Retirement

Okay, so I've been away for a long time.  I've always wondered how full-timers do it? Well, it's really quite simple, you have to let things go, prioritize: what you have to accomplish and what you would like to accomplish.  Unfortunately the "have to's" are usually the things that get your attention and the "would like to's" take a back seat.

I began my retirement not a moment too soon, 7/26/14.  My oldest son Matthew, was married on August 9 to a wonderful and very lovely young lady Victoria.  We hosted the rehearsal dinner for this wedding so that meant making sure the gardens were looking decent.   Well, I have to say, they are not usually totally unruly but they are not pristine either. You know there's the trowels, garden shovel, pile of weeds, bucket of whatever, just things that you might leave hanging around because there is so much to do in a garden that you just didn't get to taking care of them all.  I am not good at picking up after myself so that means there are always things left out that should be put away.   I wanted pristine but then, how do you get pristine with someone who is naturally untidy?  So. . . the gardens were okay but I still had all the other issues that crop up with a wedding: dress, hair, the rest of the house, over night guests, the deck and making room for 45 guests, catering service, drinks, mother nature and all the things I've forgotten about.  

The rehearsal dinner went well, lots of conversation, getting to know Vicki's extended family, more than enough food and drink and Mother Nature was very kind to us.

Wedding was great! Here are a few pics.

 

 

   

And now for the task of garter removal!
  

Okay, we have the tools now what will distract her from her nook 
and favorite glass of vino?

You would think that everything would calm down after the wedding but we still had 3 other weddings to attend during August and September, one being in PA.  

We ended up getting our house sided which took about 10 days.  So we had the issue of choosing siding colors and then new light fixtures.  Now it's not every day that I do this stuff and I'm no good at making decisions.  It was an overwhelming project just to pick out siding and then getting Lowe's to come up with 13 of the same light fixtures.  So there was constant commotion and pounding going on the week after Matt and Vicki's wedding.  Here are some before and after pics.
 Before                                                                        After

I got rid of all the shrubs in the front just in time for spring clean up.  But have not replanted yet.  That will be a spring project...hopefully. I have a few garden gift cards that will help with that. (Thank you Claudia, Kathy, Donna and Mary)

If you are a gardener you know there is always tending to and watering the veggie garden (if you want your produce to thrive), watering all potted plants, and harvesting Raspberries every other day as well as keeping them watered especially during dry spells.  
My nephew's wedding on 8/23 was in the Buffalo area, so fairly local.  My only responsibility was grace so I only needed to get over my fear of public speaking. I had a little practice at Matt's wedding (had a difficult time. . . crying).  but did better at my nephew's wedding.  As I've said to many of my singing friends, give me a song and I'll sing it but don't ask me to talk.

On top of that our oldest daughter Elizabeth ended up relocating for a job opportunity in Schenectady which started the beginning of September.  So off to Albany Thursday, August 28 to find an apartment.  Came back the same day.  Then off to PA the following day, Friday, 8/29 for our 8/30 wedding.   We had a chance to visit the 9/11 - Flight 93 Memorial on Saturday prior to the wedding. It was quite an emotional experience.  Could have spent more time there.  

Returned Monday, 9/1 and made arrangements to rent a U-haul for Tues. but had difficulty getting in touch with the landlord to make arrangements to pick up a key or at least enter the apartment, so we moved the U-haul to Wednesday.  Loaded up on Wednesday night in the rain, headed to Schenectady on Thursday morning 9/4 for a job that started the following Monday, 9/8.  Unloaded the truck and helped empty some boxes to set up living quarters.  I don't remember what we did for dinner, it's all a blur.  Headed home on Friday 9/5 leaving Elizabeth to settle into her new place.  A friend of mine, Mary Ann was planning on going to Albany the following weekend 9/12 - 9/14 and asked if I wanted to tag along.  I felt bad about leaving Elizabeth to unload all those boxes so went back to help out and spend some time with her after her first week at the new job in totally unfamiliar surroundings.  Plus she doesn't know a soul there.  We had dinner and watched a movie before bed on Friday.  Saturday morning, we prepared veggies and a roast in her crockpot and headed out for apple picking.  It started sprinkling as soon as we got there...of course.  We met my friend Mary Ann at the orchard though she got lost.  We just about had all her apples picked when she arrived...how timely!   I think she planned it that way, yeah, let those suckers pick my apples in the rain. HA! After picking we enjoyed some hot cider, coffee and fresh donuts there then headed back to Elizabeth's to make an apple pie.  Yummy!!! Talked a lot, shared dinner and pie, watched another movie  went to bed with a full tummy.  Headed home on Sunday.  Mary Ann and I stopped at a few garden centers.  I just love looking at all that stuff, plant varieties, garden decorations, fall decorations, etc.  

Now it was time to start baking for the next wedding.  My niece getting married in two weeks 9/27, asked me to bake cookies for her reception.  Well, she did ask in . . . oh, maybe June so it wasn't a surprise but I haven't baked in bulk like that in a long time.  I am slower now.  Think slower, move slower, everything I do now is SLOWER!  So the remainder of September was baking, garden tending and harvesting.  By this time I am sick of green beans, and don't want to see another tomato although the tomato sandwiches were oh sooo good!  But after blanching, peeling the skin, removing the seeds, and preparing for freezing or making stewed tomatoes I'm tired of them.  I ask, what am I doing this for?  I can go buy a can of stewed tomatoes for $.59 or a can of diced tomatoes for $.99 sometimes $.79 if they're on sale...which they are right now at Weggies.  My response from others is....you know what is in your jar when you do it yourself.  There are no preservatives.  I supposed they are correct so I keep on processing in one manner or another.  I have found new things to do with Rhubarb.   So I get into a Rhubarb craze making Rhubarb aid, Rhubarb marmalade, Rhubarb Crisp, Rhubarb Bread, Rhubarb Pie, even grilling rhubarb.  Then I get this idea that I should try Raspberry Rhubarb marmalade, so I do.  It is really good, just like the Rhubarb Marmalade.  I want to make more but the Rhubarb is pretty much depleted.  Thank God!  I'm done with the Rhubarb and must move on. I should mention that I also made Blueberry Marmalade and for all the Rhubarb/Raspberry and Blueberry Marmalades I used my home grown lemons.

Also in September but not sure when as I mentioned earlier much of the summer was a blur, we had another project.  A few years back Dave put in a few grape vines he received from friends.  After a few years they were getting out of hand so he built a grapevine arbor.  Where do you think I'm going with this???  YUP, It is time to harvest grapes.  So we go out, Melissa helps, we harvest 5 flats.  I say " you know, we have to do something with these, maybe we should stop and pick more once we have taken care of what we have just picked."  So we stop.  Dave brings the grapes into the garage hauling them with the lawn tractor cart.  We pick grapes off 2 flats and make juice.  The rest are there for a day or two.  I remind him that we can't just leave them there.  What is the point in harvesting if you don't do anything with them? Plus you are inviting tons of fruit flies.  We took care of the remainder of the flats.  I asked Dave what we were going to do with all these grapes.  He said "make jelly".  WRONG!!!  I am not turning 7 gallons of grape juice into God only knows how many jars of jelly!  So, we froze a few gallons for juice and jelly (which I have yet to make) and took on a new project with the remainder. . . Wine Making :).  By the time it is all said and done we may end up with 2 -2 1/2 gallons of wine.  

We didn't want to waste good grape juice on something that might turn sour so we did a small batch.Here is the contents of our wine cellar.  The small bottle in front is a Grape/Raspberry mix.  Of course it is not in a cellar as we found that during the fermenting process, the juice needs to be in a controlled environment.  I also gave some grapes to my friend Mary Ann who made us a  really delicious Grape Pie.  As it turns out, we went out to harvest more grapes a few days later and they were all gone.  Oh, how disappointing... NOT!!!  Truth be told, I was so glad to be free of more harvesting, (Who says God doesn't hear our prayers :))? Although I was looking forward to giving more grapes to Mary Ann for another pie (unbeknownst to her :-)).  Under the arbor Dave has a picnic table, a bench and chair.  I think the rascal that depleted the remainder of our crop was a raccoon.  We pretty much said: "here, let us help you devour the remainder of our harvest."   Live and Learn!  

So all the weddings are behind us now, grapes and most of the veggie's are harvested and packed away: frozen, canned or consumed.   Raspberries are just about done.  The next move is wrapping up the gardens in preparation for winter and preparing for Fright Night. 

 Here are a few Fright Night pics.  To the left is Skull Face.  He is about 16 feet high.  He looks so much more magnificent hanging on the house but Dave says not any more now that we have the new siding.  So he is up in this oak tree.   Here are a few other pics on the trail. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of Boosville which is pretty cool at night and there were many other interesting and interactive decorations for kids to try out and enjoy.   I usually get help with Fright Night set up, however, my sister, who usually helps out, had to work (can you imagine?).  My friend Mary Ann did come for a few hours, which I was grateful for.  Fright Night turned out great.  But after a few days of set up, now comes the take down.  I don't mind it especially when mother nature cooperates and the weather is so beautiful.  I love that crisp autumn air and listening to all those Halloween props going off now and then due to their motion censors being ignited.  I smile and keep working.   I love that stuff :-)!

Besides Fright Night, October also brings with it, our anniversary and many birthdays. Not to mention moving and storing all those pots that winter over in the basement.  I also had a play date with Danielle and the kids, Gabe and Emma.  We took a walk in the woods, made some cookies which we decorated with Halloween jimmies and then enjoyed them after lunch.  So once again a busy month of baking, shopping, garden wrap-up, whatever.  I had a gift card for Barnes and Noble (Thank you Mike :)) and planned to use it for a deliciously recommended novel however my first read since my retirement (yes I did get to squeeze in some reading time but it was difficult) was "Traveling with Pomegranates" by Sue Monk Kidd given to me by Melissa on my birthday which was in October.  I went to Barnes and Noble to spend my gift card and after looking around decided on something quite different than what I'd planned on.  I came across a book on growing fruit which had a good deal of information I was interested in.  I thought since we are growing: raspberries, grapes, figs, lemons, and oranges maybe I could use some good pointers.  I am also hoping for a second chance at growing limes.  Killed the first lime plant I had. Now with some experience growing citrus plants I'm hoping I can be successful in my second attempt.


Here are a few pic's of my lemon and orange plants.  An aerial view to show more of the lemons.  You can see the lemons are beginning to ripen.  Can't wait!  You can also see flower buds forming for my future harvest (remember if you click on the pictures they will enlarge).  They take about a year to develop and have to be hand pollinated during the winter months.  This process is sometimes successful and sometimes not.  Obviously, bees are the best tools for this job.  I have picked several oranges.  They are small and seeded but the juice  is great squeezed on a salad with a little Italian dressing and the zest is used for baking. 

I just have too many things/pots of things.  I've decided we don't need 3 fig trees.  My cousin has expressed interest in a fig tree so I tell her she can have one of mine.  I feel good about this decision because I am taking steps to clear out excess items.  However, it is mid October and these things have to get moved in soon.  She hasn't come to pick up her fig tree yet and I want to get everything wrapped up for winter so I prune all the fig trees.  And then read about how to propagate them.  You need about a 6-8 inch stem of old wood.  I have 12 so I put them all in rooting hormone and pot them up in the appropriate potting soil, 4 cuttings in each pot.  So now I have 3- 6" pots covered with large clear plastic containers to create a sort of green house effect.  As I am going through the motions of this process, I am screaming to myself, "someone help me!!!"  Why do I feel the need to save these cuttings?  I was so proud that I was getting rid of one large potted tree but I have gained 12 new cuttings and still have the one to be given away.  Now, I realize that these cuttings may not successfully root (and I hope all of them don't) but seriously, what am I going to do with any that are successful?  What can I say?  I love doing this stuff.  I guess I just like to see if I can do it.  I do know that I'd like to try to keep one in a smaller, more manageable pot no larger than 10 inches.  I don't know if a fig tree can grow in such a small pot but heck, it's free right?  So I may as well try it if any of these cuttings take root. Maybe even plant one outside.  The Chicago Fig is hardy to 0.  Perhaps with a little protection it will survive these New York winters.

I think that wraps up what I've been doing the past few months.  People have asked me if I am enjoying my retirement.  My answer... I don't know yet, I don't feel retired.  I do hope things will finally slow down.  We are hosting Thanksgiving Dinner for about 10.  A very nice manageable size.  And then we move into the Christmas Season.  And then in March our first grandchild is due :)!!!  Can't wait!

Christmas is past and the New Year has just begun.  I am just now finalizing this post by adding the pictures from the wedding.  Here is our family pic from Christmas, welcoming Emma Joyce.  Be sure to click on it to enlarge so you can see lots of silly faces.  I hope you all had a wonderful and blessed Christmas and wish you health and happiness in the 
New Year!