Keeping in Touch

I think that most of you will agree that when you leave a job for one reason or another the thing we miss the most is our co-workers, our friends not the job itself. I’m sure there are exceptions to that rule, as always.

I didn’t make a lot of close friends at my job, by close I mean friends that I got together with ‘after’ work but I made a lot of friends over my 33 years in the school board. We swear to keep in touch but that doesn’t always happen. We think that we’ll have all the time in the world to make plans but unless they are also retired, plans don’t come to fruition.

There are 3 girlfriends of mine who are still working and we have managed to do a few fun things together. I think I mentioned once about our Escape Room adventure. Well, just Saturday we managed to squeeze another fun event in before I head north.

We ordered a Groupon coupon for Sundown Tea www.sundowntea.ca in London. It is a quaint little shop with a mere 5 tables for guests, seating capacity for 22-24. The only pre-requisite is that you choose your tea from a wide selection of approximately 50 varieties from Black, Herbal, Aromatic, etc. I wish I had taken a picture of the menu with the choices.

Each participant of the Groupon receives the same tray of goodies from crust less sandwiches, to fruit, to scones with jams/jellies, to coffee cakes and chocolate. It was surprisingly enough food to fill anyone in mid-afternoon. We arrived for our reservation at 1:30, sat immediately, exchanged hello hugs and chatted incessantly to catch up on each other’s news. We were not rushed although our cute little hostess was available at our beck and call when we were ready to order tea.

When it all arrived, there were ooh’s and aah’s and yes, of course, pictures taken.

Here we are below and also a picture of our 3 tiered tray of delights.

Heather, Laurie and Laurie join me for tea

Yummy little snacks for each of us

Thank you all for stopping in and sharing this post with me. It is so important to keep in touch with friends and sometimes it is only possible through this type of communication. Feel free to drop a line!

Two Months In

It has been a while since I posted but aside from dealing with an unworthy laptop and interrupted Wi-Fi (could all be the same issue!) I haven’t wanted to put any unnecessary stress into this lovely life called retirement. I’m a very patient person but when I’m in the middle of posting something and things go awry, I’d rather just pack it up and try it later.

Golden Pond RV Resort

I purchased a Lenovo Edge15 laptop the day after I retired on March 31. I was so excited, having never owned one before. I’d used Bill’s a few times but he is very particular about how things are and it seemed sure enough almost every time I’d use it, something would change. Neither of us needed that frustration so I basically used my desktop at the house and waited until we were able to get one my own.

 I had more troubles with that Lenovo than you could shake a stick at. Being the patient person I am, I was being tested I tell you, I took it back 3 times to service. Two Wi-Fi cards and a mother board later, the Wi-Fi went again. Last straw so I took it in and had a very knowledgeable young man at Superior Computers help me to find a more suitable and reliable machine.

 I still came home on May 31 with a Lenovo but a Think Pad with even more accessories. So far, I’m thrilled with it. It is fast, comfortable to use and purty.

Retirement is great, but I don’t need to tell most of you anything about that. I have finally understood that it is not a vacation and soaking up every little bit of it that I can. This full-time rv living is also great even though right now we are just sitting at the park. Bill has 10 more days of work. That is totally freaking awesome!!! I know what he is feeling, it won’t seem real until he walks out the door on June 23 and even then it will take a while to sink in. Having no uniforms in the closet might be the clincher.

I’m usually up with my bread winner before he leaves for work at 6:30 but not always. I feel bad if I wake up later and he has left because I was sound asleep. I try not to let many mornings slip by without a 30  minute walk but it happens a few times and I don’t beat myself up about it. The park isn’t that big so it means I need to walk around the perimeter and then retrace steps up and down a few streets to get the time in. I’m a fast walker so I don’t usually take Clemson on my early trek. He is a typical dog and pushes the limits with sniffing and lifting his leg at every frequented tree or post. LOL Sometimes there are barely a few drops left but Bill thinks he has a reserve just so he can prove he needed to stop. I take him later in the day so the walk is all about him and I let him stop to his heart’s content.

We usually walk around the pond each day

Clemson awaits his daddy home from work

I’ve made a few trips into the city, 25 min. west on occasion but usually only once maybe twice in a week. It is different buying groceries now with smaller spaces and that takes getting used to. The strangest thing I find is that I have never once thought “oh I miss the house”. I’ve never once had the question run through my head of “why did I get rid of that?” or never have I missed walking out onto my deck. I know where everything is here in our home and even though I still have a few cupboards in my hutch by the table to sort and rearrange I know I have time. It feels wonderful!

On the long Victoria Day weekend in May, we told the park staff that we were pulling out to go to our Durham location and offered up our spot from Friday to Monday as we knew they were jam packed that weekend. Ann checked our hydro meter before and after the weekend campers came in so we wouldn’t be charged.

Our spot on the hill, room for company!

We had an absolutely beautiful weekend and came to a conclusion while we were there. We've decided to pack up and pull out of Golden Pond earlier than originally planned. Why would we stay until July 15 when we could be in the privacy and peacefulness of The Ridge two weeks earlier?

Our view coming up from the road

Burning mortgage papers at our first campfire

Our previous reasoning was valid for sure, with a model airplane event in Chatham on the weekend of July 15, 16, 17 and we would be much closer to go from here in Putnam BUT is it worth it to stick around for that? No. Since we have paid up until then, we will get reimbursed for the time we have paid and won’t be using. I’m excited with this change of plans, this is a nice park and we are meeting some nice people but it isn’t a home location to us in any way.

Sunset at the Ridge

We did a lot of work at The Ridge on the weekend, arriving Thursday evening, May 19 and arrived back at Golden Pond on Monday afternoon by dinnertime. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect and we had an opportunity to visit with a couple of my sisters and their spouses while there. Well, Bill and I did, our supervisor slept a lot on the grass and wherever his little bum found, sun and shade.

We cut grass, weeded gardens, reconfigured the dock at the pond,

Clemson is very much enjoying this lifestyle

Taking my chances!

put windows in the shed

Bill puts lights in my garden

and even found time to relax and enjoy a campfire each evening. The absence did make our hearts grow fonder and the outdoor work was a pleasure.

Garden is flourishing

We have had a few visitors here in the park at Putnam and our good friends, Kathy and Derrick are coming on Saturday evening for a bbq dinner. It is always wonderful to catch up and enjoy many belly laughs with them.

My brother, Michael (Cold Lake, AB) and daughter, Bridgette (West Lorne) and Bill

I hope you don’t mind me catching up this way, hopefully it will be more regular and shorter in the future.

Daughter and 2nd grandson, Jacob

Daughter-in-law, Chaela, son, Patrick and 3rd grandson, Nathan

We only have to tie up the loose end of a turbo hub/hot spot before we pull out of here June 26 and we’re all set!

Thank you for stopping by and all comments are welcome!