Retirement Thoughts

I’ve been thinking about the blessings of retirement lately.  I read about people needing to work longer and then only barely scraping by and am so thankful that I had the education I needed to pursue a professional career that paid well. I was a hospital pharmacist and I loved it. It was interesting and challenging and I worked at a world renowned teaching hospital.  But by age 65, my body just couldn’t hold up to the stress of a long commute, a job where a mistake could mean someone’s life, and the usual pressure of home work.  Since I had no debts and a nice 403b, I was able to retire.  And it has, as they say, “exceeded expectations.”

It is such a relief not to have to leap out of bed, into the shower, and out the door.  Waking up slowly is an incomparable blessing. Then there is not having to deal with traffic and bad weather and wrecks on the freeway. 

Another blessing is being able to do my shopping and errands during the day when it is less crowded.   Lunch out during the week is less crowded and less expensive.  

Then there is time to read and quilt, time to go birding or butterflying, time to travel, time to take a nap.  

I had thought that maybe I would be bored or lonely once I retired but that has not been the case at all.  I love life in the slow lane.  

Plans for the Week of April 1 - 7, 2018

Personal
     Haircut! 
     Quarterly Financials 
     Quarterly Chores

Quilting
     Finish Quilt top
     Buy Backing
    Take quilt for machine quilting

Reading
      Grant by Ron Chernow 

     The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

     Democracy in Chains by Nancy MacLean

     The Case. Against Sugar by Gary Taubes

     At Home in the World by Tsh Oxenreider

Cooking
1.  Slow Cooker Chicken

2. Baked Fish, Potatoes, Coleslaw 

3. Schwan’s 

4. Steak, GMP, GB

5. Leftovers 

6. Out

Peanut Butter Cookies 

My heart is breaking

It is looking more and more like my beloved National Butterfly Center will be destroyed by the senseless border wall. Here is a link to an article about this travesty:
National Butterfly Center

Here are some of the beautiful butterflies we will lose:

March for Our Lives, Washington, DC

Joe and I are in Washington, DC this weekend for the March for Our Lives.  I am astounded by the numbers of people of all ages, all races, from all over the U.S.  I am inspired and uplifted by this great gathering.  

March Thoughts

My life is my message. Mahatma Gandhi

March Poetry

"Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers in the flowers today;
And give us not to think so far away
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here
All simply in the springing of the year. 

Oh, give us pleasure in the orchard white,
Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night;
And make us happy in the happy bees,
The swarm dilating round the perfect trees."
-  Robert Frost, A Prayer in Spring

March Plans

Personal
     Trip to Washington, D.C.

Reading
     Grant by Ron Chernow

     Mrs. Lincoln: A Life by Catherine Clinton 

     Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark T. Sullivan

     Death and Life of the Great Lakes by Dan Egan

Cooking
     17.  Corned Beef and Cabbage

     18.  Schwan’s 

     19. Shrimp Jambalaya 

     20. Chicken Tenders, GMP, GB

     21. Schwan’s 

     22. Travel

     23. Travel

     Peanut Butter Cookies 

     
Quilting — Finish quilt top

April Menu

April Menu

1. Slow Cooker Chicken

2. Baked Fish, Potatoes, Coleslaw 

3. Chicken-Rice Bake, GB

4. Steak, GMP, GB

5. Leftovers 

6. Out

7. Bacon Sandwiches, Oven Fries, Veggies 

8. Schwan’s 

9. Tuna Salad Sandwiches 

10. Oven BBQ Chicken, Beans, Coleslaw 

11. HB Pie

12. Leftovers 

13. Out

14. Macaroni and Cheese, Corn 

15. Slow Cooker Beef

16. Baked Fish, Potatoes, Coleslaw 

17. Chicken Tenders, Carrots/Thyme, Cabbage

18. Schwan’s 

19. Leftovers 

20. Out

21. Scrambled Eggs, Schwan’s Sausage and Potatoes 

22. Pancakes and Canadian Bacon 

23. Shrimp Jambalaya 

24. Pizza

25. Spaghetti and Meatballs 

26. Leftovers 

27. Out

28. CB Hash, CSC

29. Pork, Sweet Potatoes, Spinach 

30. Fried Shrimp, FF, Coleslaw 

Around OakMeadows

JMM is busy planting in the butterfly garden beds.  He planted Mexican Flame Vines on trellises along the garage wall; in front of them, he planted Fragrant Mist bushes, and in front of them he planted milkweeds.  Along the brick path milkweed, lantana, and Fragrant Mist.  He has more to plant.  The lady at the garden center told him that the Swallowtail Butterfly caterpillars feed on parsley so he has 6 of them to plant in the bed on the north side of the house.  Everything is planted with butterflies and their caterpillars in mind. 

I did the Friday Financials this morning. All bills are paid, the desk is cleared, there’s cash in the checking account and I am building up the savings account. So all is well here.  I was reading an article yesterday about women who were scammed by a man they met on a online dating site. They were scammed by him using their credit cards, selling their jewelry, emptying their savings accounts.  I kept thinking that they wouldn’t have had this happen if they did Friday Finances, Monthly credit card charges, and Quarterly Net Worth statements. Money isn’t everything in life but it is important and life is a lot more pleasant with it than without it. So I am a firm believer in taking care of my finances. 

That’s all the news from OakMeadows where the cats eat Fancy Feast and the people eat leftovers.  

March Thoughts

Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life. Omar Khayyam

March Poetry

"The year's at the spring
And day's at the morn;
Morning's at seven;
The hillside's dew-pearled;
The lark's on the wing;
The snail's on the thorn;
God's in His heaven -
All's right with the world!"
-  Robert Browning

March Plans

Personal
     Daylight Savings Time (Sunday)
     Brunch with T&C (Sunday)
     April Menu and Budget
     Lunch with P&W&C&B (Friday)
     Start getting ready for Washington, D.C. trip

Reading
     Grant by Ron Chernow 
     Mrs. Lincoln by Catherine Clinton 
     Beneath A Scarlet Sky by Mark T. Sullivan 
     The Death and Life of the Great Lakes by Dan Egan
     
Cooking
     Oven BBQ Chicken, Beans, Coleslaw 
     Tuna Salad Sandwiches, Veggie Tray
     Schwan’s Stir Fry
     Schwan’s Beef Pot Pies

Quilting
     Finish Dutch Churn and Dash quilt top
     Buy quilt backing fabric

Around OakMeadows

Duffy, Henry, Bandit 

Around OakMeadows 

JMM and I went to see Coco Tuesday. I don’t usually like animation but I thoroughly loved Coco. It had a sweet, sweet story, lovely music and songs, and the best animation that have ever seen. And I will admit at the end, I had tears running down my face.  We were the only people in the theater but that’s one of the perks of being retired, getting to go to the movie at noon on Tuesday.  

The Texas primary for the 2018 midterm election was Tuesday. JMM and I voted in the Democratic primary by mail weeks ago so we didn’t have to go to the polls.  The two races that I was most interested in were the Senate and my Congressional district. Beto O’Rourke won the Democratic nomination and will face Satan/TedCruz in November. Sri Kulkarni will have to be in a run off against Leticia Plummer in May before running against incumbent Pete Olson in November. I sent Sri a $500 donation. Plummer doesn’t stand a chance against Olson but Sri just might be able to pull it off.  It’s going to be a long, hard slog to elect Democrats in Texas but I am committed to doing what I can.  

I’ve finished all 30 of the blocks for my Dutch Churn and Dash quilt. Now I am sewing the blocks into strips and finally I will sew the strips together to make the top next week.  

All 3 cats and the dog are doing just fine.  Angie/MissSociabilty got out twice today and went visiting.  She adores children and you just can’t keep her inside when there are children (or joggers) outside.  I still miss my precious Misty.  

March Thoughts

An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind. Mahatma Gandhi

March Poetry

"Gone were but the Winter,

Come were but the Spring,
I would go to a covert
Where the birds sing;

Where in the whitethorn
Singeth a thrush,
And a robin sings
In the holly-bush.

Full of fresh scents
Are the budding boughs
Arching high over
A cool green house:

Full of sweet scents,
And whispering air
Which sayeth softly:
We spread no snare;

Here dwell in safety,
Here dwell alone,
With a clear stream
And a mossy stone.

Here the sun shineth
Most shadily;
Here is heard an echo
Of the far sea,
Though far off it be."
-  Christina Rossetti, Spring Quiet 

March Poetry

"I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze."
-  William Wordsworth, Daffodils

Plans for the Week of March 4 - 10, 2018

Personal
     Thoreau Unitarian Church
     Monday - Manicure/Pedicure 
     Plans for NYC trip

Quilting
     Begin sewing the blocks together. 

Reading
     Grant by Ron Chernow 

     It’s Even Worse than You Think by David C. Johnston 

     The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah (if it comes in from the library)

     Mrs. Lincoln: A Life by Catherine Clinton (if it comes in from the library)

Cooking
     Bacon Sandwiches, Oven Fries 

     Schwan’s 

     Oven Baked Popcorn Shrimp, Potatoes, Coleslaw 

     Slow Cooker Chicken Stew p.55

     Luby’s

     Leftovers 

     Brookstreet BBQ