Weekend Wrap Up - A Day Late!

Weekend Wrap Up - A Day Late!

I had to head out early yesterday, Monday, to meet my girlfriend for kayaking, and thus did not get this written and posted. A good excuse I think!

Also, to follow up on the small disclaimer I included here recently - that I am aware that my life may seem a bit too busy at times - this is what someone designed for my dad recently, highlighting just a few of his ongoing pursuits at close to 90 years of age -

So clearly I come by it honestly!

Friday - Left early to attend and show support for a community event highlighting one of my volunteer organizations. We met by the ocean, the sky was blue, the breezes pleasant, and I gave a small thanks once again that we had made the decision to relocate to the coast some years back.

Afterward, I headed to Target to pick up a slew of random items we needed - Halloween candy, various kitchen, bath, and office restocking supplies, and two boxes of protein bars, my go-to on busy days. Once that was in the car, headed to my mom's to drop off some paperwork pertaining to my sister-in-laws upcoming residency at her 55+ community, then we headed to lunch to celebrate my birthday. Which, for the record was some weeks ago, but we'd been unable to schedule a birthday lunch until now that worked into both of our schedules because my mom is quite busy as well, lol.

From there I headed to Staples to pick up some needed supplies for another of my volunteer organizations, then home to meet my spouse for Happy Hour at our membership winery, after which we headed to our new boating and social club to catch the sunset, listen to some live music, and enjoy a light meal of fish tacos. While there, we chatted with some people we already knew, plus had a fun conversation with a new-to-us couple at the next table. Which is how these things go and become an integral part of our social lives - we work hard to engage and be uber-pleasant upon meeting people for the first time, and from there roots of acquaintance-ship begin, which then eventually become roots of friendship as get togethers progress. At which point we can take our feet off the pedal, and simply enjoy an easy camaraderie going forward. 

Saturday -  Six mile walk from house to and along beach, stopping at gym on the return to do weights. Light yardwork upon return, then lunch and some reading before getting ready to attend a dinner and service auction at our spiritual community. I had two items being auctioned off - this rustic carrot cake (so good, and always an award winner when I make and bring it to any of our social wine club dining events), and a hike for 12 people along the beach, followed by fresh bagels, fruit, and mimosas back at our home afterward. 

Well, both sold/sold out - the cake went for $70, and the 12 hiking spots for a total of $240. So I feel good about that!

Sunday - Spiritual services in the AM, then we left for an afternoon symphony that also involved the introduction of a new conductor, after the prior long time and much beloved conductor retired.

The Sunday afternoon symphonies include a long intro by the conductor to explain the symphony in detail to the audience before it is played. I personally love this aspect as it enhances significantly my enjoyment of the performance that follows.

We had wonderful front row seats*, the new conductor was engaging and charming, and the performance was tremendous - Scheherazade's 1001 and One Nights. Which we then followed up with by going to dinner with friends from our prior community that also attend these matinee symphonies. 

* Our front row seats are a bargain at just $30 each, due to the first few rows being considered inferior for overall symphonic sound. However, we love sitting directly up front where we can experience both the sound and the energy of the music as it is being played by the skilled musicians.

So, yes, another great weekend of activities is now in the books. 

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Today's Healthy Focus Plan - Run to gym, three more fast walk miles on treadmill upon arrival, plus weights, walk home, clean up and depart for a ladies lunch with my spiritual community, head to ukulele practice afterward, home briefly to prepare leftovers for spouse (pork Chile Verde over rice, yellow squash, cornbread), then to gym again to attend Boot Camp session #2 of 6 in total (I've been diligent about doing the daily planking/squats/push ups exercises the Boot Camp trainer assigned, and I can see progress already, which I'm so happy about.), then a pop-in with my Women's Club to, hopefully, celebrate a positive decision pertaining to our club that the city board was voting on.

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Inquiring minds want to know - how was your weekend???

Retirement Withdrawal Rates, Ours At Least!

 Retirement Withdrawal Rates, Ours At Least!

It's been a great week - lots of get togethers with other folk to hike, walk, workout, visit cultural centers, and enjoy meals. 

Views from a portion of yesterday's walk - so gorgeous out there after a recent rainstorm passed through.

Plus, we met with one of our financial advisors this week and found them to be unusually positive about the long term prospects of pretty much everything we discussed - inflation, Social Security, tariffs, company earnings, and the financial markets in general.

And, they very directly told me that I was being overly conservative with our portfolio withdrawal rate of 2.5% at this point in our lives (early-60's and 70's). So, OK, I can fix that! Starting in 2026 we will raise it to 2.75%. Woohoo!

Actually, I do know we've been extremely conservative in our portfolio withdrawal rate since retiring, because that is the exact behavior that got us to early retirement in the first place - under spending relative to our income. But, interestingly, we chatted about what is considered the safe withdrawal rate since economists began dropping the Depression of the 1920's from the historic calculations most retirement calculators use. The reason being that the Depression can now be considered an outlier that will never re-occur due to changes since made in governmental regulations and oversite of banking and financial institutions.

The old number, which always seemed frighteningly optimistic to me, was 4%. The new number is 3.2%, which feels a lot more realistic. Thus, even at a new and higher withdrawal rate of 2.75% we will still be well under and conservative - the space where I feel the most comfortable.

In addition, a very large portion of our budget is completely discretionary. Thus, should we ever find need due to a large scale financial calamity of some sort, we can get by on just our pensions and Social Security. Perhaps not in luxury, but the bills would be paid and food purchased.

As a result of feeling optimistic enough to raise our withdrawal rate a bit in 2026, I spent yesterday finishing out our 2026 travel plans. Primarily, I've planned out two four-week just-us trips, two shorter trips/cruises with family, and a nice stay at our annual visit to the international film festival event in Palm Springs.

And we'll go ahead and schedule out a roof replacement, the last remaining update on our list for the house. Once that occurs, the house is pretty much brand new, and should remain trouble free for years and years to come.

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Today's Healthy Focus Plan - Meet girlfriend at art museum followed by lunch, stop at Aldi's on the return trip home for 'usual' items, plus one supermarket for a few of their advertised Loss Leaders, do my Boot Camp 'homework' of planking, squats, push ups and pull ups, read 10 pages of Book Club book, 15 pages of October non fiction book, and then my current pleasure reading book - The Lion Women of Tehran.

Weekend Wrap Up - More Plans Than Energy

Weekend Wrap Up - More Plans Than Energy

We ran out of steam this weekend, due to apparently having more plans than we had available retiree energy, which actually makes me a bit happy. I have worked hard to build a life in our newer community that is vibrant, and I think that we have.

I will say, though, that a little more energy would not be a bad thing. And with that in mind, I did recently sign up for a six week boot camp session at our fitness club that begins this week. I do not need any personal coaching encouragement to do more cardio as I'm already very solid there, and I do not need personal support to lose more weight (currently 108 and holding), but I do need encouragement to go deeper into weight training in order to increase my muscular strength and endurance.

So with that in mind, here is how our weekend unfolded:

Friday - Left early to attend and show support for a community event highlighting one of my volunteer organizations. We met by the ocean, the sky was blue, the breezes pleasant, and I gave a small thanks once again that we had made the decision to relocate to the coast some years back.

Afterward, headed to Target to pick up a slew of random items we needed - Halloween candy, kitchen and office supplies, and Crunch protein bars. Once that was in the car, headed to my mom's to do drop off some paperwork at her 55+ community's main office, then we headed to lunch to celebrate my birthday. Which, for the record was some weeks ago, but we'd been unable to schedule a birthday lunch until now that worked into both of our schedules. See, my mom is quite busy as well, lol.

From there I headed home to meet my spouse for Happy Hour at our membership winery, then we headed to our new boating and social club to enjoy the sunset, listen to music, and enjoy a light meal of fish tacos. While there we saw people I knew, and had a fun chat with a couple at the next table. Which is how these things go and become an integral part of our social lives. We work hard to engage and be pleasant, and from there roots of acquaintanceship begin, which eventually become roots of friendship. At which point we can take our feet off the pedal and begin to simply enjoy an easy camaraderie. 

Saturday -  Six mile walk from house to and along beach, stopping at gym on the return to do weights. Light yardwork upon return, then lunch and some reading before getting ready to attend a dinner and service auction at our spiritual community. I had two items being auctioned off - this rustic carrot cake (so good, and always an award winner when I make and bring it to any of our social wine club events), and a hike for 12 people along the beach, followed by fresh bagels, fruit, and mimosas back at our home afterward. 

Well, both sold/sold out - the cake went for $70, and the hike for a total of $240. So I feel good about that!

Sunday - Spiritual services in the AM, then we left for an afternoon symphony that also involved the introduction of a new symphony conductor after the prior amazing and long time conductor, Carl St Clair, retired.

The Sunday afternoon symphonies include a long intro by the conductor to explain aspects of the symphony to the audience before it is played. I, personally, love this aspect as it enhances significantly my enjoyment of each one.

We had fantastic seats, the new conductor was charming and engaging, the symphony was tremendous - Scheherazade's 1001 and One Nights - and we followed it up by going to dinner with friends that also attend these matinee symphonies. 

So, yes, another great weekend of activities is now in the books. 

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Today Healthy Focus Plan - Repeat five mile run/treadmill/walk workout, work my volunteer library shift, do laundry, book December flights, book December and January trip lodging, make flatbread sausage/mushroom/Bell pepper pizza and salad for dinner, read 10 pages of my Book Club book, and 15 pages of my October non fiction book (Astoria by Peter Stark).

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Inquiring minds want to know - how was your weekend???

Friday Five - Hot Flashes, Still???

 Friday Five - Hot Flashes Still???

It was a good week - a good balance of activities, not to much stress to deal with, and enough down time to leisurely read for at least an hour each day.

1.  Bought a set of skin care products. One of my new focuses after reaching my new lower weight, was to begin investing in skin care visits to an esthetician. Coincidentally, last night my women's club held a skin care products presentation, and I purchased a full skin care kit along with a one-on-one appointment to go through how to use each of the five products properly. So, I think I just checked that one off my list, nicely.

In addition, my club received 20% of last night's proceeds, so I feel good about that. 

2.  Bought boneless chicken breast at pre-COVID pricing of $1.99 a pound. My freezer was already nice and full of loss-leader frozen proteins, including skinless, boneless chicken breast, but when I saw the price in one of this week's supermarket circulars, I could not pass it up.

When I got to the store on Day 1 of the sale price, a meat department employee was hard at work placing new packages into the case. He said he literally could not keep up with the demand and I said it was because we were all so excited to see pre-COVID pricing we couldn't restrain ourselves, lol.

So my freezer is now pretty much packed, and I need to not buy any new proteins until we eat it down.

Primarily I keep salmon, shrimp, pork loin slices, boneless chicken breast, with and without bone chicken thighs, ground round, ground turkey, Italian sausage, and whatever beef pieces I pick up at the Sell Now area.

From these I can make an array, almost an endless array, of really delicious meals from my Taste of Home and Cook's Country One Pot cookbooks.

3.  May have walked newish friends into the ground. We have friends we initially met through our social wine club, that we began to schedule coastal walks and lunches with. They are active, but not quite as active as we are, so I try and keep our walks with them to five or six miles, but sometimes misjudge and end up walking them a mile or two more.

Which is what happened yesterday - our advertised five mile coastal walk became an eight mile walk for a variety of reasons. They appeared to be completely good sports about it, and said they now always add a couple of miles to the mileage I propose to them before responding with a 'Yes.'

So, hopefully they will continue to be up to meeting us for the occasional long beach walk + lunch dates!

This part of our walk yesterday had canyons on one side of the path, the ocean on the other. This is very typical of the topography in coastal Southern California, and which surprises visitors at times, who think California is just one long sandy beach. No, not so much.  🙂

4.  Still having hot flashes after all these years??? So, after learning I had a benign polyp at a recent gynecology exam, my doctor explained that polyps were a somewhat common side effect of taking HRT, which I have for about 10 years. I was a bit freaked by the removal process once it occurred - no real pain, but it was decidedly uncomfortable. Plus, I don't like the idea of a growth occurring, even if benign!

So, together with my doctor, I decided to wean off of HRT, which I've almost completed (It was about a six week process). To my chagrin, I am now experiencing what I call 'soft' hot flashes. Nowhere as severe as what sent me seeking out HRT in the first place, but definitely real enough to wake me if I go to bed even slightly overdressed.

They are not terrible, and I'm hoping I can alleviate them going forward by keeping our overhead fan on until we hit our colder winter nights, where an open window should be sufficient. Fingers crossed.

5.  Attending my first new club social event today - a fashion show. My calendar is pretty full these days between our already-existing activities and the various new activities we've involved ourselves in, but I am enjoying all the opportunities to chat with and get to know new people, and to have fun dressing up a bit more than just on the weekends.

I don't really know what to expect today, so I'm going to wear a dress with just a little bling, and hope I guessed correctly on the dress code.

Where I live is decidedly casual in general, so I'm not overly concerned, but still, I'll feel more relaxed going forward once I attend this first social event and get a better sense of the club's overall dress 'code' culture.

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Today's Healthy Focus Plan - Walk five miles, peel and freeze the two bulbs of garlic I just purchased (started this habit during COVID shortages, and love how fresh my garlic cloves are now when I pull them from freezer - they defrost for cutting in about a minute), attend fashion show, meet friends for Happy Hour dinner.

  

September Goals - Final Results

September Goals - Final Results

Because I was away on a trip the first two weeks of September, I set smaller mini-goals for the remainder of the month upon my return, and here are the results:

1.  Complete the purchase and installation of stackable washer/dryer unit for my mom’s condo.  ✅

After getting her units old washer water valves updated in August, I thought this final step would be easy, but alas, no. The installation issue turned out to be the difference in size between her current dryer venting tube and the new one delivered with stackable washer/dryer. The old venting tube was flexible, and thus the dryer could be pushed back against the rear wall to allow the folding doors of utility closet to close. The new venting tube was NOT flexible, and thus the unit protruded and prevented door from closing.

The solution was to continue on with a flexible dryer venting tube, which the new unit installation team was prohibited from using due to 'fire hazard.'

Yeah, whatever. 

So, one handyman, one hour, and $100 dollars later, the unit is installed, the door now closes, no squishing of the dryer venting tube is occurring - thus no 'fire hazard' - and, finally, we are done.

2.  Send photos of minor hardscape repairs to landscaper, and schedule repair work.  ✅

It took multiple calls to get a call back(!), but I persisted, and remediation occurred. This was a new to me vendor, and though they did good work, I value responsiveness as much as the work itself, so unlikely I will ever use them again.

I was thrilled with the CAD rendering the landscaper provided - virtually no ongoing maintenance, our top request.
All the landscaping to the right of the artificial turf lawn belongs to the HOA, not us, so not ours to maintain, but ours to enjoy. 🙂

3.  Make flight and lodging reservations for trip to our daughter's for the Christmas holidays.  🖾

Apparently, booking air and hotels is a dreaded task for me, (conversely- I love booking cruises and tours!) because, aargh, I did not get it done, but need to!

So, I have newly committed to doing both tasks before the upcoming weekend.

4.  Purchase new jeans to celebrate reaching the end of my weight loss efforts.  ✅

Yes! As already shared here, I bought lots of jeans in September at the point my weight dipped below 110. And since I've already purged my closet of my now too-large jeans, I have ample motivation to continue to stay the course with my now-lower weight. If I gain weight I'll have zero pants to wear!  

5.  Begin work on holiday felt ornaments for my family.  ✅

Yes! I completed two of the six ornaments, leaving an easy four to finish before the end of November.

The gingerbread ornament took me almost 20 hours. The Christmas tree ornament about half of that.

These are definitely little labors of love for my family. 💌

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Today's Healthy Focus Plan - Meet hiking club for four mile scenic walk around a series of duck ponds, do grocery shop at Aldi's, swing by Target for Halloween candy (we give out full size candy bars, so we're a popular stop!), drop off required paperwork to allow my sister-in-law to move in with my mom in her 55+ community next year, get gussied up for a celebratory evening at a new coastal cocktail lounge that recently opened.

  

Weekend Wrap Up - Sleepless In Seattle

 Weekend Wrap Up - Sleepless In Seattle

I flew up to Seattle to spend the weekend with my niece and her spouse, and what a wonderful time I had - if I had more lifetime than just this one, I could absolutely imagine spending significant years there - it is just a fantastic city.

And as to my post title - I think my niece and her spouse were a bit shocked at my early AM wake-ups. By the time they came downstairs each morning, I was already on my third cup of coffee. This is not my desired wake up status, by the way, but what can I say - I'm aging and I sleep like cr#p!

Friday - I had flown up to Seattle on Thursday, the day prior, so my niece, who had taken the day off, and I hit the ground running with a seven mile sightseeing walk through their Seattle neighborhood that included a stretch along the Puget Sound, the interesting Hiram M. Chittenden Boat Locks and Fish Ladder, and several charming retail areas.

Later, after returning home for naps then showers, we enjoyed dinner at, ironically, a Chinese dim sum restaurant chain I have been unable to get into back here at home due to it's incredible popularity -Din Tai Fung. So, aside from it being absolutely delicious, I can now check it off of my Top 50 Restaurants In Orange County list, which I've been working on for years.

We ended the day with some brewery hopping in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle, where there are over a dozen breweries lined up one after the other. Fun time! (My niece drank only non alcoholic beer and was thus our designated driver.)

Saturday - We began by taking my niece's puppy over for a romp at a nearby park that overlooks the Puget Sound, so great expenditure of energy for everyone, adults included.

After returning home and cleaning up, we went sightseeing in Edmonds, Washington, one of the many cute little towns that surround Seattle. We enjoyed the gorgeous Puget Sound views, the array of interesting artist shops, shopped for clothes till we dropped, and then had some wonderful locally caught rockfish tacos at the equally wonderful Market Seafood Eatery.

One of the stores we went into had an onsite personal stylist. She was amazing! She put things together for me that I would never have done on my own. And yes, I bought everything she pulled for me, including these pants and the leather jacket.

We returned back to their home to end a most enjoyable day by watching the Seattle Mariners on TV (niece and her spouse) and reading (me).

Sunday - Started off the day at a large and vibrant farmers market, just one of the very many that occur in and around Seattle, then enjoyed breakfast at Sabine Cafe, before being dropped off at the airport.

I had planned for an early flight out purposefully - I wanted my niece and her spouse to have some downtime before returning to work post-weekend.

How cute is this little Farmers Market produce-carrying dog!

I had a smooth and easy flight home. But I do want to say that as wonderful as it is to get away, it's equally as wonderful to return home.

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Today Healthy Focus Plan - Stop at car dealership to have someone show me how to remove and replace sport racks as needed, plus which psi for tires (the psi stamped on tires vs the psi that manufacturer-placed car sticker shows as recommended - this has always confused me!), stop by my mom's to turn in residence application for her future roommate (my sister-in-law), five mile walk + weight circuit at our gym, begin next holiday ornament felt project, and enjoy some guilty pleasure reading (Winter In Paradise by Elin Hilderbrand).

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Inquiring minds want to know - how was your weekend???

Five New Goals - October

 Five New Goals - October

It does finally feel like Fall has arrived here along the southern California coastline, primarily because the afternoon breezes have fallen back into the low 70's, and thus we are able to turn off the A/C after about six weeks of running it to counter the slightly raised temps and humidity we'd been experiencing. 

So, fresh with Fall fever, here are five goals I've set for October:

1.  Make something savory with pumpkin in it. There are oodles of these out there on the internet, but I'm fussy about flavors, so I want a highly rated blogger or recipes website. Any recommendations are much welcomed!

2.  Attend all four weekly club hikes. Prior to purchasing our new higher mileage SUV, I had been a bit parsimonious about driving our old SUV due to it's not-so-great 16-17 mpg. But with that no longer a concern, regardless of where in the county our October hikes will be starting from, I plan to be there.

3.  Remove cross bars from our (my!) new SUV. The only 'want' on my new car list was a sunroof, so I was not thrilled when I looked up the first time I opened it and saw that the optional forward sport rack bar lay directly across the middle of my open sky view. 😠

However, a little research indicates that the sport rack bars can be very easily removed and replaced as needed, so that is my plan. Theoretically, I should be able to do this myself, but I will wait until one of my much-handier friends is available for what appears to be a five minute or less process.

4.  Complete and submit a new resident application for my sister-in-law, at my mother's 55+ community. My sister-in-law lives on her own currently, but has some special needs that my husband helps out with, so it will be great to have her move in with my mom in 2026 when her lease terminates, and thus be much closer to us than her current 35 mile distance.

5.  Book family Coastal Cruise for 2026. One of the incentives to having my sister-in-law move in with my mother will be the expanded discretionary income it will provide for both of them as a result:  Lower monthly rent for my sister-in-law, and a higher monthly income for my mom. And one of the first things their improved cash flows will allow them to do, is to take their first-ever ocean cruise, which has generated a lot of excitement.

Since we will be accompanying them, their first cruise experience will be from a port we can drive to, as I am not at all prepared to deal with overseeing their flight arrangements in addition to their cruise. (Neither has flown more than a few times in their lives, and never post-9/11 TSA changes.)

But an easy drive-to departure port for their first experience? No problem. Plus, the cruise we've selected goes into San Francisco via the Golden Gate Bridge waterway, the cruising under of which is an amazing experience that I know will 'wow' them both.

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How about you??? Any new goals for October you care to share?

Weekend Wrap Up - Clothes, Concert, And A Decision

Weekend Wrap Up - Clothes, Concert, And A Decision

We came out of the weekend with a bit of a decision to make, which I detailed under Sunday below. Opinions welcome!

Friday - This was our once a month early-AM housecleaning morning, so we followed our usual routine of heading down to the harbor to enjoy a five mile walk. On the return, we stopped in at a supermarket so I could load up on a few loss leaders - $1.99 pork loin, which I sliced into chops and individually froze*, $2.99 boneless chicken breast and thighs, which I also froze in separate pieces, and six $0.88 a boxes of pasta.

• * I lay wax paper on a flexible, plastic cutting sheet, lay out the proteins, place in the freezer, and flip at about the two hour mark. Once flipped, I generally leave them until the next morning, then bundle into freezer bags. At that point, pulling out just one or several protein items at a time is a piece of cake.

I next picked up a sandwich at a nearby deli, which I took over to share with a dear friend undergoing cancer treatment, but who is currently off cycle to allow her appetite to return and regain some weight before entering her next treatment cycle.

It was a poignant get together. This is her fourth bout with cancer, and this one is in her brain. At a certain point during our visit, she alluded to beginning to accept that this battle was one she might not win. I had already begun to work on accepting that as well, but had decided that it wasn't my conversation to have with her until she gave a sign that she wished to. So, this was the sign, and in response we gripped hands and hugged, even as we did not go any further in discussing outcomes.

I love and will miss her. Terribly. But for now, she is here, and I will do my best to simply support her in her journey.

After returning home I had a slew of small chores to take care of, then I retired to the sofa to read some of the operations manual for my new SUV, plus watch a little TV in that my spouse was out for the evening at a men's event.

Saturday - Attended a fund raising event at a nearby shopping center. Tickets purchased for the event went to support one of my women's club's chosen charities, and included lunch, wine tasting, and a small discount on purchases made from participating stores.

So I shopped and shopped - this is the day I finally committed to purchasing new jeans that were fitted to my new, smaller size, plus that were a bit more on trend than my beloved skinny jeans. I found an adorable store where the saleswomen literally made all the choices for me - what size, what style, what top to go with. It was so fun, and so easy, that I think I'm going to use this store for most of my casual purchases going forward. Here are a couple of the outfits they put together, which I did buy:

Loved this outfit, and wore it on Saturday night.

I'm OK with this outfit as well, even if I have to laugh at how large the pants look compared to the above pair.
However, both of my daughters gave them a thumbs up, so I went with that.
And certainly they were comfortable!   😄

Since my spouse was once again away at his men's gathering, after returning home I forced myself to go through my closet and shed some of the 'comfort' clothes I've accumulated over the last 10 or so years. I pulled out so many items, perhaps 40 or so, that even after putting away my new purchases, my closet still feels roomier.

I then got dressed up in one of my new jeans outfits and headed over to pick up my mom to attend a British Invasion tribute concert in her 55+ community's performing arts center. It was fun and we both had a great time. 

Sunday - After pulling all of my old, now-too-big, skinny jeans out of my closet during my Saturday closet purge, I dashed over to H&M to quickly determine my new skinny jeans size, and then buy one pair in every color they had on the floor, six pairs in total.

Got in a quick two mile walk, then got ready to attend an Open House at a yacht club we had been invited to join. The reason for our interest in the club, given we don't own a boat nor have any intentions of buying one, was for it's scenic harbor location and numerous social aspects. This club has an active social calendar, and many of the members join solely for that reason, not because they own boats. 

Because we have recently lost several friends to illness, and see that sadly unchanged as we all continue to age, I clearly see the ongoing need to work to expand our social circle, or risk becoming increasingly isolated in the years ahead. As an extrovert, I am happy to make this ongoing effort to do so. As a somewhat introvert, my husband is a bit less so, lol. 

However, he likewise understands that we have to continue to exert effort in staying connected with our community, and thus is fully on board with proceeding, particularly after our visit to the club went so well. Really friendly people, nice dining restaurant, beautiful views and outdoor seating, and a robust social calendar.

Fees are in the mid to high $200's monthly, which we can comfortably afford, and which we can discontinue at any time should we change our minds. However, it feels just a bit decadent for some odd reason, and that is what I am struggling with, even as I love the idea of having a regular place to go and listen to music, watch the sunset, enjoy light bites, and socialize.

And hence where I welcome opinions!

Otherwise, our quarterly book club get together finished off the day. Great food and great discussion as always, this time about the recent award winning novel James by Everett Percival. 

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Today Healthy Focus Plan - Work a volunteer shift at the library, book our December Nashville and January Palm Springs lodgings, start dinner in the crockpot (Italian chicken stew), go on a four mile walk, and read the first 10 pages of our next Book Club selection, a 700 page tome - we only meet quarterly, so 10 pages a day should do it, plus allow plenty of time for me to read my own book selections.

Friday Five - I Bought A New Car And Survived

  Friday Five - I Bought A New Car & Survived

It has been a wildly productive week, but I am tired and looking forward to the weekend! 

1.  After yet another ordeal, FINALLY finished installation of my mother's new stackable washer/dryer. I'm too weary to go into details, but after hiring a handyman for $100, we finally got everything up and running. 

2.  Also completed the process to get my mother her first ever passport this week. We were able to make an appointment at a public library to do everything in one fell swoop, including photos. After my ordeal with her washer/dryer, and her Real ID before that, it was a delight to whiz through this next goal I'd set for her. 

We'll be going on a cruise to Mexico and up along the Pacific Coastline in the fall of 2026 with my mom and my husband's elderly sister, hence why the passport. It will be both of their first ever cruise, and my spouse and I are much looking forward to enjoying their excitement over the ship and adventures that await them.

3.  This was 'Mom' week, apparently, as I likewise enjoyed taking her to lunch at a lovely lake-side restaurant for her birthday. She gets excited about anything new, which made my job of selecting which restaurant to go to very easy.

4.  Our little Mr. Coffee maker is acting up, even though we've only had it for a couple of years. At just $20 it's hardly a budget breaker, however we've generally found them to last for years, so a bit puzzled as to why this one did not. 

We don't program our coffee to brew at a set time, because our wake ups are all over the place, so a simple little hit-the-button set up has worked fine in retirement for us. Today, for example, I woke up at 4:15 AM, but yesterday 'slept in' till 6:45 AM. Still, it might be time to splurge on a slightly nicer coffee set up, lol.

5.  We bought a new car! I've been contemplating this purchase for about two years, ever since we sold our travel trailer and no longer needed an SUV with towing capacity. At that point, our prior SUV's lower 16-17 mpg and 13+ year age began to become an issue. As the primary driver of our SUV, I wanted improved reliability and higher mpg. Plus a sunroof, the only thing I had on my 'want list.' All of which we got in our new purchase, so I'm very pleased.

The deal making was somewhat less annoying than anticipated, but still required a couple of hours of waiting for the paperwork to be finalized. Sigh.

The selling of our prior SUV, however, was quick and efficient. We received an online bid from Car Max, made a same day appointment to finalize the sale, and walked out about an hour later with a check in the exact amount of the online offer. So that was great.

My pretty new silver hybrid SUV gets 40 mpg, yeah!

Today's Healthy Focus Plan - Walk five miles at the harbor, go to Trader Joe's to pick up the last of this week's grocery items, change out cars on our insurance policy, pick up lunch at Board & Brew to take over and share with a girlfriend currently working through cancer treatment (she's in between treatment cycles, and thus has a temporary appetite), spend time learning about some of my new car's features, particularly the Apple CarPlay functionalities, and with hubby at a men's event for the evening, a salad and old episodes of Top Chef are my only evening plans - it's been a week and I'm tired!

Weight Maintenance Is A Whole New Mindset

 

Weight Maintenance Is A Whole New Mindset

When I returned home from my recent hiking and kayaking trip to Newfoundland, Canada, I shared here that I had hit a new low weight of 108.8 when I stepped on the scale. I was thrilled both at the number displayed, and on having reached the end of my weight loss journey. A space I had actually never occupied before . . . my mindset at every previous new low figure over the years was, 'Just five/ten/fifteen more pounds to go!'

So this is a brand new space for me, and I am actually struggling just a bit trying to figure out how maintenance works exactly. I mean, I know how to lose weight at this point, and certainly I know how to gain weight(!), but how exactly does one just stay where they are?

So I'm a bit of a work in progress on this. As a result, when I got to my library volunteer job earlier this week, I noticed this book on the discard/free pile, and immediately picked it up:

Initially, I thought it was written by Bob Greene, Oprah Winfrey's long time fitness and health consultant, who I followed back in his heydey in the 80's and 90's. It wasn't until I got home that I realized it wasn't 'that' Bob, it was Bob Harper from TV's The Biggest Loser, a show that I was aware of, but had never actually watched.

As I was skimming through it, a few things jumped out. Firstly, that I had already come to a lot of the eating rules his book lays out. Things like protein and vegetables over refined grains; eat your fruit, don't drink it; plan out meals ahead of time, not 'on the spot;' and get comfortable with going to bed slightly hungry. All rules I'll need to continue to follow going forward if I want the weight to remain off.

The one rule that I knew I'd been ignoring, to my detriment, was to drink a glass of water before every meal to ensure I stayed sufficiently hydrated. So I definitely, definitely appreciated that brick-in-the-head reminder, as I know I have done poorly there. In my case, dehydration generally exhibits as fatigue, which is annoying. So I've started following this principle and it was immediately effective in diminishing fatigue over my day. 

Otherwise, I realized I have to come up with a whole new system of rewards that are not solely based on getting to a new, lower number on the scale each day. 

Here's what I've come up with so far:

• Invest in attractive new yoga clothes, and stop wrapping a shirt around my waist when I go to class.
• Find a local skin care studio and begin to get monthly non-invasive facials. (No needles, ever!) I'm fine with aging in general, but if there is a non invasive procedure I can do to help my face look just a bit fresher, than I'm good with that at this point.
• Find a nicer salon and commit to monthly pedicures. (Not a fan of the salons that start out cheap, but then attempt to upsell during the entire procedure. I've decided I prefer to pay a bit more up front instead, in order to avoid the upsell efforts.)
• Investigate whether the hard earned lessons that my recent 25 pound weight loss journey delivered might be of any benefit to others walking the same walk. I've never been beyond the BMI range of Healthy, just at it's higher end vs the lower end I'm at currently, so I'm not sure where exactly I might fit in, but will investigate.
• Go through my closet and begin to pull out the 'comfort' clothing I've accumulated over the years. They can all be let go of at this point, and instead slowly replaced with more structured apparel.

Today's Healthy Focus Plan - Check in to make sure my mother's new stackable washer/dryer unit arrives and is installed as expected, go shopping for new jeans at a boutique I just discovered that carries stylish, structured jeans for under $100, the max threshold I set, and stop in to test drive a new Toyota Rav4 Hybrid . . . I'm in the market for a new car, yeah and nay - Very much want the new car, but intensely dislike the car buying experience. 🫡

August Goals - Final Results

August Goals - Final Results

As I had hoped, focusing on five goals that I then shared here on my blog, turned out to be pretty productive. 

Here are the results:

1.  Thirty minutes of nonfiction reading in the morning, as I drink my wake up coffee.  ✅

My nonfiction reading goal for the month of August was The Pioneers by historian David McCullough.

Only because I wanted to check it off as completed, did I keep pushing through this interesting but exceedingly dry history book. I do not imagine I'll read another by this author, though I did actually enjoy his book about the carving out of the Panama Canal, The Path Between The Seas. I read it before embarking on a Panama Canal cruise, and it made the transit incredibly interesting and emotional. I highly recommend doing same for any who might consider doing a transit thru the Panama Canal.

2.  Incorporate walking with stops into the gym to do weight training.  ✅

This worked very well. I incorporated three walks + weights in August. I was slightly sidelined by the need to get in lots of miles for my September hiking trip, but with that now completed, I expect to accomplish combining a walk with weights at least one time each week going forward.

3.  Grill and eat dinner outside here at home at least one night each week.  🆇

I did not accomplish this, grrr. I'm a little nervous about firing up the grill after a couple of years of not doing so, but am going to re-attempt it this coming weekend. I'm going to make Hawaiian chicken kebabs, which are pretty forgiving on the grill.

4.  Make Happy Hour dates with two couples - one new to us, and one that just returned from a multi-month trip.  ✅

Accomplished, though as I shared here, it didn't go quite as smoothly as hoped. However, by evenings end, everyone wanted to meet up again, plus another couple on our street wants to join in the next time as well. So, hopefully, it was an 'All's well that ends well' finale to the evening.

5.  Purchase new summer sun dress summer gauzy trousers.  ✅

I did go shopping for a new dress, but ultimately decided that some lightweight summer gauzy trousers would be fun instead. So I bought three pairs - pale blue, black, and the light olive green that I'm wearing in the photo below. 

Bonus points that I don't have to remember to shave my legs each time I wear them, such as I do with a summer dress. 😄

Five New Mini Goals- September

   Five New Mini Goals- September 

Since my vacation took up the first two weeks of September, I’m setting more modest goals for the remaining two weeks of the month.

(And I’ll be back with the results of my August goals in my next post.)

1.  Complete the purchase and installation of stackable washer/dryer unit for my mom’s condo. Getting her old laundry water valves swapped out for new ones last month was the first and more complicated step. This last remaining part of the process should, fingers crossed, be easy.

2.  Send photos of minor hardscape repairs to landscaper, and schedule repair work.  Now that training for, packing, and then attending my recent adventure is complete, I can focus on getting some minor concrete remediation work done, plus my outdoor lighting fixtures reprogrammed so that they don't flash for two minutes each night as they turn on(!). This later should be an easy fix once I find the right person at the landscaping company.

3.  Make flight and lodging reservations for trip to our daughter's for the Christmas holidays.  December will be here before we know it, so I need to get this done sooner than later, when prices and inventory for both flights and hotels are good.

4.  Purchase new jeans to celebrate reaching the end of my weight loss efforts.  Trying on jeans in a retail store can be a bit of a pain, but once I find 'the pair' I should be able to proceed online for any remaining purchases. I do that a lot, BTW. I find something that works for me, and then order it in every available color or style online once back home. I prefer to order only from companies that have brick-and-mortar stores, to make returning anything a simple matter. On that list would be H&M, Skechers, Nordstrom Rack, and Columbia Outdoor Wear.

5.  Begin work on holiday felt ornaments for my family.  I enjoy this annual endeavor once I'm underway, so I just need a push in order to get started.

This year's packet of felt tree ornaments. 
They really are so fun to make.

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Today's Healthy Focus Plan - Meet girlfriend for a 6 mile beach walk followed by lunch out somewhere pleasant, make up next week's menu and grocery shop list, do light yardwork, begin this month's book club book(!),  attend philanthropic group event, reheat leftover chile verde pork stew for dinner.  

  

Post-Vacation Weigh In & Movement

 Post Vacation Weigh In & Movement

Ongoing Maintenance Weight Range:  108-110

September 15 Weigh In:  108.8 (A new low, yeah!)

The food battle continues to feel as if it has been won. I'm not fighting myself at this point, just making and executing each day's food plan. My focus continues to be on anything and everything around me, other than using food as a reward. I focus on my daily planned-out meals, good coffee, sparkling water, having fun with my clothes, good books, good friends, volunteering commitments, fun activities, running my daily chores, going to the gym, walking, hiking, and kayaking with my spouse or with friends or groups, vacation planning, and all of the clubs and club activities we belong to and attend. Food is truly now at the very bottom of the list, and often times, not even on the list.

If this sounds 'Pollyanna-ish,' I promise you that it is not. It is the result of not giving up after many, many, many tries over the years. But with eight months of positive momentum and successes (including more than a few slip ups, rest assured), a new habit of dealing with food has been created. And because it has finally become a habit (which I promise, promise, promise it will, given some time)  it all now feels easy, effortless and best of all, permanent.

How much, what, and when we eat are habits we've developed, which, means that, yes, absolutely, they can be changed. Here's a re-link of an article on this I shared some months back:  

Getting Used To Eating Less

It took me a solid six months to get to the point of food no longer being an unhealthy focus, but instead simply a tool to generate good energy and brain focus throughout my day. Life is infinitely better with the incessant food thoughts no longer occurring.

Weekly Mileage/Movement

• Sept 8-  6 miles
• Sept 9-  4 miles 
• Sept 10-  8 miles (kayaking)
• Sept 11-  8 miles
• Sept 12-  6 miles
• Sept 13-  1 mile (sightseeing day)
• Sept 14-  None (Airport day) 
• TOTAL FOR WEEK: 33 miles

Some of the views I enjoyed this week as I walked, hiked, and kayaked in Newfoundland, and along parts of the East Coast Trail:

Maintenance Food Efforts

I have an easier time managing my food intake on vacations than I do when at home. The reason, as I know this sounds backward, is that I'm so stimulated by the vacation sights and activities, I'm simply too distracted by it all to feel hungry.

For this most recent trip, which I went into two weeks ago at 112.4, and finished yesterday at 108.8, I did the following:

• Had only black coffee, sometimes an egg, for breakfast.
• Walked/hiked/kayaked lots of miles - between 5-9 daily. 
• Carried nuts to be consumed as needed during activities rather than calorie-loading at breakfast. This resulted in a much better balance of food calories in vs activity calories out at day's end.
• Enjoyed lunch as my primary meal.
• Was careful about my alcohol intake (It weakens my resolve I've learned, and makes me less food-disciplined.).
• Enjoyed small bites at dinner, great conversation, and of course, no dessert.

Today, in addition to restocking my pantry and refrigerator, I'm going to go shopping for a new pair of jeans, something I'd put off until I got to my revised 110 pounds or lower goal.

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Today's Healthy Focus Plan - Unpack and do laundry, meal plan and do grocery shopping, attend a free movie with my mom at her 55+ community, do some new-jeans shopping at a few smaller boutiques I enjoy, book our summer 2026 cruise around the British Isles, read through my emails and purchase tickets and save dates for the myriad of activities they contain, use up small balance on an REI gift card to purchase running socks and electrolyte packets.