It's been ten years since we retired and I am just getting into the swing of slowing down. The blog shows it. I have been doing a lot, at church mostly and then baking daily (homemade bread) and then frequent trips to the doggie park where I get a good fast walk twice a day, which is my only real exercise. There's been lots of knitting and mystery reading and even some quilting.
Every now and then I just don't want to do anything but bask in the sun on the porch with a nice cuppa and thank God I don't have to go to work.
I've been blogging since November 2004 and have steadily lost readership to Facebook which I refused to join. Not sorry. I also gave up my cell phone, since I rarely used it and haven't missed it once. But even tho I don't post as often, it is a good thing to have a blog, if only to keep track of when things happen, if they should even happen!
I'm still making new friends in real life and that is a super plus. Dave is doing better for the most part, and we are so grateful. My new 1.5 year old microwave died last month and while we got its replacement, we will dawdle installing it for days. Nothing is a rush anymore.
My sewing room is quite efficient now and it makes me so happy that I didn't have to spend a fortune on a fancy set up to achieve the results I want. Of course I look at sewing rooms on Pinterest and gasp at what people have, who are often just beginners. O well.
And I am going to take my time quilting the new top, and allow myself to enjoy the process. Love and Peace to you all.
Slowing down is more then okay and you have a wonderful quilt on the table.
ReplyDeleteVery glad to hear you and Dave are well and especially that you will continue sharing your life with us through your blog which has been an inspiration to me for years. Your evolving studio set-ups have given me ideas on how to improvise within the space available. Your work is full of joy. Thank you! Sending you blessings & hugs. Alexandra from OlenkasSong.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteI like not being on facebook, it feels so chaotic and like being bombarded. I love seeing your blog posts, so as you feel inclined, keep posting!
ReplyDeleteI love hearing from you. Please blog whenever you feel like it. I am always inspired by your creativity and now I'm inspired by your ability to take it slow. Love to you and Dave. Judith P.
ReplyDeleteI so enjoy your blog and I hope you will continue it. I find so much inspiration and creativity with colour.
ReplyDeleteMarion
Thank you for sharing your life with us, however often you can spare... I enjoyed reading that very much over the years, even more now that I'm also in retirement. Keep those creative juice running always! Love that new top! - Edith T.
ReplyDeleteLOL. I retired two years ago and I immediately slowed down. I'm trying to speed up as so much needs to get done and was put off "until I retire" and now that I am, I just can't seem to get around to anything. Well, I do watercolor once a week, go to the gym 2-4 times per week and now I get to go to the movies for the matinee. If I have to choose between the movies and yard work, the movies always win because I retired! The yard work can always wait.
ReplyDeleteYour blog is so colorful and inspiring and reminds me, in a way, of a diary like we kept as younger girls. Entering a post to the Blog on what we are seeing, making, growing, sewing, baking or just turning our face up to the warmth of the sun and being grateful for moment, is a wonderful way of reflecting and sharing! As we age we find that elusive quantity of being called time is ours to spend as well and as we see fit. You spend yours well!
ReplyDeletethanks for the update! I still check your blog every week or so. I loved hearing about all your moving adventures, where you've lived and of course those adorable pugs. I retired 4 years ago and don't do much quilting anymore but I take a lot of walks with pups and reading. take care!
ReplyDeleteWhat an absolutely lovely post of contentment. We were just talking about the importance of learning to be content ~ ~ and this is a supreme example of what it can look like. I hope you won't mind my sharing it with a couple of friends. and I thank you for sharing it with us.
ReplyDeleteIt's always a treat to hear from you! I have always been jalous of your energy: glad you have learn to slow down and enjoy the days. Annick H.
ReplyDeleteSo very glad you are enjoying your retirement!!!! Yes, your post just oozes contentment, as Kara noted. I have enjoyed your blog for a long time, and hope it continues as it fills me with inspiration and your colors & quilts just bring me joy. So enjoy every minute of that sunshine and your pup and Dave and thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteMelody, I find I need to get a new sewing table, as I recently bought a nice new, humongous Bernina. Your table seems to be just what I need. Is there a blog post on the table or can you tell me the brand name? I'm in the investigating phase of the purchase and am turning over every stone and rock to find out what's out there and what doesn't cost a second mortgage! Thanks, ahead of time!
ReplyDeleteLeighway, try this site: http://www.sewperfecttables.com/sewing-tables.shtml
Deletethanks SO much, Melody. I'll go check it out.
DeleteI am always so happy to see updates from you. I would miss you terribly if you stopped blogging.
ReplyDeleteThanks for continuing to blog. You are an inspiration in many ways. I love hearing about your creative endeavors, rearranging of your house, as well as about Dave and the dawgs and everything in between. So glad Dave is doing better and that you are enjoying retirement.
ReplyDeleteYours is my favorite blog, and resides at the top of my blog list. I used to read you first every day when you posted every day. But I am now retired, too, and understand that there are other things in life besides rushing to post daily activities. I do love to read about you, Dave, the dawgs, and your sister, etc. Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteMelody:
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for continuing to blog and share your creative life. I read every post!
Teresa
A beautiful quilt top! Will be looking forward to seeing how you quilt this. I have been working on my new studio since this summer and hope to have it ready soon. We enclosed the carport and it has been a job to say the least. But at the end I will have a great sewing space for myself. Glad you are still blogging. I don't comment much, but I love coming to your blog and being inspired by your creativity. Have a great day and am glad your hubster is doing better.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds absolutely lovely. I plan to retire in three years but I am wondering how well I will adjust to the change of pace. I have plans to turn off my alarm clock, garden, quilt, knit and crochet, and hopefully finish some of the many, many UFOs I've stashed over the years. You give me hope that I'll get the hang of this next stage of my life.
ReplyDeleteYou sound so very happy and contented - wonderful! Good to hear how Dave is these days and finding out what you've been getting on with in life, sound like lots and that's good. We all reach a point in life where we feel we need to slow down, stop rushing and having deadlines for posting on the blog and other things in life, I'm staking stock of my life happenings at the moment too. Melody, I loved your blog the minute I saw the colour bursting out on the screen, yours was the first blog I followed a number of years ago, you helped me set up my blog - thank you once again - and I do hope you do continue blogging now and again, I should miss not seeing you, very much indeed! Enjoy life and be happy!!
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear Dave is doing better and that you are figuring out the art of slowing down. That fabric sure is pretty sitting on your table.
ReplyDeleteI check your bog regularly Melody, and enjoy hearing what you are up to - your green-fingered gardening, knitting, quilting and design work, the new house and the Dawgs, and I'm so glad to hear Dave is doing well. I look forward to hearing more about how the sewing room at the church is going, that seems to me to have huge possibilities. It is also good to hear you are enjoying slowing down - it's a skill I need to study and acquire. Please go on sharing your life with us, you have become a good friend over the years! And we're here to send thoughts and prayers then things get rough too! (Liike when Dave came off that bike!!! That had us worried for you both!)
ReplyDeleteGosh, and I should have said that you're still me "Go To" for advice on dyeing - I have your information all carefully filed. It was invaluable when I was doing my City and Guilds, thank you.
ReplyDeleteMelody, I also enjoy your blog posts. I have tried Facebook and have felt it's like standing in front of an open hydrant. Your color choices are inspiring, and I'll be forever grateful that you got me back into knitting.
ReplyDeleteGlad you are enjoying your retirement, and that Dave is doing well. I have derived a ton of inspiration from you over the time I have followed your blogs, and continue to check in every time I see you have a new post. I have been on facebook for several years, mostly now because I have found some groups who are into the same creative areas I am in, and we share info and support each other in our efforts. I have had to "unfriend" some folk over time to avoid confrontations, but still keep in touch with friends there, so it has it's purpose. As for pinterest, I can get totally lost there... creative overload! Anyway, continue to enjoy your retirement, and I hope you will continue to share with us here!
ReplyDeleteI, too have enjoyed your blog for many years. You have given so much inspiration and tips and I am grateful. I just recently joined FB but only to read in a Rug Braiding Group. I have no friends :) and don't post. From what I understand there is so much negative that it is not worth it. Enough negativity in the world and the news continues to overload us. Thanks for the doggie pics and the Dave update. I still have a few years till retirement and think I may have a hard time slowing down too. Yes - contentment as others have said describes your post - so happy for you!
ReplyDeleteWho wants to hang out on FB and put up with all the garbage and ads? Your blog brings peace and joy but mainly keeps the creative bug alive in my life. I don't comment on every post but if there was a "like" button I would push it every time. Don't stop being part of our lives....please.
ReplyDeleteBlog whenever you feel like it! We'll be ready. You are an endless source of inspiration to so many. We appreciate all you do! And I, too, am pleased to hear Dave is doing well.
ReplyDeleteHave been reading your blog for almost as long as you've been writing it! Facebook is like the shiny new penny that dulls quickly. I used to love it but not so much anymore. The blogs are far more interesting and I am so glad you still post!
ReplyDeleteI read your blog whenever a new post comes up. No Facebook. Cell phone is just in case of an emergency.
ReplyDeleteI see joggers, walkers and people "eating" dinner together with their faces glued to the screen on the phone. Not "seeing" anything LIVE.
I may only use 10% of your content--but that 10% is amazing.
I've been enjoying your blog for many years. Your quilts have been, and continue to be, inspiration to me and to many others. It's been so interesting to read about and see pictures of your gardens, house, dogs, and sewing room. I am glad that Dave is doing OK and hope that you keep on on blogging. Thank you for all the entertainment!
ReplyDeleteI'll take reading your creative and amazing blog over the FB hate postings any day! Just seeing your pup relaxing in the sun brought my BP back to normal. Thanks for not giving up on us!
ReplyDeleteI always enjoy reading your blog. So glad you are able to relax (a little) and enjoy yourself. Donna
ReplyDeleteI couldn't stand all the garbage on Facebook. My life is calmer without it! I do love reading your blog, Melody! Carol, who wrote on Oct. 6, said it all.
ReplyDeleteI'm writing from a campground in Southern California. Others are checking in from all over the country and Europe as well. We all share a love of your work, your spirit and your sense of humor. Most of all, we appreciate you, Mel, and your generosity in sharing so much of yourself. Write when you can, when you feel like it, and know that your friends will always be at the other end of the computer.
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