A Year Down the Road

Yes, dear readers, it HAS been a whole year since we closed on our house in High Point and began the odyssey down I-85 South to make a home in GA. [You can read that post by clicking here.]

To recap a bit...Missy M graciously shared her home with us (dogs, too, thank Heaven!) while we became locked in a much more protracted house-hunt than we could ever have dreamt. Thanks to the best realtor we have ever worked with as purchasers (yay, Rose!), we eventually found “it”...exactly the right house on the right lot in a town and a county we’d never known nor would ever have found on our own.

Check one off the bucket list:
find a whole sand-dollar

Along the way, we had a grand adventure to Arizona and have been to the mountains and to the beach, where I was able to check “find a whole sand dollar” off my bucket list. We said sad goodbyes to our Abbie-girl and M’s Miss Dixie...both left holes in our hearts that have only begun to mend with the additions of Logan and Pepper to Casa 303, as well as Rowan at 2244. The Adsit Adventure continues, and the Drool Gang is back to the full complement of 5.

Newest Drool Gang Members:
Rowan and Pepper

MDBT to WDW

Missy M and I renewed our annual tradition of Mother-Daughter Bonding Trips (MDBTs) with a week at the Most Magical Place on Earth. And it is...and it was...!

I found a wonderful group of Master Gardeners in my new County of Walton to help close the gap created when I left Guilford...and to reenergize me with lots of volunteer opportunities. I have worked closely with this year's MG training class (which has kept me on the go every Tuesday and Thursday from early January through the end of  March)...such a great group of people I might add. Slowly but surely, I am learning my way around Walton, one MG commitment at a time.

Columns in Walton Tribune

I began writing a bi-weekly gardening column for the Walton Tribune, as well as a monthly "gardening tips" column for the Loganville Insider, which means I get another check on a bucket list item: "become Elizabeth Lane* when I grow up."

So, what’s happening now, you might ask? Well, we are focusing our time and energy on maximizing our 1/3 acre property to create a kitchen garden space as well as a berry patch and a rose garden. Smaller than our 4-year plan for HPNC in size and scope, but more effective use of the ground we have, we hope.

Not to be too eye-rollingly obvious with the references...while we are putting down roots here, I feel like we are spreading our wings and embracing retirement.

And how is that coming along? Let me let the pictures do the talking...

We brought plants & things with us from NC...

...and then we had to till up the GA clay.

 OK, tilling up GA clay might work for a few irises, daylilies, and liriope (oh my...aching back!), but we are NOT planting our kitchen garden in the native soil here, folks. To mis-quote the Great Wizard: "No way, no how." Altogether now: RAISED BED GARDEN (RBG)...WOO HOO!

...and it should go about...here!

A raised bed garden (RBG) is in our future...

...and then we fill it!

First Mr. T builds it...

Voila! It looks like this!

I have seeded the new RBG with beans, melons, squash, and cukes...but you will have to take my word for that. It is way too chilly still to put the tomato and pepper transplants in the cold, cold ground.  Another week, maybe...

Meanwhile, the seeded transplants wait patiently...soaking up some rays on a sunny day...

Tomato and pepper transplants...waiting for 55 degree nights

Folks, trust me when I say, this is really starting to feel like home.

And, to think, it only took a year...

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*So, who is Elizabeth Lane, you ask? Have you ever seen Christmas in Connecticut, a "true" holiday classic from 1945, and one of my all-time favorites? Certainly, the story is a bit farcical at times, but the characters more than make up for it. Barbara Stanwyck plays the character of magazine columnist Elizabeth Lane, who is one of the country's most famous food writers. In her columns, she describes herself as having a farm in Connecticut, where she spends her days taking care of her child and her husband and being an excellent cook.

Lies...all lies! In reality she is a single New York City apartment dweller, who can't boil an egg and who doesn't "even own a window box." The recipes all come from her good friend Felix (played by the ever-delightful S.Z. Sakall). The owner of the magazine she works for (played by Mr. T's personal favorite actor in mid-century movies, Sydney Greenstreet) has decided that a heroic sailor named Jefferson Jones (played by the engaging Dennis Morgan) will spend his Christmas on *her* farm in Connecticut. Miss Lane knows that her career is over if the truth comes out, so what can she do to save her job?

Anyway...makes for an entertaining Christmas tradition in our family.

I totally connect with Elizabeth Lane's columnist character. Not the food writer part, necessarily (although I guess I have done my share of recipes, even if I don't have an "uncle" Felix to cook for me). And not the "living a lie" part either...since I do indeed have a window box and very-nearly a micro-mini farm, so writing about gardening is much more authentic for me than writing about food was ever intended for Elizabeth Lane. No, it's the I-want-to-be-that-clever-of-a-writer-when-I-grow-up part. And have my own column part.

So, when I saw the words "Columnist" after my name for the first time in the Walton Tribune, you know I was thrilled. It matters not that this is in Monroe, GA instead of NYC...no, the bucket list item said "write a gardening column."

Check!

Being Still or Still Being

"Standing calmly at the crossroads, no desire to run.....there's no hurry anymore when all is said and done." 

— “When All Is Said and Done” from Mamma Mia, lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc, Universal Music Publishing Group

Those lyrics? Perfect way to describe my state of mind right now: "no desire to run." We are finally feeling settled here...both the "here" of retirement as well as the "here" of Loganville*. Not so sure about the "no hurry" part, but when Pierce Brosnan sings the song, heck...I can believe anything!

So what's your secret? you might ask. Well, when we entered the Red Zone of Retirement**, I did what I usually do when faced with something new or different entering our lives that must be managed: I researched and I read.

I discovered much of what has been written about retirement is by financial companies or purveyors, and therefore focused on preparing your finances to face your golden years. This is the all-important “how am I going to pay for it?” I went through the process of creating a detailed retirement budget...without really knowing all the relevant details yet. I learned the inviolate 4% withdrawal rule...and the many reasons it may be wrong for the current economy. I finally came to the conclusion that it all comes down to [(whatever funds you have managed to save for retirement plus whatever you receive from Social Security) minus (whatever your expenses are in retirement)]. And, if you are past the point of saving more of the first part of that equation, then you need to get really good at managing the second part. Period...at least for the financial aspect of retirement.

Sadly, a first-focus on the financial aspect...while necessary...is putting the cart before the horse: “pay for ‘it’?”...pay for WHAT exactly? It has been said that “Emotional preparedness is just as important to a happy retirement life as financial readiness.” I might say "more important, but that's just my opinion.

This not-as-well-documented functional aspect of retirement means going through the process of examining the emotional and social sides to determine the answers to “who, what, where, and when do I want to be and do in retirement?” As you can see just by comparing the number of words, this aspect ought to be the most important focus of retirement planning.

It isn’t.  Why? Maybe because it is harder. Maybe because there is no equation, no percentage. Maybe because there are far more “financial advisors” who charge a lot more but know next to nothing about the so-called soft-side that is the domain of retirement coaches? (Do NOT get me started on that one...:-) 

Anyway...

In looking back at my life (metaphorically), I could see a long line of activities and adventures...in other words, an awful lot of DOING. So, I initially thought that retirement might offer me the opportunity of BEING...still...quiet...calm. Reading books, working crosswords and jigsaws, knitting, watching TV...maybe a little blogging now and then.

Nah. Being still turned out to be too difficult and frankly too foreign for my personality. I cannot seem to simply read...or knit...and watch TV; no, I try to do them at the same time! I have said all of my life that I have two speeds: 0 and 100 mph. I’m either going at my top speed...or I’m asleep.

So, here I am, loving retirement...mainly because I have decided to let go of BEING STILL and to embrace STILL BEING me by continuing my activities and adventures.

All of that was a way of saying why my blog has suffered my silence since the New Year. But I was (lovingly) reminded recently that I had some catching up to do, so here we go!

Most of you who follow me on Facebook know that Missy M gifted me with a trip to Walt Disney World on my birthday...and that trip had been planned for last September, for the same week that Hurricane Irma shut central Florida down, including WDW for only the 5th time in its history. Fast forward to the end of January, and we enjoyed our first Mother-Daughter Bonding Trip (MDBT) in several years. Really enjoyed it, as these pictures hopefully show!

First night of WDW MDBT - 2018

Selfie at our hotel, the Boardwalk

The Quiet Pool...before all the noise!

A clothesline of Candied Bacon 
at Edison's in Disney Springs

Maredith snapping Tower of Terror
at Hollywood Studios

Parade at Magic Kingdom

On the Train at Magic Kingdom

Illuminations at Epcot

Dinosoar at Animal Kingdom

Indiana Jones Stunt Show at Hollywood Studios

Epcot at night

Magic bands mean they know where you are
at ALL times...even on the It's a Small World ride!

Many of you also know that in retirement, we have made a commitment to lifelong learning through the Oscher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at University of Georgia, which provides us with a community in which to expand our minds as well as our waistlines. We have enjoyed being in both the Lunch Bunch and the Supper Club SIGs (let’s eat!), and I have taken advantage of several classes. This month already, I have learned about how to use the GALILEO system in genealogical research, as well as taking a photographic “trip” to New Zealand: The Land of the Long White Cloud (more on that in an upcoming post).

OLLI class on GALILEO for Genealogy

No doubt by now you’ve picked up on my Master Gardener transfer from Guilford County, NC to Walton County, GA. Being an active MG volunteer is very important to my plan for a happy retirement, both because I love to garden and because I love to teach people about gardening. And 2018 has been in high gear since early January when I began to fulfill my commitment to class-managing the Tuesday and Thursday morning training classes (9:00-12:00), along with doing my part on other projects (writing a bi-weekly gardening column for the local paper, helping with restorative pruning at the historic McDaniel-Tichenor House in Monroe, working on the bylaws committee, developing a Mentor program and a Help Desk, and delivering a workshop presentation on Seed Starting in conjunction with the inauguration of our Seed Library...which I did yesterday).

MGs - Restorative Pruning at the McDaniel-Tichenor House

New Class begins MG training - January, 2018

Walton County MGs at McDaniel Tichenor House

Mr. T and the MGs at work on Raised Beds for the
Monroe Senior Center Community Garden

And we are only 7 weeks into the new year!

Any areas that you haven't put your retirement plan into action? you ask. Well, yes. That trip to Disney reminded me that I had put "walking for regular exercise" on my plan for a happy retirement. While I was able to have three great step-count days then, I still struggle to carve out the time (and left-over energy) for the same here at Casa 303. Sigh. Ah well...a goal!

Screen capture of my Apple Watch
for Day 3 at Disney

So, if I am not being still and writing my blog posts, you can rest assured I am still being active and involved in my adventures. 

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* For inquiring minds who know about M's imminent departure from Popeye's (which is beign moved to Miami by the "new" parent company RBI), rest easy: she was offered and has accepted a job in ATL...they are completing her background check. As soon as she gives me the high sign, I'll write some more about that. Bottom line: she's staying here...so we get to stay here, too!

**Retirement Red Zone has several definitions, depending on who is speaking or writing. I choose to use the 5 years before retirement and the first 5 years after retiring. So, we are 7 years in at this point.

Reflecftions on the Race

Happy 2018! Time to toast the future of the new year...and a time to reflect on the past of the old. Cheers!

Have you ever seen a video of runners crossing the Finish Line in a marathon? Leaning into the tape, arms flung over their heads in wild abandon, faces flushed with looks of sheer joy...followed closely by gasping for oxygen, bending at the knees, just before falling in a heap on the first mound of grass beyond the pavement. They know that they have accomplished their great goal...and simultaneously paid a price. But the joy and sense of accomplishment will remain long after the memories of "hitting the wall"* at Mile 20, and the oxygen-deprivation and muscle-exertion have faded. At least until they start training for the next marathon, I suppose.

I'm not a runner, obviously...those are just my observations. But, I can relate to the emotions. I feel like we set a goal, we ran hard and fast toward it for more months than we anticipated, we hit the wall, and then we definitely crossed the Great Slo-Mo Relo Finish Line, flinging ourselves onto the GA soil, gasping for oxygen, just before the Peach Drop** on New Year's Eve and 2018 arrived. 

Four Generations of Keatons

Baby M

Christmas is definitely wrapped up in the memories of holidays-past, as we bring out family pictures (like this one, left, of four generations of Keatons: my great uncle Smiley Keaton; my mother, Edith Keaton Lunn; me, Patricia Keaton Lunn Adsit; and Missy M when she was 2 months old), much-loved ornaments (like this one, right, of M's first Christmas), and tried-and-true recipes. But this Christmas, now that we are in our new home, meant we could begin making some new memories.





The hardest part was in not knowing what we still had left from Christmases past: what had survived the Estate Sale last November, the giveaway afterwards at the time of the pre-packing in December 2016, and then the general clean-out when we completed the sale of the NC house in March 2017. This was complicated by seemingly everything being in a different box than what I remembered it being in in High Point.

Nativity Set made by Maryen Adsit

I knew that the Nativity sets that Mr. T's mother Maryen had made nearly 40 years ago were still with us, but I didn't know which boxes they were in (which means you have to go through them one by one until you find what you are searching for).

I knew that our Nutcracker collection had been trimmed substantially by the Estate Sale (apparently a very popular item!), but I also knew that we had saved enough to decorate a mantle (see picture), and that they were all packed together in a well-marked box.

Nutcrackers and Bears...oh my!

I knew we had sold both of our pre-lit trees (a 9' and a 6'), but then replaced them with a 7.5' slim model and a 4.5' tabletop version in the 75% off after-Christmas sale last year (and then just packed the unopened boxes to make the move to GA!).

New 'Slim' Tree

Christmas "China"

I knew that our Christmas "china set" that Daddy gave us in 1987 (when he started working at Central Hardware) had survived any downsizing activities and exactly where it was stored, but I wasn't sure about tablecloths and napkins, etc., to complete the tablescaping (and of course, we would be decorating the smaller "kitchen" table this year since we said goodbye to the larger dining room table and two leaves).

I knew there were a couple of boxes of wrapping supplies in the attic, but I wasn't really sure what we still had because I recall being a bit ruthless in clearing out paper and gift boxes in the great cleanup.
No matter. We still seem to have kept plenty of the decorations...enough to decorate this house and maybe a couple of apartments...:-), lights, and bows and ribbon and tissue paper (but somehow we ditched every roll of Christmas wrapping paper except one!).

So, what did I miss the most from the Great Downsizing Purge? Believe it or not, it's a set of nesting mixing bowls that must have been at least 40 years old. I inherited them from my Uncle Smiley Keaton, who most likely won them as a door prize during his years at District Governor of the Lion's Club...and most almost certainly never used them. And while I rarely used them throughout the year, I always used every one of them at Christmas Time...and I really had to scramble this year to find suitable replacements. You may remember this picture from 2009, showing the very bowls that came up MIA after the move:

What was most noticeably missing turned out to be outside lighting: the 6 long strands of staked lights that we used to edge the property and create what we fondly called The Landing Strip in our front yard. We were also missing a box of twinkling stars that had graced our porch as well as the netting-like lights that we used to cover the bushes near the front door. Oh, and the window wreaths (which were in a box that a previous packer for a previous moving company had marked "Reefs"...and which always brought a smile to our faces...:-) and their red bows. Haven't a clue where the contents of any of those boxes went between here and there.

But our Mens (the hand-made Santa Nutcrackers that have guarded our door every Christmas since Collierville...and which STILL need repainting) showed up for duty, as always, and looked even better when Mr. T aimed the two spot lights on them.

"Mens" Reporting for Duty, 2018

The lighted Mr. and Mrs. Reindeer found their new spots in front of a huge evergreen next to our driveway and appeared to be right at home. The single strand of 5 lighted stars that remained turned out to be exactly right for our smaller front porch. By adding the ancient but still operational candles in the windows, we lit up the cove with cheer every night for 4-5 hours after dusk (depending on the timers).

Our Holidays were made even more special this year as Brother T and SIL LaD visited us from Kentucky...a Christmas miracle, in and of itself.

And then we all trekked up to Dillard, GA to meet Bro J (SIL J couldn't join us this year as she was helping her brother make the transition to home from the hospital following surgery) for our Lunn Family Christmas. We had dinner at the Dillard Inn, where they serve platters of fried chicken and fixings, family-style...another new treat for all.

But, possibly best of all, our tiny little family is together. Missy M, who has had a few days off from work, spent the night with us so Christmas morning was relaxed and not rushed. We fixed our Christmas dinner for Christmas Eve (and found we liked that change!), so there was no stress on the Big Day at all. How absolutely wonderful!

Christmas Eve Dinner...and Logan

Monkey Bread

Coconut Cake with Pineapple Filling

So, are you ready for the New Year? I think we are. Here's hoping it will be a great one for all!

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* “Hitting the marathon wall” is a much-feared and much-discussed phenomenon in marathoning. Runners speak ominously about a sudden wave of fatigue that sets in at about 20 miles into a marathon.
** Read more about Atlanta's traditional Peach Drop here: 

http://www.myajc.com/lifestyles/holiday/new-location-old-tradition-for-atlanta-peach-drop/YIVyb7LXknZERue97FYNjO/ 

Slowly* But Surely

As Maggie, our GPS-controlled voice would say "we have arrived!" 

Of course, once the moving vans left, the next Big Job on the To Do List bubbled up: unpacking. Sure it's tough, but there is no time limit on this one. Missy M asked "are you setting yourself goals, like 'unpack 10 boxes every day'?" Uh...no...we are retired**, dear, so our schedule is our own.

The only real "goal" I have is to make this house feel like our home as quickly as possible. That, and to get out of the "moving mode" into the "settling in mode" by getting our things in place in the new place. Every time we have moved (19 times in 41+ years!), I am reminded of a quote from my favorite John Wayne movie, "The Quiet Man"...said by the marvelous actress Maureen O'Hara in character as Irish lass, Mary Kate Danaher: "Ever since I was a little girl, I dreamed of having my own things about me. My spinnet over there, and a table here, and my own chairs to rest upon. And a dresser over there in that corner, and my own china and pewter shinin' about me." *** Having my own things about me...I can definitely relate to that!

I recently re-read a post **** I wrote on the occasion of settling in after our last move (MO to NC in 2009), where I talked about returning to the blessed routine of doing laundry. Guess what? Nothing has changed! Well, the machines are newer, but we still have focused on getting the laundry room operational as quickly as possible. And I thought you might like the new addition: a decal I purchased from Sign Junkies on Etsy, pictured below. Messaged the photo to Brother J, who asked if I would charge myself 25 cents per load, as Daddy had back in the Henning days...or if there had been a price increase due to inflation? Ha!

Speaking of my Daddy...

I unpacked a box of pictures yesterday and found this one. I cross-stitched (back when my eyesight was much, much better...;-) this saying as a Christmas gift for Daddy in 1988, when he and Nana/Momma/Edith lived in Smithville, TN, and we had moved to Kernersville, NC. On the back side of the frame was a picture Mr. T snapped when Daddy opened the present. He loved the gift...and the saying. I love that we decided to keep this one.

Speaking of Christmas...

Another good thing about this huge chore of unpacking: since we haven't seen a lot of our stuff that has been packed since last Fall (just before the NC Estate Sale held in mid-October 2016), each box-opening is akin to Christmas morning: "Ooh...aah! I couldn't remember if we kept this or not!"

So, where are we in the process? Well, we've opened, emptied, knocked down, and recycled most of the boxes in the main living areas as well as our bedroom and the two bathrooms. We have placed most of the furniture where we think it should go (except...I now know the china cabinet needs to be moved from one wall to another...sigh); the rugs and their liners are on the floors (which does wonders for that awful echo created by an empty structure); clothes, cleaning supplies, and cookware are all finding the cabinets and closets where they will live here on Kings Way; and we are figuring out the science of stuffing 20 pounds of potatoes into a 10# sack (still? didn't we already get rid of a mountain of belongings?!?).  We now understand the art of downsizing a bit better: it's a two-step process, meaning you shed all the things you think you can live without...and then you buy a smaller house and figure out what will fit and what else is no longer classified as "essential"...and let go of that, too. Big Sigh.

After taking some time out to tend to yard work (in our yard as well as Missy M's...since she's taking a well-deserved break at the beach this week), Mr. T has started on his office and got the laptop and the air printer set up and connected to our wireless network. He spent most of yesterday installing towel bars, toilet paper holders, and other items required to be level, plumb, and straight. After getting the kitchen and laundry up and functioning, I will be starting on my office/craft room/guest bedroom (whew...it's a small room which has to wear many hats!). That should keep me busy.

Oh, and when we run out of things to do in the house, there's always the garage and the attic. "No rest for the wicked, and the righteous don't need none."*****

Slowly but surely, it is coming together. And you know what? We couldn't be happier.

Surely. 

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* Slowly...: Since my days as a Rosette at Mississippi University for Women, I have collected turtles, the symbol of doing things "slowly but surely." Only...that is contrary to my character, as I have never been blessed with that ability. My natural inclination has always been to be going 90 (at which pace one rarely does anything "surely") or nothing (at which pace one rarely does anything!). The whole turtle collecting thing came about as a result of a misinterpretation: as pledges, we were learning a club song called "Bond Eternal," which is sung fast...making the words run together. "Bond Eternal" sounded like "Bonnie Turtle" to me...and a tradition was born when, for my asking 'why were we singing a song about a turtle?,' I got the honor of creating, carrying, and introducing to all a pink and silver (Rosette colors) papier-mâché turtle called Bonnie.

** About being retired: Someone recently asked Mr. T if he liked being retired, to which he responded "I'll let you know as soon as I get to experience it." Ahem. It has been a less-than-leisurely 18 months, hasn't it?

*** About The Quiet Man: Not only was this my favorite John Wayne movie, it was also said to be Maureen O'Hara's favorite role and film. When we went to Ireland in 2008, Mr. T and I were determined to find locales where they made the movie, and we did! We were thrilled to discover and cross over The Quiet Man bridge, located 5 miles past Oughterard, on the N59 heading west. Here are the photos:

**** About that post from 2009: check it out here: http://adsit2.blogspot.com/2009/06/routine-blessed-routine.html

*****About that quote: That's what Uncle Billy always said in Jan Karon's Mitford Series. Love those books by a North Carolinian about North Carolina.