Sometimes I have an inspiration for a blog post, sometimes I don’t, but I’ve made a commitment to myself to post regularly, so here I am. They say the important thing about being creative is showing up. The same could be said for many facets of life. There’s never a shortage of things to talk about if you have a puppy. When I talked to Erica this morning I found myself saying, “He does this thing now where he….” and then I launched into a description of Buster’s latest exploits.. It was so much like a gushing parent, it’s...
September Night
September 5, 2021June 5, 2023By Vivian Lee
You know when it’s the first cold night of the fall and you jump into bed and curl up under the duvet and wait until the warmth takes over? But then it doesn’t? The other night was that night, (September 2nd, people!!) and I got into bed with the same night clothes I’ve been wearing all summer, a short nightie and undies. I don’t understand enough about aerodynamics or anatomy to understand why I could NOT warm up under a lovely, fluffy duvet. This is the same duvet I’ve been shoving to the end of the bed all summer, occasionally...
Retirement Plans
August 31, 2021June 5, 2023By Vivian Lee
It is all a question of weeding out what you yourself like best to do, so that you can live most agreeably in a world full of an increasing number of disagreeable surprises. MFK Fisher As a recipe for happiness, this has a lot going for it. Sounds simple! Just stop doing those things that don’t give you pleasure and add things that do. Now that I’m retired I feel the future is a clean slate to do that very thing. The main question people ask me is, “What will you do now?”, which always puts me on the defensive. ...
2021– a Mid-year recap
August 25, 2021June 5, 2023By Vivian Lee
So many changes this year, not only due to the pandemic. The pandemic made 2020 very different from all other years, but it didn’t have the same affect on this year, since we’re used to what the pandemic has wrought. The changes that have affected my husband and me, personally, this year are in a less world-shattering category. We got a dog, my husband had a stroke, we retired, we have our first grandchild; the more common kind of life events. Let’s examine them in chronological order. We acquired Buster, the “Boston Terror”, in March, as I’ve mentioned in...
Camping Fun?
August 5, 2021June 5, 2023By Vivian Lee
When is the last time you went camping? Are you a dedicated camper or do you hate it? If I had to give you a number between 1 to 10 where 1 is I love it, and 10 is I hate it, I’d be somewhere around a 6, or a 9 if it’s raining. Dave and I took the plunge and went car/tent camping last week. For me it has been more than a decade. I used to enjoy some aspects of tent camping, but what finally killed it for me was the discomfort of sleeping on camp mattresses...
A stroke of fate
July 26, 2021June 5, 2023By Vivian Lee
If you’re getting complacent and bored, don’t worry, life will throw you a curveball and suddenly things will get more interesting.. Dave and I had settled into the pre-retirement routines imposed by the pandemic, and making as many plans as conditions allowed, when one day Dave woke up “feeling weird”, as he said later. I was out in the garden, having woken up before him, when he poked his head out the door and mumbled something. I asked him to repeat himself and it didn’t make a lot more sense. I asked him how he’d slept and he said...
A New stage of Life begins
July 20, 2021June 5, 2023By Vivian Lee
If you need a boost to your ego or to your general happiness, I recommend announcing your retirement, preferably out of the blue! I recently did that on a FB post and was floored by the kind words many people took the time to write. I’ve been thinking about retirement for a long time and I told my close colleagues and friends a few months ago, but I guess to a large part of my FB friend list, it was a complete surprise. It’s gotten me thinking back on the beginnings… I won my job at the OSM on July...
Life with Buster, continued.
April 10, 2021June 5, 2023By Vivian Lee
We’re almost four weeks into this great adventure and it’s starting to feel more comfortable. Buster is still really bitey, but it’s getting better. We’ve nicknamed him Biteymcbiteypants, which is useful for hashtags. We’re starting to recognize his routine, and the signs that indicate that he’s sleepy or bored or has to go out to relieve himself. We don’t always read him right, but we’re starting to understand him a bit better. He’s such a new little being! Not even three months old. He still has a long way to go before he’s a grown up, settled down dog. Before...
New year, New Puppy
March 23, 2021June 5, 2023By Vivian Lee
I’ve had a few comments from people on Facebook and elsewhere that all I need to write or post about for the next little while is Buster. I’m not sure whether to take it as a compliment, but what the heck! So, as you may recall, we said good-bye to our previous dog, Monty, in mid-December. So, aside from getting a little uptick of mood during Travis and Allison’s visit at Christmas, I was feeling pretty sad a lot of the time. You can ask Dave, I’m not always in tune with my feelings, so even knowing I was...
My Complicated Valentine
February 14, 2021June 5, 2023By Vivian Lee
Dave and I always celebrate Valentine’s Day in some way. Maybe one year it’s just cards and chocolates or flowers, another it’s an overnight at a hotel and an expensive meal. It all depends on what we’re feeling and how much time (and money) we have. Suffice it to say that we don’t ascribe to the idea that Valentine’s Day should be ignored as a random day selected by Hallmark to get people to spend money. Ideally people should show appreciation for their partners regularly throughout the year, but it doesn’t hurt to have an official reminder on the calendar. ...