Wednesday Workday .... Cancelled!

Cancelled on account of much needed rain.

So, thoughts and some updates instead.

Retirement 101

This was my first official week of retirement.  It was nice to get up every morning, to to Jazzercise and then "retire" to the garden to work.  That was good for Monday and Tuesday and then the monsoons came.  We are not talking Texas-style rain, thank you very much, but the kind that gardeners love ... slow and steady and for two and a half days and counting.  It is supposed to move out mid-day tomorrow.  So far, we have 2.5 inches - enough to replenish the ground level water - at least for a few weeks. 

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The first hydrangeas of the season.  More than I had all last year.

There were several things on my "to do" list for the week, but they will wait until next week.

Replacing the Floors

Three days of hanging out at Starbucks and Panera while three strong young men labored at the house, and the floors are done ... again.  We like the results and actually like this wood better than the "old", so it's all good.  An added benefit was that we cleaned out a few things as we packed up all the bookcases.  

Now we just have to unpack and replace everything wherever it belongs.  The insurance company has been great to work with ... we were really lucky with that, I think. 

This is Why we Blog

In the mailbox today was a lovely box of apricots!  Home grown apricots from Arizona, thanks to the very wonderful Annika at Living a Dream!  I have drooled in her comments box for several years as her yield has grown annually, and she sent me a whole box - all my own!!  They are delicious.

Sweet and perfectly ripe.  Delicious!

But more importantly, they are a thoughtful gesture of friendship from someone i know only thru our blogs.
There's a great community out here supporting each other and caring about each others' lives.  You can't beat that.  It's reason enough to keep posting - even if one doesn't have anything to say everyday. 

Thanks so much, Annika!

At Long Last ....

Today is the first year of the rest of my life .... retirement!

I can pull out all the cliches and I may need to go search out some of the bumper stickers, but the reality is that the day I have awaited for so long finally arrived at 3:00 yesterday when my co-workers and boss gave me a nice little low key send off and - sent me off!

This is my new office.  Breakfast served daily and cocktails if it's not raining.

It's nice to know that every day is now Saturday, and that I can plan things around when I really want to do them - like putting off getting the car washed until Monday, when they won't be so busy.

Meanwhile, the garden grows and the renovation of the 'office' into the 'music room' is well underway.  

Remember the recent flood?
The floor installer comes on Monday to start ripping out the remaining "old" floor and begin installing the new one.

Right wall is painted; left is not.  Can't find the "before" photos that show all my furniture.
Now I am reduced to a folding table.  I love it!

We have sold or given away 90% of the old office furniture and I have painted the room, so when the floor gets installed we will be ready for new furniture.  We have chosen a new glass-topped desk with matching shelving and a futon, so I hope to be ready to go in about two weeks.

Mitchell is poised to move the harp in as soon as there is floor.

Touches like valences and pillow can wait a bit, until I have time to go look for the right fabric.  I have enough Webb-family genes that I plan to make all that myself.

Meanwhile, breakfasts on the new patio to enjoy the garden and then a bit of weed pulling, trimming, or whatever needs to be done.  My list is more than a page long, so plenty to keep me busy for a few weeks until it's too hot - even early in the mornings. 

Had planned to show you the sunrise this morning, but overslept.
This is 5:30-ish.

I hope to post a bit more frequently now, even if it's only Wednesday Workdays. 

Hope all of you will have as good a June as I am planning!

In Memory

of Lewis Burwell Puller, Jr.   (1948 - 1994)

Marine

Lawyer

Advocate for the Disabled

Author

Pulitzer Prize Winner

Son

Husband

Father

Friend

Though he came home to us, he never really left Vietman.

 "To the list of names of victims of the Vietnam War, add the name of Lewis Puller ... He suffered terrible wounds that never really healed".   .. Toddy Puller, 1994

The Pond is Gone - part 2

When I put in the pond, I also created a seating area so that one could actually sit and look at the fish.  With the pond gone and a new sitting area to replace it, the "old" sitting area needed to go, too. 

The crabapple tree was behind the glider in the summer of 2009, but died a couple of years later. 

This was actually very easy and took minimal effort.   With the tree gone, the glider was sitting in full sun all day and we never used it.  While its view of the pond was wonderful, it just wasn't a pleasant place to be. 

Granted, this was taken in early March before anything started coming up, but you can see that it was a pretty barren place to be!

The barrel held oregano - like the area's largest single clump - that i have used extensively in cooking, so I wanted to maintain that, but not necessarily in such a huge clump.  And, the barrel was rotting away.  

Another blue pot to the rescue. 

This one contains a new rosemary, along with new oregano and just for fun two stevia plants.

All done and planted with Romas and Brandywine tomatoes. 

So a little soil clean up, and an afternoon of Mitchell's time making a raised bed, and voila!  A new bed for Roma tomatoes for this summer's red sauce.  I can hardly wait.

Almost Heaven!

And, finally I promised you the view if you are sitting on the glider now.  Breakfast out here is becoming a habit!