Retire In Style Blog Too

I often wonder if I had heard Home Home on the Range when I was in the cradle if I would have ended up marrying a cowboy and living in a farmhouse...so you suppose? I must not have because here I am living in the suburbs and traveling anytime someone says go! We were invited to take a road trip the other day down the Columbia Gorge. We stopped for shopping in Hood River then drove on up to Mt. Hood Lodge for dinner. It was a beautiful early spring day...sun, rain and then snow. Perfect for Oregon. As we began the drive my son-in-law put Willie Nelson on for music. The album was To All the Girls. It includes duets with prominent women vocalist including Dollie Parton, Loretta Lynn and several others. When  Sheryl Crow began her duet with Nelson singing "Far Away Places" I was carried back to a time when I stood in my backyard in our small home in rural Eastern Oregon and watched the planes fly high over head. I remember the yearning to fly away to Spain or Siam even though I h...

I have been doing it again. I accidentally listened to the conversation in the next booth. It is a wicked thing to do I know but when the air is being sucked out of the room, I need to find out why. We were on our way back from Arizona and had a layover in Phoenix...just enough time for food. That was where we sat next to the line ordering a slice of pizza. We had a short conversation with several people that passed. I like to talk so it worked for me. That was when the two women arrived, one waving her arms in the air... What were they thinking? she said.  The conversation deteriorated from there as the rant escalated. The whole room was filled with such a negative energy it changed the taste of my food. This actually happens a lot doesn't it? You are in public or even in your own house and one person can change the feel of the whole room. I find that even the silent one gives off energy with the expression on their face or body language. I think that our face and body follows our...

My children all were given three names...a first, a middle and a last. During the time that they were growing up those names came in handy on more than one occasion. My best "three name look"! The two boys have kept their names in tact but my daughter ditched her middle name when she married and replaced it with her maiden name. She thought she was off the hook I think. But that doesn't matter to me...I know what her middle name is/was and that is all that matters. The thing is, after all these years (50+) I still call my children by all three names when I really want to get their attention. I know. I need to remember that I am not in charge. But sometimes it is hard being me. Thankfully, they indulge me most of the time. I didn't realize that I would still call them by all three names until just recently. I was talking with my oldest son about something important and I found myself say "Anthony Sebastian Tyron (not his real name), are you serious?" Oh my g...

My new hat...a nice change! My husband and I rented a little house when we were first married and the view from every window was absolutely spectacular. My husband was still in college and I was working in a tiny town teaching 4th grade. The old farm house had an oil stove and walls so thin that the slightest touch would put a hole in the wall paper. There were pine wood floors throughout and the kitchen was designed for a table large enough to feed a big family. It sat on a country gravel road. The river was a short walk away. We lived in the middle of an orchard. In all ways it was the perfect "house". My mother absolutely loved it. She was sitting with us in the front yard under the giant tree drinking coffee one morning when she began talking about all those things that made the old house perfect...the view, the orchard, the river and of course, that big kitchen with room for lots of children. That was when my quiet father said "But, Agnes, they cannot live on the vi...

Thoughts on the Game of Golf I play golf  and I am not very good at the game. But still, hope springs eternal and I keep trying to get just a little better at the sport. I have played the game for almost 20 years now, I have taken lessons, been instructed by my husband and his friends but still the whole thing eludes me. In spite of all that, I have managed to learn so many things that have nothing to do with the game. I suppose it has become worth the exercise in the impossible for me. I keep a list of thoughts stored away in mind...some of them are swing thoughts but most are thoughts on patience, composure and waiting. If you are even a little interested you might take a minute or two to read: The longer the list of swing thoughts the worse the results. Keep it simple. Golf is a game played with rules and a person that is relaxed and comfortable in their own skin plays a better game that one that is tied up in knots. Golf truly is played in the 6 inches between our ears. The gam...

Dining Area  In a blog post I wrote several years ago about the world of winter living at a price you can afford, I gave you all the lists for things to do so that you could leave your home unattended during the winter. Then I gave you choices for how you might actually leave for several months without breaking the bank. That blog post was called How to be a Snow Bird...answers and lists . Much of the information there is still relevant. BUT there has been a shift in our RV Resort life financially. Remember back when I touted the  RV lifestyle  and RV Resort living as the end all be all? I think the rules might have changed when the boomers came into retirement.  See, during the recession housing prices fell dramatically and our life here in our park model remained much the same. So it was a convenient wash for us in that it was just easier and a little less expensive to live in the park model. Now it is 2017. Our owner has raised our lot rent to over $5145 dollars ...

Old Blog Header I am trying a new style of blog. It is one of the free ones from Blogger. Of course I will tweak and change but it is a beginning. What do you think?

When we retired we celebrated every Monday during the school year. The habit is still with us 20 years later. We had a beautiful lunch at our golf course today...not as beautiful as the one in the picture (my creation), still wonderful. We love to watch the 1st Tee children show up to play and the company of friends. Yes, I do love Mondays! From my little flower bed: lettuce, nasturtium blossoms and sliced salmon or chicken. 1st Tee bags always make me happy.

I have spent more time responding to comments than ever before. I did that while twisting myself into a pretzel. Yesterday I misspoke on a blogging friends blog in what I saw as the need to speak up for him. Then, not satisfied to make my feelings know there, I went on to write a post about my comment on my own blog. I was not kind which is not a good thing. My readers were quick to point out my mistakes. I cannot tell you how grateful I am for my readers. Without them, I would blunder around in the wilderness seeking heaven knows what. So here I am doing my best contortionist moves. My knee is jerking, my face is red and my foot is in my mouth! WOW! b+ Note: I do stand by my feeling that commenting with a less than kind opinion should not be done anonymously. I don't know if I can remove the anonymous option from this blog but I will try. Be well everybody!