Unusual to see these as the wildlife usually eat them. Poison to humans.
Shrooms
Tag: retirement
Shopping.
It’s an ordinary Saturday. We’ve done the shopping in an hour…all the food for the week. It’s actually quicker (and cheaper) to go to the next town over to buy our food because of the traffic around town and because it’s market day. We try not to shop on the weekend, but this week it was unavoidable. Today’s extra purchase logs for the fire before the price goes up for winter.
We took to making a plan and a list about a month ago on account of the austerity and all that. We are still having a treat of steak for lunch with celeriac chips (fries to my US chums). Meal planning bores me senseless, but having an accountant as a partner it works for us. We have a couple of favourites and have found an app (any list) that means we can share lists across two phones. Definitely makes shopping more efficient.
As a side note, several vehicles have pulled out in front of the car todayboth forward and in reverse. Stay awake, people. I know it’s hibernation time for some of us, but safety first!
This afternoon’s tasks are to turn the veg beds and the compost. This, hopefully, will increase our yield next year. It’s been a weird one for the garden and for foraging this year. The climate changes are definitely making a difference. Even in expert hands, the growth of foodstuff has been unusual this year. Of course the garlic goes in now as it takes the best part of the year to mature, but it takes very little space or effort.
The house is almost done too. A panicked flurry of activity to prepare the room for the nieces to visit last week means the guest room is almost complete. There are pictures to hang in the living room and a cost of paint in the utility space. Next spring will hopefully see the front garden completed. We’re putting a wildflower lawn in for the bees although I think the idea of a beehive has been put to rest.
Telling Tales
Last night was.the first official run out for ‘the talk about my Australian adventures last year. A group of former Guide leaders assembled for the first time since July and excited to see each other as well as to hear the talk and, of course, have tea and a chat.
It’s a little unnerving when your mum is on the front row. This was only half the tale though. Tne story if the train across the desert but not of my time in the outback. I am reliably informed that someone was overhead saying they could listen to it all again. Certainly, feedback was in the form of questions and talwles of family members’ involvement in the building of Australia. Its lovely that people opened up to share their own stories with me, and I was honoured.
I should point out that this was the hottest day of the year to day at 29 degrees centigrade and that we had to close the door part way through because of brass band practice in the next building! The tea was amazing, and I’m pleased to say that all equipment worked as it should. (The touring show being a little different from a ready-made classroom setup)
I’ve a couple of weeks before the next one.
Holiday Adverts
My current vice is watching YouTube travel videos. (Maybe I’ll start a channel one day) . In that I don’t pay for the Tube I get ads between and during the videos. Currently, it bring dummer (allegedly) in.the uk, these are largely holiday ads. Many of these are for branded packages to sunny climes. Every fibre of my screams ‘noooooo’ when I see these. I love a bit of luxury, but I’m not averse to a hostel either what I loathe with a passion is tourist hotels. Now I know that when travelling for pleasure you cannot escape the fact that everyone is a tourist. Do not fool yourselves ‘digital nomads’ you’re just tourists with a computer.
What sparked my rant today is an ad for a Hard Rock Hotel. Now, I have an extensive collection of Hard Rock pins, and I’ve spent many a happy hour feeding my face in the cafes as I grew up. I tend to avoid them now. (Please contact me if you want to buy any Hard Rock pins) in preference for local small businesses. Locally run cafes tend to offer better food. I’m no angel. I use air bnbs. On the whole, we tend to look for homes that people actually live in and rent when they’re not there. That’s as it was intended before it was corrupted as a business taking a lot of viable small homes out of the housing market. I rarely use hotels. I stay with friends and they stay with us. Tourist central with the noise and pools and buffet breakfast queue… if you’ve read the Australia posts, you’ll know that was the most disappointing aspect of our visit to Yalara.
Don’t get me wrong I’m lucky enough to not be taking kids with me (I love my nieces, and we’re meeting them and their parents abroad at some point this year) we can pick and choose. We can go during term time, not in peak periods. It can be much quieter when we travel. If I had tips for anyone, these are they. Do not travel to major tourist traps. There are many underrated places on this planet. Walk where you can. Take public transport where possible. (I know that is not possible in the USA, for example). Drunk and shouting by or in the pool daytime or 3am it’s not a good look on anyone. Respect people, and generally, you’ll find they help you, and you’ll find hidden gems and have wonderful experiences that the herd miss.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a train journey to Matchu Pitchu to watch….
Things you don’t need
Or at least things I don’t need. In the process of redecorating the house (these things we do when retired) there’s always been that charity shop bag by the door. I had a notification this week to say that, with gift aid (a tax back scheme for charities in the UK), the things we’ve chucked in this bag and walked to one of the shops in town had raised over £170 for the charity. How’s that for one person’s trash?
I’ve also been up in the attic (loft) and brought down the small library that has lived up there for the last 15 years. We’ve had new bookshelves built-in to the living room. Obviously, space is limited, but with some books stored in the office space, there had to be a cull. I hate giving up on books, but here’s the question do I need them? Many have not seen daylight in years. Thankfully, I have lots of friends who are happy to take some off my hands, there are apps that let you sell books, and I’d all else fails that the charity shop bag will be filled.
Increasing our ‘one in one out’ policy is becoming a ‘meh I don’t need that’ policy. The house is slowly emptying. Slowly. Tne decorating, new garden, time spent here because pandemic/retirement/working-from-home means that paying more attention to these surroundings became inevitable. When was the last time you really stopped to appreciate all that you have and wonder what you can actually live without. If nothing else ebay might help you pay for your next holiday!
Next…
Yep, there’s another trip coming up. Not so far this time. I’m packing light.
Mine the craft
I know it’s ridiculous to play video games in your retirement, but hey, I like ’em. What you forget is that the first generation of gamers is well into their 60 now. Sir Clive Sinclair and the mighty ZX and ZX spectrum. Cassette tapes to load a game… maybe 15 minutes… then it crashes and you have to start over. Oh, the humanity! For those who have a 5 minute PS update or the tedious load screen that’s on for 30 seconds let me tell you back in the day games didn’t even have graphics!
My 8 year old niece was fascinated to see my house in minecraft. For officionados it’s a mixture of cobblestone and glazed terracotta in a right old mix of colours and texture. Even the carpet tiles don’t match. I keep a number of virtual cows, sheep and clucks (half chicken half duck no one really knows) but no pigs, llama or horses (yet). I’m one of those irritating players who transport all manner of trees and flowers from every biome and just plant bamboo next to oak next to tulips next to acacia…. just like a Victorian really. Obviously, being game rich means you can build several homes. Usually a day’s travel apart so the zombies don’t get you … or the skeletons, spiders, illagers (in-game baddies).
But I digress. The thing about this ‘useless’ pastime is that it’s not useless. This is how to train a surgeon or send in an airstrike or calm an autistic child. There are more products associated with games than films or music these days. In face many films (movies for my Amercan chums), and much music is now released based on games. Even TV! TV is dying in its traditional episodic form. Binge watching The Last of Us on Amazon Prime is how it’s done these days. Fortunes have been mad on ‘video games’ even the social media moguls are losing their pull but the games go on. Sorry Mr Z, your Mehtaverse is not going to replace playing Mario Kart and laughing IRL (That’s ‘in real life’) with my friends and family. I can play my own D’n’D adventure alone with an RPG (role playing game … think Tomb Raider) too.
Maybe I should tell you about the board game collection, which fills six small IKEA crates, sometime. Play, in all its glorious forms, is a basic human need. Have fun.
Morning Routine
I’ve read a lot of motivation porn in my time, and I’ve concluded that, whilst fascinating, it’s mostly about young white guys making money. Not all young or white but 99% about money. OK, the retired person says, “Nah”. Yes, it’s lovely to have more than enough. However, my observation is that no one ever quite knows what “enough” is. I have a better question. What makes you happy?
I’m going to tell you about my morning routine since that’s a common productivity theme. I’m usually wakened by my cat. He lives a morning cuddles, and he’s released around 8 am by my other half, who then brings me tea in bed…. well in a mug. I might have 2 or 3 mugs full, which can make for a lot of washing up, but folks, that’s what a dishwasher is for… that and saving argument about who’s turn it is as the dishes pile up. Generally, whilst I’m taking on my morning caffeine, I’m streaming YouTube videos to the bedroom telly.
My video choices tend to be US politics. I’m fascinated by that car crash as with the current UK situation. There’s usually a music video or three. I watch stuff on how to do various creative things like drawing or music (like how to use my OP1, which I’m not good at), an occasional healthy recipe sneaks in there. So that’s about an hour or sometimes two. I keep out of the way whilst my wife sets up the office and heads to work that way, I’m not upsetting that routine. Working from home became a yhi g during the pandemic and has stayed. We really enjoy this as we can get lunch or do jobs around the house more easily.
I’m up and showered by 10 or before. Blanket on the bed for cat sleeping and allergy avoidance. I make breakfast. I like porridge. Chia seed and pistachio with some cardamom. Nice, my brother calls it pretentious. He’s an undertaker. (That’s a funeral director for my American chums)
Now, there’s nowt, as we say here, about motivation in any of that. I will say that at the weekend, when I get up at 8 am to go scuba diving, I’m not a happy bunny. I do love to dive, though, and it makes me very happy. Yes, even in the 4 degrees centigrade waters of a UK quarry.
So there you have it. A complete absence of exercise, supercool, meditation, or reading. There’s nothing about “monetizing” or productivity. Imagine a person just doing what feels good! Magic.
Alice’s Spring
An early start to catch a sunrise over Uluru from the viewing platform near the resort was rather spoiled by cloud cover! Still a spectacular sight though, in truth, we overslept a little. Back for breakfast an onto the bus. Today’s viewing was the story of the accident that changed aviation worldwide. The Coffee Royal Affair. Less commentary as we were all tired and reflecting on the end of an eventful week. Some of our friends were leaving today to go on their travels and yet others would be rejoining the Ghan with us tomorrow. We were on the black top (proper roads) as we made our way back to Alice our final lunch stop being at Elrunda Roadhouse. Yes, there were emu. Yes it was everything you imaging a roadhouse to be. None of us wanted a beer and the barman and three locals that had appeared as we arrived faded into the background as quickly as they came.
We rolled into Alice Springs past a Toyota dealership. It sells more ‘utes’ than anywhere else on the planet. After the roads we have driven in the past few days I can see why. The town itself exists because of the telegraph station but more of that later. It is a hot day as usual and we decided to walk into town before it got too hot (spoilers, it was already too hot). There are a few attractions. Our hotel was next door to the Lasseter’s Casino (Pricilla again), in the town centre highlights are the Qantas hangar, the old prison and the Flying Doctor museum, the desert park is just outside town but more of that later. A farewell diner with our driver and guide and off to bed. One day free to roam Alice tomorrow.
Well, it would have been rude not to visit the Royal Flying Doctor Service since we had already been to Flynn’s memorial and now knew the story of the 20 dollar note (the old ones) and how it could save your life. Its hologram show and the opportunity to get on board a life size mock up of the plane made an enjoyable and informative visit … and we ran into some of the team whilst we were there.
Then we decided on the prison, its just across the road. It’s not entirely grim as it was rescued from destruction because of a wonderful mural painted by a former inmate. Sadly (?) some of the buildings had been destroyed before the community campaign managed to save the rest and it has now been converted to a museum of prominent women. That’s a whole new perspective on the influence of these hardy females. Some of the original blocks have been preserved and no way would I have wanted to be locked in there with no air con.
By now the sun was almost directly overhead so we abandoned the idea of a short walk to find a bakery recommended as a great place to eat and made our way back to the RFDS café for lunch. Staff from the hospital were there too. Refreshed, cooled and stocked up with water in our indispensable water flasks (the best thing in those kits we got) and wandered back to the hotel. Yeah, the pool in the shade was definitely the place to be. Quiet bar snack diner, complementary drinks of course and an early night ready for our return to the train.
Back to the Real World
If you were hoping for more tales of adventure I’m sorry to disappoint. Today is a work day for the PhD student in me and a difficult review meeting. Its been an interesting year… what with the ongoing pandemic and a big trip to Oz. I’ve been plugging away at the research stuff. It’s not glamorous. A lot of transferring notes and filling in forms. I’m at that difficult stage (like its not all difficult) where I actually have to put in some writing time. The forms are all but filled and need to go to a higher authority for approval. A chapter must be produced.
I admit I’m a great procrastinator. There’s always another place to look for inspiration. Another theory to check out….. I could go on but that’s just more procrastination.
My question is which chapter to begin first. The ever exciting ‘Literature Review’ or the even more scintillating ‘Methodology’.
I want to apologise now to my supervisors for not realising I could just get on with this before the ever popular ethics form was completed….. Doh.
ffiftypluses 