To Retire or Not to Retire, That is the Question

I can't remember how many times I have retired since I left my job at Novant (at age 67.)   You know, retiring, that phase where you have all kinds of money and time to do whatever you want?  I always said that I wanted what Tony had in retirement--5 years of doing whatever he wanted.  I joked about having a stack of unread books that I was going to tackle in retirement.  I thought I might even take a few writing courses at a local college.   Well, it didn't turn out that way.  

In my quest to get the house paid off, I went back to work, but only part time.  I'm still not sure why it didn't dawn on me at the time we took out our mortgage, but by the time the house is paid off, Tony will be 92 and I will be 87-- that is, of course, if we live that long.  

One job led to another and here I am.  We recently had an employee at Carolina Dunes who quit.  She was full time on day shift.  That left us with one full time night person, four every other weekend people (of which I am one) and an "as needed" person who is in training.  Unfortunately,  I am the oldest one there and all but me and the "as needed" person have other jobs during the work week.  So instead of my 4 day a month schedule, I am working 12 days in April and it could go into May.

I am not looking forward to getting up at 5:00 a.m. that many days, but, we just had our furnace overhauled with a power surge protector installed, which is going to cost almost $1,000.  Not to mention the termite infestation we had to fix and the car needing maintenance.  All important things and all unplanned.  We are going on a mini vacation in May to celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary, so I am picking up shifts and Tony is as well, so we still have that to look forward to.

In other news, my right hip is starting to heal from the fall I had in January and I am very glad.  I can actually get in the car now without moaning and groaning and dragging in my right leg.  It still twinges a bit, but it is so much better. 

I have taken on another writing assignment.  Our neighbor, Christal, was born in Germany in 1938.  She wanted to send her grandson a document about her life so she asked me to help her write it.  She is a very interesting woman and I have learned a lot about life in pre and post World War II.  

Today is Easter and we have perfect weather--a high of 82 degrees and a slight wind.  We are having a ham dinner and then, hopefully, playing bocce in the yard.  Not being able to move around very much because of my hip had added unnecessary weight (not to mention food and wine) and I need to get moving to get rid of it. 

The Cape Fear/Teen Scene Award Dinner is April 20 and as always, I will be glad when it is over.  

Not much else going on.  I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter holiday. 

As Time Goes By

Well, here we are in March.  We have "sprung" forward and are slowly warming up--although much faster that our Cleveland families.  

The Cape Fear Voices/Teen Scene banquet is set for April 20.  I don't seem to be working as hard on this one as I have in the past.  Maybe after doing 3 of them, I'm finally getting the hang of planning.  

In house news, we had some yucky visitors--flying termites.  They have destroyed the window sill in my office and there are holes in the floor in the kitchen and in front of the front door.  They are just ruthless, not to mention ugly.  Anyway, we had a bug service come out years ago and kept them on a retainer.  Good thing, as they came out yesterday, took care of the creepy bugs and are having the floors repaired at no cost to us.  I hate bugs. 

Looks like we will be going to Cleveland in July to see the grandkids.  I am happy about that, as it will be two years since we last saw them.  

 I am still working at Carolina Dunes and still writing.  Some things don't change.  I am also still working through the aftermath of the fall I took in January.  My right hip is still painful, although I can at least get in the car now.  Old people should never fall.  

We had our taxes done today and, Thank God, we get a refund from both Federal and the State--not a big one, but, hey, green is green.  We also stopped by Fibber McGee's for lunch, one of our favorite places.  So, all in all, it was a good day. 

Not much else is going on.  Dixie is well and so is Tony.  All things considered, it is a good time in life for us.

Valentines Day

 

What a bleak day.  I woke up at 8:30 only to find that I had a 9:00 meeting.  I made it to the meeting by 9:07, but like I told Gerald, my hair was still wet, I think I only brushed 4 of my teeth and I wasn't sure if I was wearing underwear, but I got there.  It was a 2 and a half hour meeting.  I am still very stiff from falling so by the time the meeting was over, I could barely walk. 

From that meeting, I went home and spent the rest of the day in the office writing.  Well, writing and waiting.  Tony wanted chocolate last night, so I gave him his card and candy then.   It was a long day.  I'm tired.  But it was Valentine's Day.  I always get a nice card on Valentine's Day.  

And, for the first time in 37 years, there was no card.  I'm struggling with that.  

I'm bummed.  And, I guess I'm bummed that it is bothering me so much.  

Anyway, I hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day.  It's a day of love.  

A Southern Kind of Cold

 

It's been a few weeks since I posted.  Dixie had a great birthday, and soon it will be Tony's turn.  For whatever reason, the month of January seems very long to me.  Could be because I'm working on the February issue of Cape Fear Voices and the March issue of the company newsletter.  

Covid has reared its ugly head again.  Three people at work tested positive for it.  Dawn, our weekday receptionist has a cruise planned starting tomorrow and she is still going, Covid or not.  She said her doctor gave her steroids and said she should be OK by Thursday.  I don't know....seems risky to me. 

I have been called into work once so far because of people being sick and I am working this weekend and the following Monday.  I have plenty of alcohol wipes and the first thing I do when I arrive is to wipe off the phone receiver, the number keys and the computer keyboard.  

We have only seen Donna and Bob a few times since they arrived from Cleveland.  The weather has been really cold so golfing was out of the question.  It was not Cleveland cold, but for sure, not southern cold.  "Cold" to people from the south is around 45 degrees.  We have had below freezing temps and Tony has been covering the plants outside.  Today should be better--in the upper 60's, I hope.  Tony and Bob are playing golf and Donna and I are doing lunch and then going to the Sandlewood shops to look around. 

Tony and I are doing what I refer to as "end of life" stuff.  We've been going through boxes that have been in our attic for 13 years and getting rid of stuff.  A few days ago, the box he brought down for me was full of memories.  I found two love letters from my late husband, Bill, that I actually forgot I had.  I have a ton of pictures of Jenna when she was a baby and a young child.  She looked happy then.  I hope she is happy now.  

Not much else going on.  I actually felt "written out," the other day.  Try as I might, I could not think of a topic for my Cape Fear Voices February issue.  I tried a few times to write something and nothing came out.  I hope this isn't a trend.  

That's all for now.  I hope all of you in the snowy weather get relief soon.  

Another Year Older

Today is Dixie's 11th birthday!  We are having a small party for her with just us and her Godparents.  Actually, as of February 24, Tony and Dixie will be the same age, 77!

She is just as goofy as when we brought her home.  She still sits with us on the lanai everyday and barks at 5:00 for her treat.  It's only fair, we meet out there for a glass of wine, she figures she should get a treat too.  

Donna and Bob got in a few days ago and are coming to our house to watch the Browns game tomorrow.  Tony has been in the kitchen cooking for both events and I think he is getting tired of it.  I don't blame him.  When it comes to cooking or cleaning toilets, I'll take the toilets!

We published the first issue of the newsletter at work on January 1, and I got a lot of nice comments about it.  I'm working on February right now and am having fun getting to meet people at work that I normally don't interact with.  

We are planning a Cleveland trip this year, but we will be smarter than last year and go during the summer so the kids aren't in school activities.  Jenna did send the yearly calendar, starring all of them and I can't believe how tall they are now.  Ben has his hair dyed black....not a fan!  And Sam looks exactly like Jenna.  Ellie and Zach are also getting bigger and it looks like they are having fun in school.  The pictures I have in my office are of them when they are any where from 18 months to 8 years old, so seeing Ben at age 17 was a shocker!  He has to be at least 6 foot 2 inches tall.  

It is cold and rainy today, but I shouldn't complain, at least it isn't snowing.  Leland is a lot like Cleveland, it can be cold and gloomy one day and the next, it's in the low 70's with plenty of sun.  It's just the summers I can take.  When it's 95 degrees at 9 in the morning, there just isn't any relief.  

Tony got me the Cher Show tickets for Christmas.  There are three singers that portray her at various stages of her career.  I can't wait.  The show is in February.  Our first venture to the theatre down here was to the opera and that was a hoot.  "Carmen" was a 50 year old heavy set woman and her lover was even worse.  It was the first time that I had seen people going to the opera in shorts and white socks. Anyway, this show should be much better. 

I am looking forward to the party this evening and singing to Dixie.  We don't know what we would do without her.  Happy Birthday, Goofy Dog!

 

Visiting

 

We went to Charlotte on Wednesday to see Tony, Marie and the boys.  They got a  new dog, Cheyanne.  She's a two year old Boxer and reminds us all of Tyson, Tony's first Boxer.  We took Dixie with us and when she and Cheyanne first met, all was well.  Then, suddenly, Cheyanne, started to growl and got Dixie in her mouth.  I'm not sure who was  more surprised, Dixie, Tony or me.  Tony Jr., managed to release Dixie and Cheyanne spent the rest of the day in her cage.  Dixie was OK, but apparently so traumatized, that she pooped on the kitchen floor.  

Other than that, it was a nice visit.  Coleton, who is 11, had some really good conversations with us about sports and school.  Anthony, was goofy as always and made us laugh.  Owen is speaking a lot better and is really into video games. He talks to the characters.

We had burgers and got gifts and then headed home since Tony had to work on Thursday.  

We did a face time on Christmas day with David, Brenda and the girls.  That was fun.  Alex got a whoopie cushion for Christmas and showed us how it "farted."  

Brenda is going to send us a link to log into so we can actually see her in court this weekend.  She won't see us or  hear us, but we will be able to see her on the bench.  I can't wait.  I'm sure she will be as impressive as always. 

The first edition of the Carolina Dunes newsletter will be out in January.  I am the writer and editor.  I'm already working on February and having fun doing so. 

I work this weekend, the last 6:30 a.m. shift.  As of January 1, we go to 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., it doesn't seem like much of a change, but I will be able to sleep till 6 and not have to get up at 5 in the morning. 

We are having a birthday party for Dixie, she will be 11 on January 6. And then, it will be time for Donna and Bob to come down.  Our years have a cycle to them and we are comfortable with that. 

I'm not sure what the new year will bring, but I hope everyone stays healthy and happy. 

Christmas Parties

 

Well, it seems like everything is back to normal.  David and Brenda and the girls came in and cooked us a wonderful Thanksgiving meal.  There haven't been anymore riots at work and all in all, I have settled into a "same ole, same ole" routine--and don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. 

Tony's health remains good and he is active.  He played golf on Monday and is working at the golf course again.  So the sizeable blip on the radar screen of health concerns have subsided a bit.

And so now we enter into our Christmas cycle.  It will be small for us, as usual but we will just enjoy being together.  With Dixie, of course.  

Tony has started to clean out the attic and do other "get ready for end of life" stuff, but not in fear, and not in haste to go, but so me and the boys don't have to.  That is so like him to take care of us; no matter what.

Geez, that sounds creepy, but it isn't meant to be.  

The golf course where Tony works had their Christmas party on Monday--and so did the place where I work, so I missed it, but I think they had a good time.  On the 16th, we will attend the Cape Fear Voices Christmas party at a restaurant in downtown Wilmington, and of course, the Leland Magazine Christmas party is being held on the same day, but there's only so many parties you can go to!

The golf course party was beautiful.  They had it in the new clubhouse that they built and this was the first time I had been inside.  It is massive and first class, all the way.  There are several dining area, a huge, wrap around bar that is lit from underneath and all glass walls.  You can see the course and various ponds from anywhere in the place.  It was decorated to the hilt and we had a wonderful time. 

I am writing the facility newsletter now and getting paid extra to do it.  So I have three writing jobs that bring me fun, pleasure and money!  

Not much else going on.  I assume we will be taking our Charlotte Swegle's visit after Christmas and before you know it, Donna and Bob will be back down for two months. 

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year.