Easy in some ways and not so easy in others. I sail across the blogs looking for one that addresses being retired without a golden pension. With just what you have managed to save on your own. Wondering how to "live" and how to "enjoy living". I think, in my heart, we will be fine. We just need to find our footing. Not too much. Not too little. Just enough. Not more.
Riley has already discovered his "sweet spot". G is home and Riley is ready to help get the morning paper, take out the recycling, go for a ride in the car and most of all, take a walk. G is Riley's most favorite person. So, for Riley, this is working perfectly.
The temperatures are keeping the skylights covered in icy snow. Making it dark in here. The great room. Where we spend most of the daylight hours. Where I have the heat turned up to 61. The other rooms are all 58. I would go lower in the bedroom wing if we didn't have a dog. We always had the heat off and the window open an inch or two in the winters before Riley. We have the very heaviest of down comforter and it was a delight to sleep under breathing ice cold air. We never got sick. But that is too cold for the dog and if we close the doors--he is sad. We can't use the comforter. I have a summer weight one on the bed and it is enough. I miss breathing the cold air. I think it is something we carried back to America from Germany. Babies nap outside on the terrace in winter, wrapped in warm blankets. Less germs.
I haven't made my "To Do" list for this Pajama Vacation of mine. I do have my new Work Search Log to fill out. Looking for work I don't want in order to comply with the Rules. Five years of going back to work each year doesn't count for much with these Rule Makers.
I have already sorted and shredded the bills etc from years back. Three very large bags of shredded paper. I am working on clearing off the table. I started on the fridge cleaning but then grocery shopping and cooking filled it again and it is a mess.
I do want to empty the desk where I am currently sitting, typing. I want to empty it all. The shelving and cabinets above. And then move the computer to somewhere else. Then G and I can start taking everything apart and down. Making room for a new fridge and some open restaurant shelving. I am sure the floor will need major work. We have extra flooring in the attic which as been up there over 26 years. In case we needed it. A bit of deconstruction is always interesting.
I am wondering if our daughter might like some "no longer needed" custom cherry cabinets over her sink in her kitchen. The desk top would make a nice counter once a hole for the sink is cut into it. It's just like the counter tops in my kitchen. Easy to clean. Plain. Made of some wonder laminate that never stains or marks. Who knows, she may be open to something quite different. That would be nice.
This bit of construction might be all that I can manage in the next 10 weeks. And the expense of the new fridge the only thing we should be buying right now. While we practice being retired.
We practice being retired too. Ray works as a consultant when there is work to be had. There hasn't been much lately. Several months ago we wrote down every penny we spent for three months. We have never tracked our expenses that closely before. We wanted to find out what we actually spend and how much we need to live each month and if we were spending too much, where we might need to cut back. It was a good exercise. We were pleasantly surprised. We may not end up in the poor farm after all. And I finally convinced my husband that we cannot sleep under the damned down comforter any more. I can't stand it. I feel like I am slow-cooking all night. I would love a cold room and a warm comforter, but my skinny husband cannot stand the cold room.
ReplyDeleteApparently there are many similarities between life in Maine and life in Oregon!