Monday Musings - A New Job (Unpaid!)
Life as an aging 60-something retiree continues to evolve. Sometimes the changes evolve a bit quicker, which is how this last week has felt.
1. I have a new, unpaid job. After years of just wanting to be a volunteer worker bee, not a hive queen, I finally caved and accepted a larger role in one of my volunteer organizations. The reason is that the role is something I'm very comfortable with - Acting Treasurer - and it can be worked around our ongoing travels.
I sincerely love the organization itself, and I very much enjoy interacting with the other folk that keep the organization running. So after 15 years of retirement, I've come out of my self-induced shell of retirement lifestyle 'protection', and taken on an official, defined role of responsibility.
2. Bought this really great new Hot Air Popcorn Maker. As I continue to work hard at keeping my lost pounds truly lost, I saw a little write up about the Dash Fresh Pop Popcorn Maker. At first I thought, oh no, I don't need another source of carbs to try and avoid, but then I did a little research and learned that popcorn is actually a good source of fiber. Which I definitely can use more of. So after looking up the calories involved, and additional low calorie ways to make the popcorn palatable, I went ahead and ordered it (it was only $20).
It makes a batch of popcorn in just a couple of minutes, leaving impressively few unpopped kernels. Three cups of popcorn with 1 tsp of olive oil and 1/2 tsp of popcorn flavoring salt comes to 125 calories total, a very reasonable amount for a mid afternoon snack.
3. Friends and Sunsets. We have fallen into a routine of inviting friends to join us at our Social Club on Friday nights for guitar music, Happy Hour and Sunset viewing over the water. The pace is so relaxed at our club, and the wait staff and other members all so friendly, that all the couples we've taken to it so far have said they just might be interested in joining as well. So, we'll see . . .
4. Gorgeous long beach walks. Not to be too repetitious, but our weather has been summer-like for the last few weeks, and my spouse and I have enjoyed numerous long beach walks from or near the house. We do not take either the weather or our coastal proximity for granted. We are deeply grateful for each one.
5. Simple, but still delicious, home dinner meals. Increasingly I want to be outside, or with people, or on the move, or busy and involved. And, also increasingly, I'm less interested in cooking elaborate meals. I don't tend to eat much at dinner, if at all, and my spouse is very appreciative of anything I serve him. With good reason, I assure - I work hard to find simple but delicious recipes, and making the ordinary fancy by way of fresh herbs, fresh nuts, good cheese, and good oils.
A recent simple, but gourmet-quality meal I made him was a grilled bacon and cheese sandwich on fresh bakery sourdough bread, one side of which I slathered with a savory fig jam. Savory and slightly sweet - my spouse loved it, and the small bite I had was absolutely delicious.
And I made this couldn't be easier pork chile verde the other day, that I fancied-up by serving it over rice, topping with plain Greek yogurt and chopped cilantro. I served a piece of crumbly corn bread on the side - the corn bread crumbles are great in the chili verde as well.
I also added two cans of white beans to make the chili a bit less sauce-intensive.
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How about you? Any Monday Musings you'd like to share?
I love my silicone popper. It makes terrific low cal pop iron. I pop with a TBSP of butter and pinch if salt as plain tastes flat but this reminds me of movie theater popcorn. I'm holding on to not taking any responsibility in any organization. I burnt myself out when my kids were young. Maybe someday.
ReplyDeleteSam, it took me several years post retirement to even think of doing any volunteering, let alone a volunteer leadership role. I needed time to focus on me, and who I was post-job. No judgement here, that is for sure.
DeleteI've been at my goal weight for some months now, but it is still not auto-pilot. Perhaps it never will be, perhaps it will be more about learning to accept my new norm rather than wishing it were otherwise.