The Blue Lady Is Feeling It

I AM FEELING LIKE I AM RETIRED!

Technically I am not yet there. The official day is June 30. There are still a few chores to do. Last week at this time I was not yet there emotionally. I wrote a draft blog that was nothing more than a  list of chores accomplished and chores yet to be done.

I stil have to take all the boxes home from my office.

But today, right now? Yes, ma'm. I am a retired lady now.

The Blue Lady Thinks about the Midwest

This picture has little or nothing to do with this blog post.
But isn't it a great picture?
We had lost of fun in Brownies.

The air is bad here in SLC a lot lately. It does that in the winter. This kind of gray overcast sky always makes me feel weary and dreary. I feel a lot like just throwing some stuff in the car and taking off for points south right now.

Retirement Planning - Part III - Places

 I am pretty sure I will not stay in SLC as my winter home for more than a couple of years after I quit working. But if I were to move away, where would I go? What am I looking for in a new place?

I need some criteria!

The Blue Lady Contemplates What the Next Couple of Years Year Will Hold

Jul is over, and soon New Year's will old hat. I performed taiko again at the Salt Palace on New Years Eve, and on New Years Day I joined some friends for knitting. I'm already tired of the whole Christmas thing....sooooo glad it is over for another year.

Jul 2015 - NOT a Blue Christmas for the Blue Lady

SLC is cooperating this year by having a
white Christmas.

Smokey Rose looks just right in
Christmas mode

The Blue Lady Goes Home Again

Rockford is the home of the Sock Monkey. We love them.

People say I have too many homes. This past weekend I went home to my hometown, Rockford, and when I told people in Salt Lake that I was going "home," it confused several people. I say I am going home when I mean I am leaving this place in Salt Lake & going to where
 Smokey Rose and my things are. I say I am going home as I prepare to leave for the Black Hills. I say I am going home when I go to Rockford.

Maybe I told you that a few years ago I decided to give up on going to Rockford in the summer. It's wicked hot, and I don't want to do much of anything outside. Autumn is the best time of year, so I have been going to Illinois in October for several years now. Fall break beginning weekend, or Columbus Day weekend, often works out very well.

This time I did most of the things that I really like to do in Rockford and the surrounding area. I spent a lot of the time with my dear friend Jan, someone I have known since forever because our parents went to grade school together. She has a boss who can be difficult about permitting the use of vacation time, but this time the boss gave Jan Monday off (it's not a holiday at her workplace.) That coupled with the weekend meant Jan had 3 days to do things with me.

At Home in the Hills and a Car Story

Our retreat bedroom

Smokey Rose and I are at our home in the hills, and we are very happy. We both love this place a lot and feel so relaxed and comfortable here. I can't say we do all that much that is interesting to write about. We are on retreat.