Cooking the NYTimes and Other Assorted Retirement Activities

Those of you who regularly engage in craft-y type activities--and I count a fair number of you among my friends and acquaintances and you know who are you--will probably sigh as you read this, saying, "She is making a damn big deal out of nothing." Isn't that what retirement is all about? Actually I'm writing about this because the Birdhouse Project began a couple years ago as I was pulling out of the parking lot at KDWA radio in Hastings. When I was working, each month I was on air host Mo McNeary; we talked all things Community Education and made each other laugh.  One of the best gigs of the prior job.  Driving away, I saw a couple painted birdhouses hung on the side of a garage and thought to myself, "That's pretty cool.  I have a storage garage with an unadorned side.  That's something I could do when I retire!" So I'm pretty darned proud of myself that a) I remembered this was something I wanted to do when I retired and 2) I'm act...

I'm going to begin with a disclosure that at least some of you are familiar with. Almost 25 years ago, our family and our framily, the Smiths, were in the Drake Diner in Des Moines when it was robbed and two people brutally murdered.  One of the bullet casings bounced off Voldemort's foot (see previous blog regarding Voldemort).  The oldest children were called to testify in court.  The memories can still cause my blood to run cold and my heart to beat faster than it should.  Every mass shooting invokes the memory of being under the table at the Diner, holding our youngests close.  The oldest children were seated at a booth directly across from the register where the murders took place.  I remember the first shot sounded something like a wait staff had dropped a platter of glasses.  Or maybe a light bulb had exploded.  The restaurant went silent.  My eyes locked with Jeanie's, sitting across the booth from me.  Slowly we sank to the fl...

I spent Memorial Day weekend in Iowa with my friend, Jeanie and her family.  My oldest daughter, Molly, and her family were also there.  That meant 8 kiddos, 6 of Jeanie's 8 grands and 2 of my 6,(in total ages 2-8), in constant--and I do mean--constant motion.  The weather cooperated.  Hank only ran out once and actually came trotting back to Jeanie's in short order.  Communal cooking equated to fabulous meals.  I posted on Facebook that I LOVE the Come to the Table service that St. Timothy's Episcopal Church in West Des Moines, where Jeanie is a Deacon, offers on Sunday night at 5 p.m.  Regardless of your religious denomination, if you live in the Des Moines area, be there on Sunday night or be square. On Monday, I drove over with the Smiths to Iowa City where Jeanie's son (and my son from another mother) Tyson and his family live to celebrate Eleanor Smith's 6th birthday.  Still 8 kids, still constant motion, still loads of love. Tyson has n...

No, this post is NOT about sex but I am going to posit a question a la Carrie Bradshaw, she of Sex and the City.  Plus I figured having sex in the title might be a good way to draw readers. Before I retired, many already retirees would look at me with something akin to sympathy and tell me that it would take me awhile, but I would find a routine.  I've been ruminating over this quite a bit, which leads me to wonder--Why is it important for people leaving the routine of the workforce to then burden themselves with a new routine?  Because, after all, isn't that something we're all looking forward to with baited breath once we retire?  That we can jettison the routine, do whatever we want, whenever we want? (I previously wrote about the value of getting into an exercise routine, which I have been adhering to rather religiously.  Therefore, I exempt exercise from the ensuing conversation about routines.) And don't get me started about schedules.  Definiti...

It's a stunningly beautiful day here in the upper Midwest.  Please don't blame the Mothers' Day temperatures in the 70's on global warming.  That would take away all hope that the chance of frost has come and is now gone until at least next September. I've been writing this blog post in my head for at least a couple weeks.  In fact, I had a couple false starts while we were still in Florida.  I think I'm finally ready to get it onto the computer screen (remember when we used to say we were ready to get it onto paper?) In Florida, we rented in a townhome complex in Indian Rocks Beach.  My youngest sister lives there, which is how we found the place.  That factored into our decision to rent there.  We've been there a couple times and had a sense of what the community was like, where stores and restaurants were located.  We both liked that it was a little more laid back Florida beach town, less touristy than other nearby places.  Plus being ...

Today is day 20 of our month long stay in Florida. It is also day 7 of having grandchildren (and their parents) stay with us. Ah, the chaos of young children. A brief list of things I had conveniently forgotten about a 24-7 stay with infants, toddlers and preschoolers. Your day starts early.  Good news--you will get to see the sun rise. Your day ends (relatively) early.  You watch the sunset at the beach, go home, have a snack, take a bath, read stories...you know the drill.  Bad news--you miss all those network television shows you follow.  Good news--this will force you to learn how to download the apps so you can stream them and watch them later. Noise, the ever lovely chatter of children, is a continual background stream.  Good news--there is no reason to turn on the television, so you can blissfully live without knowing what our President has done to make you not so proud to be an American (paid political comment). Your once pristine rental townhou...

A compendium of random thoughts 10 days into the month long winter break... Wednesday was the first day since we've been here that I didn't wake up with that deliciously frantic feeling you often have when on vacation.  The one where you are somewhat anxious about getting going with the day because after all, you're on limited time.  Each day you are here brings you closer to returning home and back to work.  You have to squeeze the most out of each lovely moment of vacation release. Sooner or later we do have to go home, but I don't have to go back to work.  What a concept!  What a feeling! I think I'll be able to get used to this. Some days the sky is so beautifully, clarified blue that it's almost painful to look at it. So far there really isn't a routine or pattern to the days.  We were blessed with company last week, our friends Jeanie and Bill.  My sister and brother-in-law come tomorrow, my niece Sondra on Thursday (they are staying wi...