all kinds of baby yarn for free and meet him in Omaha for a handoff. I pulled a big bag full and Anne pulled 2. Andrea and I were going to the Omaha Spinners and Weavers Guild sale so had arranged to meet him in the parking lot. We hit Stoysich House of Sausage, New Life Thrift and the Rotella factory store for bread before meeting at the sale. His dad was with him and I think they realized I was OK so I told him to message me when he needs more. I can set him up. I bought a skein of sock yarn at the sale then we hit Imagiknit (I only bought stitch stoppers), Trader Joe's and Aldi. I made dinner when I got home and was ready to veg on Sunday. 

Well, I had chores to do so I made banana bread, cleaned up the kitchen, changed sheets and did 2 loads of laundry and hung it on the line before Lorri stopped by after church. I had some birthday presents for her and after she left, I chatted with Carolyn. With a cold snap coming that would last for as far out as the forecast goes, I went outside and spent a chilly afternoon cutting down the perennials in the parking, which act as a snow fence and cover my sidewalk with snow if I don't cut them. I was warm enough after that that I kept going and cut all the sunflowers and weeds on the east side and a few others. I piled them by the alley and they may stay there all winter. After that, I was ready for a shower, supper and a night of streaming.

The good weeks just keep coming. This not working thing is GREAT! I had lots of fun, got my house all clean and had time for some Christmas knitting. If I had bought a tree already, it would already be up. I'm feeling pretty festive these days. Now to prepare for Thanksgiving, which I'm hosting. Yum - turkey!

Week 46 - Tot Came Home

I woke up with a start at 6:30 in hopes that Tot would be waiting at the back door. She wasn't. After checking the street again and calling her, I was perusing my computer for a picture of her for posters when she came up from under the deck. She was clearly spooked and had a bloody ear but I was SO relieved that she was home. She didn't go out for a couple of days and when she finally did, it was just for a few minutes. She didn't get back to normal until the end of the week. What a great way to start the week, right?

My goal for the week was to start slogging through the laundry room. Becky had announced another Stuff for Strays sale starting Friday so I was determined to contribute another load. I got started Monday afternoon and then spent Tuesday going through all the Christmas boxes down there. I scrubbed the metal cabinets and all the appliances and loaded the last donations on Wednesday afternoon. While it wasn't as big a carload as the last 2 (I could see out my back window), it was plenty - a full layer with the back seats down. 

Thursday was my campus day for lunch with Dodie at our favorite Bison Witches. Afterwards, I dropped the carload of stuff (gone is good!), did some thrifting (found yarn) then stopped at the little hardware store in Havelock to see about a handle for my sliding door. They were helpful but I still left empty handed and then hit the hardware store in Wahoo. Nothing there either but I decided to fill the stripped holes with my hot glue gun. While doing that I realized I had 2 new holes that I could use and after weeks of having a barely hanging on handle, it's as good as new - just mounted an inch higher than before.

Friday was the last warm day before our first hard freeze coming next week so I spent it bringing in plants. That sounds easy but I had to wash the racks then the windows and floors they'd be covering. Only then could I start bringing in plants, half of which needed to be repotted. It took all day but it's nice to have blooming plants in the house and I'll appreciate them even more in the dead of winter. It's mostly geraniums and lantanas. I also drained all the hoses and put them away. My yard is almost ready for winter.

Saturday was spinning in Fremont so Andrea and I did our regular run, ending at Aldi where I bought lots of Christmas treats. Otherwise, it was a lazy weekend. I potted up a couple more plants and knitted on my Christmas socks with the yarn I dyed last week. Can you see the stripes?. On Sunday night I cobbled together a rigatoni bake with a strange Italian seasoned smoked sausage I had in the freezer, the ends of random cheese from the fridge and kale from my garden. It was quite yummy and I loved using things up and making do with what I had on hand.

Another good week of retirement with lots of productivity, a bunch of stuff out of my house, all of which will benefit cats, and my plants all set for another winter. But best of all was Tot coming back and she was back to her mean self by the end of the week. Too bad she couldn't have come out of it with a better attitude. Ha!

Week 45 - Good and Bad

It was another chock full week of getting things done and running around with some edification too. A lovely week of retirement life. Mostly.

It was raining on Monday so the cats didn't wake me up. Despite the late start, I got a lot done. I went through the freezer, organizing it and clearing the ice off of some of the things in the way back, which I think was from a blocked vent or something. With that done, I made an apple pie to take to knitting and then made a batch of strawberry/banana jam. Yum on both and we knitted especially late at the library that night.

Aside from voting, I spent the day avoiding media so finished the last bit of the freezer (I hadn't done the door and a basket of bags of fruit) and then dyed some yarn. I did the same brand but one bit plain and one sparkle and dyed them red in the same pot. My intention is to knit striped Christmas socks with 4 rows each of the plain and sparkle, which will be subtle but hopefully fun. Things were looking bad by the time I went to bed but I'm determined not to worry about our country for the next 4 years. We survived his last term and we'll survive his next one too. I ordered some sock yarn as a pick me up. : )

I did a Lincoln run on Wednesday. I needed to pick up cat food for Husker Cats but the woman had forgotten about me so instead of picking it up on the way into town, I had to go back after lunch. Lana, Cindy and I went to the Chinese buffet, which I've been craving for months. We commiserated about the election but not for long because what's the point? I picked up the cat food and had a nice chat in the parking lot when Mike Z. helped me load it into the bin. After a stop at the grocery store, I headed home for tea and to cake up my newly dyed yarn, one of which was a tangled mess. I made quiche which I had with some wine while watching Survivor. I survived the depressing day.

Lorri had invited me to a talk out at the lake about woodlands in Nebraska so I was up, dressed and out the door early on Thursday. The NRD (natural resources district) put it on and it was interesting. While we were there, Lorri mentioned another program at her church that afternoon about the history of Wahoo's churches that the museum was giving. I invited myself and Lorri and Bob picked me up. I should have but didn't expect a social hour afterwards, complete with church lady baked goods. It was a gorgeous day so I walked home. I ended up being online with Philippe, the computer guy from work, until 6:00 fixing a problem I'd had while working last week. It was a good day.

I woke up with no plans on Friday but saw an ad on TV for a baking sale at HyVee and they were practically giving away baking ingredients. I'm talking $.99 for flour, $2.99 for butter, $1.79 for sugar and more. It was all so cheap that it was worth the drive, especially because gas is also much cheaper - like $.40/gallon cheaper - in Omaha so that savings pays for the gas to get there. I had to be at the library at 5:00 so got in the car early and ran to Omaha for HyVee and a couple of other errands. I was home by 1:00. 

Merry Market, which is a city-wide holiday sale, started Friday night. Since the library participates with their holiday decoration sale but closes at 5:00, I always go from 5:00 to 8:00 and sit with Denise for the few people who trek the 2 blocks from the main street to shop the sale. I picked up a pizza on the way there for our supper. It was a rainy night so we had very few customers and Denise made the executive decision to close up at 7:00 and said we wouldn't be stay late for it next year. I was ready for a relaxing weekend.

Beside chores, the only thing I needed to do was sew a project bag that I'd offered as an October prize in my online sock group. After chatting with friends all morning, I headed downstairs, determined to get it done and in the mail that afternoon before the Monday holiday with no mail. I used the first Christmas fabric I found, which happened to be a pair of pajama pants I'd bought for the fabric. I slammed it out and got it in the mail in the nick of time then went down and made another one for me. Isn't it cute?

I did chores on Sunday and was pretty happy with my week but then Tot didn't come in that night. She never stays out overnight when it's cold so I was worried. I called and called, getting out of bed several times and walking the street with a fleece over my nightie at 2:30 am. No cliffhangers here. She did come in Monday morning - not first thing but after I'd been up for awhile. She was very skittish and had a bloody ear so something had gotten her. Good thing she's up on her shots. 

So other than the election results and the Tot worrying, it was a good week. If this is what retirement looks like, I'll continue to be happily retired. I got things done, did some fun cooking, crafting, dyeing and learned stuff too. I'll take more like this but without the worrisome end.

Week 44 - Just Busy Enough

Let me tell you, it doesn't take much post-retirement to feel busy. This week did include some actual work (my first on-call hours) but between errands, social events, trips out of Wahoo and continuing to slog through stuff, I'd call it a busy week. And as my friend Carolyn asked, "Was it a busy week or a busy week for a retired person?" You tell me.

I started the week cleaning my fridge. I've had an issue where my door wouldn't close if my crisper drawers were in so I took the bottom shelf out, cleaned it and the drawers (which have been out of the fridge for months) and tried to get them back in. Nope. Something is going on with the back wall of my fridge and I need to google to see what I can figure out. That afternoon, I had a meeting scheduled with my UNL computer guy to help with a OneDrive problem. 2 hours later! He was great and it was all good to go but the day was done except for knitting that night. Full day.

I started Tuesday working all morning helping Dana with grad allocations. I finished just in time to drive to Lincoln for lunch with Darla at Virginia's Cafe (one of our regular places). I then thrifted a bit before meeting Anne and Mark at the theatre to see Conclave. It was my first afternoon matinee as a retiree and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Mark is still working so it was the 4:00 show instead of earlier but I'll take it. I need to do that more often but need some decent movies to come out.

My goal for Wednesday was to get my flu and covid boosters but to continue with my slog through my whole house project, I went through some of my linen closet before I headed to the pharmacy. I hit the Senior Center Thrift while I was out and finished some Halloween socks when I got home. OK, not such a busy day.

I felt a bit dumpy on Thursday after having a sore arm the night before. I did go out to get money for a cash box for the Friends of the Library Christmas sale that would be starting the next day and since I was out, I got BK for lunch. I spent 3 hours watching The Grocery Girls on YouTube and made a big pot of red sauce. I had bought 2 bags of candy but decided not to bother putting my light on. Because Boo in Wahoo is in Halloween, very few kids actually go door to door and since I didn't want to be up and down all night, I didn't bother.

I started Friday morning casting on Lorri's birthday socks, which I worked on while sitting in the sun all morning. I made a pot of Lacey's sausage/potato soup before heading to the dentist and then directly to the hairdresser to get a long overdue haircut. I made a cup of tea and went outside to knit in the sun when I got home. Not a hugely busy day but got a couple of things checked off.

I was headed to Omaha on Saturday. It started out as just knitting at Lori's but a man she golfs with, Gary, had all his late wife's yarn and craft supplies and wanted to know if Lori wanted to go through it so that's what we did. He gave us a tour of his house and all the many collections he had then we went to the basement and took all of the yarn. After a stop at Imagiknit, where I bought a skein of sock yarn, of course, we went back to Lori's to sort. I only took a couple of skeins for myself but had lots for Anne and Dottie. We had tea and knitted for a little while but Lori goes to Saturday mass so I headed out late afternoon for a HyVee (grocery) run on the way home. It was a full and fun day.

Sunday was the Project Close Up turkey dinner at the high school, which I always enjoy, so after chatting with my sister and with Lorri (2 R Lori so different from 1 R Lori from Saturday) stopping after church, I went zfor take out turkey and enjoyed that for lunch. I spent the rest of the day knitting a shawl that I started with one of the skeins I took from Gary between my usual Sunday chores.

So whether that's a busy week or just a busy week for a retiree, I'll take more of them please. I had a good mix of social stuff, a touch of slogging through stuff (OK, this week was pretty light on that) and got a few things checked off my list. Add finishing a pair of socks in the nick of time to wear them for Halloween and ending the week with new yarn and knitting, I'd call that a banner week. Busy or not. : )

Week 43 - Hanging with Connie

Connie was due to arrive Monday and I was pretty much ready but had a full day ahead. Imagine my surprise when she called at 7:50 am to say she was already on her way and would be there mid-afternoon. Yikes! I had in my head that she'd be arriving in the evening and had even planned to go to knitting at 6:00. My morning immediately went crazy.

After dropping a carload of donations, I was taking my cousin out for lunch in Lincoln. Luckily I only had to frost the cake I'd made the night before and wrap her present but did the last minute cleaning I'd left for the morning, threw some pork in the crockpot and was out the door by 10:00. I was a sweaty mess after dropping the donations off at a house with 3 steps to the sidewalk and another 6 to the porch but made it to my cousin's at 11:30. We had a nice lunch at Piedmont Bistro (my fave restaurant in Lincoln that's literally a block from my cousin's) and then went back to her house for cake and presents. I had thought I'd stay all afternoon but left at 2:30 to pick up a few groceries and meet Connie. She had just arrived and unloaded her car when I got back. Nick of time!

We had never discussed how long she'd be staying and I assumed it would be a few days. But no. She told me she had arranged to pick up 2 cats she was adopting on Sunday morning so would be staying the whole week. Yikes again. We had talked about doing some touristy things in Omaha but since Connie is not good at just vegging, she was already antsy on Tuesday morning so there'd be no knitting in the sun for me each morning. We walked at the lake on Tuesday after lunch and then she left for Lincoln to meet a friend for coffee before having dinner with her daughter.

I had a work party - a bridal shower of sorts - on Wednesday at lunch so Connie had made plans to have lunch with a friend. She picked me up afterwards and we went to visit the 2 cats that she would be taking home on Sunday - Millie and Willa, who are gorgeous. Connie had very specifically said she had no interest in shopping so I was surprised when she suggested antiquing. We went to a shop she'd seen by where she had lunch and then we spent hours walking the entire antique mall off I-80 and finding nothing. When I commented that we could have gone thrifting instead, she agreed and didn't remember her shopping comment when I mentioned it. Sheesh!

Thursday was our day out in Omaha. We started at the Joslyn Museum, which had only recently reopened after a major remodel. It was wonderful and we had a nice lunch in the cafe before heading to the pedestrian bridge over the Missouri River between Omaha and Council Bluffs. It was windy but a nice walk and we went to Dundee to get a coffee to warm up before grabbing some groceries and heading back home. Connie's daughter Rachael was coming over for supper. It was nice to see her although we keep up via Facebook.

Friday was a more relaxing day. Connie went for a walk while I got some knitting time in, which you know I loved even if it was only 20 minutes. I brought a puzzle up from the basement and we worked on that in the front room between watching movies and had leftovers for supper. That's my kind of day.

Since I hadn't thought Connie would be staying so long, I had signed up for a retreat with my spinning group on Saturday. I skipped the morning so was home until Connie left to meet her grandson and his daughter at Omaha's zoo, which I've still never been to despite living her almost 30 years. I got to the retreat in time for lunch and had a nice afternoon working on my afghan while others were doing classes. Have I mentioned that I don't spin? I always said I'd learn after I stopped working but despite having retired, it hasn't made it to the top of my list yet. Maybe in 2025? Anyway, we watched more movies when I got home that evening.

Connie had arranged to pick the cats up at 7:30 Sunday morning so was out of the house at 6:45. It had been fun to see her but I felt pressure to keep her entertained so I felt some relief when she left. I had chores to catch up on - stripping beds, doing laundry, cooking, etc. - so had a nice day of getting things done and catching up.

It had been a busy week and I learned my lesson on not asking how long she'd stay. But then her coming to me is not the norm and was only a replacement for the week I was supposed to go to her in September but got the awful cold, which lasted weeks. I miss having Connie closer so these visits have to do. 

Week 42 - Cleaning and Crocheting

It was another wacky weather week that included our first freeze but ended in the 80's. In addition to being in clear out mode, I had some major cleaning to do because Connie would be arriving the next Monday. It was a busy week.

First thing on Monday I started clearing out the spare room, which is my dumping ground. Once the bed was clear, I washed all the linens and remade the bed. I went through tons of stuff, adding bunches to my donation bags. Then the cleaning began and on Friday, I went through my gift dresser, which was full of things I'd bought over the years that would make good gifts but had never been gifted. I loaded up a big bag of kitchen items for the library to make gift baskets with and loaded up an entire laundry basket with stuff for Becky's sale. After more deep cleaning and some decorating, I was almost ready for Connie's arrival.

I had a nice lunch with Lorri on Tuesday. We had planned to eat out but she had a pie in the over so I got grab and go from Mocha C's and took it to her house. The apple pie for dessert was delish. With our first freeze due that night, I went home to bring in plants. They were everywhere but there was no frost for the rest of the long-term forecast so they went right back out Wednesday morning. That afternoon, I loaded all the yarn into my car for delivery on Thursday. I had a meeting at the library about the expansion on Wednesday night.

As usual, I had loaded up my Lincoln day. First stop was the UPS depot, where I found a permanently closed sign that directed me to the UPS Store. I knew it would be more expensive but mailed the big box of yarn to Dottie anyway. When I recalculated the amount when I got home, it was almost twice as much as PirateShip would have been. Lesson learned. Time to buy a bigger postal scale for next time so I can ship from home. But I digress... Next stop was dropping off all that yarn. Turns out that the house had 3 steps up to the walkway and another 6 to get up to the porch. I was a sweaty mess by the time I was done but gone is good. I stopped at Anne's to catch up before my lunch date.

I was picking Cindy up on campus for lunch at 12:15 so left Anne's at noon. I texted from a red light by campus that I was 2 minutes out only to get a reply from Cindy that she wasn't on campus. She was at the hospital with a friend who was having emergency bypass surgery. Damn! It was too late to arrange something else and Anne's was in the wrong direction so I headed home, picking up Chinese on the way. Truth be told, I was pissed. I listened to Sarah Millican on the ride home to improve my mood. She's hilarious so check her out on YouTube. 

I spent the afternoon crocheting. Yes, you read that right. I had started an afghan earlier in the week after being inspired by a social media post. I was using the only acrylic left in my house after giving it all to my sister - pastels. I'm thoroughly enjoying it and barely knitted all week. Shocking! Aren't the squares pretty?

The rest of the week was mad cleaning between bouts of crocheting. I loaded the car Sunday night with the second round of donations and made a decadent chocolate cake to take to my cousin's on Monday for her birthday. It was another productive week of retirement. : )

Week 41 -Last Working Day!

I was going to title this post Fall Garden Chores because I spent a lot of time working outside this week but that pales in comparison to this week containing my last paid day of UNL employment.

It was up to me to figure out the day I would run out of pay between using my vacation and floating holidays. The problem is that while on vacation, I was continuing to accrue vacation, which needed to be prorated. I didn't know that SAP would show my October accruals on October 1st but then remove them if I didn't work for the whole month. When this was pointed out to me, I panicked and started doing math. The day I was doing it ended up being my last day of pay - Tuesday, October 8th. Wow! Talk about end of an era. I'd get my insured benefits for the whole month but my last paycheck would be about a 1/4 of normal. Let the budgeting begin!

I worked with the HR person in the business center to get my paperwork done, which entailed separating me and then rehiring me as an hourly on-call employee. The separation nuked most of my system security so I had to do paperwork to get it back. There were also benefits forms to do, which I did on Wednesday when I was on campus for lunch with Dodie. Of course I thrifted while I was in Lincoln. As always.

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On the garden front, I finally finished breaking up the last of the brush pile, which filled the empty spot between the cherry tree and my compost bins. I ran out of boxes so started filling paper grocery bags and then ran out of them. There's a small pile of stick parts that I'll use at the base of my compost when I start autumn clean up and I have the makings of many nice fires when the cool weather arrives, which is taking its time this year. Anyway, with that done, I spread woodchips between the 1st raised bed and the garage. All that'll be left is between my raised beds and the neighbor's fence. There's a temporary compost pile there and some branches that need to go to the burn pile so spreading woodchips there will wait a bit. I also sifted some compost and mixed it with potting soil for future potting up, filled the bird feeders and did some hose mending. I'll call that a good lot of gardening crossed off the list. There's always more to do though.

On the knitting front, I finished my obligation knitting - my cousin's birthday socks and all the projects I made for Cindy's Justice in Action sale - on Thursday. That done, I cast on a pair of Halloween socks and spent most of Friday morning knitting. I then ran errands in town before picking Andrea up for a Friday Fremont run. I've always loved getting errands done on Friday so I have the weekend free and being retired hasn't changed that. It was the Estate Dispersal Store weekend and going on Friday meant we were able to hit Thriftology, which isn't open on Saturdays anymore, before the usual Restore, Goodwill and Aldi. I found some treasures, including a fold up sewing table for the machine that's been in my front room on a chair for years but never used, a double decker bus piece of original art, a Corelle (not Pyrex) pie plate, which I've never seen before, and a fun vintage tablecloth. Books were $.29 at Goodwill so I bought a few for my retirement goal of reading actual books during daylight.

With my errands done on Friday, I had a nice relaxing weekend of chatting with friends and puttering. With a frost in the forecast, I put together the cold frame I bought years ago at Aldi to cover my 2 eggplant plants, both of which have a small eggplant I hope will continue to grow, and took cuttings from 4 different colors of impatiens to root for next years baskets. So more gardening ('tis the season) to end the week. A banner week that marked the end of my UNL career. Happy retirement to me!

Week 40 - Exploration and Productivity

It was a perfect week with a great mix of productivity and socializing plus a mini road trip too. Yes, the weather was still crazy, starting the week in the 90's and then seesawing between fall weather and heat again. All week long. : (

Because of the wacky weather, I didn't spend much time outside. I cut some sunflowers, which were dry and crispy from drought so never formed seeds, and took a load to the burn pile. I did some intermittent stick breaking, making some good headway with getting rid of my brush pile behind the garage. Just a bit more to go.

Tuesday was the first of the month so I cast on new socks for our bending stripes challenge and spent the morning knitting. I also had to tally entries to fulfill my moderator duties in my online Socks from Stash group, which takes at least an hour, then I slogged through more yarn to donate to the upcoming Stuff for Strays garage sale. I tried to watch the debate that night but I was a nervous mess because Goodie wasn't coming in so I walked the alley and called and called. She came in eventually and was scared so I can only assume she was hiding from the big white cat who roams the neighborhood and bothers my cats. Will I ever stop worrying about my cats? I hope someday.

I went to Lincoln on Wednesday, which is becoming my usual day, for a lunch for Liwei - one of the accountants who is leaving. The whole work gang was there, which was nice. After hitting a couple of thrifts and scoring some sock yarn (YAY!), I spent the afternoon at Helen's then hit Aldi and was home in time for Survivor. It was a nice day.

Rene and I were going to Norfolk on Friday for one of our exploration day trips. Since she was picking me up, I spent some time on Thursday doing some cleaning between stints of breaking sticks. Will I ever be done? Rene drove on Friday, which meant I could knit for 200 miles worth of driving time. I got so much done on the socks I was making for Cindy's charity sale that I finished them that night.

So Norfolk, which is pronounced Nor Fork for my non-Nebraskan readers, was fun. We took the scenic route there and back, exploring every little town that we passed. Other than a remnant I bought at a quilt store in Norfolk, all my purchases were food related. We stopped at Buresh Meats on the way there so we both scored so meat deals and there were a couple of bakery stops. The reason for picking Norfolk was Nofo Pizza, which was delish. We got a gelato afterwards and shopped along the cute downtown main drag. We missed the bread bakery owned by the same people as the pizza place by 15 minutes. From there we tried to find the old Norfolk State Hospital but the razor wire dissuaded us. We headed home, exploring more small towns. I was home by 5:00. It was a nice day.

It was 93 degrees on Saturday so I hunkered down inside. It was a perfect fall day on Sunday so I spent a bunch of time outside. I'd found that the birdseed in the barrels on the deck had molded so cleaned all that out (ick!), fixed some hoses and actually watered the grass out of fear that it would die from drought. It was still crunchy but maybe it did some good. It was also Colon's roast beef dinner so I picked that up for lunch and had plenty more for some suppers next week.

So, nice week, right? If my retirement keeps looking like this week, I'll be a happy camper. All except the crazy weather that is.

Week 39 - Hot and Cold

The temps this week were crazy hot - I'm talking high 80's most days and 90 on Sunday. Low humidity so it cooled down at night but HOT during the day. At the end of September. I refuse to put my AC on so closed the house up around noon each day and lived to tell. It also encouraged me to do some work in the basement, which is always cooler. As for the cold, my cold was full blown for the beginning of the week but was mostly gone by mid-week. Maybe the zicam worked?

I didn't do much for the start of the week. Lots of streaming/knitting, of course, plus I dyed some yarn, did a few minimal chores but didn't feel fully functional, albeit snotty, until Thursday. I did some laundry and changed my sheets so was back on the functionality track.

I have had ParmountPlus from before it was called that and had a perfect grandfathered plan that gave me local channels live TV and their regular content for just $7/month. It was under my yahoo email, which I rarely check and so I didn't see that my payment, which was still on my old card that had been cancelled due to fraud, hadn't processed. I was watching it on Tuesday and it went poof. Of course I couldn't get the old plan back so had a choice of basic without live TV, which I need because CBS from Omaha is iffy using my antenna, or pay more for Showtime. Bummer. I opted for basic and am dealing with the spotty reception, especially if it's windy. It usually gets better in the winter so we'll see how long I can hold out.

At the start of the week, the Virginia trip to drive with my friend Susan as she moves there, was put on hold due to a medical issue. In the time it took to get her results, which were good, the cost of flying back had doubled. I'd also given it a lot of thought and when it came down to it, I really didn't want to go. I felt guilty about cancelling so hemmed and hawed but finally called her on Sunday and told her I was out. It was absolutely the right decision and I'm happy to just be home. Rescheduling the trip to Connie's is up in the air and we briefly discussed either her coming here or meeting in the middle. Nothing definite yet.

Anne is in South America and as she usually does, we chat via Facebook Messenger in the evening some days. When she called on Wednesday, she mentioned that there was a talk the next day about the Nazi influence in Argentina, which is right up my alley. She asked if I could listen to the talk and the person agreed so Anne blazed up Messenger and I got to listen to the entire talk Thursday afternoon. I'd also watched 2.5 hours of the Grocery Girls on YouTube so it was a media intensive day. Worked for me. I ended the day with book club at the library to discuss Bad Blood, which was a good read.

Having been operating on low energy all week, Friday was a big day. I had plans to meet Darla after work but couldn't pass up the opportunity to thrift so left right after lunch. I drove all over Lincoln, hitting 11 thrifts with a stop for peanut butter soft serve at zesto mid-afternoon. I scored some $.99 bags of yarn (mostly for Dottie), 3 new shirts and a project bag but not much else. I was impaled at St. Louise's because someone had left a foot long peg on an end cap that gouged my arm as I walked by. I was bleeding a lot but they got me Band-Aids. Sheesh! I got KFC for supper and ate it while watching the Great British Baking Show, which I love. It was a nice day overall and it felt good to get out of the house.

It was hot on the weekend so I spent both Saturday and Sunday afternoon down in the basement sorting through yarn. I had already filled a box of mystery yarn for Becky's Stuff for Strays sale but when she told me she'd advertise having yarn to bring out the crafty people, I decided it was time to go through all of the vintage yarn that I have listed as for sale on Ravelry. It's mostly better quality vintage yarn but some has been listed for 10 years. Time for it to go. I was merciless on Saturday, sorting 2/3 of it to go. On Sunday, I bagged it all up (there were lots of multiple skeins) and then delisted it on Ravelry. The huge tote pictured, which I'm donating too, is brimming so I'll need to find another big box before I can move it upstairs. It was nice and cool down there and I felt great when I was done because Gone is Good!

So not the best week with having a cold but at least it wasn't bad for long. I had thrifting fun, a productive weekend and even got a blue dot political sign for my front yard. My county got gerrymandered to redden up Omaha, which is the blue dot in Nebraska, and since we split our electoral college votes, one of the 3 votes usually goes democratic. Lindsay Graham visited Nebraska recently to try to get us to change it to winner take all, which would mean Republican always, but it failed. Yay!

On the viewing front, I was mostly streaming Wire in the Blood on Prime but on Saturday night, I watched The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry on Hoopla. I had read the book for book club and loved it and the movie was good too. If you have access to Hoopla, give it a try. TTYL.

Week 38 - Working on Adjusting

Remember last week when I said I was doing it wrong, cramming too much into my days? Well, I clearly learned nothing so still need to work on retirement.

Having moved my new chair into the back room on Sunday, the old chair was just shoved aside, which would not do. So first thing on Monday, I dragged the chair through the house and down the driveway, slapping a FREE sign on it before posting it all over the local Facebook groups in hopes that someone would take it. 

In order to get it out the front door, I'd rolled up the 4x6 foot rug in the front room. Well, since the floor was half bare, I moved the rug to the kitchen and swept, swiffered and then washed (a rare occurrence) that side of the floor. That was the easy side but since that was done, I moved all the furniture to the now clean side and did the other side, which was much more work. Then once it dried, I moved everything back. See - I learned nothing from the previous week but I felt good to have done it all and went to Monday Night Knitting feeling good.

I did better on other days. I ran errands in town on Tuesday and went though a crate in my closet, which met my goal of going through at least one thing each day to get rid of stuff. I dropped 4 pairs of old glasses when I picked up my new ones and threw tons of stuff into my Becky box for her Stuff for Strays sales. Another day, I put all my summer Birkenstocks away and cleared the rest of the stuff on my bedroom floor. All good.

Wednesday was my Lincoln day for lunch with work friends at Honest Abe's, where I opted for loaded tots instead of a burger because I was going for peanut butter soft serve at Zesto later with Anne. And to maximize being in Lincoln, I also picked up book club books and thrifted all over town, scoring some amazing indie dyed sock yarn for $.99/skein. Get a load of this thrift score!

Under "everything is harder than it should be", on Thursday afternoon I spent 2 hours trying to switch my Hulu and Max subscriptions to the bundle that includes Disney and costs less. I tried everything I could think of for 30 minutes before giving up and calling Hulu. 1.5 hours on the phone with them and at one point they did a conference call with Disney customer service. 2 hours to get it done! Have I watched Disney yet? Nope.

After the Hulu call, I finalized my plans to head to Connie's (8.5 hours away in South Dakota) on Sunday for her birthday. That meant I had lots to do before leaving. You know - chores so I don't come back to a mess, changing litter boxes, arranging friends to feed cats and water plants - that kind of thing. It was 95 degrees on Friday so I spent the day inside getting that stuff done and starting a couple of sock projects that were easy knitting. Because a week after getting back from Connie's, I'd be driving to Virginia with a friend who's moving there so would have plenty of knitting time then too.

Saturday was a busy day. I spent the morning finishing getting ready for my road trip then picked Andrea up at 12:30 to head to Fremont for our monthly spinning and errands run. Spinning was fun and we hit all our regular stops before and after. I got back home later than planned so was a bit late to my friend Amanda's 40th birthday party in Ashland. Anne and Rene met me there and it was lots of fun. She had a cheese food truck on the street and everyone wore black. There were some full blown costumes involved and it was a nice night to be outside in her yard. I had a scratchy throat by the end of the night so just to be cautious, I zicam'd before bed and again at midnight since I was struggling to fall asleep.

Well, I woke up at 4:00 a.m. with a blazing sinus headache and completely congested. With only 4 hours of sleep and feeling like crap, I had to call Connie and break the news that I wouldn't be driving that day. I thought I might be able to drive Monday but after spending the day in bed reading and dozing, I still felt awful so called that night and said it wasn't happening. We'll have to reschedule for October sometime.

So, my 2nd full week of retirement ended on a sour note. At least I had a nice week up to the point of getting cold. Clearly my 3rd week will be impacted by my cold. One of these weeks I'll get it right. Sheesh!

Week 37 - Doing It Wrong

It was my first full week of retirement and it was ridiculously hot and humid all week - 91 on Monday and 91 on Sunday with high 80's in between. Crazy for mid-September! I had to turn the AC back on so was mostly working in the house. And work I did but not much on Monday because I was recovering from spending all weekend cleaning the garage.

I started the week breaking up sticks from the brush pile behind my garage. It's mostly branches that have come down over the years from the silver maples but had grown quite large. My plan was to get it all broken up for future fires and then spread the entire garden area with wood chips from the last of the pile on my alley. It was cool enough to be outside first thing in the morning but I spent the afternoon reading inside. I was reading All the Colors of the Dark and wanted to return it that night. I finished it at 5:58 and so was a few minutes late to knitting. Oh well. When I got home, I needed to put the trash can at the curb but it was so heavy that I couldn't tip it onto its wheel so dragged it down 6 inches at a time. Sheesh!

Tuesday was a Lincoln day. I had a few reasons to do Tuesdays on a regular basis and had scheduled lunch with Dodie but when it comes down to it, all my office friends aren't there on Tuesdays so I'll be rethinking that. Anyway, I was going to Cindy's on the way to Lincoln and had a detailed list of stops before and after lunch with Dodie on campus. So what did I do first thing but lock myself out of my house. I called my friend Lorri who has a key and thankfully she came right over. I went straight to Cindy's for a tour of her schoolie (a school bus they had converted to a camper) and then had to go right to campus for lunch, which was fun as always. I pared down my list of stops in favor of hanging out with Anne, who was leaving for a 3 week trip. I had a library board meeting, which was my first as president, so I got it done in record time so I could be home for the debate. I watched the entire thing and all I can say is holy crap!

I had another big to do list for Wednesday so after breaking more sticks in the cool morning, I started. Laundry, dishes, organized knitting projects and then started going through the laundry room. When I finally sat down at the end of the day, I reached down to brush something off my foot and pulled a muscle in my lower back. Yes, just reaching down to my foot. I couldn't stand up straight but sitting was no problem so I spent Thursday taking muscle relaxants while streaming and knitting. Luckily sleeping wasn't an issue.

Even taking no meds, my back was much better on Friday and I needed some groceries (that was one thing I'd pared down on Tuesday) so I did a quick Fremont run. I went to a thrift shop that's only open on weekdays then hit HyVee for their Friday the 13th sale. Actually, walking with the cart felt good and it limbered me up some. I got their Chinese special and ate that for lunch, took it easy in the afternoon (finished these scrappy socks) and then ate more Chinese for supper. I was on the mend.

I was almost back to normal on Saturday so got some light housework done and went to bed early to read. I did a bunch of cooking on Sunday and at the end of the day, moved my new chair, which had been sitting in the middle of my front room for 2 months, to my back room. I was happy to have my back fully functional again.

Everyone says that when you retire, you need to adjust to it and figure out what works for you. Well, I clearly need to work on that because if the past 2 weeks are any indication, I'm doing it wrong. While I want to get things done, I'm doing too much and working too hard in too short a time, which is too much for my 63 year old body. I need to work on breaking my big projects into smaller parts and spreading them over multiple days. Other than socializing, I can be home most days so need to stop cramming everything in like I have done on weekends for decades. I also need to give myself permission to relax. I'm enjoying reading during the day so need to do more of that. Wish me luck.

Week 36 - Done with Work

I would normally start with any week that starts with a holiday is great but when you're retired, even part way, a holiday is pretty much like any other day. I had my last work obligation on Thursday so full retirement is close.

Labor Day started with sleeping late and having a lazy morning but I redeemed myself with cutting weed trees and beggar's tick and taking them to the city burn pile. I noticed some wood debris there, which isn't allowed, and by the next day, the city closed the pile so it could be cleaned up. I got there just in time.

I had social commitments in Lincoln for the next 2 days. Tuesday was lunch at Helen's so I stopped at Menard's on the way there to buy a new handle for my slider. After a nice lunch, Helen and I chatted all afternoon, only stopping when Charlie got home from work. I went to Aldi when I left and picked up chicken fingers that I ate in the car. It was a nice day.

I was back in Lincoln for lunch with Layton and Steve on Wednesday. We went to Piedmont Bistro, which is my favorite Lincoln restaurant, and Layton said it was to celebrate my retirement (that was news to me) so they treated. I hit several thrifts before heading home and scored sock yarn at one of them, which is the best. 

I got home early enough to tackle replacing the sliding glass doorhandle so gathered tools and promptly tripped in my back room and went down hard. Damn! I got up and was determined to get it done. Well, turns out my door is thick so the screws weren't long enough. I attempted to use the old ones but they had a head that was bigger than the hole so wouldn't work. It was approaching 6:00 so my only option in town was Bomgaar's - the farm store. A kid helped me find the perfect screws in the many tiny drawers of screws. After paying 18 cents, he offered to help me carry out. Made me laugh. I installed the handle in minutes and was happy to have that done. Everything is harder than it should be.

After 2 weeks on antibiotics, Pixel was still a snotty mess (Tot was fine) so I took her back to the vet Thursday morning. He said to give it time because he'd injected her with long acting steroids and antibiotics 2 weeks before so there was nothing left to do. At 1:30, I logged onto zoom for the last training class with Dana and with that done, I was officially retired. Yay!

To celebrate my first full day of retirement, I got up Friday and made strawberry pancakes for breakfast. After running errands in Wahoo, I made my favorite lunch - a tuna melt with tater tots. I spent the afternoon going through all the yarn in the spare room, sorting some for Dottie, a bit for me and a huge Chewy box for Becky's Stuff for Strays sales. Just before bedtime, I signed up for the Walkfit app and despite it being 9:30, I put on my sneakers and did my first workout. Getting more exercise in retirement is on the list so I'll give this a try.

After spending a chunk of Saturday morning clearing out my gmail account, I decided to take advantage of the perfect weather to clean the garage. I spent all day in there, moving Corelle filled bookcases, reorganizing and throwing out bunches of stuff, filling my trash can. I ended the day feeling good about my progress and having bean dip, chips and a beer for Saturday snack supper.

After working so hard, I dialed it back on Sunday. I filled the kiddy pool from the garage and washed all the grimy recycling I'd found in the garage and filled my recycle bin too. I broke some sticks in the backyard for future firepit fires and was done, spending the rest of the afternoon reading on my bench and drinking tea.

So not a bad week with a nice mix of socializing, productivity and relaxing plus I'd kept up with my wakfit workouts. But the best part, of course, was being done with work. It doesn't mean I won't help as needed but I have nothing more scheduled. Yippee for my first few days of being fully retired! Now to settle into it and figure out how my retirement will work. Any ideas?

Week 35 - Not Quite Yet

It felt fabulous to have a whole week at home after getting back from Rhode Island in the middle of last week. But it wasn't 100% retirement yet because I was going into the office all day on Wednesday for my retirement food day and had to be on 2 zoom trainings because they were Dana's first time leading the training. That left me working for 3 days so full retirement would wait. Despite having to work a bit more, I attempted to get something done each day - sometimes social, sometimes productive.

On Monday, I took Lorri to lunch at The Branding Iron as a thank you for watering my plants while I was gone. I did some laundry and made a blueberry/peach pie to take to knitting, using up some of the fruit in the freezer. Just easing into retirement.

The weather was mostly hot so I spent a couple of mornings getting some yard work done early before it heated it. After deadheading my containers and digging my potatoes, I planted lettuce and peas in the newly empty spot. I cut some weed trees and took them to the burn pile. After watching a YouTube that said we still had time to plant zucchini, I went in search of seeds in Wahoo. I failed at Dollar General, the hardware store and the farm store before finding some on clearance at Family Dollar. I planted those around the remaining squash plants, which were hanging on after being ravaged by borers. Having never done much fall gardening, I was excited to be planting again. Not much to lose - the seeds only cost 38 cents.

I joined Dana's training zooms on Tuesday afternoon and Thursday morning. She did great on both considering it was her first time. Wednesday was my retirement food day so I went into work for the whole day, which clearly no one expected. I was the first one in and the office was already decorated with flowers and garlands of socks I'd made for Cindy and Lana. Mike bought a gorgeous (and delicious) cake. The food day was wonderful. I got to talk to lots of my co-workers and the speeches didn't make me blubber. It was exactly the send off I was looking for. I did do some actual work too after setting my computer up in Ben's old office because Dana's old cubie was full of crockpots. After taking the last bits from my old cubie, which Dana had boxed up when she moved in, I went to Anne's for pizza with her and Rene to celebrate my retirement just a bit more.

After Thursday morning's zoom, I went to the eye doctors and ordered my new glasses then drove to St. John's in Weston for their sale. I found 2 big boxes - 1 of yarn and another with vintage linens and old sewing supplies. I picked up BK on the way home and spent the afternoon sorting through the boxes, ending up with some for Dottie, some for me and a bunch for Becky to sell at her next Stuff for Strays sale. All good. Before it got hot on the weekend, I had time a couple of afternoons to read outside on my bench while drinking tea. Believe it or not, that was high on my list of things to do during retirement.

Since it was too hot to be outside, I spent all weekend inside and a chunk of that was in the basement making a start on slogging through my craft room. I went through the biggest section of my Ikea wall unit, boxing up lots of books for Becky. I went through some spare room stuff too. Of course, there was some streaming and knitting too.

So not a full week of freedom but enough to get a taste. Even with work, I had time for social things, gardening and starting the slog through my house, which is my main goal for the rest of 2024. I am going to like retirement. : )

Week 34 - Home to Retirement

I just had one more day in Rhode Island before I'd fly home on Tuesday and much as I love hanging with Carolyn, I was definitely ready to go home. Monday was day 12 of being gone, which is a long time to be away.

Janice had tipped me off that I could get my favorite lemon filled chocolate covered donut, which Dunkin' no longer makes, at Market Basket so when Carolyn had to take her car into Kia for service, I asked to go along because it was near the market. I grabbed the donut (delish and cheap), we dropped Matt back home and then headed to one of Carolyn's schools. She had been there for years but not last year so she wanted to redo bulletin boards, which is easier with 2 people. I helped with that and then alphabetized the book order that had been delivered so she could check them in. She was under the weather so we didn't stay long, heading back home. I'd bought enough at Job Lot that I'd be checking my carry on too so needed to repack. We finished the movie Snow Cake, which we'd started the night before and just like that, the day was done.

Carolyn made me eggs Tuesday morning and I packed a lunch and snacks for the day before we headed to the airport at 10:30. I have TSA pre-check now so sailed right through and knitted at the gate. The flights were completely uneventful but when I got to my car, I couldn't find my parking stub, even digging through my suitcase to check the pants I was wearing the day I parked. I caused a back up at the booth while they checked video for when I drove in and I was glad I didn't have to pay some fine or other. After a stop at Aldi to restock groceries, I was home. The cats were happy to see me and after popping a frozen pizza in the oven, I unpacked. The house was hot enough that I needed to shut the windows and turn on the AC even though it would be cool overnight. It felt great to sleep in my own bed.

I spent all day Wednesday putting things away and doing load after load of laundry between the linens (you have to bring your own sheets when you rent a beach house and I'd brought for John too) and 2 weeks of clothes. On Thursday, I went to the optician to order glasses (I had planned to go in January but hadn't and I'd scratched one of my lenses in RI), ran errands in town and after lunch, during which I watched my favorite knitting podcast, I took my 2 old cats to the vet. They both had snot noses so got antibiotic and steroid shots and I'd be giving them pink antibiotic liquid for the next week or so. With all that crossed off, I made a cup of tea and read an actual book (as opposed to on my ipad) in the backyard. That was actually on my retirement to do list so I was starting to feel sort of retirementy.

On Friday, my boss was throwing me a retirement party with just my immediate work group of accountants and the data team. After a nice morning chatting with friends, I cut some sunflowers down, took a shower and headed to Seward. It's a town near Lacey's house that has a consignment store I wanted to check out for possibly consigning some of my work clothes and a fun thrift shop that I always enjoy. I found all kinds of goodies then headed to Lacey's.

It was a wonderful party. Lacey had made a taco/nacho bar and there were lemon cupcakes for dessert. They had decorated with a big poster of all the Rosie posts - the skeleton they photographed everywhere and posted on Facebook back when I had my shoulder surgery. They had all pitched in and gave me a birdfeeder with a camera that sends pics to your phone of all the birds that eat there. Lacey had told me about hers and I'd said it was cool so she filed that thought away. And apparently I spent a team meeting going on and on about getting a weed whacker when I retired (I have no recollection of this) so Dana bought me a cordless one. She is originally from Jordan so had no idea what they were so had to ask at Walmart, which I found funny. We all had a nice time and ended the night on Lacey's patio watching sunset. I do love the people I work(ed) with.

The heat set in so I happily stayed inside all weekend. I had started going through something every day so kept that up by going through most of my hutch. Otherwise I did minimal chores and caught up on online things - Ravelry, YouTube, etc. It felt like a regular old weekend so not like retirement and I had to work 3 days in the next week. I'm betting on September to bring retirement vibes. Can't wait.

Week 33 - Perfect Beach Week

What can I say about our beach week except that it was fantastic. I can't remember the last time I felt so relaxed. Could it be a hint of retirement feels? Or maybe that we weren't crammed into the tiny house? Whatever... it was wonderful.

As usual, John and I had a great time doing almost nothing. He did the majority of the cooking (I only did one dinner of spaghetti with jarred sauce, a few sandwich based lunches and our last breakfast) and I did the clean up. We had visitors every single day and enjoyed some amazing meals with them. John took a few walks but I spent that time knitting on the deck (slug fest!) and there were days I never left the house and when I did, it was mostly going off to Job Lot or to buy provisions for yet another meal. We ended each night in front of the TV and we found a wide variety of things to watch. The weather cooperated for most of the week with no humidity and pleasant temps, only getting muggy on Friday afternoon. Sleeping was easy and with no cats to wake me up, I slept later than I do at home.

Most of our visitors were more into hanging at the cottage but we did make it to the actual beach on Wednesday. Carolyn and Matt were coming down to be on the beach at 9:00 and would be staying all day so John and I walked down just after 11:00 and were back at the cottage all showered and eating lunch by 1:30. We did swim and I got a doozie of a wound on my toe from walking in the slides I bought to wear to swimming this summer but had never walked in (the cottage was about 1/4 mile from Matunuck State Beach). John got me a bandaid from the lifeguards and I limped home. 

John's aunt and uncle came for dinner on Thursday (swordfish with melon salad and I made a blueberry pie for dessert) and they brought prosecco and chocolates to celebrate my retirement. When Kate, who used to own the cottage, came on Friday, she brought me a gift too. How wonderful!

In a flash, it was Saturday morning and time to check out. I made a big breakfast to help clear out the fridge, we packed the car and headed north. John was dropping me at Carolyn's where I'd be for a few days. It was such a great week that we talked about renting it for longer next summer. Time will tell on that.

My 45th high school reunion was that night and I was bumming a ride with Janice, who had been at the cottage on Tuesday. It was fun to see people, some of whom I didn't know or recognize at all, despite Deanne and I studying the yearbook the previous weekend. But here's a pic of some of my girl scout friends (Janice, Beth, Deanne, me and Linda) and it was great to catch up with them. There was a ridiculous amount of food (we all took some home) and in honor of high school, I drank sea breezes. Ha!

Sunday was yet another veg day but this time at Carolyn's. John and I had been to the Wakefield Job Lot (it's similar to Big Lots but much better and started in Rhode Island but has spread out from there) several times but Carolyn and I went to the bigger one in Warwick to look for more of the hand towels I'd bought for the beach house. We hit another one on our way to dinner but no luck. Dinner was at one of Carolyn's favorite restaurants that I'd always wanted to try and we were meeting our friend Bob. The espresso martini was delish but alas, the lobster roll was not good. They come either cold with mayo or plain and hot to dip in butter. It was supposed to be the salad kind but was just plain lobster meat cold in a roll. Bob got one too and we concurred that it was not good. Oh well.

So another beach week was in the books. I was feeling completely relaxed, had seen lots of friends, got to swim in the ocean and ended with a couple of days to hang with Carolyn before flying home on Tuesday. All good in my book and I'd be going back to retirement. I'll take it!

Week 32 - Retired and Relaxed

It was finally here! My last week of work and my trip to Rhode Island. It always seemed like a future thing and now it was reality. Yay!

I worked late with Dana on Monday and rushed off to knitting, which ended up being just Andrea and me. Denise reminded me of the special library board meeting with the architects on Tuesday night, which was on my calendar but not on my radar. I had already started making piles of things to pack so wasn't too concerned but the meeting did go long so I pretty much went right to bed when I got home.

All of a sudden, it was Wednesday - my last day of work and of course I loaded it up. I had rescheduled breakfast with Darla from the prior Wednesday so was meeting her at Cook's Cafe at 7:00 but stopped on my way there to pick up cat food for Husker Cats. We had a nice breakfast and she gave me a tater tot cookbook as a retirement gift. Cute. I stopped at Super Saver for kitty litter and was in the office just a bit late. Brook gave me a drinking fountain for my cats, which was sweet. The day flew by and in the afternoon I finished cleaning out my cubie, met Becky in the parking lot to donate 2 boxes of stuff from my office for her Stuff for Strays sale, loaded the cat food into the bin and left work early to head home and pack. Just like that I was retired! I do have to work a bit the last week in August but it still felt like I was done.

My flight wasn't until 11:30 and now that I have TSA Pre-Check, I didn't have to leave the house until 9:00 Thursday morning. I picked up my fave grab and go lunch and was at the airport with plenty of time. My flight to DC was uneventful with only some turbulence as we punched through Hurricane Debby (or was it a tropical storm by then?) My second flight was delayed and Reagan airport is awful, which was compounded by me having brought the wrong iPhone cord so I had to beg a charge from some girls who had been on my flight. I got to RI 45 minutes late but Deanne was right there at the curb and we headed south, stopping for a meh dinner in Wickford before heading home to her new house in Wakefield.

Friday was our annual visit to Mrs. Bassett (our childhood girl scout leader) and Deanne's mom, but not before hitting 2 yarn shops - Mermaid's Purl in Wickford and Skein in East Greenwich. Of course I bought sock yarn in both - best souvenir ever. We got poke bowls in downtown EG for a late lunch and then took the scenic route home, going Route 1A along the coast. We picked up some snacks and ice cream and streamed Deadpool 1 & 2 to end the day. It was a lot of fun.

Saturday was check in day but we needed to grocery shop first so John picked me up at Dee's and we headed north. Our first stop was The Crow's Nest so I got my favorite fried clams and then we hit Trader Joe's. After stocking up on all kinds of goodies, we went down to the beach house and settled in - unloading groceries, making beds, etc. It was so wonderful to be back in our regular cottage and after enjoying sunset from the deck, we made a frozen pizza and watched Sherlock on PBS. We were all set for a week of relaxation and friends.

We had turned off the AC as soon as we arrived but the humidity completely left over night so we woke up to glorious weather on Sunday. We played Boggle on the deck and when John took a walk, I happily knitted while watching birds on the pond. We headed to Aunt Carrie's for a late lunch. It wasn't busy so we got seated right away but when our waitress was heading to our table with menus, she fell to the ground like a ton of bricks and had a grand mal seizure. 911 was called and tables cleared so the paramedics could get the stretcher in. When another waitress came to take our order, she said she'd never had a seizure before (she was a 22 year old college student) and they thought she'd be OK. We enjoyed our lunch (I had clamcakes and chowder) and then went to Job Lot and Stop and Shop for yet more groceries. We ended the day watching Good Morning Vietnam (I'd been looking to watch that since reading The Women) and eating popcorn.

I was 100% relaxed and looking forward to our beach week. As usual, John and I are pros at doing nothing together. I didn't really feel retired because this is our fifth year at the beach but that can wait until I get home. Until then, beach, friends, yummy food - bring it on!

Week 31 - The County Fair

It was another week of bad weather - blazing heat and a big storm. I ended the week with a stomach bug so all in all, not a great week.

It was the week of the county fair so I dropped my entries - 5 pairs of socks and a project bag - off before knitting on Monday. I ran to check my ribbons after work on Tuesday and got all blues on my socks and a red on my project bag. I didn't get best of lot because my friend Heidi's colorwork mittens won best of lot AND best of county. They were gorgeous so it was well deserved. Other than running through the quilt building, which is air conditioned, on Tuesday night, I didn't go back until Sunday when I picked up my entries. There was not a single comment on any of the projects so I'll never know why my bag got a red. Lame judging. This isn't a great picture but here are a couple of my beribboned socks.

Because it was fiscal year end, we got a pass on working in the office on Wednesday. That was a blessing because I had to teach Dana the big spreadsheet and that was much easier via zoom. It ended up being a good thing that we were all home because a huge storm came through right at 5:00 and branches and entire trees were down all over campus, one of which was right in front of Canfield Admin. It was bad in Lincoln and Omaha but not too bad in Wahoo. Tens of thousands of people in Omaha were without electricity for days and it was blazing hot. Dodged a bullet there.

I had rescheduled my Wednesday lunch with Dodie to Thursday because I was driving in for swimming so went into the office for the day. Lana was one of the only others in so we went to Starbuck's for one of our last coffee runs (this was my last full week of work, after all). After a nice lunch at Bison Witches with Dodie, I spent the afternoon clearing out my cubie. I emptied all the overheads and drawers except one and took some of the stuff off surfaces but it still looked lived in when I left. I swam for the last time of the summer at the Irvingdale pool and drove through McDonald's for an ice cream to eat on the way home.

I woke up in the wee hours with intestinal issues. I took immodium and went back to bed but felt like absolute crap Friday morning. It was the last day of fiscal year 2024 so I had to work that morning but once I was done with what had to be done, I sat like a zombie in my chair and watched House of the Dragons all afternoon. I ate some toast and tea and waited for bedtime because I knew I'd wake up feeling fine on Saturday.

And I did. Having started House of the Dragons, I spent the rest of the weekend knitting and streaming between chores. It was still blazing hot so I was content with staying inside. Fiscal year end was over and Dana had done great learning all the things. It was my last full week of work too before retirement and heading to Rhode Island. Counting the days....