Christmas - local burglary

A few days ago I was greeted by Mr Plod making enquiries about a burglary that had occurred a few houses away.  Some unlucky householder had some power tools stolen from their garage.  It was mid morning and my brain could not remember that I had seen anything unusual to help with their investigations so I sent them away with nothing.  Later, I did remember a lot of things - a car sat across the road from me and a man dressed oddly who was looking at or talking to his mobile phone. I contacted the police with the details and, today, they are coming to take a statetement from me.  It would be good to think that this might catch the thief but I doubt I will ever know.

What surprises me in such situations is just how unobservant we can be.  We think we take in a lot but, in reality, we miss such a lot of the detail.  Racking my brain I could only trawl up so much information.  Even more annoying and puzzling in this case was that Rod and I were driving away from our house and I even commented on it being odd that a car was sat where it was and that it was not a car I had seen before.  So, why oh why did I not note the car's registration number or make?  Perhaps I will do better if this ever happens again. 

Practising for full retirement

We are having a beautiful, if cold spell of weather and Rod has 2 days off work to give us a long weekend together.  As I am so organised for Christmas (don't you just hate me?) we have tried to make the best of the time and get out and about.  On Saturday we went for a walk at Calshot which sits at the end of Southampton Water and looks out over the Solent.  We walked up through a soggy field past Fawley Power Station that is soon to close.

and watched a huge container ship pass into Southampton Water and dwarf all the buildings at the end of Calshot Spit.  

The walk back was along the water's edge so we could look across the very tranquil water to the Isle of Wight.  Lucy loved eyeing up the birds but most were just out of her reach.

Back at the car we sat like two old dears (practising for full retirement) and had a picnic in the sun.

Today we ventured further afield and went to Highcliffe in Dorset.  I have not been there since I was a child as, normally, we go to Mudeford when we go down that way.  We parked at Highcliffe Castle - a magnificent building built mainly between 1831 and 1836 as a realisation of one man's fantasy.  He was Lord Stuart de Rothesay, a distinguished diplomat who had known and loved the cliff-top site overlooking Christchurch Bay since he was a boy.

We walked down through woods and a small nature reserve to the beach - spotting a jay, robins and grey wagtails on the way. The beach was busy with other dog walkers enjoying the fresh air and sun and we even met a Lucy look-a-like.   The cliff is made of sandstone that is clearly eroding away and nothing like as spectacular as the backdrop to the beaches we have visited in Devon and Wales.

The day was rounded off with a visit to the Castle tea rooms for a light snack- very nice it was too.

How to get rich

..... become a dentist.  Yesterday I had to visit my private dentist for a filling and came away with an estimate for some other work he thought I needed that will cost £488!  I would love to know how much all the products actually cost the dentist and how much of that £488 will be profit.  Now that I am semi-retired, this is not welcome news but, in order to keep my teeth,  I guess I will have the work done....eventually.  I've been to the dentist several times so I know the drill!

This reminds me of a few jokes....

Q. What is a dentist's office called?
A. A filling station

Q. What did the dentist say to the golfer?
A. You have a hole in one.

December has arrived and Christmas lights are now adorning many of the houses around us.  We put ours up at the weekend but have not yet switched them on as it seems too early just yet.  A nearby neighbour has a 'blow up Santa' outside their house which looks great.   The trouble is, he deflates quite easily so poor old Santa is usually a heap on the ground!  

We also have red lights along the hedge but I failed to get a good photo with those too.

My step brother and his wife, Terry and Marian, popped in for a cuppa on Friday evening on their way to stay the night with Christine.  This seems to be their annual trip to exchange Christmas presents so doubt we will see them again until well into next year.

This afternoon my neighbour, Chris, is going to join me for a short dog walk and coffee - something I expect will happen fairly often as she too is retired.  Tomorrow my brother, David, is coming to stay overnight as he is working in Fareham for a few days.  It will be good to see him and catch up on the family news.

Preparing for Christmas

Today is the first sub-zero morning of the winter (-1degree Celsius) - brrr! It is difficult to know the best way to keep the house warm but not waste gas and electricity.  Whilst Rod and I were both at work we just set the heating to come on for a short time in the morning and evening.  Now I am at home I do not want to feel cold.  I am wrapping up in warm layers and am experimenting with having the heating on constant but turning the thermostat to 15 degrees over night and tweaking it up a couple of degrees as and when I need it in the day and evening.  Until I see a bill I do not know if this is going to be a good idea or not - watch this space.

The last few days have been spent making Christmas puddings and a cake for Christmas.  The puddings look delicious but the cake was a bit of a disaster so, today, I am going to make version 2 (using a different recipe!).  I thought I was using a recipe I had used before but, in hindsight, think I was mistaken.  The recipe was fine - it was the cooking time that was so wrong and it ended up over-cooked even though I kept looking at it through the oven door.  My head was telling me that the time was far too long but I put too much trust in the recipe - silly me.  Usually my instincts are right so I am cross that I ignored them.  It's the first time I have ever needed to make a replacement cake but as the mother-in-law is with us for Christmas it had better be right!

Yesterday I had my first go at making lasagne using the pasta attachment on my Kenwood.   I think it is fair to say that I have 'room for improvement' as the pasta was a little thicker than ideal and more dense than expected.  I have now read all about making pasta and think next time will be 100% better.  As with a lot of cooking there is a certain amount of instinct required as well as knowing what to expect at each stage of the process.

Retirement is starting to 'kick in' now.   Yesterday I was cleaning my downstairs windows (partly to keep warm as the temperature is dropping fast now) and my neighbour, Chris (also retired), came across and asked "Are you so bored already that you have resorted to cleaning windows?".  I laughed and said "No, but for the first time in years I have got the time to do them and I hate looking out of dirty windows".

I am still managing to fill my days and keep busy but am starting to realise that at some point (probably after Christmas), I will need to have something constructive to do to keep me interested and give me a reason to get up and get going.

Short break in Devon

Just back from a long weekend trip to Devon with our friends, Andy and Amanda and their two dogs, Max and Millie.  We had a lovely time and a mixed bag of weather from sun and blue sky to drizzly rain.  We stayed in a converted barn in the middle of a 130 acre nature reserve - it was fab! 

We had a lovely double-sided log burner between the lounge and kitchen-diner.  Lucy was trying to get at Max and Millie's food bowls and, as you can see, got a bit stuck.  Fortunately the fire was not on at the time!

The nature reserve that surrounded us was lovely to walk in as long as you had wellie boots....it was very muddy and very wet.  We found a few almost deserted beaches that were beautiful so spent a lot of time there so that we could watch Lucy running up and down the beach on the pristine sand.  

She loved all the rock pools and seaweed.

 I loved the amazing geology - I have a lot of photos of rocks to prove it!  

On Saturday night we saw the most spectacular display of stars as there was so little light pollution where we were staying. To our amazement, we saw some shooting stars and later discovered that it was the best night to see the Leonids meteor shower!  How lucky was that?

I have now been semi-retired for a whole week and my feet have hardly touched the ground.  How did I manage to work such long hours in the past?

I am now semi-retired!

Yesterday was my last day working for a client and turned out to be a very active day....just when  I thought I was going to be able to sit down and relax for 5 minutes! My leaving the client happened quickly but I was given a nice send off with a beautiful and huge present - a rhododendron in a massive pot and a bottle of bubbly.  Nice speeches were made by the boss and myself so we all parted on amicable terms.  I am not sorry to be leaving as I have thought long and hard about doing this hut I did have a bit of a lump in my throat as I walked out when I realised I had finally done it.

Yesterday also happened to be my Aunty Nina's 97th birthday and I could not miss that so rushed over to see her and give her a small gift.  She is quite remarkable for her age and has the most phenomenal long term memory.

Next I visited my 90 year old step mum and took over some more Christmas presents I had bought and wrapped for her so they would be ready for her son to collect when he next visits....supposedly before the end of November.

My day ended with a visit from my cousin, Joy, and her partner Alan, as Alan needed some help with his email setup.  We were semi successful.

Lucy came to all these events of the day but was very good throughout.  As a reward she had little walks in between and got pampered all evening....as a dog should be treated!  Oh, and I glugged a couple of glasses of red wine in celebration...though the real celebration will be when we see some friends this weekend....more on that in a future blog!!

One day to go

Yesterday I delivered my last training session and tomorrow I clear my desk and hand in my keys.  I have no more work for the client that I am leaving. At the end of yesterday I felt a little jaded as the atmosphere with my client is not as I would have expected after 10 years service and giving my all.  I was ignored by many staff - though, to be fair, that has been the norm and one of the reasons I wanted to leave.  Maybe it is the modern way of working but a 'good morning' and small amount of banter is nice and makes the office feel more friendly.  It is sad that the only communication is with email....even if the other person only sits 2 metres away from you!  I guess the lesson from my life at work is that we are all dispensable and employers will take what they can (for a wage, of course) but will drop you like a stone if it suits them.

Today I have work to do for another client and will then spend the rest of the day walking Lucy and cooking, which I enjoy.

Tomorrow will be an interesting morning....will I just walk in and walk out of the office and will anyone notice I am gone? What will I feel like after I have finally left?   I wonder.

Autumnal colours

Autumn is definitely here and tree colours are changing fast.  Today was a beautiful sunny day so we took advantage of that and took Lucy for a run round Farley Mount near Winchester.  It seems to be one place that is not swimming in mud after all the recent rain.

The weather is set to be a bit mixed this week so I hope we don't have any strong winds to blow the leaves off the trees as they are starting to look beautiful and that lifts your spirits.  If blue sky and colourful trees make us feel more cheerful, why do we all tend to wear drab coloured clothes in winter?  Surely, we ought to dress in brighter colours in the gloom of winter to make us all feel more cheerful?

Three days to go before I formally start my semi-retirement but lots to do in the meantime with several training sessions to deliver.

5 working days to semi-retirement!

Am I counting the days? No, of course not! Actually, I am really looking forward to being released from a daily grind of work that no longer gives me a buzz.  It has been weeks since I told my client I was leaving them and, at long last, some of them are waking up to this fact and have asked for training.  So, tomorrow, that is what I will do.  There are other aspects of my work that have not been discussed in any detail so I hope I do not get a lot of last minute requests as I will not be impressed.

Although I am not working full time any more I have still been extremely busy with work from another client.  I am expecting that to quieten down soon and am not quite sure how I will feel when I get a few days on the trot with no work to do.  I am expecting this to happen so am trying to get a few ideas of what I can do to keep meyself occupied and feeling useful.  As we have not done a lot around the house since we moved in 25 years ago, we are now seriously considering revamping our en-suite, bathroom and, possibly, kitchen.  They are all a bit jaded.  I have started to look at what is available and draw up some plans so we can get people in to give us quotes.  I quite enjoy this sort of thing and, as their is no rush, will take my time and enjoy the research.

A 'typical' day off

Well, yesterday, Rod and I planned a day off work but, as usual, I got a deluge of 'very urgent' requests.....which, in my opinion would not have been urgent if people planned their work a little better.  I do not like to let people down but nor do I like the (over the years) frequent requests for me to work on a day off, weekend or Bank Holiday.  To some extent this goes with the job and, if planned and agreed, I do not have an issue with it.

Before I had received these 'urgent' requests and in order to make it a pleasant day, Rod and I went off to the New Forest for a walk with Lucy.  Unfortunately, we found the road closed near to our destination.  Not to be defeated we tried another road but came across a rather deep looking ford so decided to turn around.  The New Forest was extremely wet after all the rain and, as we did not have our wellingtons or flippers with us, decided to  go back home and walk from there.

I finally started work at 9pm and worked until 11pm when I decided to stop so I would not disturb Rod.  I was up again at 6am today to complete the job only to find I had no access to the systems.   Eventually they woke up and I finished at 8:15am.

Work levels now reduced

I am mid-way through handing over my workload and all is going well.  I am now working from home and only working when queries arise - this is forcing people to take over my work and make sure they can cope when I formally leave on 14 Nov 2012.  I do not want phone calls after I have gone as I want to move on to my new phase in life.  This cartoon sums up why I am choosing semi-retirement - you need to stop before it's too late 'cos we don't want to end up like this!

I do have a small amount of other work that I will continue with for the foreseeable future but that tends to quieten down over winter so it is likely that, from now on, I will have very little work until sometime next year.  As yet I have had no difficulty filling my day but I have not yet had a week with no work to do.  It will be interesting to see at what point I wake up and think 'what on earth am I going to do today?'

I have a list as long as my arm of things I want to do including....

• loads more cooking
• getting back to tracking my family tree and putting it into a format that can be handed on to the next generation
• having a go at writing a short story or, maybe, a book
• more exercise.....Lucy will make sure I get some
• getting to know some of my neighbours better - those that I meet dog walking or that are my sort of age
• sprucing up the house and garden - these have been neglected a bit in recent years

It will be interesting to see how many of these I do and whether I get side-tracked into other ventures.  In the longer term, once Rod has retired, I hope we can have more holidays away...mainly self-catering for a change of scenery but also, perhaps, some more travel abroad.

A busy week

I thought I was supposed to be slowing up but I seem to be as busy as ever.  I have almost let go of half my workload but am in a handover phase so have had bits of work to do.  In between times, I have been doing a little cooking - something I hope to do more of as time permits.  Tomorrow Rod and I will taste the roasted red pepper soup I made with 6 red peppers I got from a local market stall for £1.  I have also spent about a day wrapping Christmas presents!  Yes, I am so organised that I have already got and wrapped almost all my Christmas presents and can now 'enjoy' watching everyone else panicking as they try to find time to buy and wrap theirs.  

For years, I have tried to do the bulk of my Christmas shopping by 1 November as it is much easier to make purchases before the shops get over crowded.  I know some people think I am mad but it does help to take the pressure out of Christmas.

Yesterday I saw a Red Admiral butterfly on the grass and then attached to the kitchen window as it basked in the sun.  Apparently, they are becoming more likely to see with warmer winters and global warming....especially in the South of England.

Dog walking

Yesterday we met Andy and Amanda with their 2 dogs Max and Millie at a rather gloomy Lee-on-Solent.  We are trying to make sure their dogs and Lucy get on as we are planning a short break together and don't want a 'dog eat dog' situation!  They all got on fine and thoroughly enjoyed a romp on the beach.  One thing that caused a little amusement was how I nearly got stuck in the sand a few times as I sank in rather more than usual......hopefully not due to any weight gain!  We visit this beach from time to time and I have never seen so much soft, 'sinkable-into' sand before...odd.  I must try to find out what causes this.

We finally retired to sit outside the Fisherman's Rest at Titchfield.  That brought back some nice memories as, in the 1980's I worked at Plessey and used to play tennis with my work colleagues just up the road from this pub.  Those were great times.

Beautiful, sunny day

It has been a super, sunny day but very chilly due to much lower temperature than of late and a bit of a breeze to add a little wind chill. Brrrr.  It was far too nice to sit indoors so we had a long walk with Lucy, our friend Amanda and her two dogs Max and Millie.  Maybe it was seeing the sun that made me feel euphoric but I thoroughly enjoyed the fresh air, the chat with a good friend and watching the dogs enjoying themselves.

On the way back home, I took this photo of a maize field near us.

The maize has clearly been a disaster this year as normally it would be higher than me and a nice green colour.  The farmer must be disappointed.  Since I last visited this field a new fence has appeared.  There are rumours that this field might be converted into a recreation ground. I hear so many rumours about land around us that I now take the approach 'I will believe it when I see it'.

The end of an era

Today may be my last day in the office but........this has been a very strange week at work with the client I am leaving.  I announced some weeks ago that I intended to leave and gave them oodles of notice so there would be plenty of opportunity to handover work.  I would have expected that my manager would have wanted to discuss the handover and agree a leaving date but, no, that was not the case until I got more persistent.  In the end I got a short meeting that, to me, was very unsatisfactory.  This has left me in a strange position....wanting to be helpful but feeling I do not know who they want me to handover to or when my final day will be. In reality, I now believe that they do not have anyone for me to handover to and I am just not important to them any more.  Ever feel like you have been dropped like a stone after they have squeezed everything out of you over the years?

It's funny but in conversations with friends and family in the last few weeks I have detected a feeling of unhappiness and tensions in the workplace that are all caused by a 'dog eat dog' attitude that seems to have become more prevalent of late.  Is this a result of the recession or is this what the current workforce think is right and acceptable? What comes across to me very strongly is that managers can't manage but think they can manage.  Most are totally oblivious to the feelings of their workforce and most think they work as part of a team.  (I suspect this is partly to do with the fact that there are still many, many more male managers than female managers). More and more I have seen individuals working to their own agenda because they do not have consistent (or any) direction from above.

So, today I will do some training to people I have organised and finish off a few things then....bye-bye client.  (I have given them a final leaving day of 14 Nov 2012 so they have a few weeks to contact me with questions but, after that, they are on their own).  I doubt I will ever know how much or if they will miss me but that's life.

Autumn has arrived

Today, Rod and I had a day off.  After clearing the remains of the willow tree branch from the garden we set off to look at Kenwood Chefs and to buy a few Christmas presents (yes, really!).  I love cooking and have been considering treating myself to a Kenwood Chef as a semi-retirement present to myself.  My thinking is that I will then do more baking and cooking once I have more time on my hands.  I can keep Rod supplied with homemade bread and cookies for work - which might help to keep him happy.  On the way back from the shops we went to Stokes Bay near Gosport to give Lucy a walk on the beach.  We bought some scrummy sandwiches in the nearby cafe and sat in the car to eat them.  By 2:30pm the mist had come down, we could not distinguish the sea from the sky and all we could hear was foghorns! We think it seemed like a pleasant area to visit but will have to go back another day when we can see something of the surroundings! The trees are turning colour and the misty days have started. It seems that Autumn has arrived.

The willow tree gets tidied up

We thought we were going to have to 'get a man in' to help us cut down the broken branch from the willow tree.  Fortunately we had a 'real man' staying with us this weekend who told us that for the purchase of the right equipment (less than £10) we could do the job ourselves.  So...that is what happened....

Roy and Marian have taken home a boot full of logs for their wood burning stove and we have bags and bags of the remains to take to the dump tomorrow.   I am optimistic that we can now tidy some other trees that overhang our garden - though that might have to wait for drier weather in the Spring.

Porchester Castle visit

This weekend we have had some friends staying and we decided to take them for a trip down to Porchester Castle.  It was quite busy but that was probably as it was a place you can walk that is not too muddy underfoot.  We walked around the outside of the walls along the edge of the sea shore and then in through the gate to a large open grassed area with a church in the corner.  There was a wedding in progress so we could not go inside the church.

There was a little excitement as we walked along the sea shore as some sailing boats were being brought out of the water on a remote controlled vehicle.  Very clever.  Now we know how it's done.  What did amuse us was the number of men in hard hats that it seemed to take to do this....most were standing around watching.

'The' announcement and my twisted willow tree

It has now been formally announced that I am to retire from one of my clients at Christmas.  It was announced at a lively staff meeting just after I was presented with a beautiful pen and pencil set for completing 10-years service with that client.  Will they miss me?  Who knows?  Time will tell.

Just as I thought I was going to be able relax for the weekend with some friends that are arriving tomorrow for the weekend, we noticed that our beautiful twisted willow tree in our back garden has a large split in one of the biggest branches.

Split branch in middle of photo

It has been raining all day and we have been working so not had a chance to tackle it yet.  Fortunately, it is not windy so, fingers crossed, it will remain intact overnight and, we hope, we may be able to start to chop it down before our friends arrive at 12 noon...that's just before I finish the cleaning and make a lasagne and bread and butter pudding for lunch!

One day I hope to have the time to add some decent photos to this blog as plain writing is a bit dull....just need the time to do it.

A busy week

This week is turning out to be very busy.   Work has been piling in from my clients - with several urgent, last minute requests - don't  I just love those?  I am feeling very overloaded what with trying to fit in shopping (for myself and my step-mum), washing, cleaning etc,  planning for a weekend of visitors and my having to go to a long meeting so a client can present me with a 10 years service award and announce my retirement to their staff.

One thing I have found in recent years is the huge pressure of trying to help and look after elderly family and have a demanding job. I have struggled for years to keep my career going as I am very ambitious.  However, in the end, I realised that is is not.a fair world and, as a woman, I get the burden of housework, shopping and caring for the family so having the sort of career I would like is just not feasible,  That is one of the reasons I have decided to start to let my work go.  Another reason is that I have worked hard and long hours all my working life and feel it is now time to allow some 'me' time.  In some ways I feel selfish saying that but I dream of the day I can sit and have lunch without having to do something else (usually emails) at the same time.

A few months ago, before I made the final decision to semi-retire, I was quite anxious that I was making the right decision.  Today, I am feeling quite confident that it IS the right decision.  Time will tell.

Sunny but cool weekend

It has been a sunny but cool weekend.  Yesterday we had a few heavy downpours but we managed to dodge those when out walking Lucy.   Saturday morning I decided to work to make life easier next week but I was not very happy doing this when the sun was shining outside.  This is something I am really looking forward to not doing too often in the future...one definite advantage of semi-retirement.  

Later on Saturday I visited a new fruit and veg stall that has appeared in recent months at a garden centre a half a mile or so up the road.  It's great and I intend to give it as much support as I can to keep it going.

On Saturday evening we walked to Andy and Amanda, and joined them and their dogs for dinner.  We had a very scrummy meal of lamb shanks that were heaven to eat and one of my favourite dishes.

Today, Sunday, has been a gloriously sunny day.  We went to my cousin, Daphne, for a walk and late lunch.  Daphne and Chris are super cooks so we had another delicious meal...the main course being a lamb tagine....another one of my favourite dishes.  Lucy spent today with her dog sitter, Georgie, and her 4 cats.   Amazingly they all get on pretty well and Georgie is just great with Lucy.

I am not looking forward to this week at work as I just want to finish work with one client and start my semi-retirement.  To add to my dislike of this week, I am going to a long meeting at which I will be recognised for having done 10 years with one of my clients and they will announce my retirement.  It's all a bit awkward as I do not know if I will be expected to make a short speech or not.  I hate leaving places and would much rather there was no fuss and I could just say 'goodbye' when the time comes.  I wonder how many other people feel like me?  I have no idea.

It's Friday

Isn't it amazing how, as soon as you tell a business you are leaving, everyone wants everything done? I am a strong believer in succession planning and, despite 10 years of 'banging on' about it, no one backs me up.  I have had years of not taking my holidays when I would really like to so that I was available for client work when they wanted it.  It will be great to escape from those ties.  Don't get me wrong.  I work very hard to give clients what they want when they want it but, as they say, 'it takes two to tango'.   There has to be some give and take.

I also dislike clients that decide at 4:55pm on a Friday that they need something doing - especially when they could have foreseen this request weeks ago if they had thought about it. Why do people do this over and over again and think it is reasonable?  Do they have family and friends they want to spend time with at the weekend?  If so, why do they think this is their prerogative and not the prerogative of others?

I know we live in a 24 hours a day, 7 days a week society and everyone expects to be able to do almost everything at any time these days. As I have got older, I accept that there are big pluses but also big minuses.  Maybe we should rein back a bit and have some times when we can all relax with families, walk the streets without huge queues of traffic blasting out their fumes and just slow down a little.  No wonders the NHS is overstretched (but don't get me started on that one!)

To round off a hectic day, Rod and I took a stroll round the block with Lucy.

As you can see the sun was shining at the time but 45 mins later the heavens opened.  It has been a much drier day today than yesterday and we have seen the sun at last.  Let's hope it lasts the weekend!

Still working

The last few days have been fairly typical of late.  Usually I am working hard all morning after taking Lucy out for her early morning walk. Luckily she is able to come to work with me and curls up in her basket beside me.  She is always very enthusiastic to go to work as she gets lots of attention from the other staff. I wonder how much she will miss this when I finally stop this work?

My afternoons are also often busy with other work although this can be more intermittent and I can do it from home.  This is one of the reasons I have decided to carry on with this job for the foreseeable future.  It also let's me 'slide' into retirement in a more controlled way.

I also visit my 90 year old step-mum from time to time and, today, did just that.  I managed to help her sort out her Christmas shopping list - which I will order online for her.  Somehow she has managed to persuade me to wrap them for her too.  Hmmm.... I am not sure that was what I really  intended to happen as I have enough to do at present!!  My  'cunning' plan is to have her over to lunch one weekend and get her to 'help' me do the wrapping.  

My blog is devoid of photos but when I (a) get more time and (b) work out an easier way to update the blog with photos than I tried at the weekend, I will try to add some more.

Well, I think I must be having a taste of retirement as it's only 8:30pm and my husband is already snoring beside me!  Is this a taste of things to come, I wonder?!

A day to reflect

Today I had a day off work with Rod - a rare time for us to do as much or as little as we want. It has been a very grey, gloomy, drizzly day - a complete contrast to yesterday when the sun shone and we sat outside a pub and had lunch with Richard, our friend visiting us from Skye. At least it is still very mild so that's a bonus, I guess.

This morning, we decided to take Lucy, our King Charles Cavalier, for a run on the beach at Lee-on-Solent. She loves getting wet and eating seaweed - though it has to be the right kind. Once home she was thrown in the bath to clean her up and is now looking absolutely gorgeous!

Grey sea, grey sky ... you can just make out Rod and Lucy in the gloom.

I said this was a day to reflect so Rod and I have time to think a bit about where we would like to live in the future and consider some options as to what we might do with our lives once he retires in however many years time. We really do not know all the answers so started to make a list of things we thought we would like and things we thought we would dislike. For example, we'd like to live somewhere that is peaceful but not too remote, not too far from the coast and where there are good dog walks from the door. There is no rush to move as we live in a lovely house and have all the modern conveniences near by BUT we don't feel it is right for our long term future.

One thing is certain, I certainly do not want to vegetate once I retire!

This blog will get updated as often as I have time to do it.  

Approaching semi-retirement

I am almost 59 years old and have anguished for the last few years about when to retire and what life will be like after working all my life.  Will I get bored?  Will I end up with a humdrum life that feels dull and lonely? Will it turn out to be the best decision of my life?  Today, I really do not know.

I have looked around the Internet for people's real stories about what it feels like to move from a hectic work life into retirement and found surprisingly little.  I am very nervous about whether I am making the right decision to give up half my workload by the end of the year and start the transition into retirement.  I have no children or grandchildren to keep me occupied...just a husband and small dog.  Today, a friend of mine was visiting me from Skye and said "Why don't you write a blog?".  Well, after a little thought, it seemed like a good idea for three reasons:
(a) it will give me something specific to do each day 
(b) I will not want to write a boring blog so that might give me an incentive to do something 'interesting' each day and 
(c) other people might benefit from my 'warts and all' story.

I have made the decision to stop at least half of my work at or by Christmas and keep my other work on for an unknown period of time whilst I adjust to a slower lifestyle.  

So, this is the start of my blog.  Where it will lead who knows.  It is, I hope, the start of an exciting journey...we'll see!