Autumn Changes

This weekend was spent in Asheville. I spent time in a local brewery and also picked up a Guide to Asheville Breweries. There are a lot of breweries to visit. 

Before this year, the last time I'd been to Asheville was May 2015. Whew, time flies. I mean, it really does. I just looked back at my previous blog to see what I could remember about that last visit. I had forgotten that it was the first time I used Airbnb. I was probably late to the party, but I've had several great experiences after that one. It's sort of been my preferred type of stay. 

I'm spending more time in Asheville than I ever have before. Spoiler Alert: I'm moving there! The official move date is somewhere between January 15th and January 22nd (when my lease is up). 

This poor blog has been so quiet...if you follow my posts you probably think I've abandoned it. But, no, I've just had big life changes that have taken my energy. 

Tonight, when I sat down I ran down the list of things that I've done this year...that would explain my absence and lack of writing. I knew I'd been busy, and I'd used the "I've been busy" moniker when I wrote last time. In my last post, I ticked off what I've been "busy" with. It still feels like a lot of big things. 

After catching you up with my life in September, I preceded to make more big life changes. I found out that I can retire early in 2022. At first, I thought, "Oh...how nice, but I don't think so." It really was a surprise that I have the ability to collect SSI two years early. It only took a few days for me to decide to accept this surprising opportunity. I feel like if I don't take advantage of the early retirement that I will be missing out on a cosmic gift. So...I'm officially retiring as of December 31st. 

It feels right. This allows me to take a breath and start fresh. 

I'm leaving my career and I'm leaving where I live. I'm moving forward with "fear and trembling." 

This idea has stayed with me since I was a college freshman in Philosophy 101. 

“If anyone on the verge of action should judge himself according to the outcome, he would never begin. Even though the result may gladden the whole world, that cannot help the hero; for he knows the result only when the whole thing is over, and that is not how he became a hero, but by virtue of the fact that he began.”― Søren Kierkegaard, Fear and Trembling

My life changes are not as dramatic or dire as what Kierkegaard is contemplating, but I take comfort in the grace of his words. After all, we are all heroes of our own lives; I am the hero of my own life. 

As I was writing this, I wanted to go on into my own philosophy of life planning but realized I have written this before. 

I really want to go on...telling you all about the new plans. I'm really quite excited about them. But, the truth is, my body has not adapted to the "non-daylight savings time", meaning I'm usually in bed by now. I'm fairly certain my post has been coherent until this point, so I will call it a night.

Until next time!

What I've Been Up To

I've been offline for a while. So many things have happened that I don't know where to begin. I'll just start with a list of headlines. 

KNEE SURGERY

I started the year with my knee surgery. It's not a new knee but it put synthetic cartilage in the place that was bone on bone. I'm so thankful for that surgery. It's taking a long time to rehabilitate and walk without a limp. I was starting to think that I would never be up to "par". I diligently went to physical therapy, which helped. But, it wasn't until I started having private sessions with my Yoga Teacher that I found real relief. Let me say that the sessions are hard. I sweat and I hold my breath, which is a big no-no with yoga. But, after finishing I'm always somehow better. 

200 HOUR YOGA TEACHER TRAINING 

I completed 200-Hour Yoga Teacher Training. I am now a certified Yoga Teacher. I've led a few classes, and look forward to having the opportunity to teach more regularly. I am truly proud of this accomplishment. I learned so much, and I'm hungry to learn more.

STRAWBERRY PICKING

One Sunday in May was spent with friends in a strawberry patch. Many of the strawberries found themselves in strawberry margaritas at the beach. We went early before it got super hot. There was a little competition to see who could fit the most strawberries in their bucket. I am not sure there was conclusive evidence either way. 

The afternoon was spent at Maple View Ice Cream. We got our beach chairs out (which were coincidentally in our cars), and we sat in the sun. The sun felt so nice that I didn't realize I was getting a slight sunburn.

BEACH TRIP

We spent a week at the beach with friends. I can't remember the last time I spent an entire week at the beach! We had so much fun. The beach was just beautiful. And on the last night, we were treated to a double rainbow. It was magical.

We ate meals together and gathered in the same area on the beach. We watched the waves, read, or napped. We've made reservations for next year.

MOUNTAIN TRIPS 

There were two weekends in the mountains. July 4th was in Burnsville, which is quintessential Small Town America. We visited a brewery and several coffee shops. Plus I met and chatted with a Vulcan one night at dinner.

The weather was a little cooler in Burnsville for the 4th, which made being outside for the fireworks much nicer. We watched from the brewery's grassy lawn. It felt like the entire town was there. It was fun to see multi-generations enjoying time together. Even though we didn't actually know anyone, we felt a part of a community. 

WILMINGTON VISITS

We spent Easter with Danielle and Lucy. She was so cute in her little skirt with the bunny tail. She had ears, but wouldn't wear them for long.

Lucy changes so much between visits. She learns so much that it's hard to believe. And she is so independent.

We've been back to Wilmington twice to play in the pool. Lucy is a water baby. Next year she will probably get swimming lessons. 

Happy COVID New Year

Almost a month into the New Year and I'm just now coming to my little public space to write. Here is the only real pic I have of New Year's Eve. Me and one of my Besties. We are at the local pub which has nice outside seating. This winter we've doubled at one of the pubs several times. We practice social distancing and eat outside (and drink some). The first time we were out I didn't realize how cold it would feel, but Shields, ever prepared, had a blanket and let me borrow half for my bottom. The metal chairs are chilling when you are outside. Her husband brought the new best party favor, a portable outside propane heater, kind of like what you might use out camping. I swear that makes the outside dining so much cozier. They are good enough to share the heat by alternatively pointing it in our direction. After that first pub outing, I got better about bringing blankets and a good coat and gloves. I do tease Shields and her husband about driving around with those propane tanks. They are little...but still. 

We toasted New Year's right at 9:00. That's right. Curfew was at 10:00 so the pub provided flutes of champaign at 9:00...so that we could all leave to go home for the COVID curfew. 

This morning, Bill went out and got the NY Times. It was glorious to be able to sit with an actual Sunday paper. The local papers are more like pamphlets these days, so I don't even bother. But the NY Times! Ah, that's a paper. I sat my bum on the couch with a cup of java and read that thing cover to cover. The inauguration was well covered. I must tell you I watched it stream when I was at work. I was able to work and watch at the same time. I was surprised when I teared up. More than once my breath caught in my chest. The ceremony was just perfect in my eyes. Lady Gaga singing the National Anthem was so unexpected and she was just perfect. I may overuse that word, but so be it. She was lovely.

The Times also had several human interest/feature articles on how "we" are responding to the lingering quarantine need as COVID has lingered. There were two articles about the need for human connection and how people have navigated trying to keep human connections. 

Since March, I've used Zoom and FaceTime, and WebEx apps to connect with others. After the first couple of video conferences, it began to feel like just a logical extension of telephone communications. I smile when I think how much like Star Trek it is. When I moved into my new apartment I used FaceTime to call my daughter and give her the tour. I've sent pics through phone messaging to friends. I'm not a fan of email (too much like work) but I can get down with a good text chat. One of my friends and I have perfected text chats. Sometimes we continue with phone chat. It's not the same as sitting in her kitchen, but it is connecting. Sometimes we multitask while we talk. When we do that it reminds me of the "old days" when phones were hanging on the wall with really long spiral cords. You could walk from room to room with the phone held between your ear and shoulder. Doing dishes at the same time was not unheard of.  

Girl's Night hasn't taken place since August and I sorely miss it. 

One of my girlfriends said she is late to the bread-baking fad that became part of COVID quarantines. But she is now baking quite a bit of bread. You may remember I thought I would learn to cook during COVID. Not sure that I can put a checkmark on that. But I did make some lovely french toast this morning. 

I read War and Peace as one of the #COVIDtogether fads. But I confess I didn't get through the epilogues (there are two). Someone recently told me that more story takes place in the epilogues. Well, I feel like I should get a "pass" for this novel anyway. 

I've binged a few shows, which may also be part of the COVID experience. First, I must tell you that I could not watch Tiger King. I made it through the first episode, but that was all I could do. But, I did watch The Crown. I also watched The Queen's Gambit (I give it 5 stars and highly recommend it). Also, The Spy with Sacha Cohen was another captivating binger, as well as The Chicago 5. For comic relief, I watched Schitt's Creek. I love every quirky character on that crazy show. Luckily, I have not needed to fold in the cheese in any of my recent cooking escapades. 

Oh, and that commercial about "not becoming your parents"? It's a classic! Some of those snippets will become cult classics! I know "We all see it" has come up in my life...more than once! 

2020 Was a Gas

I am blessed to be able to say that in 2020 I had moments of sheer joy. 

In previous years I made little "Year-End" cards to mark some of the good things. This year, I thought I would bring that back. 

It was a weird year. I believed "Self Quarantine" would be "short". I think we had to begin sheltering in place in March. I was sure that this would all be "fixed" by May. It felt like a really long string of snow days. Snow days from a child's eyes (and sometimes an adult's) is an unplanned gift of respite from the everyday. A day home from school? Yay. Do I do extra homework today? NO! That's missing the point of the gift. Instead focus on snowmen, sledding, and snow cream (if you can find some safe snow). The follow-up to a good snow day is a good cup of hot cocoa and blissfully tired bodies. 

I did my part in self-isolation, going nowhere after work. Just me and the pets, reading "'War and Peace". I heard about this "fad" on NPR. Reading the book in a virtual book club. A book that I would not have picked out for myself. On "A Public Space", Yiyun Li led us through and inspired reading of a surprisingly good book. [#TolstoyTogether]

I binged on mini-series shows on Netflix and Amazon. It's funny because it sounds like many of us binged the same shows. This makes for typical conversations at the "water cooler". I binged the Queen's Gambit and The Crown.

I took online classes (I have one more that I need to finish). I went to a Writers' Retreat. The retreat part had to be improvised but was pretty good. 

I went down to Wilmington several times so I could play with that sweet little Lucy. I've been lucky!