Not quite there just yet

Another life post...


Early last year I felt I was in a good place. I was thinking I could be happy right where I was in my home and career for at least the 7-1/2 years until my full retirement age.

Things change, right? And so do attitudes. And, I can't necessarily control my surroundings when the Chaos Factor comes around. And boy, it came around a lot this past 12 months.

So, here I am a year past that initial comfort zone setting, and this is what's happening:

  • I'm going back to school (!);
  • Retirement may happen as soon as 3 years from now, or maybe not;
  • We're downsizing--the house will go on the market as soon as we get some things fixed up.

I am a newly enrolled student at a local community college. I'm taking online courses. I turned 60 this spring and with that came the opportunity for tuition-free classes. I am seizing the opportunity.

Retirement...it's a reason why I'm taking classes. More on that in another post.

Downsizing...we're getting up there in years and have a two-story home. We are finally empty nesters and have no plans to take in any more wanderers. The Hubs hates the stairs, which means I'm the lucky person who does ALL the laundry. It doesn't seem like much except when you're lugging it up the stairs. We talked for years about putting in a dumbwaiter and even discussed an elevator. The house is big, and while I use the entire downstairs area for my quilt studio, it's more space than we really need.

Hubster keeps going back and forth on my longarm. While I had reached the point of thinking I'm ready to sell it, my sister told me this week she would keep it for me at her house. She's only 2-1/2 hours away and I can go up there on a long weekend and get the quilts cranked out. I think I'll take her up on it.

And I'm still quilting when I can. I finished the Shimmering Triangles quilt in time for Hubster's 60th birthday. It's the only quilt I've worked on this year. The first thing he said when he opened it was, "I love it!" Then he asked, "Does it have a sleeve?" I had made it for him to use as a lap quilt, but that week I added the sleeve and now it hangs in his office at work. He's received a lot of compliments on it.




We are deep in the throes of wedding preparations for our youngest son, David, and his fiance, the lovely Emma. The wedding is less than 3 months away. I'm busy rolling hems on 45 napkins and need to alter the wedding dress. I need to find something to wear, too!

So, yes, I'm still alive and kicking. I'll keep you updated when I can. I hope to be quilting soon, because I'm feeling the need for it!

Go quilt!


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