Retirement Life in the Week Ended 17 November 2024
Hello everyone! I hope that life is treating you well. Again it’s been a week where I don’t seemed to have stopped. I’ve travelled across the country from Essex to home, did bits and pieces there and then returned to Southend-on-Sea again on Friday. Here’s what I’ve been up to and what’s been on my mind.
What We’ve Acquired for Free
We travelled back home from my parent’s house on Monday with a car boot of stuff, gifted by Mum and Dad. Of course it includes the collaging resources that I mentioned in last week’s post. But there’s more. You might expect that when you’re decluttering a house that’s been lived in by the same people for fifty five years. The largest haul by far seems to be tools. As Dad can no longer see to use them so he’s donated them to Paul. Why a man needs three routers I’ll never know. But I’m not going to argue with anything that might dissuade him from building the bespoke kitchen cabinets that are on his job list for next years.
We’ve also picked up some gardening equipment. There are a few hand tools and a propagator that’s going to be so handy for my chilli plants. Mum insisted that we brought home a huge tub of chicken manure fertiliser. Apparently I can add it to my compost heap or scatter it directly on the soil. I’m thinking that my soft fruit canes might benefit from a sprinkling.
I also brought home this cutesy tin motorcycle toy that’s from the sixties. It’s just the thing to display on one of my ‘Mad Walls’. Follow the link to find out more.
What I’m Making
Here’s a mosaic house sign I made earlier. It’s not the greatest picture but it’s the most decent I’ve got. I forgot to take my photo before I installed it in my Mum and Dad’s porch and then I realised that there wasn’t enough room out there to get a decent shot. Let’s just say that you live and learn.
Mum wanted to bring her house number with her but I’ve dissuaded her otherwise. For starters I can’t remember which little tiles I removed to screw plaque to the wall. And of course her new house has a different number so the sign would lose its purpose if removed from the existing house.
So I’ve promised to make another bee themed house number. I I started it this week and its a little chore that I’m loving. I haven’t been able to make any mosaics during 2024. Caring responsibilities and home improvements this year have left no time for such frivolity. I’m cracking on well and it should be ready to put on the gate of Mum and Dad’s bungalow. I want it to be there when they arrive and see their new home for the first time. It’s occurred to me that, making it, is a practical leap of faith. We won’t know definitely if the property will be theirs until contracts are exchanged.
What We’ve Achieved
We put my parent’s house on the market on Monday and had our first viewings. We’ve also been given a date that the searches will be back for their bungalow purchase. These seem like milestones on both counts I’m so grateful to all the estate agents who have been helping Mum and Dad with buying and selling homes. They’ve been super kind and helpful.
There’s also been lesser successes. I’ve finished clearing the IKEA Kallax storage unit, a job I mentioned in last week’s post. I’ve ended up with a beautifully ordered space. I can find all my tools and crafting materials again. There’s even two segments that are empty. I’m sure I’ll fill them again before the next clear out.
And remember my woefully poor performance when I first started skipping? Well I’m pleased to say that I can now manage ninety three revolutions. That’s a considerable increase from the woeful four that I managed on my first day of jumping. I need to point out that skipping is a high impact activity and everything jiggles! I was in danger of giving myself two black eyes. This leads me on nicely to my next topic.
What I’ve Bought
I purchased a Boobuddy to secure the breasty dumplings while I’m skipping and running. It arrived at my parent’s house before I did on Friday and caused much merriment among my family members when they opened it accidentally.
I thought that I was in the market for high impacts sports bras because my existing ones weren’t man enough for the job of keeping everything up top static while I was jumping. But they were all so pricy! The I found a review for this contraption that you fix over the top of your workout gear on the Women’s Running website and snapped one up at a fraction of the price. Hey presto it’s quick and easy to fit and it keeps those puppies secure when doing vigorous exercise, even over normal clothing.
What I’ve Been Listening To
I discovered the other day that my Spotify Premium subscription includes free audiobooks. One of the first that I came across was The Miracle Morning. Coincidentally a friend had recommended it to me just a few days earlier. So I’ve been listening while tackling the weeds at the allotment. The book outlines the importance of getting up early to establish a morning routine. It offers suggestions about what this might look like.
I’ve been an early riser for over thirty years and use the wee small hours of the morning to get stuff done. This habit has been especially helpful during challenging times. My rationale has always been that accomplishing something right at the start of the day gives me a positive boost. The author of The Miracle Morning insists that even those who, unlike me, identify as night owls can adopt this kind of morning routine and even look forward to it.
My own early morning activity regime has varied over the course of time. It currently includes meditation, reflection, gratefulness practice, exercise (planking and ineffectual press ups), reading and writing. A lot of activities align with the book’s acronym ‘SAVERS’ which stand for Silence, Affirmations, Visualisation, Exercise, Reading and Scribing. However, after listening I realised that my routine is missing elements relating to two of the categories that Hal Elrod suggests. So I’ve now drafted some affirmations and updated the vision board app on my phone. I’ll revisit these every morning to reinforce their power for change!
What I Noticed
On Saturday the estate agent had arranged viewings at Mum and Dad’s home. So we we took the oldies to lunch at The Last Post. to get them out of the way. It’s a ‘Spoons pub now which was the main post office and sorting office in Southend in my childhood. My parents like to stop off there when they’re in town for ham, egg and chips.
In amongst the premature tinsel and the frippery I spotted some pictures that I liked. They were quite hard to snap as punters and decorations got in the way. I love taking photos of artwork when it catches my attention even if I can’t get the perfect angle or there’s reflections on the glass. Those imperfect images give me ideas for my own endeavours. Of course the sea themed collage is of particular interest at the moment. My own paper and glue creations only occupy headspace at the moment. They still haven’t materialised into physical form. Any inspiration that I can get from other sources could be helpful in helping my creative juices to flow.
What I Found
My chore of my latest visit to my parent’s home has been reorganising and decluttering paperwork that goes back more than a century. I can claim that because I found the birth certificates of my Nan and Grandad who were born in the noughties of the twentieth century. There were four bags and boxes of miscellaneous documents that I’ve whittled down to one. The paper shredder gave up the ghost early on in the process so my brother and I made a bonfire in a tin bucket
As well as the mountain of old bills and paper slips that brought out our inner pyromaniacs there was a lot which stimulated interest and memories. I’d forgotten that I’d won a certificate for making a peg doll in a Girl Guide crafting competition for instance. There was some documents that provided fascinating snippets of family history and lots of photos too. Here’s one of me in the Brownie uniform of the seventies.
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.