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.