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You (and anyone else) are welcome to look at my gallery of seagull photos. It's a slideshow. All of the photos were taken in the winter at the lake where I live except for the laughing gulls with the black heads (Maryland and South Carolina) and the one in the fog with the freighter in the background (taken on Long Island). Thank you for asking.
NEG, you are so good at initiating conversations. This one could be the subject of an entire thread!
Unstuck for me partly means getting my paperwork (delayed since July!!) in order. I visited Staples today and got a decorative expandable file. I just spent the afternoon throwing out tons of outdated stuff around finances, health insurance booklets, notes of every kind, etc. When I pop off everyone here will know where to find anything. I hate clutter! Also going to get a new (paper) address book. Many in there have passed away or have new addresses, and I wrote them in ink. At our age....write things in pencil.
Now that the downstairs (and upstairs) rooms are super organized, I will tackle my computer files for the next solid month, getting rid of outdated files and keeping only what applies to my new life in 2015. I'm getting after the old man in January to make the garage and basement pristine, in case anything happens to him I don't have to have a nervous breakdown (around "stuff," that is). We are done with renovations, hooray, so most of that "stuff" should be able to be carted away.
Then it's what to do with the genealogy box. I'm either going to charge into it in Feb or drop it off some night on my sister's doorstep. Then my writings. No nostalgia there! Only keep the brilliant stuff. What a bonfire!
I am on a roll. Out with the old, in with the new!
Last edited by RiverBird; 12-14-2014 at 02:52 PM..
I think I'll adopt that same resolution. I haven't felt "stuck" but I'm slowly realizing that I now have my complete and total freedom to do whatever I want. Live wherever I want and all that. I spend so much time alone I have time to think and think and think... Starting in Jan. I WILL "get moving" in a lot of different ways. For now it's one step after another and that's all.
Things are not good here but I won't bore you guys with any of the gory details. Suffice it to say I see a lawyer in my future if only for consultation. Sigh. Mom is the same but ever so slowly going downhill. It hurts to see that and I have a hard time with it. I find myself wishing the stroke had just taken her, then and there.
AZ, you WILL get to the other side. When we're in the muck it's hard to get energized. As you say, one step at a time FORWARD. Never look back, my new motto. When you are on the other side of this, you'll be able to explore, find out who you are at this stage, what you might want, and make changes. When I'm confused, I try to make physical order around me, which is what I'm doing right now. If you have any spare moments, maybe do that. And of course anything you can do to feel good, like getting a massage.
Glad you guys liked the photos. Much of the detail in the feathers is achieved with software. I currently use a Nikon D7100 but in addition to that, the gull photos were also taken with a Nikon D7000 and 3 Point and Shoot ultrazooms by Panasonic (FZ150, FZ35, FZ100) over the last 5 years.Everything is hand-held and most of the photos were taken from my car (but not through the windshield).
very nice shots. marilyn and i enjoy macro and wildlife work. i like bugs and she likes flowers but we do both.
usually you can tell my flowers because i like "flower guts" going deep inside the flower itself
Aloha All! My lovely bride and I visited Hawaii on a cruise for our honeymoon in 2003. Went back on vacation in 2005 and 2006. We retired in 2008 and moved from up north to Florida. In 27 days (but who's counting) we get on a plane with a one-way ticket to the Big Island. Never coming back to the mainland, if we can help it.
Backstory: I had quad bypass in 2013, and in 2014 we closed a small retail shop we had here in Florida. It was now or never for the big move, and I didn't want to wake up 5 years from now with a severe case of the "shoulda coulda wouldas"...
Mahalo!
Last edited by Buckeye77; 12-14-2014 at 05:06 PM..
My condolences, AZ. We all go through this passage. Having a sibling at odds just makes it all the more difficult. My heart goes out to you.
I know this thread was directed to retirees - but I have a need to vent. The last couple of years have been sucky - starting last year with the passing of my FIL, my beloved dog and this year my own mother. Plus, my spouse has been waaaay underemployed and my deputy ran off to Reno with her boyfriend.
And I have had a cancer scare - which while not being cancer - needs to be watched so that it does not turn into it.
To say that I have wanted to retire and chuck it all is an understatement.
I'm hoping the universe lets up on us and allows us some breathing room and time before the next explosion (my MIL turns 94 shortly) and her passing will ignite another clusterbuck of epic proportions if we are not prepared for it.
I now know the feeling of not physically nor mentally wanting to continue on the job. All of this confusion happening and my bosses know I plan on retiring in a couple of years. I bet they wonder if I will make it as well. So guess what their response to that is? A list of huge projects that JUST! NEED! TO get DONE!NOW!
Are you kidding me?
I plan on lightening up - just for my own sake and save my own self. They can shove it.
While not retired -- I am only working a few hours a day. I need to concentrate on ME. I need to get healthy and stay healthy. I need to sew. Right now, I am planning a purse to my specifications, and today I played with the embroidery stitches on my machine, sewed about 20 lines of different ones and the one I picked by accident is the one I fell in love with... my plan is to get some cool color of ripstop nylon, use my fusiboo fusible batting to sandwich two layers together and make my own fabric to start. I have an idea of how to do this, but it's all in my head.
I also need to tackle the house and do some major decluttering. This year I am also going to catalog my fabrics (take a swatch of each) and put them in a take along binder so when I go fabric shopping, I know what I have, and buy what will work with the rest of the stash.... and build a stash...
I think I'll adopt that same resolution. I haven't felt "stuck" but I'm slowly realizing that I now have my complete and total freedom to do whatever I want. Live wherever I want and all that. I spend so much time alone I have time to think and think and think... Starting in Jan. I WILL "get moving" in a lot of different ways. For now it's one step after another and that's all.
Things are not good here but I won't bore you guys with any of the gory details. Suffice it to say I see a lawyer in my future if only for consultation. Sigh. Mom is the same but ever so slowly going downhill. It hurts to see that and I have a hard time with it. I find myself wishing the stroke had just taken her, then and there.
AZ -- I am so sorry about your mom. I remember when my mom got sick and started on her final voyage. I was blessed with two sisters, and we clung together and drew closer as the end came, knowing that all we had were each other.
Too often I am reminded we are the weird ones. Hold tight to the brother that counts. Virtual hugs to you both...
The New Year nears...and of course life goes on as before for many...cannot help but wonder what the new year holds though, it seems like a new fresh start. This past year wasn't one of the easier for me. Perhaps with new ideas and plans and resolve there will be some positive surprises in store. Turning 66...I feel like I felt when I was a junior in high school going into my senior year, the senior league. I joined the Optimist Club and prepared for graduation into the unknown. Any thoughts of how things might go this coming year for you?
AZ -- I am so sorry about your mom. I remember when my mom got sick and started on her final voyage. I was blessed with two sisters, and we clung together and drew closer as the end came, knowing that all we had were each other.
Too often I am reminded we are the weird ones. Hold tight to the brother that counts. Virtual hugs to you both...
That is what I hoped for here with my brothers. Alas, it was not to be. My 'other brother' is mad at me now! If he had his way there would be no obituary, no memorial, etc. and I simply cannot go along with that. Don't want an entire church family coming after me either! He doesn't want brother's gf included in the obituary either. Neither of us like her but...I have NO intentions of causing even more strife in this family but I can't help it if he's mad at me. Maybe I'll give up BOTH brothers! No, I wouldn't do that but geez.
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At our age....write things in pencil.
Aloha
