flight paths discussion

with all the business of the last week, I did wonder why no one had posted anything here in a while, then assumed that like me we are all a bit preoccupied with spring.I made a very quick trip to Vancouver, , read a few amazing books and have worked hard on reviews . It wasn't until just now writing an update o the April thread that it dawned on me: yikes I completely spaced on a new folder for the new month. Mea Culpa!
And what is everyone up to?

Good morning! Happy May!
Time is really flying by quickly! It's May already!
I spent some time in the garden last week. I'll post more of this in the garden thread.
I'm doing a reread of Margaret Atwood's MaddAddam trilogy. I hadn't intended on reading the entire trilogy (just the first book) but the story drew me in. Reading the books so close together have brought out numerous connections I don't remember making when I first read it (when the books were published). I pick up the last book, MaddAddam, from the library next week. Looking forward to it.
I won a copy of Orca: How We Came to Know and Love the Ocean's Greatest Predator and find the story fascinating, as well as heartbreaking. The Orcas are so gentle and beautiful; it's difficult to read of their captures and confinement. That said, this history shows that people can learn and move forward. I have about 50 pages left and am hoping for an enlightened and humane ending.
When I finish Orca I'll be starting The Orchardist, which I'm reading along with another group here on GR.

I took myself out shopping this week and got a bunch of new tshirts for the summer.

I finished and achieved my hill climb challenge in April. I ran up a total elevation of 2068 meters in the month! My goal was 2000 meters. It was a personal challenge. I'm glad I did it and I'm also glad to now run on level ground again.
Yesterday's level run was nice and peaceful.
Oh...….I'm still listening to An Echo in the Bone on my runs. It's so good and so long. I'm only at Chapter 52 out of 124 and am in my second month of listening. I hope no one requests it anytime soon from the library. I'll need it for another couple of months. LOL.

I dont usually fire up my laptop so early because I tend to lose whole mornings that way. This was a little emergency, and now that I am here I can properly report on my marvellous reading roll.
Starting with Milkman which I know I have mentioned. Maybe also mentioned the amazing Be My Knife byDavid Grossman Both books required a struggle to enter and then took over. Something a bit odd I noticed with disbelief: on the cover of DG's book, which is the haunting face of a young woman, my physical hard copy shows her looking in the opposite direction as the cover you are seeing here, and it gives a different feel to her gaze.
. For such an uncomfortable book it did have a grip. I spent long minutes staring at that cover in a sort of daze before opening the book again to where I had slammed it shut.
If you love reading about books In the Suicide's Library: A Book Lover's Journey by my discovery of the year Tim Bowling will probably fascinate you as much as it is thrilling me.
Perhaps the highlight of this roll will have to be theFlights by Olga Tokarczuk Yes there parts that repulsed me but overall was blown away by this new form.
A little palate cleanser, I must include the delicious Borges and the Eternal Orangutans Thanks MaryAnne for alerting me to that one.
And now I have begun Trieste by Daša Drndić
All this and have yet to mention the series I have embarked upon
Zoo Station by David Downing was the first, and the evocative writing hooked me. The second volume, Silesian Station was even more enjoyable (not quite the right word: these books are tense and cover ww2} because of character development and bonding. I've just begun the 3rd volume Stettin Station tho I have been diverted.
And I an still immersed every night in The Toltec Art of Life and Death listening as I fall asleep and catching what I miss in the physical copy.
Sadly, my roll is not extending to poetry at the moment but I am anticipating that will change soon. The poems that I am reading now are nice enough, Dorothy Stott simplicity: poems selected and new seems mostly to have written kids books, and the title is apt.

Why do I seem to require to be bowled over and become restless with the placid, when placid is how I want to be!

Petra wrote: "Good morning! Happy May!
Time is really flying by quickly! It's May already!
I spent some time in the garden last week. I'll post more of this in the garden thread.
I'm doing a reread of Margaret ..."

You are quick! Just posted my long report and see your comment already. Have not yet been to garden corner but I can see that my fears could be happily realized. I also have been playing around in our library. I remember the biggest problem now: GR isn't set up for easy entry, They seem to encourage group reads and polls. If it seems as if I have set up a group read for fruit of a drunken tree, its just me trying to add the book to out shelves.
The reason I am mentioning this here Petra in my reply to you is that I am wondering if you might, with your organizational wizardry and your determination, maybe you would like to take on the position of group librarian, vacant since Melissa disappeared. It's just a thought, but if you've ever browsed through it, you can see the potential (perhaps)

I haven't read any Gabeldon as yet. There are so many. Do you recommend?

I am looking forward to volunteering with the PODS project this summer. Save the Whales!

As for that particular Atwood series, I had collected it all for reading last summer but it didn't pan out as my Atwood box is packed away.Can't wait to take it from the beginning

What does our group librarian do, Magdelanye? What sort of books do we put on the bookshelf and who chooses them?
It's an intriguing idea and I'd love to help, if I can.

You'll know whether you like the Gabaldon books right away. I love the premise of travelling through time and finding one's soul mate. It's not a series I'd call "romance" (but many do) but there are a lot of sex scenes (not detailed but you know that they are romping). What I like is that Jamie & Claire are a unit, they build a life together. The adventures are wonderful, too. They move from Scotland and the war between the clans, to the French court, to the early Americas. Woven in between is the issue of the time travel through the stones: how it works, who's able to do it, etc.
By the time you get to where I am, it's a story about a family working it's way through history. I like the past & present aspects of it.
This series was supposed to be 7 books in length but is now longer. She has added more detail and minutiae to the story in the last couple of volumes. It's not irritating or unnecessary but it does sometimes feel like a bit of filler to lengthen the story. That said, I'm still enjoying it.

Yes! Save the Whales! You might like Orca: How We Came to Know and Love the Ocean's Greatest Predator. It is very detailed on the history of whales in captivity, though. Let me know. I'd be happy to mail it to you.

Awww.....well, you have something to look forward to when you unpack your books. The trilogy is really good.

It’s May! It’s snowed here every day this week. I also got diagnosed with a herniated disc in my lower back. It is awful. I can only stand or lay on my stomach. Sitting is too painful. So I’m hoping this clears up fast! I have my chiropractor and physiotherapist on the case.
I haven’t been doing much reading just watching tv while I lay on the floor.

Snow Megan! And a herniated disc ☹ It will have to get better soon.
make sure you get a naturopathic opinion before resorting to anything drastic!

So much snow....ugh.
I have a doc appointment tomorrow to get a referral to the u of a kinesiology department.
My dad lent me astrophysics in a hurry so I’m starting that shortly. He loved it so I’m interested to read it.

Hope you got to your appointment okay Megan and that you are actually on the mend.

Petra I know I saw a longish message on my phone a bit earlier but because I looked at it once its no longer flagging me as new.
I have just spent way too much time posting 3 reviews so I dont have the energy to search here BUT I must say I am excited at your interest. And maybe GR has made it a bit easier to navigate.
Just briefly, the intent behind out library is to have some go to shelves of our favourite books for easy reference. So if for eg you needed a bit of comic relief you could go to laughable and find solid recommendations. Also there was interest expressed in authors best....but really I think thats too subjective.

Megan wrote: "It’s May! It’s snowed here every day this week. I also got diagnosed with a herniated disc in my lower back. It is awful. I can only stand or lay on my stomach. Sitting is too painful. So I’m hopin..."

I hope your appointment was helpful and that you are out of pain.

I'm so busy at work I haven't had much time to read or post. I can't wait to move into the next stage of my life when I will have time to breathe and do more of what I love.

It's been cold down here too, although not snowing cold. Yesterday it finally warmed up a bit. I'm impatient for spring to stick around!

Magdelanye, I like the idea of categorizing the shelves by types of writing, not only genre but as you say comic relief and so on.
I've gotten so many wonderful suggestions here it would be wonderful to have a place to access them (since it takes me a while sometimes to get to something).

]Gee Ellie, don't you remember our library? Maybe Ice does?
Petra I found your questions under messages.
I will answer as best I can


I feel like I've been holding my breath for the last four days reading Trieste by Daša Drndić. It's a good thing I was prepared by my recent reading for this stunning documentary fiction, which is how DD catagorizes her book. I'm going to add that to a new shelf.

Going for a few more reviews now as I try to sort through my huge backlog. My next book pulled from library pile is The Fishermen by Chigozie Obioma.

Sunny wishes to the snowbound!

Magdelanye--I remember now. It's fun to look.

I started Enduring Grace: Living Portraits of Seven Women Mystics which has some of my favorite women as subjects.

Time is really flying.
@Megan - I hope you free of pain - back pain is terrible to have.
@ Magdelanye - Hope you are well. You are reading interesting books - Trieste - for one. Hope it is possible to save the whales.
@ Ellie - retirement is great but there is just as little time as when working and maybe less as the illusion of having more time creates a delusion.
@Petra - The Tai Chi class is back on track here in my neck of the woods with a few dedicated people who want this slower version of learning tai chi with chi gong exercises thrown into the mix.
I have been busy with transplanting herbs and vegetable plants into solo pots. Also = I discovered that rat(s) have been visiting my second story deck and have enjoyed bean and pea seeds and ate all the oats I had planted for the cat to enjoy as cat grass. I tried last night to spray some eucalyptus essential oil (peppermint is best but I could not find my bottle) all around the perimeter of our deck on the understanding that there are certain scents that repel the buggers. Onion is another but harder to clean up after than a spray. The first time I sprayed I may have overdone it as even I found the scent too strong as it permeated the apartment. I have ordered some peppermint oil so will use it when it arrives but til then eucalyptus and clove oil will have to do the trick. If I could hire an owl to perch on the deck that would also repel the rats.
I have been reading different books - The End of the Day was very different and quite well done. The Love-Artist was a novel I have long wanted to read and it did not disappoint - gorgeous writing and such wonderful phrasing. A Matter of Malice is Thomas King doing his marvellous storytelling in detective form. Girl Waits with Gun is great fun - a novel about the first female assistant sheriff.
Having a cat in the house has been nice, someone to curl up with while reading, someone to talk to during the day (and not seem as though I am talking to myself). Right now I am reading Traitor's Blade as the author lives in Vancouver and his father-in-law lives down the street from us.

It sounds like everyone is reading such interesting things!

Megan: are you feeling better? I hope so.
Mary Anne: Everyone tells me I'll be super busy in retirement. I'm looking forward to being busy doing things I like! Hopefully, though, I'll be able to read fiction again: I'm just too anxious right now. 7 more weeks to go. I just had my last observation and all my other obligations are finished so it's just teaching from now on with very little paperwork. It's time to start cleaning out my classroom!

For now, I'm still mostly reading poetry plus some non-fiction: The Nordic Theory of Everything: In Search of a Better Life is a fascinating look at how things are done in the Nordic country and could be done in the U.S.--if only we had the will, which I'm doubt we do. Also Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City which is a very interesting but painful and depressing look at that situation in the States.

My poetry is a little easier on the heart: The Carrying: Poems by Ada Limon is wonderful (she wrote the beautiful collection, Bright Dead Things which I loved) and The Black Maria by Aracelis Girmay which is a look at the Eritrean culture and diaspora.

Today we're doing a project with MOMA which should be excellent so I'm looking forward to it.

Megan, I can't believe you're still getting snow! That's awful. I hope spring comes your way soon.
I hope your appointment was helpful and wish you relief from the pain.

Ellie, June will be here soon. Hang in there.
A project with MOMA sounds wonderful. Is this with the school or on your own time? It must be fun working with the museum.

Mary Anne, my Tai-Chi instructor occasionally adds chi gong exercises. They are fun to do. I'm glad your Tai-Chi class is continuing.
Rats! I hope the essential oils are helpful at keeping them away from your balcony.

I've posted some of my thoughts on our bookshelf in the Library thread and would appreciate feedback.

Today is another lovely day. I plan on getting out into the garden and to finish the clearing out of that one flower bed. I'm about 3/4 of the way there and have worked my way to the stump of the tree, which I've now got to dig out. Once that is gone, it'll be easy sailing to the end.
My running is suffering because of the time I'm spending in the garden. I'm not terribly concerned but it's stopping me from listening to my audio book (An Echo in the Bone.

I'm currently reading and enjoying The Orchardist and have picked up MaddAddam from the library (looking forward to reading this one).

Magdelanye, I've also gotten a copy of Priest Turned Therapist Treats Fear of God: Poems and will dig into it soon. Thank you for the recommendation.

So, I'm off to start my day. I'm going to make some potato salad for tonight's dinner, then get outdoors into the garden.

Thanks for the kind thoughts everyone I really appreciate it!
I’m off work for 2 weeks so it’s day 4 and I’m already a bit stir crazy. Thankfully I had some great painkillers and I have a bunch of medical appointments to keep me busy.
I finished reading Educated. What a book! It was so raw and I can’t believe that a few of them managed to get out of that toxic situation.
I have a few books to keep me occupied and Netflix.

Ps. Our snow is gone and it’s supposed be +24 on Saturday (weather life is never full on the prairies)

Megan, I'm glad you have some time off of work to recuperate. Books and Netflix sound like a good cure.


Did I say I was going to finish that darn flower bed today?!!! I'm cursing the contractor instead.
I dug out the stump. Under it I've found pieces of broken drainage pipe, clay, sand pockets, a huge rock, lots of gravel, Styrofoam cups, plastic bags and a long piece of thick twine. The only thing missing was some decent dirt.
Needless to say, I'm not finished the bed yet...….but I am close. One more session and it should be done.

Off to meet some Dragons ........ vacation in Wales on the coast.
Also available are Puffins , there is a local service known as the 'Puffin bus'.

Petra, MOMA is working with my students. It's a wonderful experience for them and a lot of fun for me as well. They came to the school yesterday and in a couple of weeks the students will go to the museum.

I'm hanging on til June--things are getting difficult again and I wake up in the middle of the night but I'm trying to stay calm. It's almost over!

Ellie, I'm sorry that things are keeping you up at night. That sounds like a stressful situation. Even when one wants retirement to happen, the last few weeks can be stressful. Try to stay as calm and collected as you can. It will be over soon and you'll be able to relax.

The museum project sounds like a lot of fun. I'm glad you get some enjoyment from it, too.

Ice wrote: "Off to meet some Dragons ........ vacation in Wales on the coast.
Also available are Puffins , there is a local service known as the 'Puffin bus'."

O lucky man,,,,may the green welcome you and not so much the wet

Ellie wrote: "Petra, MOMA is working with my students. It's a wonderful experience for them and a lot of fun for me as well. They came to the school yesterday and in a couple of weeks the students will go to the..."

Ellie, dare I give you a hint?
As others have commented and you yourself know, the last weeks will go by in a snap,
Mine your gratitude, notice the things and people you will miss.
Feel your accomplishments and cultivate your calm. I bet your kids might be able to help you with that.

BTW is David really serious about moving to Canada?

Now that I've got a laptop again,I am experimenting with thebest time to g0 on. In the past it was no computer while there is daylight. But last night I logged in just after sunset and was shocked when I checked and it was after midnight.
No wonder I feel groggy this morning.
But I have written and posted 3 reviews, determined to get at least my currently reading to match reality.

Ive dropped everything for There There by Tommy Orange Noted that Ellie and Megan have marked to read. I do recommend moving it to the top of your tbr mountains in the CC group

I sure am on a reading roll. How thankful I am for the spring.
Cheers to life!

There There was terrific. I rated it rather low (3 star) because the audio was confusing. So many people to keep track of.
As soon as I finished it, I wanted to restart it in print form. I think it's a book to be read in print. I'm sure I'll rate it higher when I do. It's a wonderful look at urban Native lives. I like stories like these characters tell us to give insight into the issues we hear about in the News and may not understand. These stories bring that understanding (at least, the start of it).

Petra wrote: "There There was terrific. I rated it rather low (3 star) because the audio was confusing. So many people to keep track of.
As soon as I finished it, I wanted to restart it in print..."

good idea.
There is a giveaway right now on GR

I just lost my whole comment because I looked up a book that MaryAnne had highlighted. The Love-Artist. It does sound compellingl.
Over to whine and cheese I think, next session.

Ellie hope you are sleeping better
Petra, I have some questions re whats possible in the library
Megan I hope you are enjoying your 2 weeks of rest and relaxation and that you are feeling better.
Ice I hope you are enjoying Wales in fine weather
Shannon have you read There There by Tommy Orange ?

Hi everyone. I had not been getting notifications of activity and when I checked to see - voila.
Megan - I hope you are feeling better. What do you watch on Netfix?
Ice - Wales is a very pretty country - more sheep than people as I recall and no where a wolf to be found.
Ellie - I hope you find some calm in the storm. I find deep breathing helps me to relax.
Magdelanye - I hope to read There There as well.

Mary Anne: I can always use a reminder to deep breathe--the easiest thing to forget when stressed!

Things are pretty good at the moment. There was a delusional moment when my AP hugged me to celebrate our (horrible) time together but otherwise I had my last observation and only one more semi-big thing to finish up. I'm getting excited. I only have to make sure I file my papers correctly and I'll really believe I'm finished.

Magdelanye: I started There There but had to return it to the library since it was on hold. The opening was really promising and I can't wait to try again (after I finish at work and have the time and concentration to read fiction again--I miss my fiction but just can't focus enough to read it).

Sounds like everyone had been busy!
Thanks for all the support!! My back is on the mend. I’m going back to work on Tuesday doing a gradual transition from 5 hours a day to 7 over a month.
I’m moving better and my pain is less but I’m still having a lot of numbness in my legs so My doc is sending me for an mri.
I’ve shamefully been watching the dynasty reboot and watching some cooking shows.

I have there there on hold at the library. There are so many holds on it so it’ll probably be a few months before it makes its way to me.

Yes breathe!
I set up the laptop intending to come straight here but did I ever get diverted, First by Emmkays review which I couldn't help but notice at the top of the updates page, then by a recommendation from GR for a book that once meant a lot to me by HD/HERmione. I marked is as read and wrote a brief review, wishing my library was not in storage so I could hold the book and find a few quotes. How did I diverted then by a review of the book which led to look at the womans blog and the review of another book which sounded fascinating, a collection of essays by women professing a variety of religious experience.
Whew! Confession: it was fun
But now an hour has passed and I'm getting hungry for the the rest of my breakfast and there's so much I planned to do this session as I have busy in the real world of other peoples schedules,as well as vegetable demands and my own idiosyncratic situation so not been able to log in for days and even my reading has had to take a back seat. And today it seems the add book feature is not working. At least when I tried it it did not wipe out this message, only went to the top of the page so when I scrolled down I could carry on here.

Megan and Ellie, glad you are both feeling better. I too had a long library wait for There There and it ended up too many holds to be renewed. For once I did not return it as soon as I could but immediately dropped everything and gobbled it up as I couldn't bear the thought of going back to the end of the line. It was only two days late and did I say, it was a very good read.

Petra and Mary Anne: I will be coming over probably early June. Tea party?

I'm going to have to pause here to make pancakes!
Before tonight I will return to add to a few other threads; garden corner and reviews in particular and whine and cheese

Have a lovely long weekend dear ones! Including Ellie and Ice who are out of the celebration zone/

Magdelanye wrote: "Ellie wrote: "Petra, MOMA is working with my students. It's a wonderful experience for them and a lot of fun for me as well. They came to the school yesterday and in a couple of weeks the students ..."

Thanks for your suggestions--I need to remember gratitude and I'm sure there are things I will miss if I think about it hard enough! Certainly there are people I am fond of.

Wish me well--I have to drop off the paperwork this week. I'm so nervous I'll screw it up but I'm going to follow the directions faithfully so hopefully not.

You're right--time will go by quickly.

Ellie wrote: "Magdelanye wrote: "Ellie wrote: "Petra, MOMA is working with my students. It's a wonderful experience for them and a lot of fun for me as well. They came to the school ..."

Brave Ellie, gather your confidence. How would Lucia handle this?
Of course time is elastic. An hour waiting for something or someone is longer than the hour of your lunchbreak but an hour waiting with anticipation or dread also pulls itself out differently. I am reminding myself however often I need to to be grateful for every single moment.

Today I finished both the books I read over the weekend. They were both just over 300 pages and both written by women. Both concerned with racial insanity, sex and power,navigating hostile societies. When it works, my tandem reading intersects. This time, in spite of all those things in common, it became apparent that one of the books was gripping and the other was much less so. And so, I was disappointed in An American Marriage by Tayari Jones which had an interesting plot and a beautiful black author and I had expectations to love, but was so happy to have done with.
And The Nazi Officer's Wife: How One Jewish Woman Survived the Holocaust by Edith Hahn Beer with help from Susan Divorkon: quite frankly it repelled me to hold it, and I did not commit until I started reading this calm and yet passionate account which ended this morning in tears.
The add book feature is working again but the notifications dont always alert so I hope that folks can find the appropriate threads and I encourage everyone to play a bit.

@ Magdelanye -... I will be coming over probably early June. Tea party?...
I would love to meet for tea.How about you Petra? I am scouting out a few places - I have developed allergies to foods not organic or vegan. One place that looks promising is Lotus Seed on Broadway just west of Cambie. Check it out - they have a website - and let me know what you think.

The weather is Wales was surprisingly warm and moisture free, a bit of walking, much food and some reading. The family pet (cockatiel) enjoyed himself.

That sounds like the perfect holiday Ice!
Glad you had a good time.

I'm reading a great series that is kind of wwii noir with lots of unbeknownst details.

Hope your last hurdle went well Ellie.
I just wrote 3 reviews so I am happy about that.
progress is hard though when I start a new book soon after I finish one.

I did not expect to be so shattered by the ending ofThe Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox

Sorry to have been missing in action. Step-dad came back from Peru with an awful chest cold. Poor guy was feeling really bad. It seems to be getting better and he'll visit his Dr today, now that he's at home to make sure things are okay.

Mary Anne & Magdelanye, lunch or tea sounds nice. The further into East Van as possible would be nice (for driving & parking reasons).
The Lotus Seed sounds interesting. I'm game for anything. The only day I'm not available right now are any Tuesdays and June 19th.

I am in the middle of MaddAddam and enjoying it. This trilogy is a reread for me. The first time I read them as the books were published, meaning years apart. This time I read them one after the other. I missed a lot of the interconnecting details with the first reading. I recommend reading this trilogy as one longer book, not as three books.

This morning I went for a run, then cut up some branches I had removed from a Camelia tree in the backyard. That thing gets really out of control. It grows fast!

My front bed (the one that took me so long to dig out) is ready for planting. I think I added a bit too much soil. The rain hasn't settled it as much as I thought it would. I will remove some soil to elsewhere before planting things. This weekend I will start clearing a smaller bed and will use that as a "soil holder" for the time being.

Ellie, how are you feeling? The time will fly now. Make your mental good-byes over the next few weeks. It helps make the move seem less traumatic.
For what it's worth: I'm truly enjoying every day of my retirement. I think you will enjoy it too. One has to watch the pennies but it all works out okay. Getting used to making the money last for a whole month is fairly easy to get used to.
If you ever want to talk, I'm always here.

Petra: Lotus Seed will not work if you are driving as there is no parking to speak of along Broadway. There are some place on Main Street between 24 and 29 and there is parking on side streets. I believe that Magdelanye and I will be taking buses and if close enough for me I will walk.

is Lotus Seed the place you prefer MaryAnne? Because, Petra would it work to park elsewhere just off Broadway? There are some good places along Main there but often crowded and long waits. i was hoping for a somewhat literary ambience and i dont know that Main St can provide high tea.
im thinking of that horrible place we went to MaryAnne.
Aha! there is a place across from that bookstore on Pender.
Have either of you figured out a best day? Monday Tues Wednesday work best for me

Petra, hope your step dad is feeling better. Dont remember that you mentioned he was even gone. It doesnt seem that long ago that he visited you. Hope that he had more good experiences than the bummer of getting ill.

Good morning!
I worked at the hospital for years and know the Broadway area well for parking. I'd find something. It may be a few blocks away, on the other side of Cambie, but that's close.
Or I can park around a skytrain station outside of town and take that into town.

I can't make Tuesdays because of Tai-Chi class.

Step-dad had a wonderful time. He loves animals and the Galapagos were not only lovely to look at but he saw lots of animals. Peru was wonderful, too. He enjoyed the towns the group visited, the countryside and the activities. The highlight was Machu Picchu. He really liked that.

Petra wrote: "Sorry to have been missing in action. Step-dad came back from Peru with an awful chest cold. Poor guy was feeling really bad. It seems to be getting better and he'll visit his Dr today, now that he..."

Thanks for your words about money. It helped me calm down a little on the topic. I'm all filed and ready to go. It's official: July 1st is the beginning of my retirement. But school ends on the 26th so I only have to make it until then. These last weeks are crawling but when I think how insurmountable it seemed in September, I can only be grateful to have gotten so close to the end.

I do wonder what my life will be like; I've worked for 45 years so it will be very different. But I've never loved my work life so I don't think I'll miss it. I will be forging a new identity. It's good to hear that you love retirement Petra. All my friends who have retired are happy and that's very encouraging.

Ellie, money and "what will I do with all that extra time" were big worries for me pre-retirement. We've worked our whole adult lives; it's difficult to picture such a big change as moving to "not working".
However, I've found that my fears were unjustified. I'm still finding my way around "what would I like to do for the long run" but each day is full, active and enjoyable with whatever I choose. Even chores are more fun.
Money is a big worry but I'm finding that it is all working out. Have faith in the system and your preparations. Together they will give you a reasonable retirement. I won't be doing any jet setting but moderate vacations will be in the future, for example.

The last few weeks do crawl a little bit. I found that I began to feel somewhat redundant. People knew I was leaving so my focus to a future for them seemed irrelevant to a point and my job was to supervise and focus on the future for my team, so it did seem a bit pointless near the end. But keep going. Work as you normally would, doing all your preps. It is appreciated by your co-workers. My team was glad that I didn't slack off and gave them some direction for the months ahead for them to consider while they wait for my replacement (who still hasn't been hired).

This is your time, Ellie. You deserve it. Enjoy.

Magdelanye and Petra: Lotus Seed was a choice because they have a variety of organic teas and not just beers. It is between Heather and Willow streets at 736 W Broadway.
I have not found Main Street to be crowded during weekdays, just weekends.

So days could be Mon or Wed?

Ellie - retiring is a time to find out what we really want to do in life before it is too late to do it. Having less money is a challenge and pushes us to find solutions and make choices we might not otherwise have made. My first part of retirement was taking care of a baby granddaughter for 5 years and I champed at the bit to have free time and now that I do, it is wonderful.

I am fortunate that I enjoy my work (most of the time), and retirement remains planned in for 3 years and 4 months !!

How is everyone doing??

My back is slowly on the mend, I've been back at work for 2 weeks with reduced hours and doing all my physio exercises.

Our excitement in Edmonton is the smoke from the wildfires, you could hardly see yesterday because of how thick the smoke was. I can't believe it's forest fire season (aka summer) already.

Magdelanye I am almost finished There There, I really enjoyed the first half but I'm losing steam now. Maybe it's because there are a lot of first narratives and I'm having a hard time keeping track of all the stories.

It feels as if I have been away, thats how much time and energy are expended just travelling to the townships on the lower coast. Yesterday was gorgeous and the drive down is really not long I got to pick up my interlibrary loan Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli that is on one of the shortlists and has received top stars from some of the reviewers that I follow.

Glad to hear that you do have a retirement countdown Ice. Were the grandkids along on your vac to Wales? My friend Nienke completed the Pennine Way recently and in all of the pictures she is wearing her raingear, and in most of them she is very wet. You are lucky.

Glad your back is supporting you again Megan and that you are no longer in pain. I am devestated at the thought of the wildfires returning so soon, like they've been just waiting for the change in season to ignite. And from your reports, it was sufficiently cold this winter and wet. So scary.

There is a bit of a slump just past the middle of There There. Only the most experienced writers seem to be able to avoid this syndrome, I do remember scrambling around looking for the first appearance of Manny and being a bit challenged to make the relaltive connections. Just carry on, it will resolve itself.

I hated to return Moo Pak to the library yesterday. Is it okay to say this again? This book is awesome! Once I got over my feelings of resentment over all the work I had to do to readjust my need for paragraphs and chapter breaks it felt like a breakthrough into pure literary freedom.
Before me I have tje daunting book Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind I chose it over another book, an Icelandic classic which I will need my own copy when I am ready to tackle this gloomy masterpiece.

I am slowly making progress with my reviews but besides making the time for this project my biggest challenge is that some of the books read even less than a year ago, are only vaguely remembered. I know what I felt about the book, but even my notes give few clues. I am tempted to just post a star rating

Petra wrote: "Ellie, money and "what will I do with all that extra time" were big worries for me pre-retirement. We've worked our whole adult lives; it's difficult to picture such a big change as moving to "not ..."

I can't believe how close I am to the end. Turns out, I have days in my bank so I'm taking off Monday. That leaves me with 1-1/2 days of teaching! It's unbelievable to me after so long a wait. I'm very excited. Thanks for all your words of encouragement. They've greatly helped allay my anxiety.

I'm very excited for you, Ellie. Wow, 1-1/2 days! The time really has flown by. I'm very happy for you and this new life. You'll love it.

Ellie I believe your countdown has entered the stage where you can figure it in hours. what a great opportunity to plunge into the now of it!
Steady on! ‍

Today is my first official day of retirement. There are so many things I want to do that I don't know where to begin!