Purposeful

Bless at  My Two Cents said she is picking Thrive for her word of the year. I don't usually pick a word for the year, but I think this year I will. I am choosing Purposeful. Since I am entering a new phase of my life with retirement, I want to be purposeful with how I choose my priorities and spend my time. Do you choose a word of the year?

Below are a few more odds and ends from retirement news.

You may remember that I recently talked about a green dinosaur from the library that was donated over 30 years ago. Recently, it found its way back home, and now, a new generation is playing with it. 

These were roses I got at the end of the last storytime.

A silly parting gift I gave to my co-workers. They are all moving to other libraries for the next two years while our library is renovated.

I am about done sorting and putting away everything I brought home from work.  I saved a few stuffed animals I used in storytime, but these are no longer needed.

Another parting gift from a storytime family.
We shed a few tears and hugs as we said goodbye.

And in non-retirement news, on the way home after a visit with my FIL, Ward, Wally, and I took a walk in a park where Wally used to work in the summers. He was interested to see the improvements they had made.

Ward was interested in the equipment they were using in the park,
especially since his day at the Big Metal Playground.

Until next time...

A Good Start

 Good morning, everyone.

This is my third day of retirement, and everyone asks me how it feels. I tell them it's great because that's what they want to hear. Truth is, it's too soon to know how it feels because it hasn't really sunk in yet. Major changes require time to adjust. At least, that is how it works for me.

My retirement gift to myself. A Frog and Toad t-shirt
 from my favorite Frog and Toad story.

But it really has been a good three days of retirement. It's 10:30 am, and I just realized that all I've really accomplished this morning involves food. One of my goals is to visit with friends more often, so this morning, I sent an email asking if we should reschedule tomorrow's lunch because of an impending ice storm. Next, I confirmed a breakfast with a friend for next week. Tonight, we're going to a bar for line dancing, and I studied the menu to see what I might want to get from there. Then Theo, who we haven't seen in a few weeks, called, so we're going to lunch with him today. Which meant, of course, that I had to study the menu at that restaurant. I also sent another email about a lunch I'm having here in a couple of weeks for some work friends.

I didn't expect you to follow the above paragraph, but I think you got the idea that food and friends are on my mind. That's a lot of eating out, but that's what I'm splurging on for now. 

In addition, I've been to a line dancing class, a strength and balance class, and a ballroom dance class. Throw in a new book and a high score on Cookie Jam, and I am living the life!

Until next time...

I'm Impressed

 I was chatting with a woman at the library yesterday who was lamenting that that library would be closed for two years for renovation. This is a common conversation these days because the doors will close next week for this work. As we discussed alternatives, she revealed that she read 342 books last year!! She does this mostly by listening to audiobooks as she works as a house cleaner. She often plays them at 2x the speed unless she really likes the narrator, then she does normal speed. And for some authors, she likes to read the words in paper book form. No matter how she does it, I was impressed! I'm not sure I have the attention span to devour that many books in that amount of time. And something tells me she may not spend as much time playing computer games as I do. 😀

When the library doors close next week, that will be my final day before I retire. I've shed a few tears when I think about leaving, but that's a good thing--to be leaving a job I like enough that I am sad about leaving. 

But as I said in my high school graduation speech, "All old things must end, so new things can begin." (Which, BTW, my mother was heavily involved in helping me write. One of her many talents.)

Until next time...

Practicing

I am a person who wakes up with a plan for the day and likes to get moving. But today was different, and I liked it. The snow we had yesterday created a beautiful picture outside. Something about snow makes everything seem so peaceful, and I went with that feeling.

Instead of jumping into things, I had a leisurely breakfast while watching Leave It to Beaver. I checked my email, played a few games, and read a few blogs. Then Ward decided the house was cold, so while we were waiting for it to warm up, we went back to bed and read a book about the history of Poland together (which, by the way, was pretty dense). 

After a while, I thought I should do something productive, so I made a phone call and promptly was put on hold for an hour before I gave up. Maybe the roads were too icy for the staff to make it to work?

While on hold, I started sorting boxes I brought home from work. One thing I brought home was a big stuffed dinosaur that we used for decoration in the children's area of the library. As it turns out, my sister works with someone who used to volunteer at the library when he was a teen in the 1990s, and he donated a big dinosaur to the library. I think this might be the one, so she is going to take it to him to see. His mother made it for him; it would be fun if her grandchildren could play with it now.

So, I actually left the house and took the dino to my sister to take to work tomorrow. And as long as I was out, I picked up a prescription. 

Tonight, Ward and I went to the rec center for our dance class. And a good time was had by all.

So, I consider today a good day to practice taking things at a slower pace and being okay with that. I know that it will take a while to find my new rhythm when I retire in a couple of weeks, but today was a fun day for me to try things out.

Until next time...

Hello, again.

 I haven't posted since New Year's Day. I've composed a few posts in my head and even started a Year in Review post but didn't get past February. Blog follow-through has not been my strong suit this month.

One of the pieces from the mantle I'm missing.
BTW, I don't display it with the ribbon. 😀

I guess I've been preoccupied with other things. First, there were the busy holidays which, by the way, we have only one last thing from them to put away. Everything is back in its regular place except for the two framed cross-stitch pieces that we display on our mantle. I put them away somewhere they wouldn't get broken, and I can't find them. I looked where I thought I put them and then every other place I could think of. They will show up eventually, I hope. The question now is whether I should wait to find them or find other things to put on the mantle. Right now, I am still waiting for them to miraculously appear.

The other mantle cross-stitch I'm missing.

Also, I am retiring at the end of this month. Besides trying to wrap my brain around this significant change, there has been a ton of confusing paperwork to turn in, but I have done that successfully. In addition, we've been trying to get various doctor appointments in before our insurance changes in February.

And with more time on our hands coming soon, we're planning three trips next year. We haven't made any big trips since before the Pandemic, so we're out of the practice of planning. But we have friends and family helping, making things a bit easier. Soon, details will fall into place, and I won't feel quite so overwhelmed. 

Ward shoveling our driveway last week.

Amongst those big things, we've started back to dance class, gone to my niece's first communion, and shoveled snow.

And speaking of work, I had better get ready. 

Until next time...

I'm Back!

 After taking a break to recover from the A-Z blogging challenge, I'm back. Here's a little peek into the goings-on around here in the last week and a half.

We had a retirement celebration for Ward, who retired in April. The weather was perfect, and the yard was in its spring glory. Because we still have limited kitchen facilities, we ordered pizzas for the main dish.

And speaking of limited kitchen facilities, our cabinets got delivered a couple of days ago. Yay!

The delivery men said that they deliver all kinds of cabinets from different manufacturers and these are some of the best. So that was good to hear. It was also good to see the cabinets up close and personal because we didn't remember exactly what we ordered; it's been so long.

Another day, we visited a local wholesale nursery to get some plants.
I really enjoyed seeing all of the plants in different stages of growth.

Some of the plants we got at the nursery are the little begonias you see in front of the azaleas. We plant begonias in this spot every year because they do very well here without much maintenance.

Also blooming in the front on the other side of the walk are the yellow variegated tulips that have joined the already blooming red ones.

Also, newly blooming this week is the lily of the valley.

I had a nice Mother's Day because both Wally and Theo were here for a cookout. It was especially nice because, after three days of cold rain, it cleared in the afternoon. This Mother's Day rose is in a vase that was my mother's, and the table it is on was hers, too. A nod to remembering her, too.

Until next time...