Comfort and Joy

For the past 365 days Mr. J&C and I have explored the brave new world of retirement. This year has been a period of adjustment for us.  Learning we don't have to live by the clock.  Making a list of fun things to do and actually having the time to do (some of) them. We are also finding new things to do to keep our brains young happily middle aged. There has been lots of togetherness, so much that some days we just make time to be away from each other.  Still, my favorite way to start the morning and end the day is with him.

A perfect gift from my mom.

Mr. J&C still belongs to his professional society which meets once a month. He has also joined a group of retirees (many of whom he worked with) and they meet once a month. He's slowly getting back into golf (very slowly, he hurt his elbow weeding in the flower beds - I told him gardening was tough). He goes to lunch every now and then with his friends. He likes the outdoors and hunting (visiting with family and friends). He's taken 3 different BBQ classes and (I'm happy to report) his cooking gets better and better.

I still visit with my girlfriends (we call it shopping - it's really more talking and having lunch and talking with a little shopping thrown in). Took a pottery class in October.  And (this is big) I've joined a book club - it's a delight, one of my smartest moves in years. We meet once a month, taking turns to be hostess and choose the book and, if we're lucky, our hostess will theme her lunch menu around the book. The month we read The Great Gatsby our hostess welcomed us into a 1920's cocktail party. I'm planning on doing future posts to describe the books we've read and the meals we've shared. This group of eight women is amazing and the books they have me reading (no pictures! I'm talking serious reading here!) have been entertaining.

I guess the point of my post today is to let the world know we are surviving, even thriving, in retirement. Still learning about each other and the world around us.  Always on the lookout for our next adventure.

Happy New Year!

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Baby, It's Cold Outside

My week has been a sweet adventure.  Sunday and Monday I got to visit my daughter and help put a few finishing touches on my grand baby's room.  We even packed bags for the hospital, and now we wait.

Back home Tuesday, Mr. J&C and I put up Christmas lights on the outside of the house and visited with our neighbors.  We caught the folks next door out decorating on Tuesday evening and took our bottle of wine over to visit - with glasses for them!  Sharing is one of the perks of friendship.  I highly recommend it.  Standing out in the lovely evening air (the high temperature that day was in the 70's, it was 60 or so just after sunset), lights sparkling, visiting with neighbors who have become friends - life can be perfect. 

A "JOY" sign for sale at Montgomery Street Antique Mall.

Wednesday I got to meet and have lunch with fellow blogger, Jenny Schouten Short.  Her beautiful blog, Two Tumbleweeds, is one of my favorites.  Jenny is a native Texan, who spends half of her year in the Netherlands (the hot half!) and half the year in Fort Worth.  We enjoyed lunch at a local antique mall and got a chance to get to visit with each other.  Looking back on the day, I am reminded of the expression "A friend is a present you give yourself."

On Thursday, Mr. J&C and I shopped and prepared for the coming ice storm, which arrived as predicted late Thursday night.  And we've been here in the house ever since, because, trust me, it's cold outside.

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Thanksgiving Wishes

I wish cheesecake had no calories.

 

I wish the Cowboys would win today.

 

I wish everyone would be kind.

 

I wish self cleaning ovens really were.

 

I wish everyone truly felt loved.

 

I wish there were no weeds in my garden.

 

I wish the UN would (and could) outlaw killing

in the name of god (any god).

 

I wish ....

 

 

once I get started, it's hard to stop.

 

 

I wish you and yours a Happy Thanksgiving.

 

Peace,

Joy

 

 

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Land Line

I could not wait until I got my own telephone. 

October 1978 - First apartment and a phone with my very own number!  Life was good. 

It was just eight short years ago we moved into this old house and, before we settled in, I made sure we had a working telephone.  At that time, I had my cell phone but still wanted, needed, loved my home phone.  New number for this side of town -  we moved all of 20 miles and that meant changing our number.  Good times.

Here I am, October 2013 - thirty five years of  'my very own number' and I'm not so in love with my home phone.

On Friday, Mr. J&C and I took steps to let go of our land line and, if all goes according to plan, we will sell it in the neighborhood garage sale at the end of the month.  We each have a cell phone.  The poor home phone seems to only get calls from people trying to sell us stuff or persuade us to vote for the candidate of their choice or folks asking for donations. 

This sign is on our front door, a gift for Mr. J&C when he
retired in January.  If only I had something similar for our phone.

What about you? Do you still have a land line?  Are we making a big mistake?  Or, like butter churners and rug beaters, are home phones no longer necessary?


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Going Out in a Blaze of Glory

Autumn has (at last) come to Fort Worth.  Cooler days, longer nights - I love this time of year.  The Morning Glories ("Papa Ott" variety) in my garden seem to 'know' that their growing season is coming to an end.

In early September I had blooms like this.



A volunteer wandering through the flower bed.



First Saturday in October.

 
It amazes me how many more blooms there are when the temperatures come down to a reasonable 82F and we get a little rain.

Hope your week is colorful.

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Changes

The past few weeks have been wonderful -- busy, busy, and just a bit crazy. 

First, I'm going to be a grandmother!  Due at Christmas - I just wanted earrings, but no, my daughter and son-in-law insist - a baby before the New Year.  Our family is growing - how exciting!  Someone new to love.  Sigh.

Also, my son graduated from Texas A&M and we now have a second lieutenant in the family.  He's off on adventures of his own, much loved and thought of, and we are very proud of him. 

I've visited with many of my family and friends lately (still have a few on my list that I hope to see soon) - you are all loved.  Hope you are happy and doing well and, if any of you are coming to visit, please call an hour before you arrive so I can change the sheets and clean the bathroom...

In all the excitement I forgot to mail a package to Betty Lou at American Vintage Quilts so tomorrow I'm off to the post office to mail some fabric to her.  Fabric I promised her in June has been sitting here gathering dust while I've been out having fun.

I'm going to try to post on a more regular basis, it helps me get things done and lets my mother and my children know that I'm still here.

Mr. J&C and I have been harvesting okra and having all kinds of fun cleaning house and ---- o.k., we have harvested and eaten okra from our garden a few times.  We've also been to a few college football games, slept in a several hotels, eaten delicious food, and traveled a bunch (two oil changes in two months a bunch).  One of us may have to dust - soon - I hope it will be fun.

Well, I sat down to get you caught up on my adventures and I almost forgot to tell you about the big change here at the house...

 

I moved the hummingbird feeder to the front yard, next to the dining room window - now meals are livelier on both sides of the window.

Happy Monday!


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Visiting Blogs

August - 100F days, 80F nights... ugh. These are the days when I question why I live in Fort Worth, Texas... With this heat it makes sense to stay inside and read blogs,  drink glasses of iced tea, and pay a little more attention to my own blog.

This is one of my favorites - day lilies
from my mom's garden - thriving in the Texas heat.

I find myself dreaming of travel and I like to check out bloggers who are enjoying a summer with warm sunshine-y days and cool nights. Jane, at Marigold Jam, makes life in England sound so tempting. 

Jen, in Canada, captures beautiful pictures and weaves stories around them in her blog Muddy Boot Dreams.  Her post on Wednesday reminds me that while I may picture Canada as all hockey and snow, they have their own summer heat, drought, and beautiful flowers.

The heat seems to make the day lilies happy.

I'm here in Fort Worth, trying to find ways to beat the heat but thankful for my friends and neighbors. Besides, Mr. J&C loves Texas and I love him - so here I stay.

While I complain about the heat, I must admit I am proud of my adopted home state and follow several (many) Texas bloggers.

There's a Jane in Fort Worth, at New Dog Learns Old Tricks.  Her adventure in June with yarn was an example of friendship, recycling, and talent - love the way she put the old squares together with multicolored new yarn.

And Theresa, with her Run A Round Ranch Report, makes life in the heat of Texas look so cool. Love her pictures and stories - especially the dogs and ducks... and horses, turtles, wild birds, barns...


Thanks, Mom!

And then there's Jenny, at Two Tumbleweeds, exploring all things Dutch in the summer - she seems to have the best of both worlds - living in Holland in the summer and returning home to Fort Worth each winter. 

Thanks to all of you who entertain and inform and, even in this heat wave, make me smile.


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