Yes, another retirement skill. I have learned how to do - absolutely nothing!!!! Who would have thunk, the one who always had to be in motion. Even David, not a complainer, complained that we always seemed to be in a hurry!!!
Not any more. Robin has gone back to Vancouver, I have fired Nancy, and Art is preoccupied with other things, so no more regular bridge partners. I played with pick-up partners a few times this week, but really, I am going through withdrawal. So, what to do? Well, I have spent a lot of time on my patio, drinking coffee and listening to the birds and the coyotes and watching the bunny convention every morning on the lawn. Then there is always the doing nothing at the pool part! And, surprisingly enough, I am not feeling anxious or unhappy, or in any way that I want to be doing anything else. Shocking, isn't it?
There were a few items on the agenda this week. I was back to the gym every day, of course. Friend Gerry is here from Vancouver, and came over for dinner last Monday. Here's something else shocking; I actually cooked! (Yes, I know how, I just don't do it very often any more. It was quite pleasant to sit around and catch up over a (not bad) home cooked meal!)
Tuesday was another "Theater in the Movies" outing, this one King John. As always with Stratford, a great production, but, well, there is a reason they don't produce it very often.......
Sunday was the much anticipated Opera in the Park. I had been looking forward to taking bunches of pictures - it is always a very colourful event. Unfortunately, I got there (hours early, as always, to get a good seat) only to find that my camera's battery didn't have any juice. So, lucky you, you don't get thousands of pictures of young, budding opera stars and sunburned fans!! It was a wonderful afternoon, though, lots of people I knew, the usual crowd-pleaser arias, and glorious young voices. I do think it was the best concert ever. although I think I managed to give myself sun-stroke, being out in the sun for so long! (By the way, the crowd was estimated at about 6,000. Not much for San Francisco, maybe, but for Palm Springs it was a big deal!)
And yesterday, we had our last gym party, at the Hacienda, a newly renovated place known for Taco Tuesdays (drinks and tacos, $3.)
This was the Ladies Washroom.....
As you can see, we had a good turnout (almost 40 people!). A lot of the Snowbirds are leaving, so it really was the last hurrah. Neither drinks nor tacos were spectacular, but the service and atmosphere were friendly, and a good time was had by all.
What else can I tell you? I (finally!) finished The Bully Pulpit, the Doris Kearns Goodwin book about Teddy Roosevelt, William Howard Taft and the Muckrakers. Also, The Rossetti Letter, a "historical" novel, if you will, about the Spanish conspiracy in Venice in the 1600's, my first (of many, I think) Maigret mystery, my second (and perhaps last - this one was too dark for me) Alan Furst thriller, and, am back to non-fiction with the still-in-process Founding Mothers by Cokie Roberts (she of NPR fame).
So, I guess it is not totally right to say I've done nothing. I have been all over America in the early 20th century, to Venice in the 16th century, to Belgium in the 20th century, to Eastern Europe before World War II, and back to revolutionary America!!! Ah, the joys of reading for pleasure!!!
Not any more. Robin has gone back to Vancouver, I have fired Nancy, and Art is preoccupied with other things, so no more regular bridge partners. I played with pick-up partners a few times this week, but really, I am going through withdrawal. So, what to do? Well, I have spent a lot of time on my patio, drinking coffee and listening to the birds and the coyotes and watching the bunny convention every morning on the lawn. Then there is always the doing nothing at the pool part! And, surprisingly enough, I am not feeling anxious or unhappy, or in any way that I want to be doing anything else. Shocking, isn't it?
There were a few items on the agenda this week. I was back to the gym every day, of course. Friend Gerry is here from Vancouver, and came over for dinner last Monday. Here's something else shocking; I actually cooked! (Yes, I know how, I just don't do it very often any more. It was quite pleasant to sit around and catch up over a (not bad) home cooked meal!)
Tuesday was another "Theater in the Movies" outing, this one King John. As always with Stratford, a great production, but, well, there is a reason they don't produce it very often.......
Sunday was the much anticipated Opera in the Park. I had been looking forward to taking bunches of pictures - it is always a very colourful event. Unfortunately, I got there (hours early, as always, to get a good seat) only to find that my camera's battery didn't have any juice. So, lucky you, you don't get thousands of pictures of young, budding opera stars and sunburned fans!! It was a wonderful afternoon, though, lots of people I knew, the usual crowd-pleaser arias, and glorious young voices. I do think it was the best concert ever. although I think I managed to give myself sun-stroke, being out in the sun for so long! (By the way, the crowd was estimated at about 6,000. Not much for San Francisco, maybe, but for Palm Springs it was a big deal!)
And yesterday, we had our last gym party, at the Hacienda, a newly renovated place known for Taco Tuesdays (drinks and tacos, $3.)
This was the Ladies Washroom.....
As you can see, we had a good turnout (almost 40 people!). A lot of the Snowbirds are leaving, so it really was the last hurrah. Neither drinks nor tacos were spectacular, but the service and atmosphere were friendly, and a good time was had by all.
What else can I tell you? I (finally!) finished The Bully Pulpit, the Doris Kearns Goodwin book about Teddy Roosevelt, William Howard Taft and the Muckrakers. Also, The Rossetti Letter, a "historical" novel, if you will, about the Spanish conspiracy in Venice in the 1600's, my first (of many, I think) Maigret mystery, my second (and perhaps last - this one was too dark for me) Alan Furst thriller, and, am back to non-fiction with the still-in-process Founding Mothers by Cokie Roberts (she of NPR fame).
So, I guess it is not totally right to say I've done nothing. I have been all over America in the early 20th century, to Venice in the 16th century, to Belgium in the 20th century, to Eastern Europe before World War II, and back to revolutionary America!!! Ah, the joys of reading for pleasure!!!
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