Monday- Weekend Wrap Up

 

Weekend Wrap Up

So this was a great weekend, with nothing that I would label as being extraordinary, but with lots of activity due to things we've worked hard to develop since moving here in 2017. That would include social connections, social clubs, local community performances, physical activity groups (hiking, kayaking, biking, walking, SUP'ing) and our spiritual community. Which means that there are a plethora of things to choose from pretty much every weekend, all within easy reach of where we live.

As I've mentioned previously, it is a goal in retirement to plan the type of non-stop fun weekends that we did not have the energy to create or do during our working years. We were to wiped to go out on Fridays after work, and we would generally carve out Sunday as the day we got ready for the workweek ahead, so really only Saturday was reserved for fun during our working years. Now, the fun begins on Friday morning, and doesn't conclude until Sunday evening.

So starting Friday morning, this was our latest retirement weekend:

Friday- Met a girlfriend to do a five mile walk around our local harbor, during which she shared about her recent separation from her second husband (no children, thankfully), and what lessons she was attempting to take from the relationship. Afterward returned home to do some bookclub reading (finished A Frozen River, now onto Horse by Geraldine Brooks- already excellent!), then showered and got ready to meet friends for a Happy Hour dinner. We had a really nice time at the restaurant, coming in at just under $70 for three drinks (total) and three small share items. After dinner we were invited back to our friends home to learn  and play the card game Euchre. The game was easy to learn in that we all four play bridge together at the same Bridge Center, and Euchre has many of the elements of Bridge. But unlike Bridge, it was relaxing! We also enjoyed their gorgeous ocean views while playing - I've never found myself envying someone else's home, as I really like ours,  but I definitely find myself envying a lovely view on occasion!  

As my realtor told us some years back - every block closer to the ocean comes with a corresponding uptick in price. At just under a mile and a half back currently, we have lovely ridgeline views, lovely sunset views, and some partial-ocean views, and we're much closer to the ocean than I'd every imagined we'd be when we first started looking to relocate here. So, I make a point to remind myself of all of those things when experiencing view-envy!

Saturday- Walked from the house to the Saturday Farmers Market and back, including along several picturesque streets in the historic district that the market is held in. I didn't buy anything, but I took notes for an upcoming wine event I'll be holding at our house. Items from the fresh berries stand, the hummus and pita stand, and likely the Italian pastry stand, should all find their way to my event food table when I return there next week.

The Cilantro Lemon hummus was a fave!

After returning home, I quickly showered, and my husband and I departed for a Spring BBQ Party with our social wine club. The food was really terrific - grilled salmon with dill sauce, and pork loin with a Bing cherry chutney were just some of culinary delights, plus there were lots of different wines to sample, and a terrific DJ that kept the dancing area full. At these quarterly events, inevitable, the gals will group together for line dancing, which I love way more than my husband, so he is thrilled that he gets to kick back with the other non-line dancing husbands while we women wear ourselves out.

Sunday- Early AM calls from my two girls, neither of whom currently lives here in California, then spiritual services, then we took my mom to a super cute live musical production featuring the music of Neil Sedaka, whom we both enjoy. Afterward, we stopped at the beach briefly, since my mom doesn't get to the ocean nearly as often as we do, then we returned to the house for a delicious braised steak and horseradish potatoes dish that I'd started in the slow cooker when I first woke up. I sauteed some fresh Broccolini to go with it, plus some warmed some rosemary sourdough slices. For dessert, for my mom and husband, I'd picked up a pint of specialty ice cream - chocolate raspberry truffle.

So, again, it was a great weekend! Today's plans are minimal by comparison - do some light yardwork, read, and start on the 2025 holiday ornaments, which I make for my granddaughters each year.

How was your weekend???