jjquantz
Full time employment: Posting here.
I always enjoy others' posts on their freedom anniversaries so I thought I would burden you with another of mine. I'm not promising a great deal of coherence, more a brain dump of random thoughts.
I will start with the startlingly obvious comment that retirement is infinitely better than w*rk.
DW's health was a real negative for much of this year, but she has gotten a new diagnosis (rheumatoid arthritis) and has started some new meds. It's still early, but we think that she has turned the corner on her immediate issues with pain and swelling. Related to this, she has given up driving so I have become her chaffeur. Because of her loss of sight in one eye, it looks like this will need to be the new normal - something that neither of us is happy about.
However, the year was full of many positives. Travel is always good: We took an extended trip to Italy in January and went out to Oregon in September for
a golf trip to Bandon Dunes. Both trips were great fun. It was also nice to be able to drop everything and visit DD and DSIL when they bought their first house. I was able to go out and help them with many home improvement projects before they moved in.
As I mentioned a year ago, this was a year to experiment with dropping a country club membership and reducing the number of golf rounds played. This year I am on track for about 60-70 rounds (down from 150 or so) and I feel SO much better physically - a lot of little aches and pains have gone away. Pocketbook feels better, too. Golf expenses are down about $6K from last year.
Cutting back on golf has also created more opportunity for other hobbies. DW and I bought a tandem kayak and have started to go paddling every few weeks. We both enjoy the quiet on the water and my nature photography skills continue to improve.
I just finished roughing out a patio observatory to resurrect my astronomy/astrophotography hobby. It had become too much of a chore to drag all of the equipment out the house every time I wanted to do some observing so I have built what we have taken to calling the "astronomy hutch" on the back patio. This will allow me to store the heavy equipment in a "ready to go" state that will greatly reduce setup and takedown time. Initial runs with the equipment look promising.
Music hobby is still providing a lot of enjoyment. I had a couple of paying gigs over the past year and have an upcoming vocal solo at church. There have also been some informal gatherings with friends to read through repertoire that they are considering for future performances.
Social life has improved this year, too. DW finally got her "game night" idea launched. Once each month, we have 6-8 people over for potluck followed by board games. Even for this introvert it's good to get together with people you like.
DW and I are increasingly having discussions about her transition to retirement. She is still a few years away (probably) but we really feel the need to find a setting with sufficient walking options to allow her some independence. We love each other dearly, but we both feel the need for some time apart.
I will close as I did last year, thanks to all of you for the entertaining and supportive community.
I will start with the startlingly obvious comment that retirement is infinitely better than w*rk.
DW's health was a real negative for much of this year, but she has gotten a new diagnosis (rheumatoid arthritis) and has started some new meds. It's still early, but we think that she has turned the corner on her immediate issues with pain and swelling. Related to this, she has given up driving so I have become her chaffeur. Because of her loss of sight in one eye, it looks like this will need to be the new normal - something that neither of us is happy about.
However, the year was full of many positives. Travel is always good: We took an extended trip to Italy in January and went out to Oregon in September for
a golf trip to Bandon Dunes. Both trips were great fun. It was also nice to be able to drop everything and visit DD and DSIL when they bought their first house. I was able to go out and help them with many home improvement projects before they moved in.
As I mentioned a year ago, this was a year to experiment with dropping a country club membership and reducing the number of golf rounds played. This year I am on track for about 60-70 rounds (down from 150 or so) and I feel SO much better physically - a lot of little aches and pains have gone away. Pocketbook feels better, too. Golf expenses are down about $6K from last year.
Cutting back on golf has also created more opportunity for other hobbies. DW and I bought a tandem kayak and have started to go paddling every few weeks. We both enjoy the quiet on the water and my nature photography skills continue to improve.
I just finished roughing out a patio observatory to resurrect my astronomy/astrophotography hobby. It had become too much of a chore to drag all of the equipment out the house every time I wanted to do some observing so I have built what we have taken to calling the "astronomy hutch" on the back patio. This will allow me to store the heavy equipment in a "ready to go" state that will greatly reduce setup and takedown time. Initial runs with the equipment look promising.
Music hobby is still providing a lot of enjoyment. I had a couple of paying gigs over the past year and have an upcoming vocal solo at church. There have also been some informal gatherings with friends to read through repertoire that they are considering for future performances.
Social life has improved this year, too. DW finally got her "game night" idea launched. Once each month, we have 6-8 people over for potluck followed by board games. Even for this introvert it's good to get together with people you like.
DW and I are increasingly having discussions about her transition to retirement. She is still a few years away (probably) but we really feel the need to find a setting with sufficient walking options to allow her some independence. We love each other dearly, but we both feel the need for some time apart.
I will close as I did last year, thanks to all of you for the entertaining and supportive community.
