Photo Memories

One of the to-do things on my list when I retired was to Organize our Photos. Over the years, before digital, our vacation photos ended up in boxes. A few vacations, I did manage to put together a photo-album with a narrative. But there were hundreds of loose pictures including many old family photos, packed … Continue reading Photo Memories

WOTY 2020 – RELEASE

I have chosen RELEASE as my 2020 Word-of-the-Year. For me a WOTY is my focus area for the year.   In past year’s my words included JOY (which helped me embrace practicing positivity), SOAR (which stood for Savoring, Optimistic, Activating, and Resilient and, while complicated, was a strong word for the year I was fighting cancer … Continue reading WOTY 2020 – RELEASE

New Things Tracking – 2019 Summary

I’ve discovered in my retirement that I really enjoy trying new things – whether a new restaurant, a new theater production, or a new type of cooking in a cooking class. In 2018, I had a goal of 52 New Things – one per week – and blew it away with over 75 things that … Continue reading New Things Tracking – 2019 Summary

An Autumn Reset?

My original Autumn Action Plan (post link) was aligned to my current retirement lifestyle vision and recognized a long visit at our Florida beach cottage. It did not, however, recognize that we were going to buy a new home in Florida! That shift in direction (post link) has really created a mind-space traffic jam in my … Continue reading An Autumn Reset?

Updating the Bucket List

While I have sometimes called my Seasonal Plans a “bucket list”, they are in reality 3-month action plans. I do have a more traditional bucket list, the things-to-do-before-I-die kind-of-list. There are some things that have been on that list for years. And I’m starting to think I should drop some of them from the list. … Continue reading Updating the Bucket List

A Shift in Location

You might have noticed I’ve been absent from the blogging world for a couple of weeks. We explored and are making a significant shift in our retirement lifestyle.   I had always said we would eventually relocate to Florida. I was thinking in the 8-10 year range.  That was a long time in the future.  I … Continue reading A Shift in Location

September Musings

Retirement for me is an intentional way of living, aligning my lifestyle choices and actions/activities with my highest priorities/values. I’ve crafted a lifestyle vision statement based on that: Active. Connected. Creative. Contemplative. This blog post is simply a series of musings I’ve had this month as I’ve contemplated various blogs I am reading.   Am … Continue reading September Musings

Summer Summary & Autumn Action Plan

Sometimes in this retirement life, I feel like I need to start with an “AA” like statement, “Hi, my name is Pat and I’m a planner”.   I’ve learned that I need written plans – weekly schedules and daily to-do’s.  Seasonal action plans also fit this need.  When I have plans in place I feel a … Continue reading Summer Summary & Autumn Action Plan

Am I a Modern Day Renaissance Woman?

A new term came to my mind when we were talking (around the blog-o-sphere) about not having a single focused passion, but enjoying various things. I was realizing I really like my “100 New Things in 2019” approach to life and don't really focus on any single passion to a level of mastery. In fact, … Continue reading Am I a Modern Day Renaissance Woman?

My Blog Anniversary – A long look back

It’s hard to believe I just passed the 4th anniversary of this blog.   I actually told someone it was the third… and then checked. Nope, I’ve been writing for 4 years! I started when I was “knee-deep” in my own retirement transition, still trying to figure out a vision, a plan, an identity, a new … Continue reading My Blog Anniversary – A long look back