Starting Again

The last time I wrote here was 4 years ago! I thoroughly enjoy retirement and have found ways to keep busy and work on my health.

In late April 2019, I had my ingrown toenails (both big toes) fixed, which meant I was wearing sandals for about 8 weeks. As soon as I could wear close-toed shoes, I put on my workout shoes and headed to the gym. The second day, we were side-stepping and I rolled my right ankle. A trip to the podiatrist told me it was sprained with a hair-line fracture. While I was in a boot recovering, my cousin Carol texted me that they were going to Paris in September and asked if I was interested in joining them. What? Paris? My first reaction was No. Then I realized it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to travel with an experienced group to visit one of the place I’d always dreamed of visiting.. My goal for the next 3 months was to heal that foot and get ready to go!

The trip to Paris was a dream come true! My travel companions were experienced and made the trip fun and took out the stress out of when to be where.

Saint George

I was so excited about retiring because I wanted to spend more time at church. I spent 2019 traveling and then 2020 COVID-19 hit and shut down the world.

In March 2020, St. George set up a Facebook page where they could show the Sunday services online. We had quite a group of folks joining each Sunday. I watched as well. I got dressed and tuned in every Sunday.

Sometime in the late summer, they started offering in-person services with reservations and opportunities to social distance during the service.

Even though I wasn’t comfortable socializing yet, I set up the altar and cleared after services while others weren’t around. Before long, I had others who volunteered to take a weekend to do Altar Guild duties.

Funeral Reception Ministry

Funerals were held privately for a while, then we worked out ways to hold receptions while social distancing and serving prepackaged food while masked. Then we served the folks while gloved and masked so they wouldn’t touch the food, followed by letting them serve themselves while we were masked. Now we’re back to the way it was before lockdown. I have 19 folks (18 ladies, 1 man) who fixed food, help plate and set up, serve, then clean up afterwards. It’s hard work, but we like the fellowship that is involved. After each reception, we enjoy a bit of wine while we relax catch up with each other.

Ladies Luncheons

In May 2022, I felt it was time to add some of our social opportunities back to the church calendar and started setting up our monthly ladies lunches at different restaurants. They have been very well attended. Many ladies attend every one.

Last Christmas, we had our Ladies Christmas luncheon at Oak Hills Country Club after 3 years of missing them, and 20 ladies attended! We’ve already started planning the 2023 Ladies Christmas luncheon for Dec. 2. We’ve reserved a larger room that accommodates socializing.

Altar Guild

Last fall, we commissioned the Altar Guild and let those ladies who “aged out” to retire. I was put on the spot during the ceremony to list those ladies who weren’t there in person, and I inadvertently left out my former co-leader Barbara. She was so hurt and let me know in no uncertain terms. I still feel bad about the omission. When I joined Altar Guild in 2008, we had 5 teams of 5 or 6. After this commissioning, we had 6 ladies, 2 teams of 2 and 2 “teams” of 1. A few weeks ago, a couple of ladies asked to join Altar Guild. We added one member to each team and 2 ladies joined my team.

Boomers & Bloomers

We restarted the Boomers & Bloomers group Dec. 1 of 2022 with a presentation about Advent. The January meeting was a presentation by Abode by Mary, a contemplative place for people who are close to dying. I saw a friend’s photo in her presentation that included Lyn. When I asked about why Lyn was there, Mary said that she and her husband help with aromatherapy for the residents of Abode. I went to their website and found a fundraiser that included Lyn and her husband doing an aromatherapy presentation. It was a great presentation and I asked Lyn if they would do it for our Boomers & Bloomers group. We finally got everything for that presentation set up for June. July we will have a presentation about setting up a funeral, reception, and interment at St. George. August will be by a member who will talk about how she and her husband set up a book of all their financial and other life info for their children when the time comes. Then, in September, we’ll have a lawyer talk about updating our wills and hopefully she’ll offer a discount for us to add St. George to our wills — something I want to do.

Stewardship

Along with several others, I’m on a committee to help recharge stewardship at St. George.

I read the book, “It’s not Your Parent’s Offering Plate,” and got so excited that I read it twice. I made notes, wrote ideas in a text file and told Ram that he fed a monster. I love fundraising. I couldn’t wait, so I put all my thoughts in an email and sent it to Ram. When I printed it out, it was 3 pages! I was so excited that the day of the meeting, I would have been early, so I piddled around the house and headed to church. Ram texted me that they were meeting in St. John’s room. I called and he told me they started at 6, and I was 15 minutes late. I was devastated. I can’t imagine why I had the time wrong. Anyway, after being 15 minutes late to the meeting, I didn’t speak much at the meeting. It’s been a month, and I’m so frustrated because we haven’t met or discussed anything in that time. Sunday we’ll meet again after our church service. I’m reading another book, “The Spirituality of Fundraising,” which helps me think of other ways we can build our stewardship at St. George.

The Road Back Home

Once I decided it was time to head back home, all I wanted to do was get back home. I stayed in Baton Rouge this time for this last leg. Although I planned to at least drive through New Orleans, I “missed” the exit and went home.

Next Stop: A Visit with Joyce

It only took about 4 hours to get to Joyce’s house from Jacksonville. Much of that leg of my trip was on beautiful, lush back roads through really small towns. Two-lane roads are usually a little stressful for me, especially when I don’t know the area and there’s a car behind me, but I powered through and made it.

Day Seven: Jacksonville

A really good friend, Connie, moved to Jacksonville about 3 years ago. Connie and her husband Bob befriended me when I first started going to St. George. I sat with them every Sunday. A year after Bob passed way, I was invited to join Connie and her friends and family on a cruise to the Western Caribbean. I got my passport and planned the trip. Our cruise was January 20-27, 2008. About 6 months before our cruise, I found out Kaycie’s first baby was due January 20. After agonizing about it, I decided to continue with my plans. You never know when a baby will decide it’s time. I was almost 2 weeks overdue when she was born. God must have answered my prayers because when I returned, she was still waiting.

Anyway, I miss Connie. She and I lived close to each other, and we visited pretty often. We went to church socials and functions together whenever we could. We also sold our houses about the same time using the same realtor. Then she moved to Austin, and I hadn’t seen her since. I sort of lost track of her and her family when she moved to Jacksonville. This was a chance to spend some time with her and to catch up.

I arrived in Jacksonville about noon and found their house at the same time they were returning from running errands. Connie lives with her son and daughter-in-law and their two  granddaughters. Their family is getting used to their arrangement, and it seems they’re doing a really good job of adjusting.

Once I had taken in my luggage and everything was put away, Connie and I went to meet with my ex-brother-in-law, whom I hadn’t seen since 2014. We visited for a few minutes in the parking lot of a Pet Supermarket where he was selling dog food. Connie and I continued to the beach for a drink and a visit to the ocean. At the Flying Iguana, we each had a margarita, and we ate our weight in chips with salsa, guacamole, and queso. Then we shopped a bit and walked to the beach. It was great to sit and catch up with Connie. I really missed her.

For dinner, David put steaks on the grill, and we had a delicious meal with all 6 of us around the table.

The next morning, we went to their church, St. Paul’s by the Sea. It was comforting that I understood the service, but there were so many things that were very different from St. George. Everyone was friendly and nice. The service was different because they had many people around the altar including a Verger who wore a black cassock and carried a stick. The verger lead all the processions including the group for the reading of the gospel. They used bells during the Great Thanksgiving. I never really saw the choir, but I did see the organ pipes and the organist. It seemed more high church than I’m used to.

Like St. George, everyone gathered around food after the service and visited. I like this part of St. George. As a matter of fact, I used to say that I was only there for the food :o).

After church, I headed to Columbus to see Joyce. Time for another adventure.

 

 

Melbourne (Palm City, actually)

It seems I didn’t pick the most exciting place to go, and now that I only have today, I realize I haven’t made the best of my time here. If you knew me as a child, you’d know that it takes me a while to warm up to a new experience. When my sister and I were little and we visited friends, we’d sit on the couch the first hour, warming up to the kids who were playing in front of us. By the time we were ready, it was time to go home. That’s how it’s been here. It took me a couple of days to warm up to my new digs, and I’ve learned the lay of the land somewhat, now it’s time to go to the next place.

One thing I’ve discovered is speed limits are just suggestions in Florida. I only saw one car pulled to the side that looked like they were getting a ticket or something. Otherwise, I was driving 7 mph over the speed limit, and people were zooming past me. There are lots of places that we have to make U turns to get where we want to go. It took a day or two to get used to the roads.

Tuesday I arrived at the Holiday Inn, just 1 block off 95 about 5:00, checked in, and met up with my son Andy. We decided to eat at Hemingway’s, a favorite restaurant for special occasions. The drive was a big hairy – the rain was so hard we could hardly see the road. Following Google Maps, we made a few weird turns, but we finally arrived. By the time we arrived, the rain had stopped. We ordered burgers, his was a hangover burger, and mine was a mushroom Swiss without the buns. We swapped my fries for his cole slaw. The meal was delicious, and we had a chance to catch up on each other’s lives.

Wednesday morning I helped myself to the Continental breakfast at the Holiday Inn, taking the cheese omelet and turkey sausage to my room. I decided to explore my surroundings a little and turned to the right outside the hotel only to discover the bay and Highway 1 just a few miles away. I drove up and down the beach a bit. This stretch of beach didn’t have any place to park and explore. There was a park, but the people there were a bit scary to me, so I didn’t stop. When hunger struck, I turned back toward the hotel and checked out what was on the other side of 95. Because it was close to the highway, there were some of the usual places like gas stations, Wendy’s, Taco Bell, Walmart, and a Texas Roadhouse! I stopped at Wendy’s to get a salad to eat at the hotel.

On Wednesday, when my son got off work, we went to his church band practice. It was such fun watching Andy interact with the folks my age that made up most of the band. He plays drums, and he’s really good! After practice, we went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner. It was exactly like the one in SA that we used to go to all the time. I ordered the salmon with a house salad and green beans. I passed on the rolls (yea for self control) mainly because I ate about 1/3 of the bucket of peanuts (YUM)! The meal was excellent, but the restaurant was noisy – just as I remember it.

Thursday, my left groin was causing so much pain that I wasn’t sure I’d be able to do much. Andy gave me directions to a mall because I felt I needed to at least go shopping. Earlier in the day, I went to Walmart to buy a swimsuit (I can’t believe I forgot mine), a coffee cup, and some souvenirs. Hanging around in the hotel was relaxing, but I can do that at home. There were several stores along Lake Andrew Drive, about 10 miles north. TJMaxx/Home Goods had several things that I was able to spend most of my $50 gift card from Lorna, including dish towels and a stool for Andy & Jamie’s house. I also found workout pants for my workouts when I get back home. Down Lake Andrew Drive a bit more is Avenue, a mall similar to our Rim. I drove around Avenue with several familiar stores including Michael’s and I found Charming Charlie, Hallmark, and Bed Bath & Beyond next to each other. At Charming Charlie, I tried on a pair of cute booties, and I saw a travel mug that said “Better Late than Ugly,” which I’ll probably have to get. At Hallmark, I got a call that Andy was getting off work a little early, so I met him at his house. After the grand tour of their cute house, we went to Applebee’s for dinner. I connected with Karen and found out we were in the same area about the same time. We thought we might connect while we were here, but it doesn’t look like that will happen.

Today (Friday) is my last day in Palm Bay, and I haven’t decided what I’ll do yet. It’s too bad it took me so long to warm up to this place. Since Andy had to work while I was here, it was up to me to entertain myself. I slowly spread my wings and learned what I could do. If I hadn’t “injured” my groin, I would have tried something more strenuous like going to the zoo or botanical garden or even walking along the beach (if I could find it). With a $50 Macy’s gift card burning a hole in my pocket, I searched for the closest store and found it was pretty close by. As I expected, the pain started to return as I walked into the store. The first thing I had to do when I arrived was find a ladies’ room. It was by the housewares department. I took the opportunity to check out the Instant Pots because my nutritionist talked about how great hers was. As I was standing there comparing the sizes, a lady very quietly said “get it.” She talked about how great it was, and I had to get it. It was $79.99 on sale. I used the gift card and paid the balance with the gift card I received as a retirement gift from my coworkers. After I put the Instant Pot in my trunk, I went back to the mall to find a food court. It was becoming harder and harder to walk, so I had to abandon that idea and get back into the car. I ended up at Sonic getting a cheese burger without the cheese and onion rings, which gave me heartburn. I’m not used to eating like that. As I was relaxing, the usual 3:00 storm came up, so I decided to take a nap. When I woke up, I realized the electricity was out for a while, and I lost Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, so I’m watching the last of the Hallmark Christmas in July movies. Woe is me. I wonder if I should ask for a discount ;o).

For dinner this my last evening here, I wanted to do something that didn’t involve a chain restaurant, so I searched Google Maps and found Squid Lips on Highway 1. I mentioned it to Andy, and he said he loved Squid Lips! He got off work earlier than we anticipated, so off to Squid Lips we went. Because there was a wait of possibly 30 minutes, so we went to the bar and ordered drinks. Halfway through our drinks, they called us to our table. Our server was a bit slow, but the food and everything else was great! I ordered the salmon and double vegetables. The salmon was really good, but the vegetables were a bit greasy and needed salt. The bread they served and the cole slaw that came with it was really good too. I highly recommend Squid Lips if you’re ever in Melbourne. Once I was back in my room, I prepacked my car with the things I won’t be needing tomorrow so I wouldn’t have to lug it all in the morning using a cart. Now it’s time to enjoy the last night of being alone for a while. It’s also the last night of the Hallmark Christmas in July movies.

Time to continue my road trip adventure.

Day Three: Pensacola to Melbourne

Again, I woke up at 5:45 without an alarm! I dressed, packed, and was ready to leave by 8:00. Marilyn and I visited a bit more, and I showed her the photos from my retirement ceremony. then I hit the road. About 70 miles out, I realized we didn’t take any photos to remember my visit. DANG! I actually toyed with the idea of turning back, but I would have lost about 3-1/2 hours.

Between Marilyn’s instructions and Google Maps, the trip was easy. Boring because of the tall pine trees, but easy. So easy that I really struggled to stay awake on this leg of the trip. Finding places to stop was difficult. There were gas stations and hotels, but no DQs, Starbucks or Sonics. I desperately struggled to stay alert.

Besides stopping at rest areas for a breaks and pit stops, I stopped at a Tom Thumb station to get gas and buy a Diet Coke.

I made good time because the traffic was light and the driving was easy – until I got closer to Melbourne. We ran into rain off and on most of the afternoon. At times, it was so heavy the traffic slowed to 35 MPH, but we all made it in one piece. Then, to get from 75 to 95, there were several toll booths. The first one I saw caused a mild panic because I had never encountered one before. Luckily, they were designed with newbies as well as experienced drivers. I always stayed to the right where I could get change. Fortunately, to reduce my boredom during the drive earlier, I moved the change from all over my purse to a pocket. Having it all in one place made it much easier to go through the toll booths. The first one was $3.25. The next was $2.75, then 2 were $1.50. As is my custom, I turned down the wrong street, and to get back to where I was supposed to be, I had to pay two more tolls of 75 cents. I finally ran out of small bills, so I had to pay the last toll with a $20. The toll booth operator was really nice. I apologized for only having big money, and he said he had already prepared a bundle of change.

I was so glad to finally get on I95 out of toll booth country. As I passed Melbourne, I called my son, and we realized my Holiday Inn wasn’t as close to their house as I thought. Deciding to switch my reservations to another Holiday Inn closer to his house, I arrived at my Holiday Inn about 5:30. Because Holiday Inns are owned by different people, I couldn’t just switch my reservations to another Holiday Inn. So I asked if I could just stay the night and cancel the rest of my reservation for the week. Because I prepaid and saved 30% on my reservation, I couldn’t get my money back. Oh well! I called my son, and he met me here. We visited as I tried to make my hair look not quite so frightening after being caught in the rain and humidity that followed, then we went to Hemingway’s for dinner.

On the way to Hemingway’s, we ran into a couple of heavy rain showers. It seemed like it would rain like that the whole evening, but it ended up hit and miss. When we arrived, it was just drizzling enough to need our umbrellas. Hemingway’s wasn’t crowded, probably because it was Tuesday night, but our wait was a little longer than we anticipated. Andy said it was unusual. Maybe it was because I ordered something from the bar (a scotch & water). I ordered a mushroom swiss burger without the bun, and Andy had the hangover burger that included a fried egg on top. We traded my french fries for his cole slaw, which was delicious. The meal was really good even though the mushroom was crunchy on top. I’m wondering if the bun normally hides that?

I made sure my water bottles were filled before I turned in for the night. Can’t wait for the next day of this road trip adventure.

Day Two: Lake Charles to Pensacola

Even without an alarm, I woke up at 5:45 this morning. I quickly dressed and went to the Continental breakfast bar to see if there was anything I could eat, or maybe something so decadent that I couldn’t resist. Alas, nothing stood out. Because I brought my coffee, filters, and what I call the contraption to make my own coffee, I got 2 cups from the breakfast bar, filled one with hot water, went back to my room, and brewed a cup of coffee. I put on my makeup and checked my emails. By the time I remembered my coffee, it was cold, so I put it in the microwave to heat. Because it was in a Styrofoam cup, I was nervous about leaving it in the microwave too long, and it never really got hot enough. Not only am I a coffee and water snob (I even brought three 3-gallon bottles of the alkaline water that I drink), my coffee has to be the perfect temperature.

There was a Keurig coffee maker in the room with 3 pods – 2 regular and 1 decaf. I made the 2 regular coffees and filled my insulated mug for the road. THEN I tasted it; it was NASTY!!! I went back to the breakfast bar and tried their House blend – it wasn’t any better. Needless to say, I didn’t get very caffeinated this morning to prepare for my trip.

I did manage to half-heartedly lift some weights and did some stretches. Not enough to do any good, though.

Before I knew it, it was 9:00, so I packed up everything, got the cart, carted it to the car, and packed the car. Whew! It was already 88° outside, and that was all I could do. Before I started out, I quickly scanned Google Maps to make sure I knew my route to Marilyn’s house in Pensacola. Because I was going to bypass New Orleans, I’d take I12. My car was backed into the perfect spot. Once I was ready to go, all I had to do was point it to the exit and I was on the road. About 500 feet from the Holiday Inn, I entered I10 and was on my way.

A few minutes before 10, I followed road signs to a Dairy Queen so I could get a caffeinated drink (Diet Coke with vanilla, my favorite). The DQ hadn’t opened yet, so I crossed the street to the Valero and filled my tank. The DQ was open so I got my drink and made a pit stop. Because today was a normal week day, not a heavy traffic day with folks trying to get home after the weekend, and construction not closing any roads, we moved along very nicely. I think my average speed was 60 MPH. The trip odometer showed almost exactly 350 miles for the first day.

The highway east of Lake Charles is so boring with tall pines and gray highway as far as the eye can see. It doesn’t take long before I miss seeing the horizon, and I find it difficult to keep my mind on driving. Driving to Lake Charles with the traffic issues and closed highway definitely kept my attention; the drive to Pensacola was very uneventful and boring, and I had to fidget, search my ice chest for something to chew on (celery), drink water, strain to see beyond the trees – anything to keep awake.

Because I’m not observant and I didn’t really pay attention to the highway I was to take to bypass New Orleans, I took the first one that presented itself – I110, which is a loop. I remembered the street was above New Orleans, so I took 110N. After about 20 minutes, I stopped to get lunch. Don’t tell my nutritionist, but I caved and got a Grilled Chicken Sour Dough Jack (YUM). After I spent some time trying to get on the other side of the concrete median to get back on the highway, I finally succeeded. Then we ran out of highway – WHAT? I pulled into a driveway and consulted Google Maps. That’s when I found out I was to take I12, not I110. DANG! I spent 45 minutes heading in the wrong direction. I had to backtrack to I10 and get back on track. One more hour wasted on this trip. I’m sure it’s not the last :o)

Not having coffee started to wear on me, so before long, I was desperately seeking a Starbucks. I took an exit that seemed promising, but no Starbucks. Finally, a few more miles, I saw the Starbucks symbol on the signs that let you know what is at the next exit. Yea! I saw that it was to the left 0.7 miles. I failed to pay attention to the odometer, and after not finding a Starbucks for quite a while, I turned around and really scoured the businesses on both sides of the highway until I finally saw a Starbucks! Double yea! I bought a venti Frappuccino made with almond milk – more to my nutritionist’s preference.

When I arrived at Marilyn’s house, I met her family, including her husband Vince, daughter Kathleen, and two absolutely adorable twin granddaughters Evelyn and Sloane, about 10 months old. Kathleen is expecting another baby girl soon. After a short visit, Kathleen and the twins left, and Marilyn and I went to the New Yorker Deli and Pizzeria for dinner. The place was small, filled with locals, and a bit noisy, but the food more than made up for it. The servings were very generous. Marilyn got a hot pastrami on rye, and I got a chef salad with the dressing on the side. Marilyn suggested I get the small salad, but I went for the large – it was huge! Halfway through I didn’t think I’d be able to finish it; I almost did! The small would have been too small.

Back at Marilyn’s (her house is really nice, and I was in a part of the house that was originally built for her mom – very nice with everything I needed and access to the kitchen), we visited, catching up on our families and memories from high school. After I showered, and I finally figured how to get in the bed high enough that it reminded me of the “Princess and the Pea” story, I got comfortable and caught up on emails and writing this edition of my travel blog.

Tomorrow I’ll go to Melbourne to see my son who’s been there for 2 years. I can’t wait.

Day One: SA to Lake Charles

Plans to take a road trip to Florida and Georgia have been on my mind for about 18 months. The original trip wasto visit my son and ex-mother-in-law Toni in Florida as soon as I retired. I’m finally on the road, but my plans have change – Toni died last summer before I could visit her one more time.

Although I won’t be able to visit Toni, the road trip is still on, and it’s actually a reality!

Using Roadtrippers.com as a guide, I mapped out my trip from SA to Florida to Georgia, and back to SA. I’d leave after church, stay in Lake Charles the first night, with Marilyn (a high school friend) the second night, then go to Melbourne, FL, to visit my son Andy and his girlfriend for a few days. On Saturday, I’d head up the Florida cost to have lunch with my ex-bro-in-law Frank, then go to Jacksonville to visit Connie, a friend from church that I haven’t seen since 2014. After we go to church Sunday, I’ll go to Georgia to visit Joyce, my best friend in high school, for a few days before I head back home.

The trip was massaged until I felt it was perfect; I printed it out and packed it along with half my belongings (or so it seems).  Because I’ll be staying at 2 different places in the first leg to my son’s house, I packed the bulk of my stuff in a large suitcase and the things I’d need for the first 2 nights in another. I was too tired and sore (from an excellent workout Friday that kicked my butt) last night to actually put anything in the car, so I put it all by the back door, gathered the nonperishable stuff in bags, and planned the perishable things.

After church, I ran back to the house and loaded up the car. It took an hour longer than I anticipated, but it was a very productive time. i put sticky notes on the doors to remind my daughter to check the fridge (to make sure it was still working) and toilets when they stopped by while I was gone because I know too many folks who came home to flooded houses because their toilets overflowed. I washed apples, radishes, and cherries and boiled 8 eggs to eat while traveling, washed the last of the dishes, emptied the trash, and took the bin to the curb.

I put the small suitcase on the back seat with 3 of the 3-gal bottles of alkaline water that I had (unfortunately, I left the spigot, but I was able to refill my water bottles). I can’t imagine being without my alkaline water. I gathered my workout weights and my foam stretching thing, all my toiletries, and anything I could think of. (Like I said, I packed half my belongings :o).

At 11:07, I hit the road. ready for an adventure. It took 28 minutes to get to I10 at 1604. At 12:40, I took the Flatonia exit to get something to drink and maybe go to the restroom. The Dairy Queen was packed, so I just got a drink through the drive-thru and explored Flatonia a bit. Then, a little more down the road, I stopped in Schulenberg for gas and a pit stop.

The traffic on the highway was solid. I realized that when the traffic was solid, something was wrong. First, it was stuff like clothing or bundles of fabric like parachute material on the highway, then it was a disabled car that left debris. A couple of times I couldn’t see a reason for the traffic to slow down. After Schulenberg, things deteriorated pretty quickly. Instead of averaging 60 mph, I averaged 40 mph – bouts of 70 mixed with 20. It kept me on my toes for sure. Then I saw a sign that said I10 was closed on the other side of Houston – freak out!

After fretting for a while, I took the exit to Mason and decided to “call a friend.” Alyssa has family in Baytown, so I hoped she could help. She did talk me through my options. It seemed easier just to stay the course and ride out the traffic snarls. I was definitely stressing out anticipating the extra time, angry drivers, etc. A truck ahead of me had a sign that said “Isaiah 40:31 TRUST.” Whoa! Talk about a closest to Christ. After I saw that, I knew everything was going to be OK.

For those of us who stayed on I10, there were 3 exit options (not counting the several cars, trucks, and SUVs who decided to follow each other off the highway wherever they wanted). I took the second exit and followed the access road. A little farther down, at the last exit, I met up with the same folks that were next to me on the highway when I exited. Neither option was faster. Everyone was patient; there were no real hassles. Thank you, God!

I finally arrived in Lake Charles at 6:30 exhausted and ready to find the hotel and veg. Lake Charles is really pretty. It didn’t occur to me to plug in the directions to my Holiday Inn until I was going in circles. It didn’t help that I searched for the wrong address. I don’t even know what the original address was for. Oh well, I finally arrived at my Holiday Inn at 7:00 (8 hours for a 5.5 hour drive). After I checked in, I wheeled a cart to my car and loaded it up. As I was struggling to get it back to the front door, a porter arrived and helped me. Dang! It never occurred to me there was a porter. He tried to pick up the bag with the weights with other bags, but he had to put it back. “Hmmm.” I let him know it was my workout weights and it weighed 20 pounds.

After I made a smoothie for dinner, I turned on the TV and my laptop to start this blog. There were emails from my family about the Baby-Q baby shower held for Kaycie and Jeff’s 4th little boy that is due in 30 days. That shower was so much fun. They really know how to party. The food was awesome, and the games were hilarious. Their circle of friends and family is at least 50 strong. I got to visit with Kaycie’s friends from when she was 18. It was amazing to see these women who were wild and crazy 18-20 year olds all grown up with kids of their own.

Other emails that caught my attention were to update the website for a freelance client. DANG! I didn’t have the software to do it – but I do have the internet, and I anticipated that this might happen. I downloaded the needed software and handled the request. Ta da!

It’s late, and I’m ready to crash. Can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings!

My first road trip

Last Friday, I drove to Austin to check out Dream Dinners to see if it was a place I’d be willing to drive to monthly to buy food. When Dream Dinners was in Leon Springs, Gail and I went regularly. I really enjoyed that experience. We ordered our meals online and went there on our appointed day and time and put the meals together. It was so much fun! Sometimes we saw the same people month to month. The meals were delicious, and they were so easy to cook! The veggies were chopped, sliced, julienned, whatever they needed. All I had to do was measure out the ingredients and put them in bags. I loved it. Then they closed :o(. That was several years ago. Since then, I’ve checked their website several times to see if another store opened nearby. The only one close by is in Northwest Austin. It’s a bit far and confusing to find. I called on my friend Jan to see if she would help navigate.

After I arrived at her house, we headed to Dream Dinners, chatting and catching up the whole way. Dream Dinners was closed, which we expected, so we could only look in the windows, and I explained how the process works. Since it was a little past lunch time, we decided to eat at Almarah Mediterranean Cuisine next to Dream Dinners. The food was great, and it was another chance for us to visit.

Jan and I connected the first time we met in February 2000. A few years ago, she moved to Austin, and we didn’t get to visit as much as when we lived 2 miles from each other. Then, she married Charlie last December, and we haven’t visited nearly enough. As a matter of fact, this was my first time visiting her in Austin since they married. Now that we are both retired, I’m hoping that won’t continue to be the case.

Now that I know where she and Charlie live, and she knows how to get to Dream Dinners, we talked about making this a monthly occurrence. We’ll revisit the idea next month.

Have you ever paid attention to the number of wineries we have in Texas? Dripping Springs has several breweries and wineries. I call them boozeries. I can’t wait to do a boozerie crawl with them.

Now I’m planning my next road trip, which will be much more extensive. I’ll be gone about 2 weeks, driving to visit two high school friends, a church friend, my ex-brother-in-law, and my son. I can’t wait! The hotel reservations and overnight plans are made for the first half of the trip. The second half will be played by ear. I’ll return home when I either outstay my welcome or get homesick.

There will be a travel blog, but for safety reasons, I won’t publish it until I return.

First month as a retiree

I love having 6 Saturdays a week! I’ve been keeping track of activities on the calendar in my bathroom and my phone. Having a regular activity helps me keep track of the days of the week.

The month of June was pretty busy beginning with a Happy Hour to celebrate my retirement on June 1. Then the next day, I went to a new member orientation at the SA Botanical Garden. We toured the Family Adventure Garden that was awesome!!! I couldn’t wait to take Rex & Tyson.

A friend from church passed away late May, and her reception was at St. George Church on June 3. We planned for about 250 people at the reception, and we were a blur of activity from 11:00 until 3:30.

On June 4, I began outprocessing to prepare for leaving my job of 40-1/2 years. June 5, Rex graduated from Kindergarten, and I turned 66! On June 7, I helped with the blood drive, which took 2 hours out of my day, and I was stressing out about my retirement ceremony that was from 4-5. Executive Vice President Walt Downing spoke at my ceremony, and I gave a speech. I was disappointed that no one from my department wanted to say anything, but it is what it is. June 8 was my last day at work. I finally left at 5:30. I did NOT shed a tear.

My first retirement Saturday was spent at TMI at an Abide in Me workshop. I had to be there at 8:30 a.m.!!!

The first week was a bit hectic. Monday was the first Drawing & Sketching class I signed up for free through the SA Public Library. The class is for folks older than 50, and it was full. The class was over at 3, and instead of taking care of errands like I originally planned, I went straight to Alamo Cafe to meet my friends. I was there 1-1/2 hours early. I ordered a glass of wine and ate a basket of tortilla chips while I waited.

Tuesday I had to be at the dentist at 8:00 because I chipped a crown that had to be replaced. After the dentist, my grandsons and I went to the SA Botanical Garden. They had fun. There are so many places for them to discover, play, have fun, including a little water area with fountains.

Wednesday we went to Chuck E Cheese. I got each a card and a bracelet to hang them because I found Rex laying his card down when he played a game. They had a lot of fun, and when their cards ran out of money, they were ready to go home.

My daughter picked them up early Thursday to go swimming. Whew! I was exhausted.

Friday, a neighbor and I went to the Igo Library to the Android for Seniors class.  There were lots of old folks there. I guess I’ll have to get used to this.

The next week, the boys and I spend Tuesday just hanging around the house and watching cartoons. The TV is not a babysitter. I like cartoons like Bubble Guppies and Paw Patrol. The characters help solve problems, and sometime they ask the audience to answer questions. The boys call out their answers. When they watch TV, I’m right there with them. I’ll ask them questions about what’s going on, or they ask me.

Thursday we went to the SA Zoo to see the dinosaurs. I think we’ll have to do it again with a map so we can cross off the dinosaurs as we find them. Because we’re members, we can get in early, and that means we can get out before it’s too hot.

I committed to continue in our Slick Talkers Toastmasters Club, which meets every 1st and 3rd Friday. This also means that we had a meeting on Friday. I was the Ah counter. One thing I have to do is get into the habit of updating my Toastmasters Pathway after every meeting. At each meeting, we do things that we can add to our profile that will help us move to the next level. It’s a completely new way of thinking about the program, and after 27 years, it’s hard for me to make the transition.

The following Monday (a bit more than 2 weeks after I retired), I had lunch with a former coworker. During lunch, I dumped all my baggage about work on her. I held back no punches. I doubt that she’ll want to meet with me again, and I don’t blame her. I’m so glad I’ve stepped away from that situation. In the 40-1/2 years there, I was happy for about 39 or so. The last couple of years have been hard. I watched an ineffective program manager and a team of “leaders” who don’t know how to lead basically ignore their staff. I filled in the gaps, and I was rewarded with nothing. When my immediate supervisor acted like he had no clue what I did, I realized the end was near. When someone I trained got the position I worked to attain for 16 years, that was the last straw. Several times in the 9 months after I decided to retire I almost walked out. When I talked to our benefits office, I found that the processes in place make it difficult to make a snap decision to leave. Thank goodness.

My handyman David and I talked about replacing the screens on my screened porch, and we finally connected to take care of that. I picked him up the next Monday morning bright and early, and we measured the windows. After spending more than $250 on screens (Yikes!), he got started on projects at my house. The first order of business was to critter proof the back gate. I had the brilliant idea of moving a couple of the 12×12 stones that were piled in the backyard to keep the skunk or armadillo that has been making itself comfortable under my deck. When I thought I had solved the problem by filling the space with wood and whatever I could move there, I’d find it moved the next day.

David has great ideas. He did a great job of building a threshold under the gate making it impossible (hopefully!) for a critter to get in there. There are holes around the perimeter of my yard. This critter thinks this is his place.

It took 2 days for David to finish the screen porch, but he did a GREAT job. The replacement screen is denser and darker than what was there before; it’s taking some getting used to. I like that it can hold in a strong wind (as witnessed during the storm Wednesday), and I think it might help keep the porch cooler. Now I just need to figure out what I really want to use it for.

I’m thinking about moving my exercise equipment to the garage instead of the screen porch. The equipment is starting to show weather-related problems, and it stays very dirty all the time. In the garage, it will at least not rust.

But, you know how those things work . . . to move the exercise equipment to the garage, I have to make room in the garage. There are many, many things in the garage that were moved in 3-1/2 years ago, and I haven’t touched them since. I have lawn equipment that hasn’t been used in more than 5 years. Does that mean they’re no good now?

I went to a retirement celebration, which gave me a chance to connect with some SwRI friends and coworkers. Following that celebration, I attended the celebration of life for a dear friend of 31 years who fought a brave battle against cancer. She retired 3 years ago, and struggled with this horrible disease the whole time. It just doesn’t seem fair.

The next day, the boys and I went to the Jumpy Place. They ran into some aggressive kids, and I had to break up some questionable goings on. All in all, they had fun and we got ice cream on the way home.

They are on a T-ball team that meets Saturdays from 9-10. I missed being there the first 2 Saturdays, so I made a special effort to be there this past Saturday. I got there at 9:30, thinking that was when they started. My bad.