Building and shredding

Well, we've been back in Iowa 5 days now, and we are seeing major progress on my house.  We have been very focused this week, working from the time we get up until 7 or 8 or later each night.  I think we are getting in a groove of working together which basically means Mike works on his stuff, and I work on my own tasks.  Somehow it's better this way...


After taking some ribbing from Mike about all of my "to do" lists shortly after I retired, he has finally seen the light!  Yesterday he created his own "to do" list to keep track of steps in building a wall.  As you might imagine, I HAD to get a picture.

It's great when a plan comes together. From the diagrams to the framing, Mike has done a great job putting this "corner-piece"wall assembly together.   After several days of hard work, and an unexpected trip to the emergency care center for a tetanus shot, this work will be finished tonight!  And just in time before the drywall work tomorrow.

I got to tag along on several trips to Lowe's to buy 2x4's, 2x6's, nails, screws and Gorilla Glue.  I really enjoy learning about construction materials and how they are used.  Plus I'm learning how to pick out straight boards!

My work this week was very mundane.  I cleaned a couple of clothes closets and got rid of lots of stuff.  I took several large bags of casual clothes and shoes to Goodwill.  I still have work clothes and handbag to donate, and thanks to information from my friend Ruth, I am checking into donating to a couple of organizations that help women find jobs.  Of course I kept some of my work attire, just in case...

I spent 2 days going through all my files and shredding documents.  I always envied people who purged old records each year, but I never found time to be that orderly.  My file cabinet was packed, and I was buried in documents including debit card receipts going back several years and bank statements going back more years than I care to admit.

 Wanting to recycle the shredded paper, I decided to use leaf bags instead of grocery bags.  These large leaf bags were much easier to handle.  I am embarrassed to say that I filled 3 large leaf bags with shredded paper, and I have no idea how all of that paper ever fit in my small file cabinet.  What else can I say?

And then there comes a time when you just hit the wall.  I needed a break today and went for a wonderful afternoon walk.  I  felt like I had the world to myself; maybe the cold weather kept everyone inside today.  I love to bake, and I also found some time for baking today.  In the past baking was often stress relief, but today it was just plain fun!  We plan to celebrate completion of the wall with some of these treats!
 

Happy Valentine's Day!
Diane

Super Bowl Week in Indy

What a great week to be in Indianapolis!  It's been a whirlwind starting last Sunday when we spent the day at Lucas Oil Stadium putting seat cushions on 50,000 seats.  As I mentioned in my last post, it was a great opportunity to volunteer for the Super Bowl and help a children's charity.

One warm afternoon we met up with our friends Kevin and Kathy, and we headed downtown to experience the Super Bowl village. We arrived at Super Bowl Village and began walking through a 3 block area of stages, food, zip lines and thousands of people.  There were 4 zip lines across Illinois Street, and it was a blast watching people screaming overhead while they enjoyed this ride.  We decided that being spectators was ok versus getting in line at 5 am to buy tickets.  

The local bars and restaurants were hopping, and the media was set up at various places throughout the village.   We enjoyed watching an ice sculpture demonstration by the Ice Gurus.  They created an amazing sculpture a football encased in ice, but all I could  think was "what is wrong with this picture... chain saws and ice?"

We did some shopping for Super Bowl souvenirs at The Huddle, which was an eating and shopping area set up inside the Circle Center Mall.  We enjoyed great food and drinks along the way, and although expensive (as all the local residents complained) it was worth it!  Did I mention the absolutely great weather? It was in the low 50's which is unheard of for the first of February in Indy.

Mike and I headed back to Super Bowl Village the next evening after a day of moving furniture into my new study. We wanted some quality time together, and we ended up sharing the time with 150,000 other people who were downtown.  We went to the Darius Rucker concert and enjoyed some great music outdoors on a beautiful evening.

We enjoyed walking around and getting some great photos of the city all decked out for the Super Bowl.   It was amazing to see the Marriott Hotel covered by a Super Bowl Sign.

The Circle Center was beautiful at twilight.  This area was also home to the theatre where Jimmy Fallon hosted his show several nights this week.  

  

It's been a great week to be in Indy!  We were fortunate to be able to volunteer and participate in the events leading up to the Super Bowl.  We've had a blast, and we haven't even watched the game yet.  Tonight we head to a Super Bowl party at our friend Brian's house.  Go Giants and Eli Manning!  Like most people in Indy, you have to root for any team that plays against the Patriots.  And I used to say that I didn't like football.  Holy cow, what has happened to me...

Diane

Got Muscles?

If not, I should have.  The past couple of weeks have been filled with opportunities to build muscles. 

Of course there’s been the repeat pattern of pack boxes, move to car and take to Goodwill, which surely builds muscle. I unpacked a bin of notes and books from my MBA.  The notes went into recycle and the books are still a question mark.  They are probably out dated, but I still want to research before tossing them (or as Mike suggested, use the band saw to cut through the books so the pages can be recycled.  Not as strange as his experience using the radial arm saw to make croutons out of old bread, but close). 

Like many people, I am trying to exercise more this year (also one of my retirement goals).  I am walking, stretching and doing light weight lifting.  After several days a week of this regimen, I can feel some abs and gluts that previously were non-existent.  Ok, it’s more like when I move, they hurt!  I will take that as a good sign of muscle formation…

And then there was packing the U-Haul trailer to move some furniture for my new study at Mike’s house.  After some interesting conversation with people at various U-Haul stores including a person who gave us patently incorrect information to another tough guy who said, “this ain’t my first rodeo” while hooking up the trailer to the Nitro, we rented the trailer for 3 days.  If I thought the renting was tough, I didn’t anticipate the strength and muscles needed to lift and move furniture into the U-Haul.  Pain in my lower back was evidence of lifting a recliner, leather chair and ottoman and desk. At first I didn’t know if this was an “oh $*** I hurt my back, or if it was muscles screaming, but the next morning I felt great!  Go muscles go!

Then last weekend, Mike and I got to help prepare Lucas Oil Stadium for the Super Bowl.  No, I wasn’t giving pointers to Eli Manning or Tom Brady; it wasn’t quite that glamorous.  We were part of a volunteer organization called One Brick who put commemorative seat cushions on 50,000 seats in the stadium.   I never did calculate how many seat cushions I put in place or how many stairs I climbed, but suffice it to say that my body was quite sore at the end of the day. 

We had a blast seeing Lucas Oil Stadium for the first time and without the huge crowds you would normally experience.  We got to witness preparations for the big event including setting up and tearing down the stage for the half time event. It was an incredible experience to be part of Super Bowl 46 and helping a children’s charity at the same time (NFL donated to a One Brick charity as payment for this work).  We were very impressed with all the volunteers who participated in this daunting task.  In case you are wondering, the remainder of the seats will get their seat cushions on Saturday however, I am not sure our bodies have had enough recovery time to volunteer for that work.

Got muscles?  Not yet, but I’m working on it.

Diane

Clean Sweep

I just revisited 30 years of my life over the past 2 days.  Amazing that cleaning a closet is akin to an archaeological dig.  What was I thinking to keep all that stuff?  But I am getting ahead of myself.

Yesterday I came across my wedding dress from 30 plus years ago.  I knew it was somewhere in the house, but it still surprised me when I opened the box labeled 'Diane'.  It is a beautiful dress and still in good shape.  Somehow I couldn’t quite  bring myself to take it to Goodwill.  Any ideas on what you do with an old wedding dress?

And then were the decorating phases.  I must have saved every throw pillow I ever owned.  Actually with some sewing skills and my thrifty ways, I usually made pillow covers that matched the décor.  Pale pink and light green along with shades of orange pillow covers were a part of my Cedar Rapids days.  A blue and white braided rug took me back to my wonderful 3-season porch where books and naps often beckoned.  Maroon sheets and comforters were part of my early days in this house which tied to a 'lovely' carpet of the same color. 

Waves of distant laughter washed over me as I pulled Pictionary and Trivial Pursuit off the shelf.   Pente and Backgammon brought me back to early years of my first marriage. The Harley Davidson coloring book brought back memories of coloring with the small son of good friends (he is now in his 20's).

Imagine my surprise at finding a bear rug wrapped up in a large garbage bag! Actually I made Mike open it since I didn't want to touch it!   I do not recall anything about this rug, but maybe I just blocked it out of my head.  I'm at a loss on who would want this rug as I don't think Goodwill would take it.  Suggestions?

And like my mother and grandmother before me who saved scraps of material for quilts, I also saved leftover material from my sewing projects.  I found scraps from an Amish quilt I made years ago.  And then there were leftovers from all those pillow covers and curtains.

I made a clean sweep of most of these items with a couple of trips to the Goodwill.  It really was cathartic to get rid of this stuff!  Of course some things I couldn't let go including  the coloring book,  the scraps of fabric, a couple of  college t-shirts (you just can't get rid of a little 500 biking t-shirt) and one of my dad's Pepsi uniform shirts.  I do have to ask myself why I needed so much stuff to begin with and why I kept it so long.  Definitely points to a different way in the future...


Diane

Back to Reality

Well, it's back to reality.  We arrived at my house late Saturday night after a month's hiatus from home repair.  At first it felt strange to be back; I suppose it's like people going to their vacation home or lake house except this house is now a work in progress.  We ate dinner at our favorite pub and got involved in a killer Scrabble game on my iPad.  I recognized that we might be getting a reputation when the waitress remembered us as the "Scrabble players".  Ok, my Scrabble game is improving with retirement...

One of the first things I noticed at my house was a weird noise coming from downstairs.  Mike immediately recognized the sound from the downstairs furnace.  He diagnosed a motor problem and spent a good portion of yesterday replacing the motor in the furnace.  It is pretty amazing that he can do all of this work himself.  He called around and found a motor, and I got to make my first trip to  Grainger, which had all kinds of interesting tools, pumps and other stuff I don't know what you do with.  I always find it interesting to be in a store where I couldn't find a single thing I could buy and use.  Of course that "estimating calculator" was pretty interesting!

As expected, at breakfast on Sunday, I prepared my "to do list" of things to tackle on this trip.  I was pleased to check a few things off the list.  We already had the drywall company in to give us an estimate on replacing drywall.  Today the garage door company comes to replace a spring in the door.  And the list goes on...

I tackled a stack of mail that was at least one foot high.  We originally planned to be at Mike's for 2 weeks over the holidays, but due to other circumstances (a birthday party, Mike getting the flu and a snow storm), we ended up staying 4 weeks.  Thank goodness for on line bill pay where I could check the timing and amount of each bill.  That allowed me to stay current without the actual paper bill in my hand.  Anyway, yesterday was sorting through all of that stuff and getting things filed.  It's all caught up now which is always a great feeling.  With each bill in front of my I also used this as an opportunity to turn off some services that aren't necessary since we are traveling so much.

Like everyone else in the Midwest, we are enjoying a very strange but mild winter.  The last 2 days it was 45 degrees, and today it's cold and snowy.  Later today I am having lunch with a friend, and then we plan for a walk in the park.  But don't worry, I'll also be tackling my to do list.  Let's see, do I tackle another closet, or is it time for replacing ceiling tiles in the laundry room?  Decisions, decisions...

Diane

Shooting stars

After a great New Year's feast with good friends, New Year's Day was a quiet day at home watching TV and reading.  We enjoyed the down time and a day without commitments and 'to do' lists.

I read about an upcoming meteor shower, and it didn't take much to convince us to get up at 2:30 am on Wed. morning and head into the country to watch the show. We parked the car, opened the sun roof and leaned back to watch the sky. Quiet of traffic, noise and people, we had the entire sky to ourselves.  We saw some blazing streaks of light, but the most spectacular was watching 2 shooting starts go right through the cup of the Big Dipper!  If you've ever star gazed, you know the feeling of being such a small part of the universe.  It felt like God was all around us as we watched the night sky (or was that because we parked in the church parking lot?)

We finished boxing up items in the 'scary room' to go downstairs into the basement.  During the process of reviewing this information, Mike found out some things he didn't know about his dad's military service(received the bronze star) and his work as an apprentice in watch repair.  He shared these findings last weekend with his good friend Kevin, and they enjoyed reminiscing about 'old Joe'.

I have been loving my foray into decorating in the 'scary room' and transforming it into my own space as a study/hobby room.  I decided to be bold with shades of orange(think Sedona), and the room has this great energy and vitality that invites creativity. I am excited to furnish the room and look forward to moving some things from my house soon.  I have high expectations of this room-I hope to write my first book here!  Hmm...should that be an expectation of me instead of the room?  Nope, don't need that pressure!

Mike and Chuck let me join their lunch since I'm 'one of the guys'.  We had a great time talking about everything under the sun including music and inventions.  Mike assures me that this is the normal conversation during their regular lunches; rarely do they talk about their wives.  I don't know if I buy that so I think I'll be scarce during their future lunches.

One of the highlights of the week was a birthday dinner party at Atanas and Elena's house.  Over some great food and wine, we had a chance to reconnect with old friends and meet some new friends.  Although I am in the minority in these gatherings (only person who is not an engineer, biologist or professor and doesn't know about plant shutdowns, clinical trials or regulatory approval), I don't let that get in my way. It's amazing what we have in common when there is the opportunity, time and energy to explore.  I am enjoying meeting new people and getting excited about the permanent move to Mike's neck of the woods.

With the holidays behind us, we are getting ready to resume work on my house.  We are excited to get it moving again but somewhat daunted by the volume of work.  It will be an adjustment to be back in my house after 3 weeks away.  I'm starting to view my house as a construction zone, and Mike's house as our home.  I think the mental shift of moving  is already underway.

Diane

  

New Year's Eve

Upon reviewing my last blog post, I question my sanity.  Relaxation over the holidays, really?  Since that writing, we have been crazy busy, but I wanted to get in one more post before the new year which is why I'm up at the crack of dawn on New Year's Eve.  Ok, there is also a lot of work to do to prepare for a small New Year's Eve party tonight at our house...Who needs sleep anyway?

We had a great Christmas with family and friends!  We went to a fabulous dinner with our friend John at a new restaurant where we possibly over stayed our welcome with great food and conversation!  The Nash family Christmas was so much fun.  It's definitely our second family, and we've come to love these Christmas Eve gatherings.

Christmas Eve vigil Mass was beautiful, and this was followed with me filming Mike opening his Christmas gift of a Tascam 24 track recorder.  B&H photo has a contest on opening their boxes, and Mike's involved cleavers and swords.  What can I say except that it's pretty funny, and Mike's kind of weird!  On Christmas Days we headed to my mom's house where we had a great feast of Gary's "Green Egg Ham" (just sounds like Dr. Seuss but a Green Egg is also a grill), Peggy's famous cheese ball, Ange's potato soup and my chili.    It was a great family visit with stories, laughter, and Rhys, Dane and Adam throwing balls through the living room.  The Christmas tree survived, and I loved the look of surprise on mom's face when Rhys threw a ball her way and she actually caught it!

Our Christmas vacation also included some target shooting at a local range.  After at least a 7 year hiatus, I was pleasantly surprised to handle my gun well and actually get shots on the target.  It's possible that age is playing tricks on me though because I don't remember guns being so loud when I shot in the past.  Even with good hearing protection, some of the guns in the range sounded like cannons.  I have to admit that I never got past flinching when these guns were shot, and I was a bit nervous with all the first timers in the range.  There seemed to be a lot of people being taught to use their new Christmas gifts. Scary!  We won't wait so long before target shooting again, but we will certainly look for a bigger and possibly outdoor range where there is a bit more elbow room and less noise.

Later in the week we had a great lunch with my niece Diane and her husband Andrew.   It's been a couple of years since we had some quality time with them, and it was fun to catch up on their lives including Diane's pregnancy.  Stories and laughter flowed, and we had a wonderful time re-connecting.

Now we are on to preparing for a tapas dinner this evening.  This sounded like a good idea when we came up with the idea last week at the Red Key Tavern, and as long as our guests don't mind us experimenting on them we will be fine.   We are cooking 5 new recipes for this meal, and I am hopeful most of the prep work will be done today before our friends arrive.  It adds a bit of stress to the last day of the year, but I am sure we will have fun preparing Singapore samosas, prosciutto and cheese croquettes, Spanish chorizo , patatas bravas,  stuffed mushrooms and bacon wrapped chicken. Mike and I love food, and retirement has given us some time to explore this new world of cooking.

As I look ahead to 2012, I like to think about "wishes" instead of resolutions.  I was never very good at making resolutions, but there are definitely things I hope and pray for.  Mike and I talked about this yesterday, and health was at the top of our list for both of us and friends and family.  We have been through so much together recently that we realize how this can impact everything else in life.  We also selfishly hope that my house will sell quickly and we can live into one home.  In some ways, that's when retirement really begins, and I hope that I will settle well into a new routine.

I recently came across the following words of wisdom submitted by Maria Shriver in a magazine, and I think this is a good reflection as we approach a new year.

"May today there be peace within.  

May you trust God that

you are exactly where you are 

meant to be.

May you not forget the infinite 

possibilities that are born of faith.

May you use those gifts that

you have received, 

and pass on the love that has

been given to you.

May you be content knowing 

you are a child of God.

Let this presence settle into 

your bones and allow

your soul the freedom to sing,

dance, praise and love.

It is there for each and every

one of us."

I hope that each of us find this contentment in the new year.  Happy New Year!

Diane