Appreciating Retirement!

I'm smirking today.  It is my first day of retirement that I am actually appreciating being retired!  It's the first day of school, and I'm NOT THERE!  How wonderful that feels, even though, instead, I'm raking rocks!  Amazing the things that can make you happy. 

Our addition is going well, in fact drawing to a close.  I never thought I'd see the day and there were some days I never thought I'd survive!  Needless to say, any kind of textile creativity has lain by the wayside over the past six months.  Altho there's been a bit of other kinds.....design decisions, paint colors, and deck designs! 

My retirement started out with three weeks in my chair with my foot broken.  Then I flew to Edmonton because my Dad broke his hip.  I was there six weeks.  Then my Mum had a heart attack.  I was there another two weeks.  These incidents resulted in them asking to move to my house so I've been working on making my house bigger since about March.  The paperwork is overwhelming, the permits and inspections seem a bit like make-work projects, but the contractor has been fabulous and my experience with construction has been a great one.  I'd recommend Denise Mitchell Interiors in Campbell River, BC to anyone, and 2 Hills Renovations as a contractor extraordinaire! 

It was a sad day when they took their tools and
left, with the only things left to complete being done by other trades.  The foreman, Dave, was here a lot and we got to know him really well.  A wonderful thoughtful and talented man.  Very attune to the people who will be living in the addition and made several improvements for their benefit.  He will be coming back for one more day, finishing up the front door and handrails on the deck.  As he was packing his tools I said "This feels something like ending an affair!"  He grinned and said "True, but I'll be back for a quickie!"  Needless to say he's just as fast with the sarcasm as I!! 

Above is a picture of he and Bob preparing to install a new picture window in our very dark living room.  A project I came up with in the midst of everything else!  A woman's prerogative right? 

Now, on to more appreciating retirement....and raking rocks!  I'm preparing the area where a new septic field was installed to be hydro-seeded at the end of this week.  I'm hoping it's grass before the winter rains hit so that we don't have two little dogs in the mud all the time!  Here's what I'm fixing up.  It's all covered in and back-bladed, but I'm raking it to level it as much as possible and get rid of the surface rock.  The idea is that if we can turn it into grass quickly, we can fill potholes and patch next spring when it's all settled a bit.  Wish me luck! 

A New Chapter in my Life!

It's not a book yet, but it could be!  I'm setting out on a new chapter in my life.....the one that begins when you retire from your full time office job and start another life style.  I've looked forward to this for some time now, as do many of us.  But it was expedited by the twists and turns that life throws at us. 

First of all, my retirement date was planned for the end of March.....making April 1st or April Fools Day the first day of my retired life.  An auspicious date for such a monumental change don't you think?  So, as always, with "the best laid plans of mice and men" .....things didn't work out that way.  During my Christmas vacation, I fell and broke my foot.  That put me in an air cast, with instructions to keep my foot elevated for a period of time.  But, beyond that, I was unable to drive our standard vehicle, so had to take extra time off work.  Rather than have the office go through training someone for my absence with the broken foot, and then again six weeks later for my permanent replacement, I decided to expedite my retirement date. 

So, I guess if you want to get technical, I retired at Christmas break because I've been away from work since that time!  My last official day on payroll was January 28th, and my first official day of retirement turned out to be February 1st. 

But nothing is ever that clear and concise.  I was sitting here in my chair on the morning of January 30th when the phone rang.  It was my Mum, and she was upset.  My Dad had fallen, broken his hip and was in the hospital.  She asked "Can you come?  I can't handle this alone."  I said I would be there as soon as I could.  I was on a plane within two and a half hours, with the help of my friend who drove me there.  She was great as we put things into her vehicle.  She asked "Do you have your other shoe?  If you're there long you may want it."  So I dashed back inside to get the other shoe that matched the one I had on my "good foot".  Turned out to be a good thing because not only did my stay stretch to three weeks, but the ice and snow was treacherous with an air cast, so as soon as I thought it feasible, I took the boot off and wore my runners, with my Mum's "cleats" attached.  Great invention that one! 

So, my Dad waited 2 1/2 days for surgery, but has pulled through miraculously considering he is 96.  There were some long worrisome days, but Mum and Dad have yet again surmounted the obstacles thrown in their path and Dad is gaining strength and Mum is able to help him. there was a week in the hospital, a week in the rehabilitation center, and then a week at home.  I stayed until I was sure they could handle the shower, cooking, the trips to the lab for blood tests etc.  I didn't really want to leave when I did, but I had things at home that needed to be attended to as well!  One being the pets I had deserted in my rush to get there.  People were looking after them and I totally appreciated that, but you can only let people help you for so long! 

One of the things I did to help out was to walk their adorable and extremely well trained little dog three times a day.  I couldn't help but notice the houses in the neighborhood.  I like unusual buildings and this district was amazing....everything from the heritage home to the ultra-modern....side-by-side making a very eclectic neighborhood.  It was a pleasure to walk around and see these places. 

So now I'm home, adjusting to retired life, checking on my parents every second day by telephone, and planning to go back for a short check-in on spring break.  I'll be taking two granddaughters to see their Dad at that time and will tie in a visit with Mum and Dad.  In walking around in my back yard yesterday, I discovered a surprise....crocuses blooming all over the lawn in our back yard.  A harbinger of spring that was very welcome after walking a little dog dressed in boots and sweater in -37 degree windchills! 

Moving House....Yet Again

Not that I think this is a new revelation to anyone, but I must say, moving has a tremendous psychological impact on a couple. Imagine a person in their seventies selling their home of 30 years and moving to a retirement home. I’ll never be that person. We moved 2 ½ years ago, and here we are, completing yet again another move! (That’s where I’ve been instead of blogging since about mid-April.)

Last fall, my husband and I finally had a conversation over a glass of wine, which led to tremendous honesty with each other. We both disliked where we were living!! (Other than my spectacular studio of course). We both would like to downsize and thereby downsize our expenses. We had discovered an amazing concept: the ratio of the house size and the heating bill coordinate with each other!

So, now we are into the discussion “when shall we do this?” (neither one of us is known for patience or waiting easily!). We have to make an effort now to communicate with each other exactly what it is we do not like about where we are, what we don’t want to do again, what we’ve liked best about homes past and what we would like to accomplish with this move. This discussion went on for several weeks actually. We discussed things like stairs/ranchers; being visible by all the neighbors; size of yard; size of house; detached workshop; water source; heat source; on and on and on it went. Much wine was consumed!

It is commonly said that moving from one house to another is one of the most stressful life events, right up there with divorce and bereavement. I’m happy to say that I haven’t had a lot of bereavement in my life, but I have experienced divorce, so I feel qualified to say that statement is very true!

There’s the idea of moving, the indecision of whether it’s the correct thing to do….will it make life better, the same or worse? When the decision is made, there’s the de-cluttering and the de-personalizing, living in that newly de-characterized space, the constant cleaning and the life interruptions created by the viewings! I tell you, half way into this one, I was sorely tempted to give up on the idea. He was too….just at different times….which equaled more stress!

Our plan was to get totally out of debt. Sell the big two storey house in town and get a little one. Thus allowing me to retire from my job and focus on my next career as a textile artist, teacher and writer of books related to that! Well, the big house sold but what a search there was for the little one that would suit both of us! Buying a new house seems like a happy and exciting occasion… at first. But we couldn’t find anything that fit all our pre-requisites in town! Did we have too many expectations? Had we made a mistake? Was it possible to achieve what we hoped for? Panic began to set in.

How do you find your “new dream” home? Not the expensive perfectly located one on the beach with all the amenities, that is paid for by the lottery, and is your dream home, but the one fitting this “new dream” goal of retiring early and having peace and quiet with room for your hobbies? This involved many hours cruising the internet and believe me I surfed for hours and hours. After viewing many unsatisfactory places with the local real estate agent, we were blessed by our daughter-in-law, who was beginning to worry about us. Now why do you think she would worry?   

She is an accomplished real estate agent as well as a very special daughter-in-law. http://www.onepercentrealty.com/realtordetails.cfm?rid=238 We’ve considered Monica to be a saint with wings and a halo for years, but this time she really scored. She went on-line and came up with several listings that she emailed to me, branching out the search area and checking into foreclosures to get more for our dollar. Lo and behold….she found us the house that fits….and it’s a foreclosure….and it’s not in town! Should we get involved in this even tho it will answer all our requirements with some extra work? Does living out of town again look good because we are panicked about finding a home or do we really like that better? Or should we keep looking for a home that won’t involve a court date and the possibility of being outbid or arriving on possession day to nothing looking the same as it did when viewed. We decided to go for it…..and were successful. Thank heavens for that! And we’ve moved in with no rude surprises and the budget worked out exactly as planned so far. Phew! And yes, we both really do prefer to live out of town. So in the end, after all this up and down emotion, we are settling happily. Exhausted and physically sore, but happy. When I emailed pictures to our son working in Alberta, his reply was “Wow….it just screams ‘DAD’!” And he’s right, it does. But it fits me too and with the renovations that are included in the plans, it’s going to be perfect for these two people! We can walk to the beach, walk to the river, walk to a pub, walk to a little grocery store, walk to the walk-in clinic, and walk to the liquor store. What more would we need as retired people who aren’t in town every day? Ahhhhh, the very thought is soothing!

"PRIVATE SETTING - Warm and cozy 3 bedroom, 1 bath rancher with a large deck that can be accessed from either the master bedroom or the living room. This home also boasts a beautiful river rock gas fireplace. Large workshop/garage at back of property. The property can be accessed from Croydon Road or Wimbledon. For the young family, Oyster River Elementary is within walking distance. "