Monthly Musings-February

It's the last Thursday of the month which means it's time for our Monthly Musings hosted by Patty (Good-Better-Best Life Blog). This month's topic is:  ways we make our weeks easier. 

Easier. Hmmm. Is life in retirement hard? 

No, not really. But also yes sort of. This season is much like every other season of our lives, except there's a lot more health related stuff and a lot less 8th grade algebra homework to stress you out.

No we're not running out the door early morning with kids in tow heading to high pressure jobs and juggling all the balls in between. But it's also not all late morning lattes wondering what in the world you're going to do today. 

I mean to be honest some days it is that, but mostly life in every season means dealing with things both large and small that vary in weight and importance. There's still laundry (a surprisingly lot of it for two people not working!), still meals to plan, shop for, and cook, still all the mundane household tasks, car repairs, taxes to file, blah blah blah. The kids may be grown and flown, but there are now aging parents to worry over. 

Also...about those grown children? They now have children of their own which adds a wonderful, lively takes- you-back-to-your-own-early-days-of-parenting sort of vibe to your days, and all that to say life is still plenty busy. It's just a different kind of busy. 

1. Paper planner, digital calendar, or other option. 

Don't come at me, but I use both paper and digital. I know,  I know... I should choose, but y'all I just cannot give up my paper planner. When I make an appointment or we have plans, travel, whatever, I do add it all to the digital version, but I update that paper planner regularly too. 

Digital might be handy, but it's not pretty and doesn't give you the same sort of satisfaction holding an actual product in your hand does. 

2. Meal planning, meal prep, or wing it. 

I plan meals, weekly for the most part. We're always up for spontaneous dinners out with friends, but I  still need to have a rough menu for the week. I would find not having a plan to be unnecessarily stressful. 

I can cook so if I need to wing it I will, but that is so rare. I make a menu for. the week, shop for ingredients, and for the most part stick pretty closely to that menu. 

3. Do you choose your outfit the night before? 

Nope. If I have an appointment, or we have church the next day, then yes I think ahead of time about what I'll wear, but life is super casual on the lake so dressing doesn't require a lot of planning. Swim suit-check. Cover up-check. Let's go. 

4. Tips for managing laundry and ironing. 

Throw a load in first thing in the morning and follow it through all the way to the putting away part of the job. Don't let laundry get away from you. 

Here's my tip for ironing-marry a man who excels at ironing. Works for me. 

5. Grocery shop in store or online. 

In store. Hubs likes to say I need to handle every single piece of produce before choosing the exact right one, and he's not wrong. For the most part I don't mind grocery shopping. 

6. Best tips for getting out the door in the morning without the chaos. 

Retire lol. 

7. Share your easiest dinners for crazy weeks. 

Tacos, breakfast for dinner, rotisserie chicken with some rice and veggies on the side, pasta sauce that's been frozen in batches to pull out when you're too exhausted to cook. Same with soups, chilis and stew. Make enough for two meals,  eat one when you make it and freeze the other. 

8. Best tips to keep your house organized during the week. 

Having grown kids certainly helps. Course then they have kids of their own and when they bring them to Nana's house all bets are off. 

9. Share your easiest breakfast. 

I make hard boiled eggs and keep those in the frig for an easy grab and go early morning protein.  I always have fruit and yogurt in the house. 

10. Share your best overall tip not covered. 

Set a timer for ten minutes and do a speed clean/pick up of an area that's making you twitch. 

Don't go to bed with dishes in the sink or crumbs on the counter. You might hate the idea of doing one more thing, but waking up to a sink full of dishes is a sad way to begin a new day. 

Prioritize sanity over perfection. 

You're doing great! 

Day Dating Episode Six

 Linking today with Talking About It Tuesdays hosted by Joanne

Welcome to Episode Six of The Dating Game. Hmmm...I like that. To catch you up, hubs and I are aiming for 52 dates in 52 weeks, and we're already a week behind because we had his momma here and leaving her home alone while we went out didn't feel right. 

We'll tack a week on at the end so all's well that end's well.  There will likely be a few more misses here and there, but if it's 52 dates in 55 weeks or 60 weeks that's okay too. It's not a test. 

If you read Monday's post then you already know we've had a lot going on here. Friday afternoon was our window and as both girls were leaving the house hubs looked at me and said, 'a nap would be nice'. Agreed. 

But the weather was glorious and we decided we'd feel better if we went out and we're both glad we did. Such a nice day! 

Daughter1 and her family had been to a nearby North Georgia town recently and seen a spectacular waterfall and a really cool museum, and we wanted to see it too, so that's where we headed. 

We left about noon and made the slightly less than one hour drive to a little town called Toccoa. Have you watched Band of Brothers? Toccoa is where Easy Company, 2nd batallion, 506th parachute infantry regiment of the 101st airborne had their basic training prior to D-Day. They're the focus of the series and their training at 'Camp Toccoa' included rigorous hikes up Currahee Mountain. It's where these soldiers became a literal band of brothers. The phrase Currahee became their motto and meant 'stand alone'. 

Hubs and I are watching the series start to finish now. The series came out in 2001, but I was unaware of the local connection until my son-in-law told us about it. 

Before going to the museum though, we had to see that waterfall. Toccoa Falls is oddly located on a small college campus. It's a 186 foot free falling waterfall, one of the tallest east of the Mississippi and it is positively stunning. The photos do not do it justice...this fall is actually higher than Niagara, but obviously not as wide or impressive. 

Still a beauty though! You drive on to the campus, park at the gift shop and pay a small entry fee, then take the short walk out to the falls. 

And there they are-

Just beautiful. 

We stood for a while, then drove into town to visit the museum (Currahee Military Museum).  I've been in a lot of WW2 related museums and this one, while small, is jam packed with so much. 

It's located at the site of the old train depot, which is where soldiers arrived before making the five mile hike to Camp Toccoa. The museum tells the story of trainees who went on to become some of the most physically fit soldiers in the army. More than 18,000 paratroopers trained here prior to and after D-Day. 

One of the best parts of the museum is an actual stable from Adlbourne England that housed paratroopers during the war. The story of how they brought it here is told too and it's really something. 

We had plans to get sushi for an early dinner back at the lake so we had about an hour to fill before heading home. We had seen a sign as we were driving around earlier for a winery and decided to check it out. Once we found it that is...GPS struggled and we went around in circles a couple of times, but eventually we got there. 

The sun was shining so we ordered a glass of wine, sat outside, and soaked it in. 

We left there and made our way back to laketown and a sushi dinner-

'Twas a great day. 

Day Datin'

Retirement is funny. We should have all this time to figure out fun places to go and new things to see, but between home maintenance-cleaning-improvement tasks that need doing, grandchildren that need grand-ing, appointments that need attending, and our various hobbies and volunteer commitments, the days fly right on by. 

Most weeks Wednesdays are a day we're both pretty free so I've declared it date day (hi hubs!). I'm trying to put a few things on the calendar for us to do together, even if it's just lunch someplace new. 

I was determined to find some fall last week so we drove about an hour from the lake to an apple orchard everyone talks about that we've never visited. When we lived in New Jersey we had a lot of orchards around us and apple picking happened every fall. I miss that so last week we made it happen. 

For starters, the day could not have been more beautiful. The sky was a bright blue, with some puffy clouds and a nice temperature for being out of doors. The orchard was just across the state line in the 'other Carolina', and sits atop a mountain, hence the name-Sky Top. 

We thought we might pick the apples ourselves, but when we stepped into their little shop and saw it loaded with bags and bags of freshly picked apples we decided to buy instead. 

We walked out into the orchard though, and wandered the property to see what all was there. 

For starters there was an apple cannon. 

We saw it in action and it was powerful. They gave you earphones to wear because it was also loud. 

There was a duck pond, some play spaces for kids to run and climb, picnic tables, and donuts right out of the cooker. There are few things better on a fall day than a warm cider donut. 

Just ask this guy. 

We bought apples, apple butter, apple cider, and some peanut brittle to take home, then headed in to the nearby town of Flat Rock for lunch. 

We'd never been to Flat Rock so relied on the internet for a lunch recommendation. We ended up at the Highland Lake Inn and Resort's restaurant- Seasons. 

The property has a long history dating back to the late 1700's, and over the years it evolved from a grist mill and private estate into a summer retreat for wealthy families. Throughout the 20th century it served as a school, camp, and Catholic retreat center and in 1985 was transformed into an inn and conference center. Today the focus is hospitality, dining, and preserving its historic charm. 

Hubs and I both had a cup of their homemade butternut squash soup and a salad, and both were delish.

Did I take a picture of my date? Nope. Just lunch lol. 

After lunch we drove about a mile down the road to check out Carl Sandburg's home. Through the years, on our treks north and south, we'd see the historic marker signs on the interstate, but we never took the time to get off the highway and see what it was all about.

The house sits above the town, and it's a little bit of a hike to get to it. There may be closer parking if you approach another way, but we were in town so parked at the bottom. 

Sandburg spent much of his life in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Michigan but moved to Flat Rock in 1945 for the more temperate climate and a better environment for his wife's prize winning goats. You can tour the house (called Connemara) which sits on more than 250 acres along with the goat farm, sheds, two small lakes, several ponds, gardens, an apple orchard and 5 miles of hiking trails. 

We started the hike up and ran into a short detour due to a bridge being out. A year later and remnants of Helene are still evident in this area. 

We got about halfway up the trail when a man walking his dog let us know the house was closed due to the government shutdown. Sigh. Next time. 

Sidebar-that's the most I've walked since May. May!! I did go back to the ortho and have a new plan for the next couple of weeks in hopes of getting on top of this. 

Anyhoo, we had a really nice day and since I didn't take a single picture of us together, or even separately, you'll have to take my word for it. 

Also I never say anyhoo in person but for some reason it comes out of my mouth here. Stay tuned for more retirement shenanigans happening every Wednesday for the next 51(ish) weeks. Dream big, right? 

Linking today with Joanne for Talking About It Tuesdays

A Curious Hodgepodge

Welcome to this week's edition of The Wednesday Hodgepodge. If you've answered today's questions add your link at the end of my post, then be sure to leave a comment for your neighbor there before running off. Here we go-

1. What's something you're curious about right now? 

It's hard to narrow this down to just one. I think being curious helps keep you young, and I've always enjoyed learning. Here are just a few things on my list right now -

history, the end times, Gen Z, dough making and baking in general, skin care and aging, people and their stories, and the nagging pain in my ankle. 

2. If you could plan the perfect girl's weekend getaway, where would you go and what would be on the agenda? Do you have anything like this on your calendar in the next few months? 

Pretty sure I sound like a broken record, but I'd love a weekend away somewhere fun with both my girls. I suggested it to my oldest and said, 'we could even take the little girls with us (they're 1 and 2.5) and just leave the boys home, and my daughter said, 'well the girls are the feisty ones, so maybe they stay home with the dads too.' It's kind of true lol. 

A fun weekend away would include leisurely meals eaten on pretty patios, sunshine, shopping, matching pjs, and lots of talking about both the deep and the not so deep stuff of life. I think we'd all enjoy some sort of cooking experience along with what I've already mentioned too. 

I do have a fun girls weekend planned in August with some college friends. We were all in the same sorority way back when, and there are four of us who live in the same general area now, so the lake works. I think there will be about ten of us this year. One of the girls also has a lake house here, so we split the sleeping accommodations between the two of us, and do some meals here and some there. Mostly we spend the days floating and laughing. A lot. 

I see the 'locals' for lunch now and then, but I think the last time we had a bigger group get together was the weekend of Meghan Markle's wedding. 

Remember that? We got up at o'dark thirty and sipped Pimms on my screened porch and watched the wedding all together. 

Hubs acted as photographer. We met in uni so he knows and loves these girls too.

3. What's the most unique item in your refrigerator right now? 

I don't know how unique this is, but I keep these eye masks in my frig because they're better cold.

To be honest I kind of forget they're in there, but when I went to look for the answer to this question I put some on. They do feel so good on your skin. 

You'd also find a little bottle of super glue because that supposedly extends its shelf life. 

4. In this season of your life, what do you find most challenging? 

How I want to spend my time. Life isn't prescriptive the way it is with kids in the house, and while you might think there won't be enough to do in your 'retirement years' I'm here to tell you there are almost too many choices. We retired young which is a factor, but still it's not boring. I want to make the days count. 

5. Do you collect anything? If so why that? 

Not really. I do have a bit of a running joke with my daughters related to hedgehogs, so I have acquired a few things with hedgehogs on them, all given to me by my girls (and a couple from the hubs). 

They're the only ones I want doing that though. I feel like sometimes people hear you collect something and suddenly you're the hedgehog lady. 

6. Insert your own random thought here.  

We had our monthly wine dinner Tuesday night which is always fun. It's a nice group and the food is so good.  Here's a snapshot-

Let's begin at the end with dessert, which doesn't necessarily look special, but I'm here to tell you every single bite was absolutely scrumptious. African Almond cookies crumbled beneath a chocolate coconut sorbet. Yum! 

The salad was a standout too, warm eggplant and butternut squash with baby spinach, roasted peanuts and a tamarind vinaigrette-

There was also a spicy soup, lambchops which are my fave, and this wonderful fish which is a spiced bronzino with crunchy rice, horseradish potato salad and microgreenns. The portions aren't huge which makes for a pleasant meal. 

If I'm being honest, I enjoy the wine but I'm really here for the food. Can you tell? 

Alphabet Soup

If you're looking for the Wednesday Hodgepodge scroll on down to the next post. 

So here we are, Day 1 in the April A-Z Blog Challenge. If you don't know what I'm talking about, or you'd like to sign up too, visit the A-Z Challenge website using this link. 

I wrote all about my theme in yesterday's post, so if you need to know more you can read that here.  Essentially I've made it a group project and given 26 friends and family members a letter of the alphabet asking each one to send me back a word. I told them any word in the universe was fine, so I've received an interesting collection of a little bit of everything. Let's get going-

Day 1-A is for Achieve

A college friend I've known for 40 years sent me this word and I like it, because it's something I've been thinking a lot about lately. Did I tell you I have a birthday coming up? In five months? Ha! Well it's a big birthday so I'm allowed to talk about it.

Big birthdays are a good time for a bit of self-reflection. Not too much, but a glance back at where you've been, a look forward to what might lie ahead, and maybe a peek in the mirror as to where you are now, is not a bad exercise to engage in every once in a while.

I've been asking myself what it is I've achieved over the course of several decades of living? Am I satisfied with where I've landed and what I've accomplished or is there more to be done, and if so what? How?

It feels like there is great emphasis in today's world on finding our purpose and running head long into it. Make things happen! Change the world in a BIG way! Do all the things!

But what if achievement is measured in an entirely different manner?

I love what Oswald Chambers says about purpose. He says that what we see as the process of reaching a particular end, God sees as the goal itself. That God is not working toward a particular finish, but that His purpose is the process.

Time feels frozen in this strange season we're walking through, yet it marches on. Is remaining faithful and obedient no matter the chaos or serenity of my circumstances what I'm aiming to achieve?

Do I measure my achievements in all the seasons of my life against this standard?

Who Wears Short Shorts?

Not me. I just wear regular shorts, but I wear them in FEBRUARY!

Hubs and I have been enjoying the great outdoors this weekend and yesterday I was in shorts. In FEBRUARY! It's been crazy humid and the pollen is already making an appearance but y'all! I wore shorts! In FEBRUARY! 

Toto I don't think we're in Kansas North Jersey anymore.

There are a number of waterfalls an easy drive from us, and we're determined to get out and see as many as we can up close and personal. One is just a few minutes from the house and we pass the park entrance sign on an almost weekly basis. Every time we drive by we say, "hmmm...wonder what's up there?" On Friday we finally made the turn in to see what's what.

Even though these falls are situated within a state park vehicle parking can be wonky at the trail head. We knew this before driving in, because I always like to hop online and read travel tips before we go. Other visitors to the area said to park on the road, but it looked like we might get blocked in by hikers who had not read the parking instructions online. We decided to park at the ranger station then walked along the road to the trail head. Easy peasy. Also the ranger was very nice and gave us a couple of options for hiking.

Before heading to the trail we walked up the hill near the station to check out two historic buildings on site, The Stone Block House and The Trader's Brick House.

Following some raids by Creek Indians the State of SC had these block houses put up along the frontier and then protected by a small group of militiamen. The Brick House was a trading post established in 1795 that exchanged everything from ammunition to livestock.

Both buildings are boarded up now so you can't go inside...

...although someone thought there might be a way- ahem. Still so interesting to see and read about and imagine what the world was like a couple of hundred years ago. When we hike we're always on the lookout for an arrowhead or some other remnant of days gone by.

The hike into the falls was about a mile on a well-marked trail. The poplars are leafing out and we saw lots of lovely little trillium peeking out of the ground too.

The falls are about fifty feet in height and they're beautiful.

Since Saturday promised to be even warmer than Friday we ventured the next day to another nearby area known as Riley Moore Falls. It pays to do a little bit of research before you hike because this is not one you'd happen upon without a little bit of direction. You travel about three miles on a mostly gravel road and then we parked and walked another mile or so down a muddy road to the trail head. Note to self-that downhill road is gonna be uphill all the way back.

The trail itself is well marked and continues downward through thick woods before opening up to a wide expanse of beach and a really pretty waterfall.

Riley Moore Falls are only about twelve feet high, but they're a hundred feet wide and the beachy area makes you want to linger.

Here's my mountain goat-

He coaxed me up there and we had a picnic lunch on that highest rock.

You can tell from my smile I much prefer terra firma.

Or maybe that smile is all because the sun is shining, there's beauty in this wild world, and oh yeah...

I'm wearing shorts.
In February!