Retirement Home Agenda

from Reader's Digest

When we drink our morning coffee in our jammies, we talk about the day's plans. I usually suggest a thing or two while Gary is either too sleepy to say much or just wants to keep his thoughts to himself until he's seen the weather forecast. Often by day's end he's muttering with his mock grouchy face things like: "You worked me too hard!" 🙄 

Yeah, right. We're retired. How hard do we really work?! (Maybe more than you would think.)

goodbye, Bench

Yesterday we had a plan to do one thing and then that led to this and this led to that, and (you get the idea). One of those things was to list my black metal bench on our neighborhood marketplace -- for free. It was a nice bench, but we never sit on it (it was more attractive than comfortable) and was just another thing to secure outside when there is a serious storm threat.

Yes, I could have put a $$ tag on it but I just didn't want to deal with the calls that come with the games people play in an effort to get something for nothing. So I stated in the ad that I'd bought the bench in 2018, and it was in excellent condition except that it needed a fresh coat of paint. It was FREE. As you can imagine, it was claimed in less than 30 minutes and was loaded into the new owner's SUV right after supper. G'bye!

Also yesterday we disassembled the gas grill and loaded it into the back of our truck to haul it off to the dump. It has not been used in a long time. We have a camp stove that takes up much less space should our power go out. We gave the nearly full propane tank to a neighbor.

one of our local nurseries

I suggested we go to a nearby nursery on our way home from the dump. We recently had a palm tree removed and have been wondering what to place on the flat stump that remains. It looks a lot like a table, just waiting for -- something.

A couple of bushes were purchased, along with a clump of Blue Daze flowers. We also took advantage of a sale to bring home this addition to our Asian-themed back yard:

Gary spent three years in Japan in his first Air Force assignment, so he's got an appreciation for the architecture. I like it, too.

Our pagodas are beautiful works of art. Occasionally a Gecko can be seen peering out through the windows, like tourists at a light house or the Statue of Liberty. 

For that palm tree stump, we ended up taking apart an oriental-style fountain we already had that had not been connected to water. Gary secured the bowl to the stump. 

As you can see by the diameter of the trunk, it was a very large palm. It had grown some 40 feet tall. In addition to the increased costs of maintenance (hiring a crane to trim the dying branches up so high), there was the worry of it crashing down on our roof some day in a turbulent storm.

evidence of yard work

Besides adding embellishments, a couple of large gangly bushes were dug up, replaced with something more suitable and other shrubs were trimmed. When Gary and I combined our households, one of the most useful things I brought to our union were 3 large bins from my years in Colorado. It always warms my heart that I could contribute something so practical and useful to Gary's enjoyment of trimming bushes and trees.

Earlier this week we added a couple more chairs to the patio setting and had some neighbors over for chocolate cream pie (courtesy of Publix). That was before the cold wind and a dive into cold temperatures arrived. I am pretty sure summer here in North Central Florida is finally over. 

Chocolate Creme Pie

Forgive the repetition from my last post, but here is another reference to my happiness that Gary can once again ride bikes with me. He's the one who got me started with cycling nearly 3 years ago but for the past 9 months he's been watching me pedal by our house from the comfort of a porch chair. 

Our neighbor was getting ready for his own morning athletics when he saw us and assumed we were getting ready to ride. Our response was that no, we had already been out and were just now returning home. He seemed impressed that the two old folks had got up and out so early!

When we ride our bikes into other neighborhoods within our [large] +55 retirement community, we pass by these metal dancers. (at least, I like to think of them as dancers) Such a cheery sight.

Another house we pass on our bicycles is this one with a flower box over the garage. I doubt the florals are real but aren't they pretty? I've never been to Europe, but I think of this as a charming Old World influence. 

entrance road to our guard gate

I suppose the above snapshot should be labeled "progress." We are in shock to see how our builder has literally bull-dozed a huge area to make room for more houses. All of that open area in the picture above used to be a DENSE forest of pine trees alongside about a half mile at the entrance to our community. Apparently it's been in the master plan all along that our development would build there, but after driving past the forest for years, the violent sudden removal of so many huge shade trees has been a serious jolt. You would think they could have just harvested the trees instead of burning them.

On the subject of change (baffling ones in particular), 2024 has been full of that for many of us. I won't list the ones that have affected me; I know many of you have had puzzling things going on in your experiences, too. In recent years I have had what I consider to be an unusual number of times when something unexpected confronted me and I truly did not know what to do. It's been like an Advanced Placement course in The School of Hard Knocks. In looking back, I see that in spite of the discomfort, all of my needs have been met. To be honest, I am a little wiser for the experiences, more cautious. In some situations I am less trusting, while more trusting in others. 

At this season of Thanksgiving, it's normal to review the year and draw some conclusions. It's my prayer that I'm hearing what God is saying to me, obeying His direction, and not messing up anybody else along the way with my responses. 

One of my Facebook friends recently posted this piece called, "The I don't know prayer." Perhaps you have seen it. I close with it and hope it comforts you the way it helps me.

Yes, Amen! Until next time, grace and peace.