My Tireless Retirement - Week 215

 

How is everybody doing?  I am doing rather well myself and enjoyed another wonderful week in retirement.

 

On Friday I worked in the afternoon then went out with my gal pals afterward for drinks and appetizers at a local downtown establishment.  We have decided, in order to continue to go out and have fun, to seek out happy hours and partake of their drink and food specials.  We find that if we each order a different appetizer to share we can enjoy a nice variety without overspending and it is plenty of food to count as dinner.  Mostly we just laugh, act silly and enjoy each other’s company.  This last time we went to The Reef and enjoyed locally brewed beer.  After seeing the size of the appetizers on special we only ordered and shared a pu pu platter and a plate of nachos with guacamole, which was more than enough to feed us.  We left feeling pretty stuffed.  It was a good time and it reminded us how grateful we are to have each other in our lives.

 

Saturday I rode the bus to check out the dollar store, I hadn’t been there in ages, and poke around.  I found three packs of toothbrushes for $1.25 each so I decided to pick up a couple of those to add to my LTFS.  I also picked up three packets of seeds (beets, cabbage & yellow squash) for $1.50, a new crossword puzzle book, some stickers for my journal, and an activity book to take camping.  It was a fun little shopping trip and I spent less than $10.

 

Best gifts!  Plants, gel pens & mandarin oranges

Sunday was Mother’s Day and it was a lovely day spent out in the garden getting some bedding plants and two new perennials into the ground.  I also planted some of my new seeds.  This year I am just taking it low and slow as far as my gardening endeavors so I don’t get overwhelmed and I’m finding I’m enjoying the process much more this way.

 

I spent the day alone, but I did hear from my loved ones including my work “kids” so that was nice.  I just ran in and out of the house all day, played in the dirt and had an absolute ball.  For supper I grilled a steak on my cute little BBQ and ate that with some pesto pasta on the side and a salad.  Perfect!

 

I worked Monday and Tuesday, went out for ice cream with a couple of friends Tuesday evening, was off on Wednesday and didn’t do much, then back to work on Thursday for a very full day of activities with my beloved seniors.  And that was pretty much it for the week.  What kept you busy last week?

 

 

Better Flour

 

The best thing I have done this year was to upgrade my choice of flour.  I now buy either King Arthur or Bob’s Red Mill and what a difference it has made!  Neither one of these flours has additives, preservatives or anything weird in it.  The BFF swears regular flour has drywall dust in it (he’s joking) and it hurts his stomach.  I find it just makes me feel gross and sluggish.

 

When I upgraded my flour we stopped feeling ill after consuming items I make with it.  But!  And this is important!  My baked goods are SO MUCH BETTER!  They taste SO MUCH BETTER!  And!  Everything turns out nicer.  That Hot Milk Cake I made for Easter was SO GOOD!  I’ve never had it turn out so well before and I have made it a lot over the years.

 

When flour doesn’t have unwanted crap in it and only contains wheat, like flour should, it tastes better and our bodies digest it better.  It makes me wonder if people really don’t have gluten intolerance as much as they have an intolerance to all the crap that is put in our food.  It makes sense.

 

I keep unopened bags of flour in the freezer to maintain their freshness and once open I keep it in the refrigerator and that seems to be working really well.  I put my bags of flour into a vacuum bag and vacuum seal them before freezing because I don’t go through flour very fast and I want it to stay nice.  A five pound bag of flour fits perfectly in one of the large vacuum seal bags.  A five pound bag of flour will also fit inside a one gallon freezer bag.

 

It doesn’t seem right that we should have to pay extra for pure food, but in this particular case I feel it is totally worth it.  Fortunately pure unadulterated flours do go on sale from time to time or have coupons available to help lower the cost and that is when I stock up.  Focusing on healthier food options is truly making a difference.

 

Disaster Insurance

 

Disaster insurance exists in many forms – homeowner’s insurance, renter’s insurance, auto insurance, life insurance, health insurance, unemployment insurance, etc.  There is also another very important type of disaster insurance and that is self insurance.  Self insurance is simply investing one’s own money into a variety of ways to make sure we are covered in the event of a disaster.

 

First and foremost, I have an emergency fund.  This fund is to cover any unplanned or unexpected expenditures that I cannot manage any other way without going into debt.  It can also cover my insurance deductibles and co-payments.  I keep this fund in a separate account at my bank in a high yield savings account.  Gratefully, I haven’t needed to use it and I hope to continue that trend.

 

At home I keep my long term food storage (LTFS) and nonfood storage well stocked.  This allows me to purchase food and nonfood items I use on a regular basis when they are on sale or at the lowest possible price and keep a quantity that will last at least two years.  Why is this important?  Because one never knows what the future may hold and by having this cushion I’ve been able to navigate job losses, extreme weather conditions, sudden inflation spikes, panic shoppers, health issues and so forth.  Having my LTFS allows me the peace of mind to better face whatever the future may hold.

 

Having a backup power source is something that has served me well over the years.  I keep a solar generator and solar panels on hand.  We are prone to power outages and it is imperative to have a way to plug in a freezer in summer or an electric blanket in winter until the power comes back on.  Solar panels allow me to recharge the generator even while it is in use.  My camp stove and extra fuel for cooking have come in handy more than once.  I also keep a kerosene lamp and kerosene, candles, matches, flashlights and extra batteries plus a few USB lights at the ready for lighting.

In the garage I keep a supply of water on hand for flushing toilets and washing hands.  I keep paper plates, paper towels and plastic utensils to eat with so I won’t need to wash dishes and waste water.  In my LTFS I keep a supply of drinking water as well as filters for my water filter pitcher.  Wipes, first aid supplies and extra medication are also part of my long term storage.

 

Disaster insurance takes many forms.  Take a look around your house and see if there are ways you can better improve your preparedness.  What is most important to you?  What are some of the ways you self insure in case of a disaster?

 

Portion Sizes

 

I was born in 1964 and I can tell, back in the day, we didn’t eat like people are eating today.  Ingredient lists were shorter and premade items, like bread, contained REAL food.  Eating out, even at fast food restaurants, was not the norm.  It was saved for special occasions and even then the amount of food served and the quality of that food was dramatically different.

 

A simple well balanced meal - pork chop, dinner roll, green beans

My mom made our meals for us every single day.  She cooked from scratch.  You cleaned your plate, nothing was allowed to go to waste, but we weren’t overstuffed when we left the table.  Portion sizes and the plates our meals were served on were much smaller.  So was our glassware.  We weren’t allowed to drink a tumbler full of anything, except water, and she didn’t supply us with endless amounts of Kool-Aid or sodas, again those things were only for special occasions like a party or a picnic.  If you were outside playing and got thirsty you just got a drink out of the hose.

 

A nine inch dinner plate with a six inch sandwich plate plus bowls

One cup & two cup bowls

I was visiting with a friend of mine recently that told me she and her husband were focusing on portion control rather than dieting and found that by going back to the old ways of serving meals they were more than satisfied at the end of a meal, their groceries were lasting a whole lot longer saving them quite a bit of money not to mention shopping trips.  They, like me, were also making sure to eat healthy, unprocessed food and found they felt a lot better after eating.  They are also losing some extra weight that neither one of them needs to be carrying.

 

After doing quite a bit of research to reacquaint myself with the portion sizes and meals of yesteryear I decided to step back in time and eat very similarly to the way I used to.  I’m digging out my old cookbooks and making “new” old meal plans.  I’m getting to eat food I haven’t had in ages and I’m really enjoying it.  It’s been really fun!

 

Six ounce coffee cup

This glass holds six ounces too

A lot of the dishes I already keep in my cupboard are some that have been around since the 50s, 60s and 70s so I was all set as far as having the appropriate sized plates and bowls to serve my meals on.  In the sixties a dinner plate was 8.5 to 9 inches in diameter.  Nowadays, the average dinner plate is 12 inches in diameter.  I got rid of all of my larger dinner plates several years ago keeping only two of those plates and I use them as platters now.

 

Way back when, a glass of milk was one eight ounce (1 cup) serving.  A glass of juice was four to six ounces (1/2 to 3/4 cup).  A serving size of soda was six ounces (half the can).  A serving of meat was four to six ounces, about the size of a deck of cards.  A baked potato was about the size of a computer mouse.  If you had a larger potato you just cut it in half and shared it with someone else.  You didn’t eat the whole thing.  Most of the old cookbooks have this all listed out for reference.

 

Brunch - homemade granola w/milk, hard boiled egg, dried plums

My great grandmother's muffin tin is much smaller than ones sold now

This fits in perfectly with my desire to focus on my health and to make the most of what I have.  I’m excited to get into the kitchen and be creative each day when I’m cooking.  There’s a bit of nostalgia, I’m enjoying my meals so much and having a lot of fun with it.  I’ll let you know as time goes on how things go and how I feel.  I’m thinking this is going to be a very good experience.

 

My Tireless Retirement - Week 214

 

Hello!  Last week I found myself at a bit of a crossroads.  I’ve been feeling that itch to quit my “dream job” (which I must admit, due to recent events, had lost a bit of its luster) and embrace full retirement and all it has to offer me.  This past week I completed my application to start receiving my Social Security benefits after my next birthday in the fall and, with a whole summer ahead to enjoy, my feet are getting itchy.  Would I regret my decision to stop working?  I might.  But, I also may not.  Oh, what to do? 

 

But then, that evening I took a group of seniors out to dinner and then to the theater for Drunk Shakespeare (so funny!).  At dinner they were excitedly talking about all of the various activities they had signed up for in the coming months and how much they were looking forward to doing them with me.  That is when I realized, this is why I do what I do.  The work drama is in my rear view mirror and TTO can suck it!  I’ve got places to go, things to do and people to see!  Heck yeah!  I know the answer will come to me when the time is right for me to walk away, but it simply isn’t now.

 

Super excited about this!

I still plan to thoroughly enjoy my summer with plenty of time off for myself because I realized I can do both!  So, on Saturday morning, I rewarded myself with an Alpicool 12V fridge/freezer to use in the Subaru while I’m camping or traveling.  I’ve been researching and hunting for just the right one for a couple of years now and when this one went on sale I decided to pull the trigger and get it.  I have come to realize it is time for me stop thinking about things and start doing them.  With that in mind I got dressed, packed a lunch and hopped on the bus to head to the mall to do the dreaded annual bra shopping I had been putting off.  At JC Penney I was able to find two bras in my size on the clearance rack for $32, far less than the price of a single bra on sale so I purchased both and now I won’t need to go next year!  Hurray!

 

I ate my lunch in the food court and then walked over to Cabela’s, just to browse and see what is new in the camping world, and I scored two items on “my camping wish list”.  A fleece lined red and black plaid jacket and a pair of black camo thorn resistant hiking pants.  I have wanted both of these items for years and they were on the clearance rack so I knew it was meant to be.  I was able to snag the jacket for $20 and the pants for $25.  I was thrilled!  After walking through the entire store I was able to see that I happily have everything else I need for my adventures so I paid for my new finds and walked back to the mall and caught the bus to ride back home.  It was a super fun way to spend my Saturday.

 

Sunday morning I restocked my camp Coffee bin and got it ready for the season.  I checked the shower bucket and determined it is still well stocked with toiletries, TP and first aid supplies and determined all of the other bins are good to go too.  I then went upstairs and packed my duffle bag with my camp clothes.  I also grabbed my hiking boots, socks and trail shoes.  This girl is ready to hit the dusty trail!

 

Monday afternoon the window covers I had ordered for the Subaru arrived and I tested them out.  They will work perfectly!  I am also getting ready to set up a few things inside the Subaru so I am ready for fast getaways.  Surprisingly  the fridge showed up that day too.  This will be a game changer, believe you me, because I can now go and stay out in the boonies much longer and in the long run this thing is going to save me a ton of money on travel food.  I’m super excited!

 

I worked Monday afternoon and again on Tuesday taking a group of ladies out to lunch and then mini golfing.  We had a wonderful time and it really confirmed my choice to focus on literally “what’s in it for me” and why I took this job in the first place.  I’ve also found myself being more assertive with TTO and my supervisor as far as what I am willing and not willing to do.  This has been met with a lot of “okay” responses.  We’ll see how well “okay” works out for me going forward.

 

I spent the most time reorganizing this shelving unit

Wednesday I headed out to the garage and gave it a good once over.  I decluttered some things to donate, tossed out a handful of items into the trash, but mostly did a lot of reorganizing, cleaning and sweeping.  I used empty bins I had decluttered the contents from this winter to reorganize my things, but I decluttered and consolidated enough while I was at it that I ended up with the same number of empty bins by the time all was said and done.  I also refilled the pet and chicken food bins.  I must say that after the big declutter I did in there last summer this time around it was a breeze to get things all tidied up.  I love that!

 

Thursday was my day to run the errands that were not conducive to walking, bike riding or using public transportation.  On the way home I stopped to top up the gas tank at the best priced neighborhood gas station plus with my 3¢ per gallon discount five and a half gallons still cost me nearly $25!  That hurt.  I consoled myself by coming home and working outside in the backyard and my garden while the chickens clucked away at me as I worked.  Silly girls!

 

My neighbor's irises

With that my latest week in retirement came to a close.  I think it was a really great week for me.  I want to wish Happy Mother’s Day to all of you with babies and fur babies!  I hope you have a fabulous day tomorrow!  Take care my friends and I will be back soon.

Chickens & Garden 2026 Update

 

Last year I added three new peeps (most likely my last set) to the flock as my senior hens were in their final year and egg production was minimal.  I am really happy to report these ladies have grown up strong, healthy and happy and they are excellent egg layers.  They comfortably reside in the coop and pen area I built fourteen years ago (hard to believe it is that old!) and expanded   years ago.  I continue to keep it well maintained so it holds up and keeps them safe from predators.

 

The ladies are enjoying a rather charmed life with good feed and lots of goodies to keep them healthy and happy.  I give them the leaves I rake up in the fall and the weeds I’ve been pulling up from the yard this spring to add variety to their diet and it helps to keep them from getting bored.  The leaves have the added advantage of keeping mud at bay in the pen area and become next year’s compost.  The weeds have given them added nutrients as well as some nice variety.  I can attest that the eggs they lay are delicious!

 

Last month I turned the soil with added compost and I am allowing it to sit for a full two months untouched to allow the earthworms to do their job.  Next month I will be turning it in just before I start planting and then I will rake it nice and smooth.  I will be using bunny litter to mulch and fertilize what I plant this summer, which is going to be rather minimal.

 

At this particular time I am blessed to be well stocked with food so I don’t have a need to plant out a full garden.  I want to put some zucchini seeds in the ground, cultivate what garlic I already have in the ground and perhaps a tomato plant or two, but other than that I am going to let the rest of the garden beds rest again this year and then re-evaluate things next spring.

 

My flowerbeds need some transplanting, rearranging and fertilizing so I’ll be working on those this summer.  The bunny will be helping me out by providing all of the fertilizer I will need so I won’t need to purchase that.  It’s too bad the farmers don’t have access to bunny manure because it is good stuff.

 

My fruit trees are healthy and I’ve sprayed them for insects, twice now.  My hope is that they provide me with enough fresh fruit to enjoy, share with others and maybe can some too.  I have an apple tree, a pear tree and a new plum tree.  I’m not expecting much from the plum tree as it is still quite young.  I’m super grateful to have these trees.

 

That pretty much sums up my 2026 garden plans.  I am keeping it pretty minimal this year as you can tell.  Will I ever plant out a full garden?  Probably not, but who knows?  Gardening really isn’t my jam, as I’ve mentioned before.  I suck at it, but I truly do love a fresh homegrown tomato.  There is just nothing quite like it.