Here's another photo from my recent Florida trip. Several of these flowers were growing in the wilderness down by the lake at my stepmother's house. I didn't know what they were, but my plant-identifier app tells me they're Sagittaria lancifolia, commonly known as Bull-tongue Arrowhead. Which is quite a mouthful.
I have to give you a Florida picture because I haven't been very inspired photographically this week. I've been walking back and forth to work as usual, but not much has jumped out at me as picture-worthy. I think I just need some leisurely time to take a better look around.
Thank goodness it's the weekend, and I have nothing scheduled, so I can finally write a proper blog post rather than dashing something off before leaping into the shower! From your end this will probably seem no better or worse than any other post, but from my end it's much more relaxed.
It will be interesting to see if my blog posts change once I have more time, after mid-April. I keep thinking I should be plumbing the depths a bit more -- talking about thoughts and feelings and issues. Then again, what can I say about issues, other than how horrifying they all are? I'm not sure I have any more light to shed on world events.
I hope to get some more stuff done around the house this weekend, like sprucing up our front garden, which is looking truly abysmal. As I mentioned before, we have a dead bush out there and it needs some other minor weeding and trimming. I also have some plant maintenance to do in the back garden, and I may even mow the lawn. And I still have a stack of New Yorkers to get through! I am deliberately not starting a new book because I want to focus on reading all those. I made a dent in them during my trip to Florida but I'm still months behind!
I've been taking my New Yorkers to work and sharing them with a colleague -- he has the newest issues, which he will give back to me so I can eventually read them. I reminded him yesterday that I'm leaving in a few weeks, though. As I said, "The gravy train stops after April 15!"
When I retired I became less disciplined with blogging. I don't know how when working I managed to fit blogging into my daily life.
ReplyDeleteI suppose the New Yorkers are quite expensive. All I know about them is that the writing is excellent.
Yes, there is little to say about the horror of world events. As a distraction from the Epstein files, it has been perfect.
I can see how you'd be more disciplined when your time was scheduled out, and less so when your days opened up. Yeah, the New Yorker costs upwards of $200 a year, so I don't want to just throw them out unread!
DeleteI don‘t like rushed blogging, which is why some time ago I switched from posting almost daily (or at least several times a week) to my weekly reports, with the occasional extra post and book reviews. While I don‘t think the weekly reports are ideal, at least they allow me to summarise events and post the pictures I take without having to invest time I don‘t feel I have on a typical working day.
ReplyDeleteYou‘ll find your rhythm, no doubt.
I can see how a weekly post would be an attractive option, but I think mine would just get too long and unwieldy if I tried to do that. Besides, I like creating a daily record, even if I have to do it quickly!
DeleteI have given up magazines, our Andrew has Private Eye and Byline, so I can always catch up there, though I think the New Statesman is better. I suppose blogging is not just about our daily lives, it is about the current events as well, filtered through the many podcasts on offer. Also some of us (not me) have more fascinating lives than others;)
ReplyDeleteAs we say in the news business, "There are no boring stories -- only boring reporters!" In other words, the right writer can make anything interesting. Not that I think I am that writer! I love Private Eye even though I don't read it much.
DeleteI imagine that your post-retirement blog posts will be just as interesting to us as your current posts. You have a way of perfectly capturing the day-to-day as well as the extraordinary.
ReplyDeleteI write more about my free time than my workday, so I imagine I'll manage to keep blogging pretty well after I retire. Most of my workday would be paralyzingly boring for anyone to read about!
DeleteWhat gorgeous flowers. Unusual. Thanks for not plumbing the depths of world issues right now. Feelings would be fine. Whoa, oh, oh, feelings.
ReplyDeleteThanks for THAT earworm! NOT. :)
DeleteYou’re welcome. TRULY.
DeleteHave a great weekend,
ReplyDeleteThanks, and you too!
DeleteI expect more walkabout photos after Retirement Day; more trip photos, too, and more interesting rubbish on the streets!
ReplyDeleteInsha'allah!
DeleteSounds like you have a productive weekend planned. That flower is certainly one I have never heard of before. It looks very robust and strong.
ReplyDeleteIt's a very swampy flower. Made for a tough environment!
DeleteRetirement in London - the most fabulous thing ever! There are so many walks , nooks and crannies to venture to. You will take advantage of all of it! Discovering the obscure. London is never boring! I am excited for you! AND jealous!!
ReplyDeleteYou're much better than me at seeking out the mysterious places, though. I just tend to wander around until I stumble across something unusual!
DeleteWhen I retired, at first it bothered me that I wasn't very productive each day but I have gotten used to that! ;)
ReplyDeleteI wonder if I'll feel that way. Time will tell!
DeleteThe beginning of retirement means you have a few loose ends to clean up.
ReplyDeleteYeah, there are plenty of things to do at work to get ready, and then plenty of things to do at home once I have the time!
DeleteThe sword leaf in the old turtle pond has the same flowers. I still have plenty of winter in the yard to clean up. I'm starting Joe Hill's new book King Sorrow, 886 pages.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's the same plant, just with a different common name?
DeleteI am quite curious to see how you handle retirement, especially in the beginning. I believe you're going to have a learning curve wherein you'll have to figure out that each day does not necessarily need to be filled with so-called productive activity. You already do the cleaning and laundry so you'll still be doing that, I'm sure. You and I are both so puritan in our natures in some ways. Always feeling as if we must be working hard at something in order to be of worth. I just had a dream this morning wherein I was contemplating the ease of only caring for two people on a daily basis instead of six or sometimes more. So I am still working this out. On the other hand, I do very much love having the time and space to fill my hours with things that bring me contentment and sometimes even joy. You will too.
ReplyDeleteDuring the year or two that I was out of work, right after I was laid off by the Times and then when we first moved to London, I used to set a goal of doing one useful or productive thing per day. And how I defined that was up to me. I don't recall struggling too much.
DeleteThat sounds extremely wise.
DeleteI'm looking forward to your retirement posting. I'm thinking some long walks might happen.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely! Long photo walks!
DeleteArrowhead because of its leaves?
ReplyDeleteWe're all anticipating your new walks!
Yeah, the leaves are arrow-shaped.
DeleteThe gravy train! I haven't heard that expression for a while. :) I had a tough transition to retirement, but I was single and lived alone. I think getting a new dog would keep you busy, hint, hint. It would also give you lots to post about, including photos.
ReplyDeleteYes, we're talking about a dog. It's going to happen, I'm sure! The question is, when is the optimal time?
DeleteYou will find your rhythm and soon wonder how you had time to work - cliche, but true!
ReplyDeleteMy brother already laughs at me for saying I'm "busy" when I fill my days with gardening and dog-walking and other similar activities. But that counts as busy, doesn't it?!
DeleteI love sharing books or magazines with friends -- but only those who treat them well and return them! Your weekend sounds good and that flower is a pretty one. I don't know how you handle daily posts. I need to be able to spend time that I usually don't have with them. I can manage two a week, maybe three, but every day? I salute you!
ReplyDeleteWell, I don't know if it's a good thing or not. It helps that I like short posts. That's just my style! But maybe after I retire I can make them a little more pithy. Or maybe not.
DeleteI think you will find retirement very enjoyable. You've got lots of interests, a love for travel and general exploration locally and abroad. Having more time for what you truly enjoy will be wonderful.
ReplyDeleteI am fortunate to be a person who is rarely if ever bored. I can entertain myself.
DeleteI'm almost as excited about your retirement as you are - ha! Mike mowed today - the first mow of the season. He had to jumpstart the mower battery.
ReplyDeleteThe first mow is always exciting! And it does make the yard look a lot better! Is Miss Pinky outside yet? I just put our geranium out yesterday.
DeleteShe was out for about a week, but our weather is turning nasty again so Mike brought her in today.
DeleteWhat can we say about world events? I doubt we actually know the truth of everything that is actually happening. I feel guilty when I post about my small life. I feel guilty when I have a cheerful tone. How dare I find joy in my small corner when so much of the world is suffering? I have stopped asking what I can do. For now, what I can do is take care of those who are next to me, and stand ready for other opportunities that arise. Retirement is going to be an ongoing adventure for you. I know it. You’ll become involved in something fascinating about which you currently have no idea. And lucky us, you’ll bring us along.
ReplyDeleteI feel the same guilt! It feels very self-centered to write about myself and my life when there's so much going on. But what can I contribute to any discussion of those bigger issues? I'm not Henry Kissinger!
DeleteI like that flower ... and I'm sure once you settle into retirement you will find it very enjoyable.
ReplyDeleteAll the best Jan
I plan to! LOL!
DeleteIt took me about a year to relax into retirement, to let go of the feeling that there's stuff to do and to allow myself to enjoy a day without timetable or, worse, deadlines, and not think that I must find somerthing to do, to be useful, to occupy myself and so on.
ReplyDeleteLife happens after work and when we retire and yours will provide you with so much new and exciting challenges.
I think setting modest goals, like doing one useful or productive thing per day, seems reasonable -- but we'll see how long that lasts!
DeleteWe have quite a few magazines we've taken for years, several of which we pass along to others when we've read them. I'm thinking about stopping most of them since I realized how easy it is to read them (FOR FREE) through the Libby Library app. National Geographic alone has increased their price to an exorbitant amount that I'm not sure I'm willing to pay.
ReplyDeleteIt's the conundrum facing any magazine or newspaper publisher these days -- how to charge enough to make some money, but not SO much that people stop reading?
Delete18 days! It's almost here. It feels odd to me, you were working, and now you're not.
ReplyDeleteIt feels odd to me too! LOL! But I'm also very excited about it.
DeleteOnce I retired, it just seemed like I just had more time to explore, more time to think and more to write about. I hope the same for you.
ReplyDeleteThat's what I'm hoping!
DeleteWhy is it so important to keep up with the New Yorkers? If I was so far behind on newspapers I'd be ditching the lot because the news in there is surely obsolete by now?
ReplyDeleteNo, there are plenty of stories that are still interesting and topical. The New Yorker isn't quite like the Economist or some other weekly news magazine. Also, I pay a lot for it, so I want to get my money's worth! (It's probably worth considering whether I want to keep paying for it, but in retirement I'll have more time to read it -- or so I tell myself.)
Delete