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March 25: 5:48-6:19 – A Long Walk

long walk after work

out on the farm with the boys

we love exploring!

I come home tired at the start of the work week, which almost always starts out in high gear. All day, I look forward to returning home with the dogs and being able to put on a pair of sweatpants and go for a walk with them. More and more, my heart stays right here on this farm even though my mind and body go to work.

I gather Fitz’s leash from the basket by the front door – the only one of my trio who will chase a critter into the woods and completely lose his way back. Boo Radley and Ollie only lose their minds with excitement to get out the door as we prepare to take to the trails my husband keeps cut back just for us. It’s my slicing time today, my 31 minutes between 5:48 and 6:19, just before dinner, and the boys and I step out into the still-chilly damp air and hear the birdsong. Except for the occasional airplane, it’s all we hear other than our own footsteps.

It’s peaceful. So peaceful, in fact, that I could take the rest of the school year and just take walks instead of going to work, where the phones forever ring, the meetings never stop, and even the delightful sounds of laughter are still…..well, noise.

I signed my contract for another year, and by December of this year I’ll know whether I will pursue retirement starting 26-27 or hang in there for another year on the heels of the coming one.

So much is changing in the world of education, and at times it seems overwhelming to keep up. It seems there is no “staying ahead of the curve,” as there used to be.

The more I take long walks and feel the inner joy of the peace it brings just being home, the stronger the chances of retiring next year. I want to read more than I have the time to read as it is now. I want to take long walks with the dogs in the late morning. I want to press plants and decoupage them onto candles, to sew soft flannel rag quilts in light pastel patterns, to visit grandchildren and have lunch with retired friends…….to bake, to work the crossword puzzle every afternoon, and to get started on some writing projects that work leaves no time to enjoy. I want to think less each night about what I’ll wear the next day based on which meetings are on the calendar.

How does one know when it’s time to turn in the keys and sign on the dotted retirement line? If you’re retired, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this one. On one hand, I feel ready – – even past ready. On the other hand, it all seems so final to walk away from a career in education when that has been my life.

I would love for you to share your perspectives with me. What are your best tips and pointers, and your best advice for someone considering taking the leap?

Boo Radley and Ollie
Johnson Funny Farm West Side
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Barndominium Dreams

A friend’s unfinished airplane hanger/barndominium over near the Peach State Aerodrome in Williamson, Georgia

I never in a million years would have thought I’d want to move out of a traditional home with central heating and air conditioning into a metal barndominium with alternate sources of heating and cooling, but that is exactly the direction of our dreams – going from 2400 square feet to between 1200 and 1500 – half of the space we have now, only a much bigger workshop space for our cars, camper, and tractor. We started the journey a year ago, our 2024 full year’s mission to clean out the house, attics, and the barn. We’ve pared down to essentials (except for shoes, plants, and books) and have chosen a floor plan and a spot on the back of the farm. Now the task of actually putting the house on the market…….this is the plan for 2025…..to live in a camper while we build a much simpler home.

Here we go, about

to make the dream come alive

…..still biting my nails……

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Boots and Machetes

We put on our boots, grabbed machetes

took to the woods to find a spot

for a barndominium

bushwhacked through dense thickets

(probably have ticks)

he found the creek

I watched for

birds to

show

where

because

feathered friends

always know best

where to build a nest

to feel safe and secure

free as a gentle breeze

to come and go as we please

to have the whole world at our feet

in a downsized home, simple and neat

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How I Beat the Heat


Hallmark’s Christmas in July movies

high velocity fan, full blast

pretending there’s a blizzard

piping hot black coffee

wrapped in sofa throw

Schnoodles piled high

all of us

beating

heat 

The older I get, the less I can endure the extreme heat and humidity. Give me a blizzard to handle the scorching heat! I’ve found that a good snowy Hallmark Christmas in July movie with love instead of hate, free from the problems of the world, is my ticket to a better day! Raising a mug to you – Cheers! Stay cool!

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A Sparkling Sage Face Lift

Fifteen years ago, after we’d just moved into the house we designed during dinnertimes on napkins while we dated, I scoured thrift shops for inexpensive furniture and was surprised to find a little end table in amazing condition for ten dollars. It had a lot of scratches on it, but I figured it would mostly be covered with books and other things, so I scooped it up for my reading room, to sit beside the chair with a lamp – to hold my To Be Read pile and my coffee. 

As I looked at pieces of furniture needing a face lift at the beginning of 2024, this little table made the short list. I moved all of the things it was holding and dusted it off, getting it ready for a couple of coats of paint and a good polishing. 

Table before the refinish, turned with the brass-handled drawer facing the bookshelves

I sanded the top to find a much lighter wood – pine, stained in a rich chestnut color originally. Since I sit in the reading room to watch birds and enjoy the southeasterly views of the farm, I decided on a Sparkling Sage (Valspar) chalk paint for the bottom of the table, keeping the color of grass and life close at hand. Once I discovered the wood was a lighter color, I resisted the urge to whitewash the top and instead keep the natural wood under a coat of clear satin water-based polyurethane. I also decided to do something I haven’t done before – I kept the original hardware and painted it, too. 

Upcycled table iin the morning stream of sunlight

With a few touches of coordinating colors in decor accents, I’m pleased with the way it turned out. Now I’m ready for a new foot pouf to throw up my feet as I read and watch for birds to come to the feeders. 

And I’ve already got my eye on the next project that I want to accomplish as I look to paint and re-create before the annual cycle of deep spring cleaning begins in March. 

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Open Write Day 3 with Susan Ahlbrand

Our host at http://www.ethicalela.com for the third day of the July Open Write is Susan Ahlbrand of Indiana, who inspires us to write Venn Diagram poetry today. You can read her full prompt and the poems others have written here, and even try one of your own if you wish.

This is one form that I have never written before today, and honestly I’m not sure I’m coordinated enough to try again. My brain felt like Spaghetti Junction in Atlanta, where all the intersections dance and spin and twirl around and then peel off in different directions like little spinoff tornadoes.

The idea is to play with two completely different concepts or ideas and find the intersecting similarity in the middle section of the diagram, reading vertically.

I could only take a photo of my mess and post it. Other writers in my group are using Canva and making backgrounds beautiful and doing all the creative colors and designs, but I’m over here with an ink pen and an unlined piece of brown paper just trying not to be seen or heard…….

But in the spirit of having some good days of writing and some not-so-good days of writing, here is a day in the life of a writer who at least tries something new and different.

I’m putting back on my work hat after a truly wonderful summer. Today is my first day back on contract, as my district awaits the appointment of a new Superintendent.

And so these hats, as constant as they are, keep life in balance!