This week felt busy to me, like my dance card was full, but then my definition of busy is evolving as I enter my third year of retirement.
Monday
Golf. Walked 18 holes. In the evenings, I watched a lot of Outlander, which is not unlike golf. One bad thing after another. You think you’re done, but you go back to see what happens next. Dale sautéed sole filets for dinner, and I made a big salad topped with candied walnuts and crumbled goat cheese.
Tuesday
House elf. Vacuumed, mopped, etc. while a contractor was refinishing the tub in our guest bath. Dale made a commissary run (like Costco for military retirees). I defrosted homemade soup for lunch. Red lentil, chickpea and spinach curry with a dollop of sumac-seasoned yogurt. When Dale returned, I went to the fitness club to swim laps and do weights. That soup talked back! Dale made barbecued beef ribs and marinated cucumbers for dinner.
Wednesday
Golf. Walked 18 holes. I took a different route to the golf course without using my smart phone map because Dale insists variety and getting there without help is good for my brain.
Finished trimming my home-grown cannabis, weighed it and put it in a jar to cure for two weeks. My yield was about 1/3 ounce or 10 grams. The cheapest weed I can buy at the dispensary is $320 per ounce. Mine was about $265 per ounce. I’m confident I can do better next time with a bigger pot and warmer weather.
For dinner, we split a small Marie Callender’s frozen pot pie. We each get a handful of fried crinkle cuts from the freezer to go with. What can I say? It’s our shameful processed food indulgence.
Thursday
Dentist. I go three times a year for cleaning because I lost the genetic lottery. The hygienist said “alignment issues” mean I have to work harder than most people to keep my teeth and gums in good shape. That should be on my tombstone, “She Tried Hard.” I use a water flosser and regular floss and an electric toothbrush – and that just barely gets me in the door.
Golf lesson. The guy I used to take lessons from had unrealistic expectations about what my body could do. My new teacher is a petite woman who understands a sharp short game makes up for what we lack in strength. She taught me a different way to use my wedge around the greens. Stopped at the fitness club to swim laps and do weights. Dale made whole roasted chicken and smashed potatoes for dinner. I steamed broccoli to go with.
Friday
Monthly 90-minute massage. When I got home, Dale was waiting to see if I wanted supermarket sushi for lunch. What a guy! Off we went to the market for pizza ingredients and sushi, which we enjoyed out on the patio. It was a beautiful day.
We spent the rest of the afternoon doing yard work. I have a collapsible golf net in the back, so after I mowed our little patch of lawn, I set up the net and practiced my new wedge shot. Dale made pizza for dinner. Kitchen sink, as we call this version, with mushrooms, fresh garlic, green peppers, Kalamata olives, pepperoni and Italian sausage.
Wrap-Up
Dale did most of the cooking. When I was working, he was always the main chef. In retirement, I started cooking more and voicing more opinions about what we eat. It has been kind of a struggle to renegotiate our new roles.
Normally, I like to get it all out in the open, but I’m learning not everything needs to be said. Without introduction or fanfare, I’ve started to focus more on special things I like to cook and leaving most dinners to Dale. He probably wouldn’t acknowledge this, which is why we’re not telling him, OK? But with me having been the principal money earner, I think he liked being the provider, at least the provider of dinner.
My dastardly plan seems to be working. I’m still cooking, but I’m finding my niche. Dale enjoys feeding me, and I enjoy being fed. We’re both mellower, and I have more time to goof off!
That’s a nice haul of weed. Back in the day in Tucson, I vaguely remember an ounce for $10. Barclay’s seed has sprouted and he has it under the grow light. Next week we’re heading up to Incline to go our favorite marijuana store. I actually don’t use but he does. your food sounds great this week too. Barclay can scramble an egg for breakfast, and make a cheese sandwich and then it stops there. He does clean up though every night so that’s something.
I too have missed the good teeth lottery and also go 3 x a year and she says the same thing every time. Are you flossing, “yes” how many times “2 X a day”, as I clench my jaw. I have used the water pick and it didn’t make a difference. I just keep going. I did use Invisalign for 2 years and that did help my TMJ.
So funny about the teeth. They always ask me the same thing about flossing, and my reaction is pretty much the same as yours. I had a little talk with my hygienist, and now I get nothing but praise for my “home care.” For me, the Waterpik combined with flossing has helped a lot.
I hope Barclay’s plant continues to thrive! I need to get cracking on my next one.
For sure “busy” takes on a new connotation in retirement. One of my favorite things to do is respond “No” to that incessant question “Busy?” These 24 hrs given to me each day have never been more mine as in retirement. I didn’t like being busy when I was employed and less so in retirement. That doesn’t mean that life isn’t full. Tell Dale or no, but I think you’ve got it made to end your day with a meal prepared by your man.
I know exactly what you mean. This was hardly a busy week by most people’s standards, but it felt full to me. I didn’t like being hammered at work, either. True confessions — sometimes I just felt the workload piling up, but I couldn’t get any time off, so I’d spend the day cleaning up files, checking in on various colleagues (relationship building). I called it a staycation. Then I could go back full force the next day. And you are so right about ending my day with a meal prepared by my man. When my mother found out he could cook, she said, “Keep him.” Truthfully, he taught me most of what I know about cooking (except for pie crust, which he doesn’t mess with).
Sounds like a perfect retirement week. I find I need lots of “do nothing” space these days. I love to read and having 3 hours to dive into a new novel all at once is such a luxury! When we first retired I stuffed my days with too many activities,now in year 7 I have a balance I cherish: “OUT” days,I call them..days I go to art workshops,book club,hiking with husband. And Home days where I read, nap, cook up a feast, or just hangout int he hot tub pool and listen to music. We have a few shorter travels coming up and I’m preparing for those.. life sure is good in retirement,isn’t it!?
I love a do-nothing day after being out and about. Life is good, indeed.