Just around the corner.

Now, this weather has got to go.  It’s important, I know, to have spring rain…it helps the lake, it helps the flowers and trees, it helps, it helps.  But you should see our driveway and yard.  Things are super muddy around here, like walking in fudge.  But, yes, there will be sun and drying winds.  This is temporary, I know.  

A couple weeks ago I talked about introducing essential oils into some of my daily routines, which I have continued to do although have not improved on incorporating as much as I want to.  I do still love the frankincense and coconut oil I am using on my neck and chest. Working on those imperfections and happy with the results.  A drop of lemon oil in my water every day, several glasses a day, and a mix of lemon, lavender and tea tree oil to spritz on my counters.  Using my diffuser more often and saw a great little recipe for a spring fragrance called Shamrocks.  Tee hee hee.  Love that.

A few years ago I started watching a make-up artist on You Tube.  I liked her because she was fun, funny, impertinent and did not give a care about what people thought.  She entertained me and although I am not into make-up so much, I liked watching her.  I was maybe a little depressed during those days and needed a boost.  I put her right up there with smutty romance novels and the Bravo housewives franchise.  I cannot get enough.  Shocking, right? Is there anyone out there more shallow than me? 

Anyway, when I started watching this young woman, I also started paying attention to some of the products that seemed to pop up in a lot of places but were often very expensive and not something I was going to spend money on, since I am not a make-up person.  However, I was intrigued by one product that seemed to get mentioned a lot.  Tarte Shape Tape.  I do not understand why it is called Shape Tape as it is neither for shaping nor taping.  It’s concealer.  The product reviews were ridonkulous, as they say, and recently I pulled the trigger and ordered some to be sent in a plain brown unmarked envelope to my home.

This stuff is pretty good.  It’s good on wrinkles and discolorations – okay, bags – around my eyes.  I have learned how to blend and smooth and it truly does take a smidgen of this stuff to work.  I use it all around my eyes because I do not use eye shadow but the eyelids aren’t what they use to be, and this stuff really does go on thin and not settle into lines and wrinkles.  It’s good stuff and I recommend, if that matters to you at all.

So I guess what I am getting at with all these new ideas and items is that it’s not too late, I guess ever, to try to improve yourself and your surroundings.  It would be so easy to just accept what I have, what I know, at my age, but, I really do want to be better, look my best healthy self, feel my best healthy self.

    

That being said I had to run an errand yesterday and WOW am I glad I didn’t see any one I know as I did not do my eyes, or my hair, or my wardrobe for that matter.   If you did happen to see me, thanks for ignoring me and sparing me the anguish it would have caused both of us.

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The beginning.

Almost every year we traveled to a tropical location with business associates of my husband.  We were lucky to go to some gorgeous resorts, beautiful locations as an incentive he earned while working along side some great salesmen and their customers.  To have these trips come to an end is the negative of retirement.

   

This year’s trip was to Costa Rica.  Another location I didn’t think I would get to see and the countryside did not disappoint.  We laid pretty low all week as there is a fair amount of “business” that is conducted during these trips although it is all about building relationships more than conducting business.  But, we stepped back and out of the role and just relaxed.  Following our January trip to Key West, I’d say hubs has had a great introduction in to retirement! The people of Costa Rica were sweet and seemingly happy people.  I would not turn down an opportunity to go again.

Since we have returned, spring is making a frustratingly slow entrance.  More snow, frigid cold.  I was hoping we would be a little further in to it by now, to be honest.  We all may remember how antsy I get for getting out in the mud and mire to start my landscaping projects and this year is no exception.  I’m anxious to get started.  My big project this year is going to be landscape lighting along with some foundation planting, so I have begun to research a little, talk style and placement…a little sketching.  This is what I love about early spring; the getting ready.

As for the immediate future, I should take the Christmas arrangement out of the big black pots on the front porch and begin to ready it for a spring transition, as I know it will happen even if slow to start.  I have white lights on a tree up in the woods and over the last week or so the strands have started to burn out so the arrangement of lights is not looking great.  I guess, if it warms up above 20, I’ll see if I can correct that situation. And, the moon garden needs some serious attention. 

 

Oh, and I’ve convinced hubs it would be nice to get a quick spring trip in, so we may be traveling to a warmer location for a few days next month.  I mean, why not?

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Ancient stuff.

One of the “new truths” I have accepted for my life is the aging of my skin.  Not just my face and neck, but all over.  I look down at my legs and gasp, literally gasp.  Who owns that crocodile mess?

A couple years ago I attended an “oil class” and well, you know, I was not super interested but I did like the idea of fragrance diffusing over candles.  Now, I loved my candles here and there, but I could get a cute little diffuser, do some cool fragrances and blends.  So I bought oils every once in a while from a *popular online retailer* and diffused irregularly.

Around this same time I began to feel I was overrun with skin tags and little moles.  Something I held on to from the oil class was frankincense and skin imperfections.  My skin was feeling a bit imperfect to me so I began doing a little independent research on essential oils and the benefits.  I reached out to a couple of people I knew were into oils and asked a ton of questions.  I’ve posted before about my late in life acceptance of moisturizing the face, neck and décolletage.  I mean, its necessary stuff and I have improved my routine and all but preach it to my two daughters.  Now I’m finding the need to expand that a bit to my arms, my legs, the bottoms of my feet, for crying out loud.  

I decided to take a bit of a deeper wade into essential oils and reached out to a young woman I have known since she was in elementary school, and whom I like immensely.  I knew she had started her own health journey, and that is her story to tell, but, I felt like I could count on her research and the outcomes she herself was experiencing.  She obtained a few oils for me, to introduce me to a couple of her favorites, and we spent a morning talking them through.

I really enjoy the oils but I don’t think I have used them to their full benefit yet.  I have applied frankincense to skin issues and see results,  diffused new fragrances, done more research and asked a ton more questions.  I both clean with lemon water and drink it. I wipe down my butcher block counter top with a drop or two of tea tree oil in water and love both the fragrance and the natural disinfecting properties.  I add the same oil to my dishwater when washing up a few dishes or add to the dishwasher.  I am adding an oil routine to my scalp for both dryness and to encourage improved hair health, and I’ll let you know how that goes.  I'll talk to you about what I'm learning and help you get going, too. 

 

Its a little like reaching back to go forward. I am not an oil guru, at least not yet.  I understand that those of us of a certain age, those who have used pine cleaners and bleach, disinfecting wipes, creams and lotions, are a bit tied to "hey, it works good enough" and may be reluctant to find something better, but, there’s science here, and oils are being introduced - or maybe I should say reintroduced - to all area of our lives, as a healthy, natural alternative to almost every choice we make, every day - from how we take care of ourselves and our homes, to how we care for others.  

Don't worry.  I still shave my armpits and eat hamburgers, but I do love a good Patchouli...   

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What's changed?

What’s different? We are in to retirement zone for about a month now.  Its been pretty smooth although hubs and I do step in to the other’s territory a bit. There definitely are some adjustments happening.

   

He is enjoying the spontaneity of it all.  Yesterday, for example, he came out of the basement, which is how he has been starting his day, surveying his belongings in the basement, making a list of what to do next, and said “Want to do something crazy?” Caught completely off guard, I replied “Uh, sure.  What do you have in mind?”  Now, since I have the reputation of being the “crazier” of the two of us, I admit to being a little worried. Was this a challenge? Crazy is my territory, so only step in here if you mean it.

His idea was to drop everything and drive the hour and a half in to Chicago for the day.  A couple of stores to hit, that I have mentioned, and maybe lunch.  Alright, I said, I am more than game, give me 15 minutes, and off we go.

 

Now, hubs has never been big on driving in to Chicago for the day…certainly not on a whim.  Never to shop or browse, so for him, this was on the crazy side.  In the fog and rain so it wasn’t a pretty drive by any means.  It wasn’t totally aimless, he did have an idea of where we would go, but was open to just about anything I suggested.  We arrived, we shopped and we had a quick bite at a downtown spot, and made an uneventful trip back home.  Nothing earth shattering, no events to attend, just a bit of meandering here and there.  It was not the kind of day I would have spent in Chicago with “the girls” or my lady friends which would have included a show and cocktails in a hotel bar perhaps, but it was a good day.

I can take the spontaneity.  I am a bit more likely to jump than he is and we know that about each other.  I know yesterday was for me as much as it was for him to push his boundaries a bit.  After 45 years of structure it is a big change to have so many “free” hours.  We’ll get there.  We have started a list of places to visit, things to see, day trips to full on vacations.  I asked him yesterday if he wanted to go to an antique show in April, that starts on Thursday and would require some driving.  Instead of his usual “We’ll see”. (which, I’ll be honest, has driven me crazy for 40 years) he replied “Yeah, I guess we can do that, huh?”  Yes, yes we can.

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Not right now.

Here we are, at the most frozen, coldest dang day of the winter.  I should be using this time to keep moving, to ward off the chill, to sort, to downsize, laundry, cleaning…but I find myself napping on the couch, watching junk TV, occasionally rolling out from under the furry throw to eat something or refresh my coffee.

 

I have been thinking about spring.  This arctic blast has me in that mood.  I am thinking about plants, and colors.  I get out the journal and start writing down goals for landscaping 2019, write about rock and mulch and clearing brush.  Will those sweet little plants from last year survive this cold?  January and February are meant for thoughts like these..spring cleaning? Well, that’s for spring, and we aren't there yet. 

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Following my own advice.

I haven’t written a blog post in several weeks.  I just was too hesitant, to be honest, as some things have really gotten under my skin lately and I don’t want this blog to ever come across as negative, or  “lecture-y”.  I was afraid my thinking, how I was feeling, would come out in my writing, and that’s a self-imposed no for me.

However, a lot of good has happened around me since Christmas and I hope both my outlook and my inner reflection have improved. Do you ever find yourself in a bit of a funk and it just needs to work itself around? That’s what I was hoping for. As James Brown would say “Get up offa that thing and make yourself feel better”.

Hubs retired, his last work day was December 28th.  The night before his very last day we had a bit of a surprise get together at one of our favorite spots, a local brewery. Almost all of the family was there, we are very lucky to have so many close by, and a couple friends. He was completely surprised and shout out to Maple City Dentistry for being in on the secret and shuffling his scheduled appointment around a bit.

We followed that up with a New Years Eve night out, very unusual for us. I have recently reconnected with an old friend and we ushered in the New Year together, our resolution being not to let thirty years go by again.  We were the oldest folks at Journeyman Distillery that night but we didn’t much care, and we made a quick stop in to the Acorn Theater's NYE party as well, super late and time for it to be over, but we listened to a couple songs from the band. It was a good time.

Following that, we traveled to Key West for a week to celebrate retirement and spend money like we have it.  Key West was terrific. Just the perfect response to retirement in that it caused us to slow down, to relax…to retire, if you will. We made plans, we chucked plans. Key West was a good bridge to what life will be like going forward.  

We have always talked a bit about travel. We are not campers or RV people. Seeing RVs shoved into campgrounds practically on top of each other, and I know that isn’t every park, made me cringe. Anyway, we spent a bit of time talking about how to plan for future trips and get-aways.  Our first step is making independent lists of where we would like to go and then compare those lists and start thinking about how to make it happen.  We want to travel in the US a bit, there are so many great places to see.

Christmas is like a blur, now, in some ways.  Our vacation already a week behind us.  We came home to snow and super frigid temps and now it is suppose to rain all evening.  We also came home to a blood red full moon and a lunar eclipse and that’s hard to beat. 

I follow a casual acquaintance on Instagram and she posts a lot of inspirational quotes.  One really rang true for me this morning as I was finishing this post…

One day or day one.  You decide.