Chapter 5-From there to here…

Pour yourself a pint...

Or maybe a fruity cocktail is more your jam..

Too early you say?

Then stick with the tried and true cafe Americano…

And join me as I spin a tale or two of how we got from there (Fort Lauderdale) 

To Here…

Rural Casa de Iketke..

Sitting high on the hill outside of Hondarribia..

No worries…I’ll wait while you google it.. 

It all started back in November when I proposed that …“We could crash J &L’s planned transatlantic cruise to Europe in the Spring”.   Hubby- preferring not to fly-but always open to the idea of traveling overseas as long as it’s during the off season- said OK.

The text was sent and we soon received a reply with a happy update- they were no longer planning to cruise in the spring- as they were expecting their first grandchild.   

But- that didn’t deter me (at least too much)…instead of tagging along- we could and would craft our own adventure.

Because- well, nobody will ever dispute that crafting is something I can do with great gusto.

I phoned a friend-D-

 who has over 40 cruises under her belt and quizzed her on the who-what-where-when of all things cruising.

 Before long, Hubby and I had agreed on a ship…

And picked out our cabin..

6183 for future reference..

And were just about ready to set sail…

With fabulous ports of call

BERMUDA…

FALMOUTH ENGLAND

In Cornwall County..

WEYMOUTH-

In the Dorset County 

LE HAVRE

Which really serves as a launching point for tourists 

hoping to explore either Normandy (us) or Paris (them-crazy folks)

Our last port call would be 

DOVER

For it would be here at dawn’s first light…

That the captain would announce

You have reached your destination..

Now get off the boat..

OK….that’s not really what he would say…but it would be where the sea faring portion of this adventure would  came to an end and we would start to transition from that sea travel to land exploration…

Stay tuned for more tales from afar…as I share my take on this true trip of a life time..

As always, if you seek a more “real time” read …that can be found on Hubby’s blog.

Chapter 4- Springing forward.

The season of Spring is upon us!

Let’s celebrate…

I’d hoped to blog more than once a month- but it seems my established habit remains.  Oh well- I do find it helps with the fading memory to at least pause at the end of each month and reflect on what all I did.

Judging from the camera roll on my phone- I didn’t do much…as it is filled with screen shots, memes, cat pictures and not much else.   

What it doesn’t show is that this month- I

• Celebrated some birthdays- 
• There was a tea party in  Golden to celebrate Mrs. W.  While  it was a lovely day, with wonderful company and tasty tea in the end- I found it a tad pricey compared to other tea houses we’ve enjoyed.
• There was a quiet conversation with Mrs. M- celebrating her change in status to Medicare recipient as she too has a March birthday.  
• There was a chatty phone call with my sister-who also has a March birthday.
• And finally- a sweet celebration for Mrs. Y- marking a milestone year that I too will acknowledge later this summer.   In doing the math- we realize that we’ve been friends for just shy of 40 years.   Pretty crazy stuff for sure.  

• We first met during a summer military training while we were both still in Nursing school.  Our paths took us in different directions until we both landed in CO in the mid-to-late 1990s, and a mutual friend helped us reconnect.   Again- some drifting in and out- as her kids and our Things are slightly off set age wise.  We’ve reconnected now that we are both retired and loving it…and it was a true honor to be included in the family dinner.

Besides birthdays- there was the typical activities of a retiree- meeting friends for the Thursday Special at Village Inn ($5 for the 2-2-2, yeah baby), trips to local rec center for some indoor walking and lazy river stretching.   I also got caught up on all things medical- with trips to the lab, the pharmacy, my routine visit with my rheumatologist and a quick trip to the dermatologist after said rheumatologist decided she didn’t like the look of a mole.  That would turn out to be nothing of concern- as I suspect my doc of Eastern European descent isn’t familiar with how us fair haired Vikings age (it’s just a sun spot transitioning).  Tried-and loved-something new this month by attending 2 very different programs offered by our local library.  One was a living history presentation on the life of Maria Von Trap and the other was an author visit.  The price was right (free), company was excellent and I appreciated how it helped exercise my brain if just for a few hours.   I read some books, binged on some TV (Yellowstone- about time Beth took care of things!), spring cleaned just enough for my “good enough” mindset  and but of course- enjoyed a nap or two.

Ah- the life of a retiree may not be glamorous but it is indeed filled with many moments of joy!

Oh wait- Hold that thought..

Stay tuned…as glamour may be just around the corner..

With joy continuing on this journey we call life..