My Tireless Retirement – Week 148

 

Um, does anyone know what happened to January?  It was there just a minute ago and now it is already February.  Oh my goodness!

 

A bowl of hot soup sure fits the bill this time of year

The cold winter weather has hit us with lows in the teens overnight not much above freezing during the day.  As long as the wind doesn’t blow it is palatable.  Once it gets above freezing I’ve been going outside and working on getting the car cleaned up.  Slowly, but surely I am making progress.  Check back on Wednesday to hear more about the car and what I’ve been doing.

 

I baked up this cute little pumpkin pie I had left from the holidays

I worked all day Friday and then Monday, Tuesday and Thursday afternoons.  Starting next week I will only be working three days a week and have asked to have the other two days off paired together moving forward.  I need more “me time” and I’m very much looking forward to it.  Friday will continue to be my set full day and then they will schedule me according to the activities I am driving for and such the other two.  I told them I will still be available to fill in for vacations and people that call in sick, but for the most part I feel the need to spend less time there and more time doing other things on my retirement list.  It is going to be a very good thing.

 

I was hit with four more unexpected surprises last week.  My January power bill arrived and was much less than anticipated, far less than last year’s bill at this time.  I also received a coupon in the mail from Winco for $10 OFF a $50 Purchase on my next trip to the grocery store.  Those offers come few and far between!  This particular store doesn’t do a lot of that.  I was blessed with a Buy Me Coffee gift which I was so grateful to receive and another kind soul sent me some Happy Mail!  My semiannual good driver rebate check arrived in the mail from my insurance company too.  That one was expected, but I added it to the bounty.

 

Winco - A pretty good stock up!

I worked on a shopping list and then on Sunday morning, bright and early, I headed out to get it done and take advantage of that coupon with the extra cash in my checking account that I did not need to send to the power company.  With that little windfall I was able to pick up fresh produce, milk, eggs and pantry staples to replace what I’ve been using.  Huge blessings!  Again!

 

A stop at Trader Joes

Once the temperatures rose above freezing I went outside and spent over two more hours working on the car cleaning the inside cargo area and then the backseat area.  By the time I was done I noticed that the water I had dripped on the driveway was beginning to freeze so I gathered up my tools and supplies and headed back inside.  I am pretty much at a stopping point now until the weather warms up considerably and then I’ll be shampooing the carpet and upholstery.

 

Much better!

I did not ride the bus all week because I am thoroughly enjoying my new ride.  Once the newness wears off a bit I’m sure I’ll be back to it.  But in the meantime I’m sure having fun!  On the way home from work Tuesday I stopped into Dollar Tree and picked up a few items I needed for a quick little, but important project.  Once home I grabbed my tote of first aid supplies and an extra food storage container I had to make a first aid kit for the car.  I keep one in the truck so I also wanted one for the car.  Using snack size Ziploc bags I was able to put together a nice little kit and it is slim enough to fit right inside the cargo net on the back of the front passenger seat where it will be easily accessible.  I am quite pleased with it and I only had to purchase two things – band aids and first aid tape.  Everything else I already had on hand at home.

 

My Last Weekly Challenge – Do Something Crafty

 

How Did I Do?  I did two things.  First I made extra pages for my daily journal.  Then I grabbed some acrylic paints I had in my craft room as well as an XOXO that I had purchased at Dollar Tree last year.  I told myself that I either needed to complete this project or donate it so someone else could do it.  I decided to go ahead and do it up and I love how it turned out.  I don’t typically decorate much for Valentine’s Day but I do think I’d like to make it more of a priority to decorate and celebrate all of the holidays.

 

And with that another retirement week and the first month of 2025 has come to an end.  How was your week?  Anything exciting going on?  We are supposed to get a few days of rain here with snow in the mountains.  How’s the weather where you are at?

 

 

FYI - My retirement week runs Friday through Thursday