Retirement Life In The Week Ended 9th March 2025
After a six month wait since an offer was accepted there’s been progress on my parent’s move to their bungalow around the corner from us. Fingers crossed they’ll be moving out of our house in a couple of weeks. Goodness knows why is takes so long in this day and age with all the computer wizardry that there is. I can’t be the only one who yearns for a time when a property purchase as easy as buying a new frock.
it’s been fairly quiet week but things are likely to hot up very shortly what with all that moving activity. In the meantime here’s what I’ve been up to in that lull before the storm.
What I’ve Finished Reading
I currently have six books on the go. No wonder there’s a bit of a gap between finishing my reading material. However I’ve just completed Glucose Revolution by Jessie Inchaupse, a highly readable volume about flattening your blood glucose spikes that occur when you eat. There’s evidence that doing so will improve your health in a number of ways. I’m not going to say much more here but I’m going to adopt some of the strategies into my own routine. I’ll write a full length review giving an update of my progress shortly.
What I’m Looking Forward to
Slowly my diary is starting to fill up again. It’s a measure of how I’m feeling that I will be able to move away from my intense caring role to one that’s a little less frantic. Mum’s health is improving day by day and once my parents have moved into their bungalow they’ll be having a care package.
I’ve arranged a lovely few days in the middle of June. Firstly I’ll be off to London for two nights. We’ve got tickets for LCD Soundsystem’s residency at the O2 in Brixton. You may remember that they’ve been one of my favourite bands since I belatedly discovered them at Glastonbury last year. Here they are when we saw them in Bristol in September 2024.
Paul wants to do tourist-y things as well while we’re in the Big Smoke. My Somerset boy hasn’t been to London very often so I’ll have to humour him. After our mini-break we’ll part and I’m heading straight off to another big city, Manchester. Given that I hardly cross the boundary of my hometown anymore this is very exciting indeed.
Some members of my Course in Miracles Zoom study group have tickets for an immersive workshop with Marianne Williamson, a spiritual writer and politician who’s stood as the Democratic’ party’s presidential candidate twice. I can only dream that she will one day get in.
I’ve wanted to see Marianne Williamson speak for years now. She used to have a regular slot in New York on a Tuesday night and I was tempted to go when I was last over the pond in 2017. However I’d already snuck in a couple of art galleries and didn’t want to push it with the fifteen year old teenager that I had in tow.
Where I’ve Been
For the second week in a row I’ve been out in the bay on my friend’s boat. This time it was an early start and there was ice on the windshields of both the car and the boat. But once it warmed up a bit it was delightful. The boys are teaching me how to fish and I believe that I’m pretty good pupil. I was the first person to hook a herring and we caught a bucketful.
Most of the fish will be eaten,. I made a pate this week to ring the changes. A few are kept in the freezer for bait to lure in the next catch. Paul gutted what we’d caught on the boat so nothing goes to waste. The trimmings are thrown into the sea. They attracted the local gull population who gave us a display of their diving prowess. What’s more the fishy smell must lured in other marine life. After a quiet spell the boys caught a few mackerel to add to our herring quota.
What I’m Working On
Needlepoint is my go to craft in the motorhome. It’s portable and I don’t have to put a lot of thought into it. That’s why it’s an ideal holiday activity. I don’t do a lot of it when I’m at home so progress is slow. Each kit lasts me several years.
Sometime in 2024 I finished stitching this one. It was a bargain from a charity shop. I think that I paid four pounds for it. I’m not keen on the end stage of making it up into a cushion so it’s been hanging around. This week, following completion of Mum and Dad’s house sign, I put a stop to the procrastination.
A needlepoint loses its shape as I work on it. must be reshaped when its done. I keep a piece of board with squared paper stuck on it especially for the purpose. I couldn’t find a suitable spray bottle to dampen the canvas so, ingenious soul that I am, I used my water flosser. It worked nicely! Once wet I stretched it and tacked it onto the board. Once dried overnight it was back to being properly square.
I’m now halfway through sewing the cushion. With another push maybe I’ll be able to show and tell the finished article next week.
What I’ve Been Listening Toit
More weeding at the allotment was the main activity this and hence I listened to a few more podcasts. They make time pass very easily. ‘On Living Without Money’ by Robin Greenfield drew me in with its fascinating title. It’s over an hour long. That’s about two buckets full of weeds.
This guy has done quite a few experiments with himself as the guinea pig. He’s lived in the tiniest of tiny homes and travelled across America on a bamboo bicycle with just a rucksack of belongings. This video takes non consumerism as a step further. Not even the clothes and the blanket are his own but they have been loaned to him. He’s now given away everything he owns.
It’s the act of someone who wants to conduct his life with the utmost integrity. Robin Greenfield believes that he can’t be true to himself if he is entangled in the economic system so plays with ideas about living with so much less than is the norm. Of course I’m not going to follow his footsteps but it’s food for thought. What came over so powerfully for me is how enmeshed we all are through the economic system, for better and worse.
What I Noticed
Blossom at the allotment! There was even a bee collecting pollen but it was shy and flew away before I could take a snapshot. It’s a sign that spring, my absolute favourite season of the year, must be just around the corner.
Disclaimer
This post contains links to companies and organisations just because I’m happy with the products or services that they supply or I’m spreading the word about what they do. There may also be affiliate links to Amazon for books and other items that I am personally recommending. If you decide to make a purchase from them, I might get a little bit of commission at no cost to you.