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Dan and I have made it through our first week of retirement at the Harn and it seems we’re busier than ever. I have told many people that once you retire, it’s not about taking it easy. Instead, life seems to be busier than it’s ever been before!
Dan says he not really retired, he just has a new boss. He claims to be the Head Maintenance Technician and Assistant Grounds Keeper at the Harn (working for me!). You need to be sure to read that as the Technician of Head Maintenance. So far, it’s going good. Pretty sweet job as he gets to sleep with the boss AND after a grueling day, health care benefits include shoulder rubs… from that same boss! I’m pretty sure there will be no sexual harassment claims.
Since we’re still seeing cold temps most mornings, I continue to let him sleep late. This is a real treat for him after the last few years of O-Dark-Thirty workdays. Dan is NOT a morning person. Once the weather warms, I foresee us hitting the bricks, actually the dirt, EARLY more often than not. But time will tell on that one.
Though we’ve had some later starts to the real workdays, we’ve gotten much accomplished. Since Dan’s retirement we have:
- Hung baskets on the ceiling to free up shelf space in the kitchen.
- Cleared the frost heave at Garage Door and Porch Doors, replacing the pallet at one and adding rocks at the other.
- Spread clover at both Porch Doors and in the Driveway.
- Gathered wood in the forest as we went out to check mail. [This is a becoming a daily routine. See below.]
- Built a bonfire and stored a box of wood for inside.
- Moved all the furniture in the living room again to put the sofa back where it was… As Dan says, “We move things at the Harn.”
- Built our humanure station and dumped nine buckets from the last six months.
- Interviewed for a local radio show to talk about the Harn (which is airing in a few weeks so keep your eyes peeled for that blog post).
- Pulled dozens of dead trees from the forest for firewood and kindling. [Can’t prepare for winter too soon here in the hinterlands. See above.]
- Walked the property line with our neighbors to the south and everyone is pretty happy with how much space we seem to have.
Oh, and I won the Rewrite Your Life essay contest sponsored by Wellness Retreats for Women!! My submission, should you want to read it, is here: https://womenwellnessretreats.com/news/2017/3/22/contest-entry-jami-gaither-leaving-the-rat-race The objective was to write a letter to your current self from your future self about the book you’d written. And I won! Big thanks to the many people who took the time to vote for my submission. With my prize money I am Super Stoked to be participating in Jess Lourey’s Rewrite Your Life Online Course. Ever since I heard about Jessie’s new book on writing your life, I KNEW I’d be getting a copy at Cherry Street Books and I really hoped I would be doing a workshop with her on it as well. And here it is! My dream coming true. If you’ve ever wanted to write a novel, or help yourself heal from some life experience, I’m betting this course could help you as well. Check it out here: http://learnhowtowriteabook.teachable.com/p/rewrite-your-life
I also got a communication from the Editor at Permaculture Design Magazine that there’s potential for me to write some articles about our Homestead experience for them! Check them out here: https://www.permaculturedesignmagazine.com/ It just may be that my childhood dream to one day be a writer may result in more than just my blog. Maybe even some income?
Dan’s already helping a friend with electrical work – Char’s new Yarn Basket Shop is in progress and I’m looking forward to its grand opening. And he has a couple more local people interested in talking with him about their own projects that need done. Things seem to really be falling in place for us to potentially create some income to help that nest egg last a bit longer. We’ll see how it all develops.
But I definitely think the Universe is telling us we’re where we’re supposed to be. 🙂
Retired at 45 