Words Left Unsaid

Dear Murray,

I just wanted to drop a note to say hi and to tell you how sorry I am to hear about your recent health news.   I am sure this is a tough and uncertain time for you.   I hope you can spend lots of time with your loved ones and can fill your days doing  whatever you enjoy.

Things with me are good.   I am really enjoying retirement and am learning how to fill the much less-structured days.  I have been learning to do stained and fused glasswork and doing some watercolour painting.  I am really liking that.  I do lots of walking and listening to audiobooks.   It sure passes the walking time quickly!!  Think I’ll try cross country skiing this winter as it looks like I won’t be escaping it this year, which was my ultimate retirement goal!!  I spent last winter in San Diego and it was fantastic.  Sure hope I can get back there next year!  

I just wanted you to know that I I’ve been thinking of you and that I wish you well at this challenging time.   

Be well,

Bob

 

Last Day Of Summer

Change of season equals change of style!   Good-bye 8 month old beard.   Time for a change to s things up.   So, Saturday morning I bought a set of clipper and off it came.  

Then I drove to Yorkton for a long overdue visit with Deed and then I went to see Brenda on Sunday in Bredenbury.   My mental health needed a shot of family and a shake up of routine.   It served my purpose well.   It was just what I needed to do. 

It’s Been 6 Months

Wolf Blitzer just said it’s 6 months to the day since the WHO declared this Covid pandemic.
Dr. Fauci just said it’ll be a year before life goes back to how it was before the pandemic.
The Weather Channel just said it’s going to be an El Nina winter (extra cold).
That’s a lot to take in.

So 6 months from now:   there’ll be a vaccine, we’ll be in the downward slide of winter, spring will be nearer, Bill’s wedding will be over and the promise of travel should be, once again, a possibility.

I wonder how long my beard and hair will be by then!!

So today I cling to and appreciate the heat and light of this sunny,  29 degree Celsius day for I know that these kinds of day are soon to become more and more rare.   And, I try my damnedest to shift my mindset and focus on the many positives I have, like health and freedom and security and stability.

And I am reminded that, “This too, shall pass.”  🤞🏻🤞🏻

Musings of Life During A Pandemic

So.   It’s been six months.  Six.  Months.   Since I returned home from my winter in San Diego and the borders slammed shut behind me.   They are still closed.

And.   There is no end in sight.   Of it ending soon.  Of the border opening.   Of any semblance of life going back to the way it was before March.

It’s surreal.   Between the pandemic, the civil unrest and the lead up to the election in November in the USA, it feels like we are in the midst of a huge shift in how life has been.   It’s enough to force you to reevaluate life and all its meanings.

I cannot even begin to put into words how glad I am to be retired.   I can’t imagine returning to work next week amid and among all this uncertainty and crisis.   I am thankful for my safe, little life.   Yes, I am disappointed that I won’t be able to travel for an extended period of time.  But, I have a safe, happy home; a routine of daily morning coffee, puzzles, paintings, walking/audiobooks that I enjoy.  I, and my family, are healthy.  

Now, once the weather shifts from gloriously hot and humid August we’ve been having, and the cloak of winter starts to set in, I know it’s going to take a much more consorted effort on my part to maintain this healthy outlook.   But, I foresee cross country skiing and learning the guitar as potential channels for focus.   

I won’t have to get up in the dark.   Or go out in the cold (involuntarily).   It is far from ideal and my dream of never experiencing another Saskatchewan winter post-retirement.  BUT....I am safe.  And secure.   And healthy.

And right about now, there is nothing really more important than that.

Try To Leave Things Better Than You Found Them

I’m just home from a week away with family.  Last Monday I went to the lake for a few days with Deed and Fran and Lynn and the kids.  It was great.   Got to babysit the kids for the first few days with Deed and Fran while Lynn was away visiting.  It was HOT!  We watched movies, played in the lake, barbecued, had “happy hour”, watched movies, did crafts.  It was exactly what I needed.   I cut their grass for 3 hours before I left on Thursday to help Brenda with some yard work.   I cut grass, trimmed the hedges and trees.  I hadn’t seen Brenda since December!   It was so nice to spend time with them all.   The summer days are becoming more and more precious as the August days tick away.   I am so lucky to have such great sisters.  ❤️❤️

Sideline Hustle*. *tm MH 😂

I was asked by Celeste from Fallbrook, California to paint pictures of her “Max” who died 6 months ago.  No pressure!!😳. I mailed them off to her today.

My Latest Endeavor

Colourful, watercolour pets. 

  This has been my “thing” for the last month or so. 

  Xander, Kipper, Cookie, Phil, Stella, Clive and Lois, Lolly and Gibson.

Fun.