Strange weather!

Purple? Guess it means "transition"

Strange weather!  How many times have we said that lately?  Well, it was 60 degrees yesterday, and today there is ice on the trees.

Ice arrives

And then the flooding.  In the past few days 6 inches of snow melted,  and we got a couple of inches of rain.  The West Fork of the White Lick Creek runs through our neighborhood, and our eyes opened wide when we saw homes with water in their backyards.  We are happy that our home sits atop a hill...

White Lick Creek

Shouldn't they move those cars?

Flood waters approaching the cemetery

Road into the park

Mom and I crafted "EAT" during her December visit

Mike and I spent part of yesterday whipping up a meal of  jerk chicken (I got the recipe from a wonderful blog called "Iowa Girl Eats"), grilled potatoes and salad.  And I enjoyed trying a new brownie recipe that included Saigon cinnamon and Ancho  peppers.   Chuck and Melanie joined us for food, wine, stories and laughter.  Life is good!

And I was so happy to use some of my stoneware which I located in the storage unit.  Ok, my kitchen stuff is the final frontier of boxes remaining in storage. I find myself missing Iowa lately...don't know why now.  But somehow finding and using that stoneware made me smile!  Silly, I know.

And because this blog is supposed to be about retirement, I want to talk about jobs.  Chuck is starting a new job this week, and it was his wide range of work experience that helped him land the job.  And Melanie recently started working with an interior decorator who specifically wanted Melanie's experience so she didn't have to train a person new to the decorating field.

Could be these are limited cases, but  I think this bodes well for folks in their 50's and 60's who may wonder if they can find work or a "second career".  Seems there are jobs that want and need solid work experience!   Good to keep in mind, though I still haven't applied for any project manager jobs yet.  Today I did see an interesting facilities project manager role at my Alma Mater. I am mulling this over, but I'm not sure it's for me.   Don't know if it's too early for a job, or if I want to try something different....

And I was in my studio working on jewelry.  I loved having some space to spread out with tools and beads.

And as I watched the ice coat the trees, I lazed near the fire, reading and writing.   One of my favorite things about retirement is a relaxing Sunday where I'm not stressing about a Monday workday!  I know, it's always the small stuff!



Take care and have a great week!
Diane