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.

Catching Up with Life

Excuse my embarrassment for not having blogged for two months. Do you sometimes ever feel that life gets in the way of life? I think we spend so much of our time planning our life, that we don't always recognize life as it unfolds right here and now in front of us.

In September I was able to go to Boise to attend my 40th high school reunion. Gail flew in from North Carolina. We had so much fun. Originally the life I had planned that weekend would have been Wally and I driving to Boise on Thursday and spending a leisure weekend in Boise and then driving home on Sunday.

As life would have it, Wally got a stomach virus and was very sick the first week and a half in September. So I bought an expensive plane ticket two days in advance and I have no regrets. Well, except leaving a recovering Wally home to fend for himself for a little over 48 hours.

Gail picked me up on Friday night for the first activity. It was a casual gathering at The Drink Waterfront Bar and Grill. It was the perfect spot for this gathering. We donned our name tags at the check in desk and then spent the next few hours trying to guess who people were! Some I could recognize, but for most it was hard. High school was so long ago. But the evening was very fun spent visiting and catching up with people.

Saturday morning my brother and sister came over to Sue's house and we met to discuss things about the cabin with Nancy on the phone.

In the afternoon Gail came over and we spent the afternoon floating in the pool in the backyard and visiting. It was a much needed rest for a crazy month.

The Saturday night event was a lot of fun. It was held at the Riverside Hotel.  It was fun getting dressed up to go out for the evening. We had a light dinner, short program and a DJ playing 70's music. And lots of space and time for visiting. They had yearbooks spread out and even some grade school and Jr. high photos. A lot of the kids had gone to school together since grade school.

 

The evening was a lot of fun. Sunday came very quickly and it was time to fly back home. Wally survived and I was back at work on Monday.

A Little Nostalgia

I recently blogged about a trip to Boise to attend a memorial service. It was a quick trip. One morning as I was driving my sister's (manual transmission) car around town, I found myself in a familiar area and realized it was near my grade school, Whittier Elementary. So I took a photo.

The grade school turned out to be really close to the Main Street auction where I spent many a Saturday as a kid with my Dad. So I took two photos.

Walking back to my car, there was a heart shaped oil stain on the road. I saw that as a sweet sign from Brenda. So I took a photo.

And to add to the 70's nostalgia vibe of my trip, this was parked on the street near the auction and grade school. So I took a photo and slugged myself!

Since my Junior High School, Fairmont, was on the way back to my sister's house I figured I might as well stop there too. So I parked in the stall marked "principal" and got out and took a photo.

There was another grade school that I spent 3rd grade at but I didn't get that photo. I decided to round it off by driving by my High School, Capital High, home of the Capital Eagles. Given the fact that this year is my 40th reunion I found it appropriate to visit. I took lots of photos.



I'm not 16 anymore! 40th reunion in September!

I then drove by our old house on Cory Lane. I didn't recognize it. I had to identify it by the house number. Of course trees have been taken down and the surrounding property has homes built on it. It was fun to see it though. And I snuck a picture (of some stranger's home because it used to be mine).

 

My bedroom was the dormer on the top right side. I shared it with my sister Nancy for many years. It was big and had green linoleum on the floor! Lots of fun memories from my 10 years living in that house.

Saying Good Bye

When I was eight years old my family moved to Boise, Idaho. We bought a big five bedroom house on Cory Lane. We had a pasture on the side and back of the property that connected to the Amidon's home. Dorothy became a close friend of my Mom's. Dorothy and her husband had five kids. The oldest, Brenda was one year older than me. I was the youngest of five and she was the oldest.

We spent much time together playing in the field, riding bikes, taking the bus to grade school, going to girls camp at Pine Top, Saturday night dances at the church, the drive in movies, and just pretty much enjoying the 1970s. Through grade school, junior high, and high school we were friends. She graduated a year before me and the next year she married Dan. This year in May they celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary.

I had moved away from home to attend college. We saw each other off and on when I made trips home to visit my parents. Then later when my parents had retired to St. George I would occasionally visit with her on our way to the cabin in Idaho.

The older I get the more it feels like time passes quicker. Before I knew it, it had been many years since we had seen each other. With Facebook we had reconnected, able to share family pictures of kids and grand kids.

In May this year Brenda spent three weeks in Seattle with her son and daughter in law while her son was having some medical procedures done. I was able to visit her on multiple occasions and we had a wonderful time sitting and talking.

Then on Saturday morning, July 4th I received a phone call from her daughter in law telling me that she had passed away that morning. She had lupus and health problems related to that, but it was still unexpected. How grateful I was for the gift of being able to see her in May and spend time with her. And how sad I was for the loss. She was only 58 years old.

I was able to go to Boise to attend her memorial service. It was nice to see her husband Dan and her son's families, two of her brothers, her father, and to be able to meet her sister's son. I still find it hard to believe that it's been nearly 50 years ago that my family moved into that house near hers.

At the memorial her daughter in law shared this picture with me that she found on Brenda's cell phone. Brenda must have found it recently and taken a photo of it but hadn't sent it to me. I'm guessing we were probably in high school at the time of the photo.

 

I regret that we never took a photo together during the visits we shared when she was here in May. But perhaps this is the way I'm meant to remember her. She will be greatly missed by many. Be at peace Brenda, united with your Mom and sister Ruth.