Being grateful for life in the retirement fast lane

 Whoever said life in retirement was boring certainly wasn't getting out and making the most of all there is to offer. Seriously? I was amazed when a retiree I knew advised me not to stop work because she was so bored in retirement she went back to work!  Like many other recent retirees I know, life for me has never been so busy, I haven't regretted retiring for a minute, and I don't know how I had time to work. Do any of my retiree readers feel like that? What do your retirement years look like?

When I was given redundancy back in April 2015, I took it as a positive and called it early retirement. An exciting new future had opened its doors for me where I could explore interests in my life which working had kept on the back burner. 

So because life is running so full at the moment, I only have time this week to bring you just a small snapshot of the last couple of months ....

Last week I was exploring Sydney - more pics and stories to come!

  Please click here to read more...



I am reading - Girl with a Pearl Earring - by Tracey Chevalier - the poignant story of the girl behind Johannes Vermeer's 1665 painting. History doesn't actually record who the girl in the pearl earring is. Tracey Chevalier did a lot of research before writing this book, which also contains photo plates and background to many other Vermeer paintings. 
 

I am listening to - Dami Im - singing classic Carpenters. The Carpenters were favourites of mine in the 1970's and this CD, a birthday gift late last year from my eldest son, brings those innocent days back to me. 

I watched the movie Lion - based on the non-fiction book A Long Way Home by Saroo Brierley, tells the story of how five year old Saroo gets lost on a train in India, living on the streets until being adopted by an Australian couple. 25 years later, with a handful of memories, unwavering determination, and Google Earth, he searches for his home.

I am experimenting with - eco dyeing and creative stitchery with Jane Flower from Folios and Fibre

I prepared photos for the  - "the end of" photography topic for the photography group I belong to

I am contributing photos to - a new Ferguson Valley tourist map

I am sorting - Kimberley photos from last year. I really DO need to get that photo book done and some more magazine articles written.

I am writing - a submission for the 'Short and Twisted' anthology, I am preparing to run a couple of introductory photography workshops in our area, and I need to get back to sorting out some photos for an Australian mapping company.

I am enjoying -  a Food Photography Facebook closed group I joined late last year  - and in January I was preserving apricots and making apricot jam from the apricot tree in our garden. There is nothing like fresh picked stone fruit in summer. Our grapes are still a couple of weeks away, following a strange summer weather wise, and then I'll be into making grape jam. I am thinking of drying some this year to put on cheese platters. Have you ever dried them?

I am celebrating - with my daughter in law, who has just graduated from her Bachelor of Nursing studies, which she has studied part-time for the past five years. She won the award for the top student in the Edith Cowan University School of Nursing Midwifery for 2016. Jen also gave a wonderful speech on behalf of the Bunbury ECU graduates at the graduation, in which she remembered her Mum who passed away from Leukemia in 2008, and the huge contribution her husband Paul, and her two young sons, have made towards helping her achieve her goal. We are so proud of Jen and the way Paul has supported her over the past 5 years.

I am preparing to dance - at the Bunbury Multi-cultural Festival next weekend with Sol y Sombra Spanish Dance Company. 

 I am excited - about my new photo greeting cards that have just arrived.....

And lastly, but by far not least, I am grateful for the love and support of my family, and for being blessed with the health and ability to enjoy all of these things in retirement. I know I am extremely lucky, and I am so grateful for that. There are many that do not have the opportunity or health to go out and explore this big beautiful world. 

And do you know what, writing this blog post has been a great little exercise for me. I have been down in the dumps the last few weeks because I have been suffering from a painful and reoccurring De-Quervains in my left hand (not my dominant hand thank goodness) and it has hampered some of my activities, particularly getting out with my camera.  So this little exercise of looking back at what I have been doing has actually helped me realise that I have still been busy, and that I have much to be grateful for. 

How does retirement look for you? Perhaps you would like to tell us in your comments. 

Thank you so much for stopping by. I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Have a wonderful week.

I am linking up to the link-ups below. Please click on the links to see fabulous contributions from around the world - virtual touring at its best!
 

Mosaic Monday 
Life Thru the Lens 

Our World Tuesday
Through My Lens 
Image-in-ing
Wednesday Around the World at Communal Global
Travel Photo Thursday 
The Lovin' Life Team over at Lifestyle Fifty
The Weekly Postcard 
Sky Watch Friday