Cut loose!

I am now officially a pensioner. As of Dec. 30th, I became fully 100% retired. And in less than a month, I turn 65. How did that creep up so fast???

What do I do with my time? Getting as much asleep as I can, which isn't saying much because I am not a good sleeper at the best of times. But there have been a couple days when I got close to 8 hours! Of course, the cats think that is too long and it is usually Lila at the bedroom door, mrrrowing incessantly. Little worm.

I sold my antique oak sideboard that has resided with me for almost 40 years. (see below) It was just too big. I live in an apartment now and it took up too much space. It was a beautiful old thing and good for storage, but I needed a desk. So I contacted a local antiques shop and they paid me cash for it. And came and hauled it away. Having moved that thing umpteen times, I know how heavy it is!!

So then I hit up Ikea for some components to make a desk/sewing area. I have room for my printer, I have lots of drawers, and I can finally have my little Tiffany-style table lamp where it is supposed to be! I bought it last year when I bought the two floor lamps, but had nowhere to put it until now. This had always been the plan for it.

I also bought a new sewing machine. My sister bought a real fancy computerized Janome and she has been learning to use it. I was surprised she bought such a fancy one, as she has never done a lot of sewing. But she is learning! The one I bought is not computerized like hers, but still does a lot more than my old Kenmore 24 stitch machine that I bought from Sears years ago... about 15 years maybe? And I have a Babylock serger that I picked up in San Diego when I lived down there in the 1990s. The place I bought my new machine from does repairs and tuneups, so I will take the two older machines in for servicing and then will sell the Kenmore. Or maybe donate it somewhere. And eventually I will get back into sewing myself some clothes. A much better fit than from a store!

Pips is 16 now and getting frail. She definitely fits the "elderly" profile. And she has a chronic runny nose which we are treating with nose drops (that's fun to do on a cat). Andi is allergic to the cat litter I used to use (it was made from grass seed and was the best clumping litter ever!) so now I am back to using clay litter and he is not nearly as itchy. It was so bad, he had licked the hair off the inside of one hind leg and was working on his belly! Had to have 2 rounds of steroids to get that under control. Lila and Aska thankfully do not have any health concerns at the moment.

My sister and I (she is the 'baby' of the family and is 5 years younger than me) are going to Iceland in August of this year, for 2 weeks. I had done my DNA through My Heritage a few years ago and last February a woman in Iceland contacted me. Turns out we are 3rd cousins (my great grandmother is her great aunt). So through all the communications with her, and one of her aunts (my great grandmother was her aunt), we will be at a family gathering in Iceland on Aug. 12th. My sister and I will be there for 2 weeks, so plenty of time to do exploring. We have already booked our flights and accommodations. 

And to that end, I have started taking an Icelandic language course. The first level is learning the mechanics of the language. Unlike english, every letter or letter combination is always pronounced the same, with only a very few exceptions. It is very interesting! I am hoping to be able to take a couple more levels before our trip so that I have rudimentary conversational skills. But that isn't necessary, because almost everyone in Iceland speaks english. It is more for the ancestral cultural interest that I am doing this.

So far, retirement has been about catching up on rest and getting a lot more reading in. I love to read and since I can neither afford to buy all the books I want, nor have the space to store them, I have an ereader and currently have about 500 books on it. I have read a good number of those but always have a 'to be read' list that is really long!

I also bought myself a digital piano as a retirement gift to myself and am learning to play and to read music. Something I have always wanted to do!

It is still in the depths of winter here, although this month has been warmer than normal. That just means more days warmer than -15C and fewer colder than -25C. We still have a good 2+ months of winter left and it can always get much colder for that time. I'm happy I no longer need to get up at well before the sun comes up to head off to work!!