Update from a Crazy Person

Well, I'm not doing too well keeping this blog up-to-date! I see I haven't posted since last Wed.! That's crazy!! It seems that I am rediscovering old interests which is great because that means I'm beating the depression little by little. I also must confess that I've spent a lot of time watching the news after Friday night's horrors in Paris!

I recently pulled out 3 art books that I've hung onto for years and years because they are about crafts and techniques that I was really enthused about back when I was an art teacher - one is about finger weaving, one is about monoprints and the other is about collage. So I went to my local thrift shop and bought some cheap balls of yarn to practice with and I am really enjoying "playing" around.

When looking up tutorials about other methods of finger weaving I found several youtube videos about finger "crocheting". So I've been trying that out as well as crocheting with a crochet hook - I don't know where the hook came from - it was in one of my sewing baskets - I inherited my mother's sewing basket and my gramma's sewing basket. My mother crocheted a bit and my gramma crocheted millions of things - she was so gifted she could look at projects in crochet magazines in a store then go home and replicate them! My oldest "seester" is also very gifted with both crocheting and knitting but I never really got into it.

I've managed, so far, to make a slipknot, crochet a chain and add rows of single crochet. You can pretty much learn to do anything on the internet these days!

Over the past year I've been trying to decide where I could volunteer my time. Then it hit me: the work I've been doing with the Council of Canadians IS my volunteer work! I guess it just doesn't seem like work! More like fun! And I've always been a bit of a rebel! Now I'm a rebel with a cause! Friday I was involved in a "sit-in" at a provincial MP's office, Saturday I helped to sew a banner for an upcoming climate rally, Sunday I delivered informational flyers about the controversial sale of a crown corporation to - Hydro One - and then did some prop painting also related to Hydro One.

I don't think I need to look for any more volunteer work!

Of course, in addition to all of that, I try to exercise daily (try...) I go to yoga and meditation, I meet friends for coffee or walks (or WINE)...and then there's housework (blech) and home improvements (double blech!) Today I'm going to do some finishing touches in the main bathroom - I got it mostly done and then it got too nice to be inside :) I'm a master of excuses...if you ever need an excuse for something, anything,  just let me know!!

I will get back to posting trip photos, I promise. I was doing well for a couple of days then stuff happened. And I still stick my nose into books a LOT! Can't help it - I love to read!! But then nothing gets done!

Well, I'm off! Kazi is visiting her boyfriend in New Jersey and she'll be home tomorrow. That's why I'm finishing the bathroom - she has all her potions, lotions and makeup with her which makes it a whole lot easier to maneuvre in there!

TTYL (talk to you later!)

By the Numbers

I'm pretty satisfied with the numbers this month. August ended (can you believe it???!) with a surplus of $284 (in addition to putting $350 into savings). YEAH BABY!! Riding my bike everywhere is really saving me money. Other savings included utilities: natural gas was a low $32 and electricity was $42!! We've run the A/C a little bit but mostly our house stays pretty cool as it is protected by two huge maple trees and a locust tree. The patio only gets about an hour of direct sun per day and a couple hours of filtered sunlight. I can't complain. It was sweltering and humid today but the A/C only kicked in a couple of times.  I keep it set at 25c.

I went over a little bit in the food budget because it was cherry season and I gorged myself. Not even kidding! Cherries are my favourite fruit and no time to be frugal!! I bought quite a few bags at an average cost of about $13+/bag. But I more than made up that overage by NOT having to put much gas in the truck. And recently our gas prices have dropped making the gas budget even smaller.

So what did I waste spend my money on this month?

• went to the movies twice (The Minions and Shaun the Sheep Movie :)
• two albums downloaded from iTunes
• bought several books; a couple new but the rest were second hand
• beer
• yoga x 4
• Yogathon - $25 donation
• played progressive euchre twice plus dinner
• $20 UPS delivery fee for the maps/guide for upcoming trip
• renewed my hiking membership $25.00
• paid for travel insurance
• paid for train x 2 while away
• extra google storage - $2.71
• Hallmark membership
• hiking: food/entrance fee into provincial park
• dinner/beer at the Jazz Fest yesterday
• food/icecream at Rib Fest
• Dairy Queen x 2, 3, 4 times?? But who's counting right?

Some freebies: 

• loaned my truck to my brother and he treated me to dinner at The Waltzing Weasel
• Kazi worked the Beer Festival downtown and treated me to several samples and gave me a T-shirt from her workplace - Toboggan; (there was a long line up to get into the Beer Fest so she threw me a T-shirt over the fence and I put it on and walked right in as if I was working there lol!) Then I benefited from her "beer" expertise (beertise?) and tried a number of yummy samples (I wasn't driving!!)

This was my favourite! Scotch Ale.....

• also free - weekly meditation, weekly visits with my brother, pot luck dinner & MORE!!

All in all a pretty awesome month!! And not just the numbers...!

Since my last post....

...a place for Dougie and Dougie in his place! Parking lot is finished and looks much better now- I swear the paint lines glow in the dark!

Ok, this one needs a little explanation: I saw this on Pinterest. Take a man's shirt - cut off the sleeves and collar to make a lady's tank top. Well...I think I cut the scoop neckline a wee bit too low - I don't usually flaunt my cleavage like this! Not that I'm admitting to on my blog anyways!! I also found the straps a bit too wide for my narrow shoulders. If I did this again (not bloody likely) I would use a boy's shirt instead of a man's.

My second sewing project - FAIL

Here we are early on Saturday morning getting ready to do 108 Sun Saluations for the annual Art of Living Yogathon. In London alone we raised $5,000 to provide education for children in India. We were just one of 55 cities world-wide doing the yogathon. My photo doesn't show the full crowd - I arrived pretty early.

It was bloody hot as we were in full sun for 3 hours - but we made it!! Then we did a group meditation - again in full sun! (I'm not complaining - today it's cold and cloudy and I would love for that hot sun to poke it's head out!)
These are the 12 poses we did for each of 108 sun salutations. My seester wasn't sure what a sun salutation is so this is for you seester.

Sunday was pretty hot and sunny too so I thought hiking almost 20km would be fun! Hahahahaha! It was pretty grueling in places - lots of ups and downs - but we were rewarded by making it to 2 waterfalls. This was outside of Dundas, Ontario. 

We hiked from 10am until 3:30pm. I lost 80 lbs just through sweating alone!

Ask me how my legs are doing today!  Oweeeeeee!

And my shoulder muscles from all those downward dogs, cobras and planks! I just keep thinking about how my muscles are going to pop - just like Popeye!!

A truly beautiful place - I had never been there before and appreciated all that Mother Nature had to offer. Well, not the humidity but everything else.

Then last night I helped set up for a meeting of indigenous people and our local politicians. Very few of our native populations vote in federal elections and we have a biggie coming up in October. We were hoping we could encourage folks to get out and vote. I helped out with tea, coffee and the food tables - the egg salad sandwiches were fantastic!! 

Today is a quieter day - I biked downtown to go to meditation and then did a little sewing - just some mending, no other projects on the go yet...but soon!

I wonder what's for supper??

Retirement Update

I noticed a blog post the other day (http://ndchicscents.blogspot.ca/) entitled "Retirement Update" which motivated me to provide one too.

Yup, still retired!!

When I was approaching retirement I thought I would give myself a year to figure out what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. It turns out a year wasn't long enough.  Bear in mind that a lot of life-changing events occurred over the past year and a half in addition to retirement: relationship ending, loss of future plans, 20 year old pet passed away, had to sell house in PEI, living on half the income I was used to, and a back injury.... which all contributed to low level depression and anxiety. Adjusting to retirement isn't as easy as it would seem!

So...where do things stand now?

• health: medication is helping both with both back pain and mood enabling me to get physical once again; riding my back  bike (thanks for catching that typo sis!) and going to yoga and meditation has also helped me both physically and mentally. I still see a counsellor and am on a wait list for "group therapy"
• social contact: staying in touch with people is so important but not easy for me being the introvert than I am: every day I try to connect with a few people through texting, emailing, Facebook, blog, phone calls, going to social events, getting together with family, becoming more of an activist and so on. I still have days when I'd rather not see anyone 
• reviving old hobbies: my brother said to think back to childhood when we naturally gravitated to the hobbies and activities that we loved: for me that included biking, sewing and reading as well as sports, board games and playing cards. I also loved to draw, play piano and be creative. So far I have done one sewing project with another in the works, I have purchased a book about drawing as well as an "adult colouring book". I am working (slowly) on carving a piece of soapstone and indulge my love of reading every day. As a child one of my favourite things to do was to put a book and a bagged lunch in my bike's basket and ride out into the countryside, then climbed a tree to read and eat my lunch :) These days I try to get out on my bike every day but so far haven't gone out into the countryside with a book and a lunch. I'll add that to my to do list! I go to a "sports night" once a month in addition to a monthly "games night" and last week I started going to a weekly "euchre night" which has been fun. Usually I get out to see one movie a week with a friend
• new hobbies/activities: what would I like to do that I haven't tried yet? Painting, particularly water colours, learn a new instrument or purchase a keyboard, go back to school (tuition at my alma mater is free at age 60) so I'm considering attending part-time next year - perhaps a degree in film or getting back into the visual arts
• volunteering: haven't made my mind up about that one yet - I want to volunteer but not sure about where or how often. I sort of dread being on a schedule
• part-time work: at this point in time I don't feel inclined to get a part-time job
• travel: planning a trip or two each year is fun and exciting yet expensive. Once my Canada Pension Plan kicks in next May I'll be able to travel more frequently.
• redecorating: still working away at this though things have slowed down now as the weather is too nice to be inside as much. Hopefully I'll feel more motivated in the fall...

So things are moving along. I would say the biggest barrier is lack of "motivation".  I get things done but at a much slower pace than in the past and have to push myself to move some days. I feel that I'm on the right path and need to be more patient with myself. It's been a HUGE adjustment and it's not over yet. 

I'll be OK.

A Lost Day: Stupid Toe

I lost a day yesterday.

It all began when clipping my toenails Monday. Just so you know I'm NOT going to show you any photos! There's nothing to see here folks, just move along!

One of my toes started hurting a few days ago so I figured the nails were due for a clipping. I don't really examine my toes closely on a daily basis - they're just there at the end of my feet and make themselves known when they need some care. I do trim my toenails on a fairly regular basis as when they get too long they can start digging into the toe beside them.

The one toe that hurt a little did look a bit red. I noticed the nail was lifting up too and that there was something between the nail bed and the nail. At first I thought - FUNGUS - HORRORS! But then as I clipped the nail I knicked the skin and it drained like a blister. From my reading it appears that I could lose my toenail (but grow a new one) and that's ok with me as long as it's not FUNGUS!! 

So yesterday was spent researching and gazing in horror at fungus photos, blister photos, trying home remedies (just in case) and generally being in a funk. I have a doctor's app't tomorrow.

I was so focussed on my stupid toe yesterday I forgot to put out my recycling (actually...I took it out this morning and then realized I missed a day...) I forgot to exercise, forgot to go to meditation...a lost day. Stupid toe. Here it is Wednesday but I'm thinking it's only Tuesday.

Drat!

2015 Goals

This is the first time I've not had a big list of goals to post. Usually I have more "goals" than I can handle but this year is different, very different.

Now that I am retired...and single...I'm not quite sure what my goals are anymore. That's not as sad as it sounds...it's just...different. This is going to take some getting used to!!

So here goes...I don't have a prepared list, I'm doing this off the cuff.
Drum roll please.......
Hmmmmm...nothing is coming to me...perhaps if I divide them up into categories?

Health Goals:

• stay healthy (there, that wasn't so hard!!)
• okay okay, getting serious here...to stay healthy I plan to hike 3 times a week and bike 3 times a week or as closely to that as I can depending on weather and lazy feelings
• eat home-cooked 100% of the time excepting the occasional meal out which I hope but cannot guarantee is home-cooked; try ONE new veggie recipe per week
• no diets: I never weigh myself, no, if my clothing fits then I am doing ok...and currently they fit, most of them
• go to meditation/yoga twice weekly; I may increase this if I can find something else that will fit into my schedule. I've been doing this on and off for a couple of months and love it. Mental health is important too!

Financial Goals:

• stick to my budget which is posted as a separate page under the header picture
• save until I have a set amount in savings just as a cushion and then all savings will go into FUN stuff like buying a trailer and travel, books and music, alcohol 
• stay within set amounts for food and gas and misc

Personal/Life/House:

• redecorate the following areas: foyer, laundry room, upstairs hallway, bedrooms and upstairs bathroom (not necessarily in that order)
• plan two trips for 2015: out east and ???
• keep watching kijiji for trailers in my price range til I find "the one"
• follow my schedule, revamp as necessary, to fit in time for creative writing, carving, friendship, genealogical research
• more outings to museums, galleries, road trips, movies, concerts etc
• research volunteer possibilities
• live finding the humour everywhere - be silly and ridiculous :)

There, once I got going I did ok! 

Today's silliness: