Tag Archives: changes

Winding down and revving up

Kenn and I both retired from federal civil service in 2019 (me in April, him in December). In August of 2020, Kenn started a job at the local agricultural research center. As time passed, he asked if I would be interested in similar job. I wasn’t opposed to the idea, but I also wasn’t necessarily looking for a job. As an introvert, it’s easy for me to go into hermit mode; I’m perfectly fine being at home for extended periods. However, Kenn talked me up to one of the scientists, I met with him, and I started my job at the research center in July 2022.

Even though I wasn’t looking for a job, I’ve really enjoyed mine. I get out of the house a couple of days a week, my boss and coworkers are great, I get to spend time outside (as opposed to a cubicle), and I get to perform a variety of tasks. The atmosphere is extremely laid back and my schedule is flexible. If Kenn and I decide to take a road trip for a month, there isn’t any drama; our bosses just say, “See you when you get back.”

Our boss decided the team needed hard hats while implementing one of his more “interesting” projects.

Due to the types of positions we have, our bosses have to renew our jobs each year – which has never been a problem until now. Why now? Well, we work on a government facility. I’ll let you put the pieces together. As a matter of fact, I had already been notified that my position had been renewed for another year only to be told a couple of weeks later that I wouldn’t be renewed after all. I don’t blame my boss, he has done all he can; these decisions are being made by individuals further up the chain. Kenn has been told that his position likely will not be renewed in August.

We’re fortunate. Kenn and I don’t need our jobs. The extra money, while nice, isn’t necessary to our survival. I really feel for all of the full-time employees who have lost their jobs – most with little to no notice. Being a government employee isn’t easy; for some reason, we’ve always gotten a bad rap. (There’s nothing like working your butt off only to get told how lazy government employees are.) And now, we’re being demonized even more. However, if the loss of my little part-time position makes it easier for even one full-time employee to keep their job, I’m all for it.

The one thing that has surprised me about all of this is how emotional I have been. At times, I’m really sad. I have truly enjoyed the last three years. At other times, I’m angry. Don’t tell me that I’m good for another year just to turn around and say, “LOL! Just kidding!” Right now, my primary emotion is… honestly, I’m not quite sure how I’m feeling. At this point, I’m just ready for it to be over with. If they were to come to me tomorrow and say I could stay for another year, I’m not sure I would; it’s hard to stay motivated with the sword of Damocles hanging over your head. I’ve already made plans to fill my “extra” time with volunteer work. I’ll also have no excuse not to finish going through that last box of I-have-no-idea-what-to-do-with-this stuff that belonged to my parents. Of course, I’ve gotten a little teary-eyed while writing this – and I rarely cry. Sigh. As the tattoo on my forearm reminds me daily, this too shall pass.

My tattoo on the day I got it – February 28, 2015.

Since I’m pouting, I can’t even think of any questions to post here. So, hit me with your random thoughts or facts.

The end of an era.

It’s the middle of November which usually means I am in the middle of participating in NaNoWriMo. I made the decision not to participate this year a few months ago; several days out-of-town during the month and Thanksgiving made the event a no-go before it even started. I also decided I can no longer support an organization that has become such a dumpster fire. Organizations come and go, but it’s rare to have the opportunity to watch one die a slow, painful death at the hands of the ones who should be trying to save it.

Image from depositphotos.com

The problems began with complaints that one of the forum mods was grooming children – a big problem which took far too long for the board to resolve. The latest in a long line of bad decisions is a statement from the interim director basically saying that disabled writers need AI in order to write, followed by a statement calling anyone who disagreed with that statement (including all of the disable writers who complained) ableist and classist. After a year of one fox up after another, the entire board resigned. The last I heard, there are now only three people on staff at NaNo: the interim director, an intern, and a part-time IT person. There’s a whole Google doc detailing all that has gone wrong. If you decide to read it, I suggest you don your comfy clothes and grab some popcorn; it’s long.

NaNoWriMo meant a lot to me. I have always been a bit of a misfit. However, the first time I got together with the local NaNo group, I knew I had met my people; these people got me. It’s great when you meet a group of people whose weird compliments your own. The camraderie of the NaNo experience is a part of what made the experience fun. The loss of what the experience once was makes me sad. I have uploaded my NaNo stats to TrackBear and will use that site for any future projects unless NaNo can pull out a miracle. (IMO, the best thing they can do at this point would be to replace the interim director; her inflexibility and unwillingness to listen to any voices other than her own are a good part of why the organzation is where it is now.)

I guess as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. For me, the only thing left at this point is to mourn and move on. Any other Wrimos out there? How do you feel about the state of the organization?

Cutting the (wireless) cord

I know, I know. Cell phones don’t have cords – hence the whole “wireless” descriptor. But, sometimes my brain settles on a title and there’s no changing it. Such is the case with this post.

I may have mentioned in previous posts that Kenn is not a fan of change. When decisions need to be made, I do my research, make my decision, and am ready to act. Kenn, on the other hand needs days/weeks/months to come to terms with the pending change. Admittedly, life doesn’t always allow a lot of time for decisions – some need to be made right. now. But, when a decision can be postponed without major consequences for us, they can drag out seemingly forever. Seriously. It took years for me to convince Kenn we no longer needed a landline.

Another potential change that has been dragging out for years is changing cell service providers.We have been with Verizon Wireless for twenty years and have been paying through the nose for that honor. We have discussed changing providers ad nauseum. One of the biggest hindrances to making a change was our concern about coverage when we travel. However, as the years have passed, the difference in coverage between the various providers has become minimal. And, no matter the coverage, this is a big country and there are still plenty of areas where there is no cell service.

During our trip to Saint Augustine, we had yet another discussion about changing providers. I finally put my foot down. I didn’t want to talk about this any more. We either needed to pick another provider and change or just admit that we were going to stay with Verizon regardless of the cost. Kenn then took it upon himself to do some research. (Yay!) I’m always glad when he does this. I can give him all of the information in the world, but doing some of the research himself helps him be more willing to move forward with the change.

I am pleased to announce that, after years (and years) of discussion, we are no longer with Verizon. We are now Mint Mobile customers. Kenn changed over about a month and a half before I did so we could compare his Mint coverage to my Verizon coverage in the areas we visit most often. We were both surprised that in some areas of South Carolina near our kids, he had a stronger signal than I did. I made the change approximately a month ago and have had no problems. The best part is that I can pre-pay for 3 months of Mint for both of us for roughly what I was paying for one month of service from Verizon; this makes both me and our bank account very happy.

Just to be nosy – what cell provider do you use? How long have you been with that provider?

Well, That Was Easier Than I Expected

Y’all know I’m a cat lady. Kenn and I have always had a mixture of both indoor and outdoor cats. There were always a lot of un-neutered feral cats in our old neighborhood. Since we always had food out for any critter (cats, dogs, possums, whatever) that needed it, it wasn’t unusual for mama cats to bring their kittens to us to show them a food source. Over the years we socialized and spayed/neutered countless mamas and kittens. Any that wanted to make their home with us were welcome, but they had to remain outside with occasional forays inside for some.

When we moved to The Cabin several years ago, we brought three outdoor cats with us: Nellie, Marvin, and Roscoe. We “inherited” an additional one since Stumpie was already hanging around when we moved in. However, being an outdoor cat comes with any number of hazards. We lost Roscoe to a systemic infection due to an injury; he was so aloof, we didn’t even know there was a problem until it was too late. We lost both Stumpie and Marvin last summer which left Nellie as our only official outdoor cat. Over the past few months, all of the extra cats that had started hanging around have moved on with the exception of Ghost, who is getting a little braver. However, having Nellie outdoors by herself has been killing me. Girlfriend is now thirteen years old and I couldn’t help but feel that she was a little lonely without Stumpie and Marvin.

Outdoor Nellie

Our previous attempts to move Nellie indoors hadn’t gone well, so I was a little leery of trying again even though I knew the move was in her best interest. However, things came to a head last Saturday. I was petting Nellie when I noticed an issue with with her right eye; it was cloudy and slightly enlarged. A closer inspection revealed damage to the cornea so, moving her inside became paramount. After a brief discussion, Kenn positioned one of our larger pet carriers under the carport so it would be there when an opportunity presented itself. I went out and spent fifteen minutes or so petting Nellie and then picked her up. She was never thrilled about being held, but much to my surprise, she allowed it. Even more surprising, I was able to walk her over to the carrier, place her inside, and shut the door without her freaking out. As far as I am concerned, it was a miracle!

Indoor Nellie

Nellie is now sharing my office with Molly, who is both my mewse and another senior citizen. (Molly is fifteen.) Things were a little tense the first couple of days, but are going better now. Nellie went to the vet on Monday and is now receiving an antibiotic ointment on her eye twice a day. We go back to the vet next Monday to find out how we proceed. More antibiotics? Surgery? Either way, she is now indoors and safe from marauding dogs, cars, etc.

On another note, are you familiar with the Nat Geo Wild show Critter Fixers: Country Vets? Those are our vets! Dr. Hodges and Dr. Ferguson are both great, as are the other vets and techs on their team. I guess using their veterinary services is one of my brief brushes with fame. Tell me about your brushes with fame!

Cutting the (Keurig) Cord

Recycling is important to me as is reducing my plastic footprint. One of the areas that I’ve had the biggest struggle with is my Keurig. I loved my morning cup of chai latte but I couldn’t continue justifying the continuing daily use of multiple non-recyclable k-cups. So, I did the only thing I could do – I went cold turkey.

Image courtesty of depositphotos.com

I switched to a powdered chocolate chai latte mix and heated water in the microwave. I didn’t enjoy the mix as much as I did the Cafe Express brand k-cup mix I was using, but that turned out to be a moot point because it irritated my acid reflux which made it a no-go. I also tried a couple of different teas with the same result – my acid reflux wasn’t happy. However, I do enjoy a warm cuppa something in the morning to help me wake up. So, what to do? Well, it turns out that I just went back to having a cup of coffee. Years ago, I started having problems with coffee giving me indigestion so I made the switch to my beloved (and still mourned) chai latte. I used the Keurig for my morning fix while Kenn continued using the coffee maker. As the years have passed, we’ve changed brands of coffee and what we’re using now doesn’t give me indigestion. (Yay!) Now we just have to find a travel-friendly coffee maker to replace the Keurig in the travel trailer.

One thing has helped make the transition easier. I always used a travel mug for my chai latte but now that I’ve gone back to coffee I use a regular coffee mug. This means that I now get to use the mug my youngest son’s girlfriend gave me last Christmas; she knows how much I love John Hancock from the Fallout 4 video game. Now I get to spend every morning with him!🥰

Ghoul of Goodneighbor image by Crystal Fae on Redbubble.com

So, any recommendations for a travel-friendly coffee maker? Or acid reflux-friendly teas, etc.?

A Throwaway Tradition

Traditions are important to me, holiday traditions especially so. One of the first times I remember being impacted by a change to tradition was as a child. When I was young, my mama made Stollen, a German bread, every Christmas as a nod to our German ancestry. The year she announced that she wasn’t going to make it anymore, I was crushed. It wasn’t so much that I missed the bread; I didn’t. Honestly, I didn’t even like Stollen. What I missed was losing something that was always there, or at least had been as long as I could remember. It took until I became an adult to realize that yes, traditions are important, but flexibility with those traditions is also important. A tradition that is too rigid to change is a tradition that becomes a chore instead of a joy. My mama realized this, hence her decision to no longer make Stollen.

After our oldest son’s first Christmas, Kenn and I created what would become one of the first holiday traditions for our small family. After spending that Christmas on the road running from one family’s house to another and not having any time to enjoy the day or each other we decided that our future Christmases would be spent at home; if our parents wanted to see us on Christmas day, they could come to us. (We all lived within 20 miles or so of each other; it’s not like we were expecting anyone to fly across the country.) That tradition has remained in effect all of these years. Now that our sons are grown and one has a family of his own, that tradition may change. If/when it does, we will go with the flow.

One of the first changes I made to one of our own traditions involved our Christmas tree. I had had a love/hate relationship with Christmas trees for a long time. I loved the finished result but my perfectionist tendencies when it came to getting the lights and garland “just so” tended to turn me into a Grinch. Add to the mix cats who live (and love) to knock ornaments off the tree and rearrange the garland daily and some days having a tree was just exhausting. Once the kids were no longer interested in helping decorate the tree, I really wasn’t enthusiastic about going through the steps anymore. Things kind of came to a head in 2016, the year my daddy died. There was a lot of “life” and loss that year and I just didn’t have it in me to deal with a Christmas tree. Kenn disagreed which was fine. I told him we could have a tree but he would be responsible for all of it: the lights, garland, decorations and re-decorating it daily. Eventually I got Kenn to understand that my lack of desire to have a tree had nothing to do with grief (even though that was more than enough), it was more the culmination of years of stress. Yes, the grief was probably the final straw but it wasn’t the ultimate cause of my lack of interest. So, in 2016, we purchased a pallet tree. No garland, lights, or decorations required. Instead, I hung the Christmas cards we received from the strings on the tree.

Our 2016 pallet tree

In 2017, we purchased a 4 foot, pre-lit tree and haven’t looked back. I love our small tree and have no desire to ever go back to a larger one.

Our current tree. It makes me happy.

However, one of our traditions is designed to change every year and then to get thrown away. You see, I love plates for every occasion but have no interest in spending money on dishes that only get used once a year; I also have no interest in finding storage for them. However, I have found a way to indulge my love: Hobby Lobby always has a wonderful selection of seasonal paper plates. So, every Thanksgiving and Christmas I indulge in a new set of plates and napkins. Not only do I get to enjoy a different design every year but we get to enjoy gathering with our family without the worry of having to run the dishwasher constantly.

Our 2021 Thanksgiving plates
Our 2021 Christmas plates

So, what’s the point of this post? It’s just a friendly reminder to not let yourself get locked into traditions that no longer have the meaning they once did. It’s okay to change things up. Do what makes you happy – even if you throw it away afterward.😉

Until next time, take care, happy trails, and Merry Christmas!

Learning to Be Retired

I have now officially been retired for two years. Kenn retired a few months after I did so he has been retired for about a year and a half. I can honestly say that the decision to retire was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. When I told Kenn about my plans to retire he looked at me and said in all seriousness, “I don’t think you’re going to be very good at being retired.” Really? My response was “I am going to be awesome at being retired.” I am pleased to announce that I was correct. I have indeed been awesome at being retired.

I wore this “retiree” costume for my last Halloween in the office pre-retirement

Awesomeness aside, retirement does come with some adjustments. We were used to getting paid every two weeks. We now get paid once a month so that took some adjusting, but it wasn’t as hard as I expected it to be. Full-time retirement was a bit too much for Kenn so he got a part-time job with the local branch of the US Department of Agriculture. It’s pretty much the perfect retirement job. He works two or three days a week and gets to drive tractors and other heavy equipment. (Insert Tim Allen Home Improvement noises here.) The best thing about his job is that it’s flexible. If we want to hit the road for a few weeks with our travel trailer, we can.

This past weekend, I had an epiphany. Our normal method of travel has been to get in the car/truck and get where we need to go with little to no dawdling/side trips. When we were working this was a necessity; we needed to reach our destination to make the most of the time that we had. However, now that we’re retired, we still travel the same way. What’s up with that? We talk about side trips but don’t take them. Why not? We just haven’t changed that long ingrained mindset yet. Last weekend, we had a short visit with our grandson and then hit the road on Monday to take him back home to South Carolina. The trip followed our “normal” routine; the only stops were brief ones for snacks or restroom breaks. (Honestly, being able to help out with our grandson is one of the main reasons I wanted to retire. I was a happy Grammie to be able to make this trip and make things easier for our kids.) We stayed in SC overnight and returned home on Tuesday.

We got up Tuesday morning, checked out of the hotel, had a leisurely breakfast, and headed home. Instead of our usual stop at a convenience store or truck stop, Kenn pulled in at a small nursery and we spent a pleasant 30-45 minutes looking at plants and visiting with the cat and the elderly man relaxing in rocking chairs on the porch. When we got back in the truck (with several new plants) I was absolutely blown away at how relaxing that simple stop was. We made another stop in one of the small towns we always say we’re going to visit. None of the antique-y stores were open since they are only open on weekends but we did a little sightseeing and agreed to make a return visit sometime soon. Hats off to Kenn for breaking us out of our routine and helping us start what I hope will become our “new normal’. I’m looking forward to seeing what this new way of thinking about travel brings.

Until next time, happy trails!