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!