It's been a very busy summer, a good one, but man, we were busy. I retired from teaching after 30 years, my favorite friends, and family, gave me an outstanding retirement party, I so appreciated them doing this for me. Literally, the first day of my retirement we began refurbishing the interior of our home. "Spanish Lace" or "knock-down" wall texture is what we wanted to replace what he had. We hired a nice guy to help us, and we did as much of the prep work and finish work as we could on our own. It took a lot of time, 6 weeks. Then we re-floored our entire home. Again, that took more time than anticipated because we live in a somewhat landlocked valley. Early Summer fires in the mountains around us prevented traffic, hence trucks with our carpet, from getting here. There then was the schedule of the carpet layer to work around, etc. It's taken most of our summer. We refurbished the backyard patio as well as the playground for our grandkids and neighbor kids. We traveled to see all 3 of our children at their homes, and we had a "grand-dog" for one week. Enjoyable summer, but it passed all too quickly. Some of the photos in this section deal with my return trip to Annapolis & Washington DC in early spring. In Denmark, I loved the Votive Ships - model ships hanging from the nave of their Lutheran Churches. In the U.S. there are two that do the same: Danish Seaman's Church in Brooklyn, and the US Naval Academy Chapel in Annapolis. I'd been below the Chapel before to the tomb of John Paul Jones, which I paid honor to yet again, but this time I was able to spend time in the Naval Chapel, a remarkable structure in its own right. Another first: I crewed on a schooner in the Chesapeake Bay in a race. Our team didn't win, but we had a great time.
It had been a few years since I sailed the Mary Day into the whaling waters of the North Atlantic on a working vacation, so I enjoyed being on a sailing craft, this time much smaller and with an engine, again. We spend time at a large parade, where I "nested" the night before saving a place for the family. 3 a.m. sprinklers drenched me, my sleeping bag, and our chairs, but over~all, it was worth it. WATERWORLD WaterPark in Denver was a great spot to spend time with the other 2 kids and their families. I did some hiking alone in New Mexico and again, took in the Annual Taos Home and Garden Show, something I always enjoy.
Every year I take in 2 new Botanical Gardens, this year it was a fabulous multi-acre roof-top garden above a theater that seats 21,000 people, and also a formal garden in an urban office buildings area. Both were amazing!
So what's in store for the next chapter, now that I've retired from teaching? I'm taking correspondence courses on how to become a Piano Tuner. Yeah. For real. I think it's a lucrative self-business with very little over-head, yet allows me to be about as busy as I want to be. I'll soon have a new, albeit small, art studio here to work in as well. Work on that begins the end of this month. People ask me if I'm bored. Ha ha. Too busy to be bored. I just ran 23 miles yesterday as part of my training for my next Marathon in 6 weeks. I still take cello lessons, and want to begin doing some stained-glass work and wood-working as well. And I've taken an intense interest in PBS's MASTERPIECE THEATER and most all British Detective/Mysteries on Netflix. I read when I can catch a minute or two as well. I have some upcoming trips planned for fall and winter, so I'm working to complete those plans as well.
Be well. Do Good.
It had been a few years since I sailed the Mary Day into the whaling waters of the North Atlantic on a working vacation, so I enjoyed being on a sailing craft, this time much smaller and with an engine, again. We spend time at a large parade, where I "nested" the night before saving a place for the family. 3 a.m. sprinklers drenched me, my sleeping bag, and our chairs, but over~all, it was worth it. WATERWORLD WaterPark in Denver was a great spot to spend time with the other 2 kids and their families. I did some hiking alone in New Mexico and again, took in the Annual Taos Home and Garden Show, something I always enjoy.
Every year I take in 2 new Botanical Gardens, this year it was a fabulous multi-acre roof-top garden above a theater that seats 21,000 people, and also a formal garden in an urban office buildings area. Both were amazing!
So what's in store for the next chapter, now that I've retired from teaching? I'm taking correspondence courses on how to become a Piano Tuner. Yeah. For real. I think it's a lucrative self-business with very little over-head, yet allows me to be about as busy as I want to be. I'll soon have a new, albeit small, art studio here to work in as well. Work on that begins the end of this month. People ask me if I'm bored. Ha ha. Too busy to be bored. I just ran 23 miles yesterday as part of my training for my next Marathon in 6 weeks. I still take cello lessons, and want to begin doing some stained-glass work and wood-working as well. And I've taken an intense interest in PBS's MASTERPIECE THEATER and most all British Detective/Mysteries on Netflix. I read when I can catch a minute or two as well. I have some upcoming trips planned for fall and winter, so I'm working to complete those plans as well.
Be well. Do Good.
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