Tag: retirement

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4th Friday Retirement Adventures – October 2026

Retirement officially began for me August 1st, so each second and fourth Friday, I reflect on the first year of retirement in two-week windows and what it’s like in this new chapter of life. This idea of retirement reflection was sparked when members of my writing communities and personal friends asked me how I would spend my time and if I thought I would get bored. At the beginning of my first week off, I used a green spiral notebook to make a list of all the things I wanted to do — something enjoyable each week, blending in some new hobbies and routines as well.

My late father said this about retirement: You don’t retire FROM something, you retire TO something, and you’ll be busier than you’ve ever been. He was right, and I love doing what I want to do when I want to do it and having the flexibility to travel and engage in new hobbies – or stay home in comfortable clothes and enjoy more relaxed pace on the Johnson Funny Farm.

Here are eight of the most recent things I’ve enjoyed in my first three months of retirement:

51. Kindred Spirits October Book Club – We met at our favorite coffee shop last night to discuss Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth and The Songteller by Dolly Parton. We talked about the power of story, the refusal of women to be thrust into a particular identity determined by the world, and the perceptions of aging women in terms of freedoms and restraints. These two books paired nicely as nonfiction and fiction text selections. Our book club has remained six strong, and we’re nearing the end of our second year together.

50. Watercolor Poetry Postcards – One of my favorite things to do is enjoy a watercolor painting day a couple of times a month. I like the watercolor workbooks by Emily Lex because she simplifies the process of creating art. Recently, I’ve discovered the YouTube Easy Design painters, who take viewers step by step through techniques. This month, I created postcards for my November postcard poetry challenge and also Bible bookmarks for Christmas gift bag items collected by a faith-based women’s recovery program in a neighboring state.

49. Attending two Stafford Challenge Guest Poet Zooms – C. Marie Fuhrman was the October Guest Poet on the Stafford Challenge monthly lineup of poets that we get to write with throughout the year. She used poetry by Joy Harjo to inspire us to write our own poems in our one hour Zoom session for October. Dr. Deborah Grayson kicked off a Poetry as a Healing Art series this month and brought spectacular prompts for getting us geared up for writing. I always look forward to these monthly evening events – I gather my notebook and pen, make a cup of tea, and log in to see the faces of other poets from all across the globe as we write together.

48. Open Write with my EthicalELA writing community – I’ve belonged to the Ethicalela writing community for nine years now, and each month we write poetry together for a few days out of the month (excluding April, when we write poetry together every day in honor of the Bard’s Birthday month – a/k/a National Poetry Month). This month, I wrote four poems inspired by prompts shared by rotating hosts throughout our writing community. You can check out the Open Write at http://www.ethicalela.com and click on Open Write to see what this community offers!

47. Making the Perfect Cup of Tea to drink while making mental notes about Things that Don’t Suck– For Christmas in 2025, I got one of those electric tea kettles that has the Digital Touch feature to make certain kinds of tea at their optimal temperatures. In Blue Ridge, Georgia in the fall of 2025, I picked up two tea mugs with the metal steeping strainer that lets us steep loose tea leaves directly in our cups for maximum coagulation with the water. When my late father returned from a mission trip to China in 2014, he’d brought back loose tea and given us a masterclass in how to steep it. It’s a retirement treat to be able to sit back with a cup and reflect on the day joyfully with at least the work demands removed from all the bad things happening in the world.

46. Daytime Movies – It’s always been a weekend thing or an evening thing for us unless we were on a break, but being able to take off in the day to go see a movie is a guilty pleasure!

45. Decoupaging Candles and Bookmarks with Wildflowers – It will take about 6 weeks for my own pressed plants and flowers to be ready for projects in the traditional plant press, and I don’t own a microwave plant press, so I found a Utah-based flower farm as a source for pressed wildflowers and ordered a selection based on birthday month flowers. These are the plants I’m using currently to create decoupaged candles and bookmarks. It’s fun to feel the energy of creativity and see the beautiful transformation of candles as I work. I also love how something as simple as a bookmark and a touch of greenery and some flower petals can create the loveliest page markers.

44. Plant Pressing – I hauled out the old plant press and gathered wildflowers and greenery from all across the Johnson Funny Farm, including my sister-in-law’s zinnia gardens. I pressed plants for using in decoupage projects.

Here are the previous things I’ve added to my list of 100 Things I’m Enjoying in Retirement. I’ve reversed the order, going backwards in time to the beginning.

43. Virtual Author Reading for Time in the Landscape

42. Author Reading for Anna Roseboro’s Book Study

41. Indie Bookstore Shopping

40. Dock Time on Jackson Lake in Georgia

39. Adopt a Dog

38. Train Ride to See Fall Foliage

37. Cabin for a Birthday Celebration in North Georgia

36. Fall Baking

35. Hosting Open Write

34. Kindred Spirits September Book Club

33. Mahjong in Blairsville, Georgia

32. Daytripping for Lunch and Small Town Adventuring

31. Hiking the Appalachian Trail

30. Camping at Vogel State Park

29. Lunch with Friends

28. Almost-Birthday Pedicures with my Sister-in-Law

27. Mahjongg Regular Group Formation

26. Stafford Challenge Writing Workshop

25. Stafford Challenge Small Group Zoom Meetings

24. Dolly Parton Tribute at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee

23. Labor Day Camping at F. D. Roosevelt State Park in Pine Mountain, Georgia

22. Watercolor Postcards

21. Monthly Small Postcard Poetry Group

20. Office Cleanout

19. Re-Vamping the Reading Room

18. Barnes and Noble Virtual Book Club

17. Kindred Spirits Book Club

16. Novel Writing with Nick

15. Lounge Pants Spree

14. Porch Sitting

13. Fabric Postcards

12. Zinnia Arrangement

11. Mahjong 102 and Free Play

10. Wayfaring to Margaritaville for a concert

9. Wayfaring to FDR for camping

8. Cascadia Postcard Poetry Fest

7. Summer Reading Poetry Book Club

6. Local Bookstore Book Club

5. Friends of the Library Book Fair

4. Yoga

3. Morning Walking

2. Rag Quilting

1. Mahjong 101

The 100-Things-To-Do Retirement List Tanka

only twelve weeks in

at 51 list items

and still going strong…..

maybe this is why they say

folks are never busier…..

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October List Poetry

Yesterday, I shared a little about the Poetry as a Healing Art series that began this week as part of The Stafford Challenge. You can still sign up (registration is free) for the remaining sessions here at this link. Dr. Deborah E. Grayson led us in some prompts on Tuesday evening to inspire writing as therapy. One was a soundtrack of our lives, which I wrote about yesterday, and today I’ll share three more inspiring ideas from Tuesday evening’s session.

Dr. Grayson asked us to consider where we find healing and to write about those places in response to the “salty times” of our lives – such as divorce, death or illness of a loved one, or loss of a beloved pet. Many people responded that in addition to poetry, healing is found in scripture, in reading books, in art, in nature/gardening, and in playing or walking with pets. I agree with all of those and would add coffee and conversation with friends and loved ones as well. I love travel and seeing new places and parts of the world and find that travel often offers new perspectives that can bring healing.

She also inspired us to create a Prescription for Loneliness. My first go-to is reading. I find that when I read, I’m keeping company with characters and authors. My book club sisters and I meet each month to talk about our reading, and that’s a lovely time shared with others! Getting outside with my dogs also keeps me in good company when my husband is at work and would be #2 on my prescription list. I shouldn’t admit this, but Hallmark movies somehow make me feel like I’m a nicer person, and those have a medicinal effect on loneliness too. Grayson explained that all of these items on our brainstormed lists can be used in poetry, such as list poetry.

Finally, our concluding activity was to spend a few moments and write a list poem. We could use our Prescription for Loneliness ideas, our Playlist of our Life ideas, our places we find healing, or we could write one like poet Andrea Gibson made in the days before she died after a long battle with Ovarian Cancer in July 2025. Her poem was entitled A List of Things that Don’t Suck, to Make Your Day a Little Brighter. I’ll begin my own list with 3 that come to mind:

Things that Don’t Suck

A rescued dog who rolls belly-up in the grass, kicking his legs toward the sky in happiness in the autumn sunshine and you think you see him stop for a second to offer you a smile of gratitude.

A playlist of great songs made especially for you in retirement, sent to you by your daughter.

Retirement.

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2nd Friday Retirement Adventures – October

Retirement officially began for me August 1st, and each second and fourth Friday, I’ve begun reflecting on the first year of retirement in two-week windows and what it’s like in this new chapter of life – mainly because so many writing community and personal friends asked me how I would spend my time and whether or not I thought I would get bored. I don’t ever see getting bored in retirement, since I tend to keep myself busier than other people have ever tried to keep me. At the beginning of my first week off, I used a green spiral notebook to make a list of all the things I wanted to do — something enjoyable each week, blending in some new hobbies and routines as well. I remember my late father’s words, on retirement: You don’t retire FROM something, you retire TO something, and you’ll be busier than you’ve ever been. He was right, but the busy part is optional, like wearing real clothes on most days instead of my preferred loungewear. And I like having that choice in case I decide to stay home for two days straight and write, read, cuddle with dogs under a blanket on the front porch drinking coffee in the cool morning air, listen to music, and play Mahjong online in real time across the miles with friends.

Here are some things I’ve enjoyed in my first official ten weeks of retirement, with each being described in detail in previous posts :

Here are the most recent things I’ve added to my list of 100 Things I’m Enjoying in Retirement. I’ve reversed the order, going backwards in time to the beginning.

43. Virtual Author Reading for Time in the Landscape – Although I did not attend the gathering in person in Massachusetts for the Time in the Landscape event in September, I sent a recording of a reading for those in attendance. I’m enjoying reading the book in small increments as a slow read to make the book last longer. My hard copy of the book arrived in the mail last week, and the cover design is stunning. A color rendering of each of the juried art installments along the trail is included with the poems so that readers can see what inspired each poem.

This was the art installation I chose to write a Tanka about; it reflects phases of the moon.

42. Author Reading for Anna Roseboro’s Book Study- I took part in an author reading for a book study on the anthology Temptations of Christians. Despite the scary intrusion by a small group of folks intent on disrupting the event, I did manage to laugh when I looked back and saw that my Ponytail Palm Tree in the background made it look like I was sporting an interesting hairpiece for reading my short story excerpt.

41. Indie Bookstore Shopping – I visited bookstores in several small towns and savored the vibe of each. In a Barnes and Noble or Books-A-Million, the vibe is all the cookie-cutter same, and still I’ve never met a bookstore I didn’t like. In an Indie bookstore, though, each space has such a unique feel that it’s almost as if the bookstore could be a character with a complete personality and traits. Logos, shelves, wall colors, art, smells of inked pages and coffee and candles and warmth, bags and bookmarks and other merchandise, the rich woods of checkout counters and the way that furniture is arranged are all like their own artistic statements of how small worlds are contained in the books themselves. I particularly love displays where curations have been arranged on themes with book covers facing out or up and plants and small items adorning the display table.

40. Dock Time on Jackson Lake in Georgia – we spent an afternoon on Lake Jackson with my husband’s brother and his wife to enjoy an overcast and breezy day on their dock, just sitting and loving a relaxed pace. It was fun watching the water enthusiasts speed by, while the clouds ambled at their own pace and made pictures in the sky for the finding, like an I Spy book turning pages above our heads.

39. Adopt a Dog – I adopted a 6-year old male Schnauzer from the rescue where I adopted two previous dogs, and he is adjusting beautifully on the Johnson Funny Farm. He came to us as AJ, which we shortened to Jay (Gatsby) as a literary name nod to our Fitz (F. Scott Fitzgerald), who left us last spring as he crossed the Rainbow Bridge. But I call him The Crackdragon for his feisty manner and the way he high-step march/skips along, hiking his back legs up. My favorite Mahjong tile is a crak dragon among the craks, bams, dots, jokers, and flowers.

38. Train Ride to See Fall Foliage – we rode the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway along the Toccoa River from Blue Ridge to McCaysville, Georgia and Copper Basin, Tennessee to see the beginning of leaf season. It was a welcome way to enjoy the beginning of cooler temperatures and see how the landscape changes just in a short geographical distance. I love that about road trips and train trips where I get to see the actual land not from a plane.

37. Cabin for a Birthday Celebration in North Georgia – we rented a VRBO called Trout House in Mineral Bluff, Georgia to spend time with my husband’s brother and wife for their birthday month. Little did we know at the time that my brother in law would suffer a heart attack two weeks before his birthday, and this trip would bring a whole new perspective on the importance of slowing down and spending time with those we love. He is physically fine, but the wake-up call when we have a close call like that can leave us spiraling in our head space for weeks, months, and years after the scare. And so we press onward, making new memories and living life to the fullest each day.

Here are my previous 36 Items on the Retirement List in countdown order back to the beginning:

36. Fall Baking

35. Hosting Open Write

34. Kindred Spirits September Book Club

33. Mahjong in Blairsville, Georgia

32. Daytripping for Lunch and Small Town Adventuring

31. Hiking the Appalachian Trail

30. Camping at Vogel State Park

29. Lunch with Friends

28. Almost-Birthday Pedicures with my Sister-in-Law

27. Mahjongg Regular Group Formation

26. Stafford Challenge Writing Workshop

25. Stafford Challenge Small Group Zoom Meetings

24. Dolly Parton Tribute at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee

23. Labor Day Camping at F. D. Roosevelt State Park in Pine Mountain, Georgia

22. Watercolor Postcards

21. Monthly Small Postcard Poetry Group

20. Office Cleanout

19. Re-Vamping the Reading Room

18. Barnes and Noble Virtual Book Club

17. Kindred Spirits Book Club

16. Novel Writing with Nick

15. Lounge Pants Spree

14. Porch Sitting

13. Fabric Postcards

12. Zinnia Arrangement

11. Mahjong 102 and Free Play

10. Wayfaring to Margaritaville for a concert

9. Wayfaring to FDR for camping

8. Cascadia Postcard Poetry Fest

7. Summer Reading Poetry Book Club

6. Local Bookstore Book Club

5. Friends of the Library Book Fair

4. Yoga

3. Morning Walking

2. Rag Quilting

1. Mahjong 101

The 100-Things-To-Do Retirement List Tanka

only ten weeks in

at 43 list items

and still going strong…..

maybe this is why they say

folks are never busier…..

Posted on

September Second Friday Retirement Adventures

Retirement officially began for me August 1st, and each second and fourth Friday of every month, I’m reflecting on the first year of retirement and what it’s like in this new chapter of life. These have become some of my favorite blog posts of the month because they become a lot like what I believe Sarah Ban Breathnach was driving at in her book Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy. Focusing on the gratitude and appreciation for a new phase of life by looking at all the joy it brings is a balm for the soul. At the beginning of my first week off, I used a green spiral notebook to make a list of all the things I wanted to do — something enjoyable each week, blending in some new hobbies and routines as well. Friends and family who are still working seemed genuinely curious about what I would do with each day, and that’s what gave me the idea to plan and reflect on the course of my days and adventures. I remember my late father’s words, on retirement: You don’t retire FROM something, you retire TO something, and you’ll be busier than you’ve ever been. He was right, but the busy part is optional, like changing out of loungewear and wearing real clothes on most days.

Here are some things I’ve enjoyed in my first official six weeks of retirement. I’m keeping a running list, adding to the previous post each time I pause to reflect.

1. Mahjong 101

2. Rag Quilting

3. Morning Walking

4. Yoga

5. Friends of the Library Book Fair –

6. Local Bookstore Book Club

7. Summer Reading Poetry Book Club

8. Postcard Poetry Fest

9. Wayfaring to FDR for camping

10. Wayfaring to Margaritaville for a concert

11. Mahjong 102 and Free Play

12. Zinnia Arrangement

13. Fabric Postcards

14. Porch Sitting

15. Lounge Pants Spree

16. Novel Writing with Nick

17. Kindred Spirits Book Club

18. Barnes and Noble Virtual Book Club

And picking up where I left off at the end of August, here is how September has begun as I make my way down my list of 100 Things:

19. Re-vamping the Reading Room – I have breathed life back into my reading room and updated it by replacing some shelving and adding a few other personal touches to make it what my husband calls my own unique version of a she-shed. No matter what all is on the list of things I’m doing in retirement, the reading chair is a place I sit each day to adjust my sails. I have a Goodreads personal goal of 60 books this year – – (it’s fitting….it’s the year of 60)…..and I’m trying to get on track to accomplish the goal. By the end of this day, I will have read 31 books, leaving me 10 books behind. I’ve got some reading to do, and Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth wins the prize for September! My older daughter gave me a personalized book count tracker for Mother’s Day to go in my reading room, and it keeps me ever-aware of having the next book ready.

My Book Count Update in the reading room

20. Office Cleanout – Some of the furniture I brought back from Dad’s house on St. Simons had been occupying space without real purpose or function until I could think it all through, and one is an antique desk that my brother convinced me I need – – and he was right. I’m so glad I let him persuade me to bring it home. As I find the places for each treasure, I am rethinking the best location. And in rethinking the best location, I discover that other things need to shift. And as other things need to shift, I’m cleaning up and cleaning out. I’m reminded of the children’s book If You Give a Mouse A Cookie by Laura Numeroff…..the cycles of how things take on a circular pattern. The office was one of those spaces this month, and already it feels like the air is lighter in that room.

21. Monthly Small Postcard Group – I loved the Cascadia Postcard Poetry Fest so much that I’ve already registered for 2027. Meanwhile, I’ve joined a small-scale monthly postcard group with some of my writing friends after I was invited by Denise Krebs of Yucca Valley, California. Here is the link to more information if you are interested – you can email Barbara Robinette and jump into the October round. Some of the postcards I’ve received with poems have literally taken my breath away with their beauty and depth. The artwork of these artists has inspired me to try other forms of art on my own postcards, using theirs as inspiration. I have a lonnnnng way to go, but what joy creativity brings, no matter the lack of artistic talent inside.

22. Watercolor Postcards – I created fabric postcards for Postcard Poetry Fest in August, and I have also picked up the paintbrush for watercolor postcards. My friend Glenda Funk of Chubbuck, Iowa recently shared Alex Kincaid’s Flower of the Month watercolor link, and while I will never be as talented as Glenda, I’m inspired to try the flowers. I also use the postcards that arrive to try painting similar ones, in the same way I used the fabric postcards to try that medium as well.

I’ll have to work to be abstract, and my sun has too many rays….I’ll keep trying

23. Labor Day Camping at F. D. Roosevelt State Park in Pine Mountain, Georgia – It was just too hot to be outside much, so we did some reading and movie watching (Secondhand Lions and Arthur the King). We caught up on the recent episodes of our favorite YouTubers, Mark and Tricia Leach of Keep Your Daydream. Before leaving, we packed up the dogs, threw in our loungewear and a couple of outfits into our new “suitcases” and shopped for groceries on the way, grateful we don’t overthink the camping like we used to do when we strung up lights and used an outdoor rug. And those “suitcases?” They’re the 99 cent TJ Maxx bags that hold as much as a standard airplane carryon and are flexible enough to slide right into a wardrobe cabinet in the camper, without the bulk of a big bag. My friend Christian Jackson shared this trick. So now I have a new set of four seasonal suitcases. Who knew???

Under $1 Seasonal Suitcases from TJ Maxx

24. Dolly Parton Tribute at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee – We love to go to the Grand Ole Opry from time to time, but we’d never been for a tribute or celebration to see the way all the singers come out onstage at the end. I’d seen recordings, but we finally got to be there for a momentous tribute in person. We somehow managed to score two tickets in the nosebleed section, deciding that just being there would still be a treat, even though we’d be watching on a screen with a far-off view of the stage from our high-altitude seats. There’s not a bad seat in the Opry, we’ve found, even though we were nowhere near our favorite Section 17. We took small, high-powered binoculars and sang along, breathing the air of that amazing sold-out evening and sharing stories with people all around us. I got to sit next to an 84 year old from Mississippi who had come to Opryland as a child each year and continued bringing her son throughout his childhood. She’d lost her husband five years ago, and when her son heard about the tribute, he snapped up three tickets and jumped in his plane with his new pilot’s license and flew his wife and mother to see the show. I got to see two shows that night: the tribute to Dolly, and the joy spilling out in tears on the face of that lady next to me. We heard the story that evening from one of the performers that a yellow butterfly had been flitting about the Opry, and I found a video of it here. I like to think Dolly was right there on the stage, too, all evening, soaking in the love everyone had for her.

In Opry Mills Mall, my racecar driving husband found that Cobra he’s been wanting…..
Outside the Grand Ole Opry on the afternoon of the Dolly Parton Tribute

25. September Stafford Challenge Small Group – The first Monday of each month, my small group of Stafford Challenge writers meets to talk about what we’re writing and to catch up. We share what we’re working on, we share prompts for writing, and we enjoy time together from our homes in California, Iowa, Idaho, and Georgia for one glorious hour. This month, we each read a poem we’d written and shared some of our favorite resources, including the Art of Flash Institute, Audrey Gidman’s prompts, Joy Sullivan’s Necessary Salt Substack, and Ten Poetry Notebooks of Robin Farr. Barb Edler also shared a favorite publication, Moss Piglet.

26. Stafford Challenge Writing Workshop – I attended a workshop led by Melissa Helton of the Hindman Settlement School, and it was fabulous. She shared poems of Appalachia and gave us writing prompts to lead us in the writing of four poems during this time. My favorite was Requiem for a Dollar Store Christmas Bear by Willie Carver, which we read prior to writing our own poems about precious lost childhood toys. Milk (scroll down to page 4 or so) by Diane Fisher led us to write about a time we broke a rule to do the right thing. Soon the Red Wolf by Annie Woodford inspired us to write poems about wildlife or extinct species in our own areas, and Affrilachia by Frank Walker had us writing about the intersection of two unexpected events or circumstances. Melissa Helton is one who is able to reach into a writer and awaken the muse.

27. Mahjongg Group Formation – Now that my former colleague and dear friend Christian Jackson and I have taken lessons in Mahjong, we have branched out into the world of group play. We’re finding our best fit, and we’ve learned that even the best players who are in leagues and tournaments are no more likely to win or lose at the table, because Mahjong is one of those games that requires luck AND skill, and good decision making. We’re fending off cognitive decline, too, according to recent scientific research that shows the cognitive exertion needed for the game keeps the brain cells sharp.

We like to take pictures of our winning Mahjongg racks so we can track our wins and know our favorite neighborhoods and streets on our 2026 National Mahjong League cards

28. Birthday Pedicure with my Sister-In Law – It’s fun going for birthday pedicures during the day and being able to walk right up to a chair without the wait. My sister-in-law Bethany usually schedules our appointments at our favorite nail salon, and we enjoy using the time in neighboring chairs to catch up and get our legs massaged and toes painted. Unfortunately, her best friend’s father died and she was headed out of town to the funeral on her birthday, but not before we sat and chose Plum Wine (her) and Iceland (me) paint colors as colors for our feet to welcome autumn. We missed our bookstore outing to buy each other a birthday book, so I found a couple of gifts from Natural Life and got us matching mugs and socks.

Coffee mugs and socks if not books……all the cozy things

29. Lunch with Friends – From Angelo’s Italian corner restaurant and Bank Street Cafe in downtown Griffin to Mangia on Main in Barnesville, lunch with friends is one of my favorite retirement indulgences. I recently caught up with former colleague Jayne Midura, who gave me a fabulous retirement t-shirt. We talked dog rescue and enjoyed catching up. She is, sadly, in the same place I was during May when I was facing the grief of letting go of an aging dog too tired and sick to carry on. Prayers for Jayne in these coming days. It’s heart wrenching to say goodbye to our fur babies.

Mangia! on Main in Barnesville, Georgia

Over the next two weeks, we’ve planned to take a birthday weekend getaway with Briar’s brother and his wife to North Georgia to stay in a cabin on a creek and have cake, and also camp in Vogel State Park in Blairsville, Georgia. I’ll share a virtual poetry reading of my poem Timestamp Tanka for the Art on the Trail celebration on Sunday as part of the Time in the Landscape series this year in Southborough, Massachusetts. My poem was selected to accompany the work Phases of the Moon for this year’s chapbook, and I couldn’t be more excited!

Retirement III Haiku

a year full of firsts:

weekdays like weekends, slow-paced

~ Mahjongging with friends

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4th Friday Retirement Adventures – August

Retirement officially began four weeks ago, and there are both upsides (travel in the RV) and downsides (having to replace a wheel – not a tire – on the RV) to this new chapter. At the beginning of my first week off, I used a green spiral notebook like the one in the image above to make a list of all the things I wanted to do — something enjoyable each week, blending in some new hobbies and routines as well.

Here are some things I’ve enjoyed in my first official four weeks of retirement, as teachers and students have returned to school (#1-7 I blogged about two weeks ago):

1. Mahjong 101

2. Rag Quilting

3. Morning Walking

4. Yoga

5. Friends of the Library Book Fair –

6. Local Bookstore Book Club

7. Summer Reading Poetry Book Club

The past couple of weeks have included two getaways in the Wayfarer along with a few other new endeavors. Everyone kept asking what I would do in retirement, and I’m so eager to share the ways I’m enjoying it! I have 100 things on my list…..so I continue sharing the list:

8. Postcard Poetry Fest – I signed up to send at least 31 postcards out to those who joined the Postcard Poetry Fest 2026. I have written over 31 original poems and have mailed them to my assigned recipients. It has been exciting receiving postcards from all around the world – many with original works of art on them by the artists. I’ll share the postcards I mailed and many of the ones I received in the coming months.

9. Wayfaring to FDR for camping….and…..10. Wayfaring to Margaritaville for a concert – We went to our favorite nearby state campground for a weekend on a remote campsite and enjoyed the fun and frustration of an unplanned hike. The following weekend, we took the Wayfarer to Lake Lanier to camp at Margaritaville RV Resort and saw the Eagles tribute band The Long Run. We rented a golf cart to get to the venue, and we learned the next morning that Boo Radley is not a candidate for riding in the golf cart because he cannot mind his own damn business and loses his mind and acts a fool.

11. Mahjong 102 and Free Play – I added a new segment of learning Mahjongg by attending the second course of lessons and engaged in an evening of open play at the McDonough Truett’s Restaurant with my friend Christian. We are riding around places meeting new friends and sharing the joys of “going Mahjongg.” I won my first game last Friday, and Christian swept all three games the night we drove over to McDonough.

12. Zinnia Arrangement – my sister-in-law who grows zinnias has brought me several batches, and I love arranging and rearranging them in my mother’s pitchers. I received an extra-special arrangement when I checked the mail last week. My friend Glenda Funk from Idaho created a watercolor painting of zinnias when I wrote a poem about them, and she framed the print with my poem as a retirement gift, along with a gorgeous boho blanket from Natural Life, a really cool pen and toothbrush holder, and a bracelet from Thailand – and the most heartfelt card ever! I shed tears of joy opening it, thinking of my friend who is so giving and has been suffering such pain in her leg lately. These are treasures I will cherish – so personal and meaningful.

13. Fabric Postcards – I’ve been working on creating fabric postcards for Postcard Poetry Fest for the next round. I sent out a few to see how they would hold up in the mail, and my small group of Stafford Challenge writers all received them and they held up fine.

14. Porch Sitting – I’ve enjoyed late morning coffee with my sister-in-law Bethany and an evening visit with my friend Jayne, who brought me a retirement t-shirt gift. Porch sitting and visiting is a great way to adjust pacing.

15. Lounge Pants Spree – I ordered lounge pants for each day of the week so that at least I could change into clean pajamas each day, but I ended up keeping only one set. I’ll add them more gradually so I can be sure of the fit instead of ordering online. My writing friend Margaret is changing my thinking, though. She says she replaced loungewear with activewear, and perhaps I should consider the same. There are some yoga pants that do not fit quite as tight as leggings, and those would work for me better than the tighter fit.

16. Novel Writing with Nick – I met a friend and fellow writer in Eastman, a couple hours south of here, to go through the first round of edits for the unfinished book left by my father that we are co-authoring. We look forward to bringing this novel to print in the coming months.

17. Kindred Spirits Book Club – I have a Goodreads personal goal of 60 books this year – – (it’s fitting….it’s the year of 60)…..and my Kindred Spirits sisters (missing one of us in the photo below who are the regulars) and I met at our local coffee shop to discuss the August selection: Dear Debbie by Freida McFadden. Our book choice for September is The Sideways Life of Denny Voss. Currently, I’m finishing Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth and I can’t turn the pages fast enough to see what happens next.

18. Barnes and Noble Virtual Book Club – I was looking for a way that my daughter in Nevada and I could connect in a book club, so we participated in the reading of a Brazilian thriller author’s latest book, The Secret Dinner. We downloaded the book on a Tuesday and had 48 hours to read it before the Barns and Noble Monday Mystery event. It’s definitely a great way to participate with family readers across the miles. The novel was disturbing in its subject matter, but reading outside the comfort zone is what readers do sometimes.

Over the next couple of weeks, we will be busy. One excursion that we will take this weekend will likely be one of my favorites of all time….. (hint: It will take place in Nashville, Tennessee on Saturday night).

Art borrowed from a Facebook posting

Retirement II Haiku

it’s a fresh chapter

new adventures, living strong

~ sing love like Dolly!

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Mahjongg 101

I have a looonnnnngggg list of things I want to learn and do in retirement. One is learning to play Mahjongg, a classic Chinese tile game sweeping the nation in popularity as it experiences a resurgence in its American form. I’ve seen groups playing it everywhere, including inside a Chicken Salad Chick fast food restaurant when I went in for lunch one afternoon. I’ve played a version of the game on my phone, but I’ve never learned the traditional tile game.

Until yesterday.

My friend and former teaching colleague Christian and I went together to the Griffin-Spalding County Library to take part in an introductory class taught by two ladies who came all the way from Augusta to teach beginners. They will be returning in a couple of weeks for the next session, and after two hours of strategy and rules in this new adventure, we both hurried to the counter to sign up for the next session.

We’ve caught Mahjongg Fever.

Mahjongg 101 Students

we both just retired

former teammates, always friends

learning a new game

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Retirement Surprise Dinner!

It was supposed to be an ordinary day: August 1, my first official day of retirement. At work the previous week before I took the personal days I needed to use or lose, I had asked to simply slip out the door without a party or even a mere cupcake. I’m not one for too much celebration since I like everything to be simple, and I don’t like to be in the spotlight. On my last office day, my husband worked with my friend Janette and sister in law Bethany to arrange to bring the RV up to the parking lot so my friends could wave to me as I drove away to the open road. One week later, he’d asked me to save the evening – like he does if we have a date or something. I figured he was planning to take me to dinner, just the two of us.

I repotted plants all morning while he mowed grass and did the weed eating. And then I came inside into the air conditioned cool and cleaned out the refrigerator. I did that kind of deep cleaning that you do every two or three years where you take all the shelves and drawers out and wash them, then line all the countertops in towels and let it all air dry. Briar was in the shower, and as soon has he was done, I stepped in for my turn to clean up for the evening. I wanted him to go first so I could see what to wear without asking too many questions. Wherever we were going, we were leaving at 5:00.

I chose black pants and a black and white shirt, the sort of outfit that seems to adjust itself to the formality of any occasion. I put on my silver hoop earrings and my beaded bracelet that was a gift from Bethany when my soul Schnauzer Fitz crossed the rainbow bridge this past spring, and the pearl and silver cross necklace from my children. And then, I bottomed it all off with my black Teva TirraTraveler sandals that look like something between a fancy Sunday School shoe with a beaded ring and just as fitting for the beach or kayaking, and the shoes I would choose as my one forever shoe if I could only choose one pair henceforth. I dried my hair, put on some makeup, installed my contact lenses, grabbed my trusty Portland Leather bag, and stepped into the living room.

And there sat my brother, who’d made the trip to surprise me from five hours south. And my sister in law – – and they hugged me and led me outside to see a gift they’d made together, just for me, that was in their cooler in the back of their car. A toasted coconut cream pie. A favorite Costa Rican recipe that they had made together in their own kitchen the night before, knowing it’s my favorite.

It was that kind of moment where there was nothing else in the whole world that would have been more meaningful. Family who’d traveled in with so much else going on in their own lives, who’d stopped their world to make me a pie and bring it so we could sit around with coffee, talk, and share memories.

I was blown away that my husband had planned such a sweet retirement dinner for me. We were going to my favorite Italian restaurant two counties northwest of us, and we were on the way. And there, at a corner way in the back hidden from immediate view, were three of my colleagues I’d met the very first year I came to the county and had joined on adventures outside of work throughout the years ~ all avid readers who love to travel, see shows, and go out to eat. I’d taught their children and we shared some of the happiest and saddest times of the past 20 years of our lives together, from book club discussions to following each other’s favorite travel itineraries to being there when we’d laid loved ones to rest. Here they were to surprise me and surround me on my first day of retirement!

My brother gave a toast, and we talked of life and the living of it. We all clinked glasses and talked deep into the night, sharing our stories of how we met, how we stuck together, and how we’ve laughed along the way …over coconut cream pie and coffee. Clean refrigerator shelves and drawers lined the kitchen as we gathered in our living room after dinner. I glanced out at the freshly repotted plants on the back porch and felt a similar joy deep inside: new fresh earth, still-strong roots, and room to grow and thrive in new directions with the right watering and sunshine.

Toasting

they made me a pie

showed up for my retirement

toasted coconut!

….and toasted retirement, too

in a glass of prosecco!

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Embarking on Retirement: The Next Journey

Retirement

I’ve found the door

started looking last year

made my way through the room

straightening my files

smoothing my skirt

changing shoes

grabbing my hat and sunglasses

moving toward the portal

reaching, turning, pushing

toward the next chapter

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VerseLove Day 4: Living Poets

Instructions for Traveling with Living Poets

I’m hosting today at http://www.ethicalela.com for the fourth day of VerseLove to celebrate National Poetry Month. Hop on over there and write with us today! Follow this link.

Inspiration 

I made a commitment to follow more living poets in 2026, and I’ve been on a remarkable journey of discovery ever since.  As a third-year member of The Stafford Challenge, it brings great joy to see a surge of interest in modern poetry! At my father’s funeral in June 2025, I chose a poem from an anthology of living poets to read at his graveside – not one written long ago.  I reached out to the poet to let her know I planned to read it, and I sent her a recorded clip of that reading. Imagine my surprise when, with tears in her eyes, she sent her own recorded message back explaining that it was her own cancer journey that had inspired her deeply moving poem. I hope to meet her in person this summer when I travel to Portland, Oregon.

Joy Sullivan, author of Instructions for Traveling West, is one of the living poets I follow on social media.  Her Substack, Necessary Salt, captivates me with each new post.  I think what I find most enthralling is the sheer glory she finds in everyday moments.  I invite you to go on a living poet journey to find new writers throughout the month.  Use their work to inspire your own, even borrowing their style and a line or two to frame your own poem.  You can find living poets at Teach Living Poets, Poetry Foundation, and by using search engines to discover others. 

Process

I’ve selected a poem by Joy Sullivan to get us acquainted with each other using the title alone: The cashier at the gas station asks me where I’m from.  Here is the poem free to download from Pinterest. 

Choose a person and setting (i.e. cashier at the gas station, pastor at church, mysterious stranger at the bar, waitress at a restaurant, passenger on an airplane, etc.) and introduce yourself.  Title your poem as Joy Sullivan does, and offer us a glimpse into your world.

My Poem

The Soapmaster of Green Willow Soaps asks me where I’m from

so I tell her: an hour south of Atlanta

because no one has ever heard of this place

and besides, these towns are so tiny we all just say

                      Pike County

which is small enough to spit watermelon seeds

across, where the sunsets rival Titian red

when we look over Alabama-way

but what I don’t tell her as I place bars of 

Mountain Mist, Morning Citrus, and Purple Haze

into my arm basket

is that I’m plotting retirement in these mountains

sipping black coffee on my porch

         in the shadows of Blue Ridge 

channeling inner birdsong and crystal-splashing waterfalls

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To Love a Word

Check out Georgia Heard’s Substack for monthly writing calendars that work for both children and adults. Her February Valentine Mini Writing Calendar, inspires us to fall in love with the everyday. Day 5 asks us to fall in love with love with a word, one that feels good to say, then to write it down and let it lead.

Since my One Little Word of 2026 is Onward, I’m choosing it today.

Onward

onward: mountains call ~

fresh, clean air…..majestic views

…..babbling creeks….ONWARD!