Six Weeks Post Retirement

That's what the title was supposed to be. But somehow it's almost 8 weeks already! I have no idea what happened to all the time. I wanted to report in tell you how great retirement has been.

I retired on a Tuesday (end of the month) and then went right into the activity of the annual Sewing Expo at the fairgrounds. Even had a friend from out of town come stay with us for a couple of nights. Then the next full week home with Wally was interesting. But we made it work.

I think six weeks was the magic number for us to get into a good routine. With both of us keeping our own daily schedules and running errands together and eating out.

It took me about 6 weeks before I could wake up without my alarm. I started setting my alarm for 7:30, then 7;15 and now I get up 5 days a week at 7 am and go to the gym. Eight hours of sleep is perfect for me.

In the nearly 8 weeks since I stopped working I've had a few lunches out with office friends, have quilted two large quilts and one baby quilt, have started another baby quilt project. I've taken a class on how to use my serger, have sewn three pairs of work out pants and one cute top.

I've cooked, baked, made caramels and started volunteer training at our Senior Activity Center. I'm going to love working the front desk there half a day a week.

Wally and I did one road trip to Boise for a long weekend and tomorrow we embark on a big two week adventure. We'll drive to Boise, SLC, St. George, SLC, Springville, Boise and then home. I'll see all three of my sisters, both my kids, their spouses and 3 grand daughters. And not to leave out my brother who is in town visiting his son, we saw him and his wife this afternoon.

As an added bonus we are leaving the rain behind and hopefully getting some sunshine in Southern Utah. Stay tuned for trip pictures in a couple of weeks.

Being in Boise

I use the word "being" as an emotion, a feeling of being somewhere that conjures up so many memories. Of feeling where you are and where you came from. Our family moved to Boise in 1965 right after my 8th birthday. I graduated high school in 1975 and left for college in August, only 17 years old. Although I only lived in Boise for 10 years, they were my formative years. The years of schooling, making friends, Saturday night dances, summer girls camp, first job, first kiss, learning to drive at 14, road trips in the family station wagon to Grandma's house in Manti, and summer trips to Henry's Lake.

No matter how many years I've lived in other places, I will always call Boise home. I've been back many times over the years. This last weekend Wally and I took our first post-retirement road trip to Boise. We stayed three nights at my sister's home. The main purpose of this trip was to see my friend Gail, whom I met in grade school that first year we moved to Boise when I was 8 years old. Gail currently lives in North Carolina and was flying to Boise to her older brother Bryan's Memorial service. Although it was a sad occasion, I was grateful for having some time to visit with her.

Wally and I left home on Thursday, lunched at our yearly summer road trip restaurant, Smokehouse Restaurant in La Grande, Oregon. Wally loves ordering breakfast there for lunch. We arrived at Sue's just before 7:00 p.m. and had dinner.

Friday we drove up to Sweet, Idaho for the Memorial service. It was a nice outdoor service with friends and family, a little wind and a little rain. It was fun to hear stories about Bryan from his son. And to hear that he had spent his last few months growing closer to his family and making peace with his life. He was 77 years old.

Late Friday afternoon Wally and I went to the Village at Meridian where we enjoyed pizza at Grimaldi's. It's so good there. The flowers at the Village were all in bloom and it was such a pretty spring day. Friday night Sue, Dennis and I played Rummikub and Yahtzee.

Saturday morning, Sue and I left Wally with Jack when we picked up our sister Becky and headed to a craft boutique. It was held in a model show home in a new subdivision in Eagle. The entire house was full of cute, fun and beautiful craft items, from outdoor stuff, to signs, to Easter items. Plus the house was absolutely gorgeous. Before we left we walked through the model home across the street.

Saturday evening Gail and I went out to dinner at the Texas Roadhouse. We had an hour wait for a table but it was time well spent visiting and reminiscing. We hadn't seen each other since our high school reunion in 2015 so it was fun catching up. And I'm always grateful that we can just pick up where we left off as if no time had passed.

It was bittersweet thinking about our friend Brenda who passed away in 2015. She was a part of our trio growing up and we had many fun memories..

Sunday morning we woke up to frost on the car window! We hit the road for home. Found a cute diner outside Yakima for lunch (where they serve breakfast all day).

Snoqualmie Pass was beautiful with all the snow. We had a pleasant drive home. Road tripping in April weather is actually pretty nice. It was a great weekend.