Fun Fall Day

Yesterday was a great day.  It started out with coffee with my wonderful husband.  Then met with one of my longest, dearest friends for coffee and were in the midst of our "catching up" when we received a phone call from another great friend and was asked to meet for lunch to celebrate with another friend who just landed a new job.  We were able to enjoy a great lunch outside (except for the bugs) in downtown St. Croix Falls.  Then I was on to my photography class.  Wow, it is amazing how much I don't know about photography.  It is another language.  I thoroughly enjoyed learning and found that out of the nine of us in the class four of us are young retirees and are searching for new ventures during our retirement.  How fun is that?  And now I have HOMEWORK, wow I thought I left that a long time ago.  But it is fun homework, using different settings on my camera and taking pictures to see the differences.  It is a great time to take a photography class what with the beautiful leaves, and clear crisp weather.  I am excited to finally be feeling like I am enlightening myself in uncharted territory and also back in the real world.  It is fun to make new friends, converse about something other than "what do you do with your time", "do you enjoy your retirement?", etc., you know what I mean or maybe you don't?  Anyway, take it from me retirement is wonderful, it just takes some time getting used to it.  When you raise a family and work for 35 years you don't even think about what you want to for fun.  But, when you retire, all of a sudden a whole new world opens up for you.  Gotta love it!

Be Adventuresome

Fall is for Pumpkins, Goblins, Falling Leaves and Community Education

Last week I enrolled and began a class in Inutitive Training.  I have always been told I have an intuitive nature and if I would take the time to work on this I could become more adept at this interesting phenomenon.  So......I decided to take it to the next level and begin a class with a very well known intuitive healer and psychic.  I have only gone to one class but it is enlightening and I was able to make some new friends (part of the reason for taking classes) and enjoy working on my "intuitiveness".   That is my Monday night activity. 

My other class for this fall is a beginning photography class.  I am quite excited about this class as we bought a new camera last year and still are struggling somewhat to understand all the fun "things" we can do with this camera. 

My other project for this fall is to start painting.  I received a gift certificate for a local watercolor artist for my retirment gift from the Medical Center and only took one class.  After that class I sort of realized that watercolor painting wasn't my thing, so I contacted the artist and asked if I could use the remaining credit from my gift certificate to purchase an easel.  So....I was able to buy a Julian French Easel.  It is so cool and I am so excited to begin using it.  It is very versatile as you can paint, draw, do whatever you feel like with it and it is very portable as it folds up nicely and has a great carrying case.  I am hoping to take it with me this fall/winter when we head to the great southwest to spend part of the winter. 

So, as you read this blog can you see that my mind is going in many different directions.  Since I retired two years ago I just haven't been able to find my way into my next life, it has been a little frustrating for me but I sort of feel like at least now I am on the right track of finding my path in this next phase of my life.

I am so blessed to have a supportive and loving husband and the time to search at my own pace.

Peace

Enjoying Ellie Time

We just got back from the "hand-off".  It works well for our son and his wife to meet midway between our homes to make the Ellie switch.  We have been meeting at a McDonalds to complete this switcheroo and Craig and I figure that in a year from now we will be going early to take Ellie to the fun playgrounds at McDonalds to let her run around and be a kid, which should be fun.

It is amazing how tired I can get from taking care of a 1 year old.  I can't believe I had 4 kids, worked full-time and still found time to paint my house, knit, make quilts, etc.  Crazy.  I guess that is why you have kids when you are young.  Now, my back aches whenever I carry her up the stairs, man it is tough to get old.

All in all we truly enjoy our granddaughter and love spending time with her as well as being able to give our son and his wife a much needed break.  Not sure how this is going to work when the new baby arrives in September, but we look forward to the challenge.

Off the subject, but I did finish Ellie's sweater (see above) and was able to give it to her today, also she received her first jewelry from her jewelry loving grandmother.  I look forward to giving her a little special bling bling for each of her birthdays.  So fun!

Reading Time

Oprah: A Biography         So, yesterday I ordered the new Kitty Kelley book on Oprah.  Everyone appears to be in an uproar about this book, not allowing her to interview on many of the popular interview shows, i.e., The View, Larry King Live, you get the picture.  I in turn am not an Oprah fan.  Yes, I do watch her show periodically, when I like the guest she is having, but all in all she is not my favorite person.  I personally think she has too big an ego and too impressed with herself.  Anyway, I am a big fan of biographies, memoirs and autobiographies so this is the perfect book for me. I will read this with an open mind and let you all know what I think of it.

Ellie's First Birthday

Well it has come and gone as quickly as the last year. Our beautiful granddaughter is now one year old. She is a fun, energetic, and smart little girl. She is full of wonder, thought and inquisitiveness. We are thoroughly enjoying her and look forward to every visit. We are excited abot this summer with visits to the cabin and warm, sunny days by the pool. We are also eagerly anticipating the birth of her sibling in September. My, how our lives can change in a few years. So glad we are retired and able to be spontaneous with our daily lives. Here are a few pictures of our birthday girl at her very fun birthday party.