Thursday, February 15, 2018

This 'n That 2/16-the Local Edition

Thought of the day: The United States is the most dangerous country in the first world for a child to be born into. By a frightenly high margin. Some of that is due to child mortality, as we are on the level of a third world country in that area. But a huge portion of said violence is guns. And while it's easy to say, talk about mental illness, movies, video gams and the like, all those countries have those issues as well. What they don't have is guns. Access to guns.

And now, how about some retirement stuff?




For the past week or so I have slowly been making a master list of local and not quite so local things to do-events, special events, and explorations if you will. I am blessed to live in a town of about forty five thousand, part of a greater metropolitan area of around under 3 million. Certainly not the size of many major cities, but big enough to come up with tons of things to do to enable my goal of embracing the local.   While said list is long, short term stuff includes the Degas exhibit at the Denver Art Museum (the only place it will be shown this time in the US), a local theater production of Something's Afoot (a musical take-off on Agatha Christie mysteries) and an upcoming sewing and quilting festival.  

Degas exhibit photo fro 303 Magazine

Also embracing the local (although not quite as closely), I've decided this summer's northern road trip will be up to Jackson Hole and Yellowstone and perhaps back to Missoula (I'm almost afraid to see what the fire damage has done up north). We've learned to really appreciate these July trips, to the north,  and they are often hotter than we might expect. Our two trips to the Dakotas were both steaming (as well as being enjoyable and educational). 

Glamping at Jackson hole? Who knows!

Unfortunately, yesterday I ended up ripping out rows of knitting on a sweater after belatedly realizing  that what was first a small mistake could not easily be repaired. Back, as they say, to the drawing board. I am normally a "bright girl" but this year I have embraced pink and grey. After an experiment with Rocksbox jewelry rental left me with some gold pieces with gray stones, I figured a short sleeve gray sweater was in the works. Sometimes creativity is painful. On the other hand, the quilt that had to be fixed last week is finished! So two steps forward and all that.

My son celebrated his birthday this past week. Since I know I will be taking the kids to dinner during our brief funeral trip to Texas (at least once), we settled for homemade barbecued chicken and cornbread and angel food cake for dessert (which we'll be lucky to eat before it's stale at this rate). That and lunch at the Outback or some other steak house this weekend will suffice until we are all together. Generally I do dinner for my kids, give them cash for the amount of their age and another small gift.

Today is my reading/knitting/craft group's first lunch bunch with the theme being Chinese, and hopefully once they are done, I can get a picture of said Honk Kong egg tarts on Instagram or something. I am cheating and using puff pastry for the shells. Life is an adventure after all. I'm going to try and get back to my earlier activity on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram in the next week or so, after a long empty time there.

On Tuesday, I took a bunch of (prebaked from Kroger) undecorated sugar cookies, frostings and candies, and let that be my "craft event" for the women in my transitional homeless shelter this month. Some other folks brought along homemade bean soup, bread and salad and a good time was had by all. I have a metal tabletop "tree" and I think next month I'll let the gals make Easter egg ornaments and hang them on said tree.

I seem to finally have found my "exercise routine" niche. Three days a week I am either doing a two mile Utube walk along, or four thousand steps. Immediately followed by about a fifteen or so at home strength routine with bands and weights. The alternative days I am doing a 45 minute seated mindful yoga program and as many steps as I can get in, without really worrying about it. This seems to be the perfect level for me, and one that I'll remain at for awhile.

As part of my be a creator not a user/be a producer not a consumer goal in retirement, I have stepped back from most of my passive type earning opportunities like swagbucks except for cash back and the very occasional mystery shop. While these earnings are mainly passive, they do require some watching. And since I am trying to do more creative doing-albeit at home-I'm leaving this part of my life behind for awhile. Besides, I really truly do believe that money saved is generally more valuable than money earned, all things considered. At least at this point in my life.

Which leads to the fact that I have stepped back into writing. I don't know if that will lead to Living Richly in Retirement, the book, or not. I do know that I'm jumping back into my book about creative giving for the non creative, as well as journaling. And since I've been asked to write some articles about how living frugally leads to future gains, as well as one on expensive hobbies on a budget, I have some writing on the horizon. All at my own speed of course.

Meanwhile, I'll let you know how that lunch, and the experimental dessert, end up. The good and/or the bad!

2 comments:

  1. My husband and I have also been embracing “local.” We just returned from a 3 day 2 night trip to as cool old mining town (Oracle,Az.) just an hour and 45 min. From our home. ANOTHER WORLD! I am so refreshed by smaller trips! Also locally I found a new craft/artist meetup group in Gilbert, only 10 minutes from home! Being more creative,writing and making art is also on my agenda this year. THIS is the year I have finally given up “work” in any fashion.No part time not full time not at all. It feels soooo good.I am a good frugal homemaker and like you I believe a penny saved is a penny earned. We don’t need much to be happy! Nature, love,art,music!! Oh, and good home made food!!

    🎶

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad to see you are embracing the non work life for awhile. I've made a lite of all the colorado things I think I should see, and hopefully will get to some of them!!

      Delete

Thanks for stopping by! I love to hear from others, and I also love to hear all points of view.. Just leave the profanity and insults at home, OK? Thanks!!