Travelling On

Karmacat

My postbox isn't quite that near, but in my terms of reference it's my closest one ever, so I don't have an excuse either - no excuses wanted either, quite frankly I've accepted this is how I am, more or less :rotfl:
RT, oh good heavens :eek: my smpathies for having an actual neighbour like that! I managed to stir myself to do about an hour's not-too-manic tidying and cleaning, there's more to do, of course, but that wasn't bad. Cards were opened, if not put up there's time yet, for another couple of jobs.

[Deleted User]

I always have to open my cards as soon as they arrive. I'm the same with any post, I just can't ignore anything that arrives. I live in hope it's someone sending me some good news or something to my advantage. It usually isn't so I expect I must be an eternal optimist:rotfl:.I'm totally different with a ringing phone though as there's always voicemail on the mobile or good old 1471 on the landline.

Most (no, all really) cards arrive before I even get mine posted:o so I like to know if anyone 'new' has sent us one so I can reciprocate in time. Also, there seem to be so many of our friends/acquaintances moving house that the inclusion of the new address in their card saves us sending one that never reaches them.

beanielou

What is this tidy desk/tanle that you talk about?
I am totally confuddled!!

Karmacat

Finally_Solvent wrote: »

Most (no, all really) cards arrive before I even get mine posted:o so I like to know if anyone 'new' has sent us one so I can reciprocate in time. Also, there seem to be so many of our friends/acquaintances moving house that the inclusion of the new address in their card saves us sending one that never reaches them.

Yep, I *used* to post my cards round about now :rotfl: but I have got better, which is nice Interesting about lots of people moving - I wonder if thats downsizing, or buying nearer to family?

beanielou wrote: »

What is this tidy desk/tanle that you talk about?
I am totally confuddled!!

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: I know! I used to actually use my desk as a desk, though, and it made such a difference! What energy I've had to spend on my property has all gone to my garden, thats what its really about. At the moment, I'm trying to walk on the grass as little as possible, even with that its turning into a quagmire ... v tricky.

Karmacat

Afternoon all trip to the local shops was very useful: posted the pressie off to Norfolk rellies, found a stylish (but much cheaper) torch to give as a top up present to niece with her other stuff, bought some hair elastics (hairbands? no, don't fink so), and best of all, a diary from £shop, slightly smaller than A5, which is just right. Thought it was £1 but it was reduced to 50p

beanielou

I NEED hair elastics.

Karmacat

Goldiegirl has just posted a kind of retrospective of her year on her diary. Made me think ... last summer was a turning point for me. After all the disruption of the first few years of *actual* retirement, I felt like I was ready to say "I'm retired", and to mean what people usually mean by that, that I've stopped work and I'm ready to go out and have some fun. I suppose the last line of my sig shows that turning point, the kitchen being fitted!

The kitchen is *not* finished ... the plaster's still bare ... but instead I went catsitting and touristing in London, touristing in the Baltic, off to see my brother. Those have more priority than a coat of paint

There was so much being away, I haven't finished the garden either, but I'm happy with the decision to downgrade the priority of the house and garden in favour of getting out and having a good time And that's it, I wish I'd accomplished more this year, but I feel I did almost as much as I could, and I'm happy with the priorities I acted on. Yay!

So, next year (I've been thinking about it lots, since I heard about the 2020 challenge):



- January is kind of spoken for, as Finance Month: English accounts, French accounts, new utilities and bank accounts, checking on budgetting vs expenditure. Getting used to matched betting again.

- the garden, use the rest of the winter to finish navvying and weeding. Then, I do want some more perennials/ self seeders in: mint, kale, more chives, kale, I think there's others. Fencing, at both front and back, needs repairs in a *lot* of places.

- the house. Technically, I need to replace some blown double glazing, and I'd like to figure out a new way to insulate the chimney other than a chimney balloon, which looks kind of phallic and drew some comments from the builders :rotfl:But really, the main effort involved is painting - almost entirely brilliant white, thankfully; as my brother has kindly pointed out, the nooks and crannies in my 1930s ex-council house make for a lot of shading and differences in tone anyway. Good job for me! Ignoring the cleaning that needs to be done first

- taking care of myself. I need a bit more exercise and stretching. Some self development exercises with my friend in Brixton. Decluttering comes under this; a few more sales of unwanted stuff that might be valuable to some degree, bits of mending to extend the life of my clothes, new eco ideas to put into practise. That sort of stuff.

- passion projects. Genealogy (need to start travelling a bit). Writing. Travelling: we'll see what half price cruises come up we'll see what the Brexit transition period might dictate will be easier in 2020 than later; I have a lot of sites in Scotland to go visit.

- friendships. Staying with existing friends, there's 1 or 2 "Christmas card only" I'd like to meet up with again; deepening local acquaintances; checking out whether there's something else local I want to do.

Karmacat

beanielou wrote: »

I NEED hair elastics.

Sympathies, beanie! All of mine have gradually broken, they've got a little bit where the elastic's gone completely. That might be a craft project to use up the enormous amount of elastic I have, actually making my own hair elastics.

[Deleted User]

Karmacat wrote: »

So, next year (I've been thinking about it lots, since I heard about the 2020 challenge):

.

What Challenge is this, Karmacat? I'm a bit of a one for needing a few good challenges to give some structure and accountability to my year. Left to its own devices it sort of just meanders along. Like you, I'm fairly recently retired and after a lifetime of timetables and deadlines which kept my procrastination in check (just about;)) I am finding it all too easy to cruise through whatever years I have left. Not literally 'cruise' of course as I'm not yet in a financial position to afford one. Maybe one day, eh?


Given your health issues your post-retirement achievements have been inspirational:A. All things considered I think you got the balance just right. Sounds like your plans for the next phase include a bit of everything which can only be the ideal way to go:T. I'll be hooked on reading about all that you manage to cram in to your life during 2020:beer:

Karmacat

Finally_Solvent wrote: »

What Challenge is this, Karmacat? I'm a bit of a one for needing a few good challenges to give some structure and accountability to my year. Left to its own devices it sort of just meanders along. Like you, I'm fairly recently retired and after a lifetime of timetables and deadlines which kept my procrastination in check (just about;)) I am finding it all too easy to cruise through whatever years I have left.

Its this one, FS https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6077948/20-20s-for-2020 it didn't start out as a challenge, more like a diary, but lots of people liked the sound of it and joined in, and when cross rabbit mentioned it, I liked the sound of it too.

Given your health issues your post-retirement achievements have been inspirational:A. All things considered I think you got the balance just right. Sounds like your plans for the next phase include a bit of everything which can only be the ideal way to go:T. I'll be hooked on reading about all that you manage to cram in to your life during 2020:beer:

Thanks! The first couple of years of retirement, life was in absolute uproar, what with sorting probate and some other problems that came crawling out of the woodwork, but all of that's gone now.

Today: checking on the local floods (saw some pix online yesterday, went out to look and was kind of horrified. A good 20 feet below my house, so I'm not worried, just surprised. Plus finally doing the nutloaf And before I begin that, I may finally tune the radio I bought with swagbucks vouchers so I can have it in the background as I cook, that was the reason for buying it.