The Alice Network

I was greatly disappointed with The Alice Network. The subject matter, female spies during the World War 1 is fascinating, however the execution of telling this story in this book falls well short of interesting. The characters are so contrived, self pitying and long winded that they are both unlikely and not relatable. The truly interesting and historically significant character of Louise de Bettignies is sadly not fully utilized by Quinn. My suggestion is to read a few chapters to get the gist and then skim the book so you do not become weighed down by the ridiculuous dialogue. Instead read Quinn's much better writing in the Author's Note and her Acknowledgements. In the Author's Note, Quinn outlines how she attempted to bring actual occurrences into the life of her fictional characters. Her voice here is much stronger and clearer than the voice of her characters. The inclusion of Voices from the Past: Letters and Trial Records gives the reader an opportunity to hear authentic voices of that time. I question whether American novels are editied and proof read beyond the first draft as they once were. Surely an adequate editor would have insisted that half the dialogue in this novel be cut and the other half be tightened and rewritten to better reflect authenticity of the times; especially since letters and trial records were available to use as reference. (I question the editing not only because of this novel but because of various recent American novels with similar issues including others without historical accuracy.) Also are American novelists now being directed by editors to write as though a novel must be a springboard to a screenplay? Directed to creat dialogue that is historically unlikely but will make good sound bites? Create characters like Eve, that are caricatures that will fit well into Hollywood stereotypes? There is very little atmosphere in this novel beyond hurried and plain descriptions. This is one time when the movie may become much better than the book if the director and producers take the time and apply the effort to create historically accurate atmosphere, build actual suspense and bring the character of Louise de Bettignies into sharper focus.

Best Books I've Read this Year (So Far)

I'm only part way through my Good Reads Reading challenges but I have a number of books to recommend.  Although I anticipate some other great reads this year I have selected a few best books in various categories so far.  This way I will see if the second part of the year makes me change my mind.  

Best Non-Fiction book so far: 

 Everything is F*cked: a Book about Hope by Mark Manson        

This is the sequel to "The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*uck" , which I have not read yet but will at some point.  Manson presents some well documented arguments and definitely provides a great deal for thought.  I might breeze through this one again at some point after I read the Subtle Art. 

Best Canadian books I read this year:  

Brother (by David Chariandy) is a heartbreaking beautifully written story.  It is a slim book easily read within a short time but I found I wanted to take my time and savour it.  The characters are strong, the plot and themes timely. Packs a powerful punch and I highly recommend.  

The Lost Highway by David Adam Richards could easily be dubbed the Canadian  version of Crime and Punishment.  Similar to the Russian classic, the main character in Richards' The Lost Highway is an unlikable ne'er do well who can rationalize the his worst actions.  Written with Richard's clear prose and attention to detail it builds enough tension at the end to become a definite page turner. 

                                                         

Best Classic Literature this year:  Tess of the D'Ubervilles by Thomas Hardy. 

I have had this on my TBR list for a long time and am so glad I finally chose it.  Hardy's prose are beautiful.  The story clearly shows how far we have come as a society regarding women's issues but at the same time how much we have stayed the same.  This would have been my choice for the Best Feminist book that I had read this year until I read the following.

Best Feminist Literature this year:  

Small Game Hunting at the Local Coward's Gun Club by Megan Gail Coles.  Set in Newfoundland and taking place over one day (with occasional flashblacks) Coles manages to take on a variety of issues and circumstances facing women today. Like Tess of the D'Ubervilles, Small Game Hunting accurately depicts the conditions, societal thoughts, ideals and issues of a particular time.  

Best Doorstop length book:   

 I could have listed David Copperfield as the best classical literature I read this year but Dickens always deserves to be in a class of it's own.  David Copperfield is my favourite Dickens so far; most likely because the cast of characters are interesting and lovable-- no creepy Miss Haversham or pitiful group of little criminals controlled by Fagin. If the books were shorter it might be manageable to read more than one Dickens' book a year.  

Best Play ( I read many):

 

An Ideal Husband by Oscar Wilde.  I think most people prefer The Importance of Being Ernest but I like this one better. Both are a farce but Husband has more substance.  I found the characters in Ernest to superficial and flaky.

Best Thriller:   

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides:  I enjoyed trying to put the pieces together..just enough red herrings to keep you guessing.

Best Thriller that Has Been on my To Be Read List that I've been searching all over for) : The Dry by Jane Harper.  This one lived up to the expectation.  Definitely a slow burning mystery.  The character Aaron Falk is relatable.  It is nice to have a detective who doesn't have a drinking problem, an angry ex wife and serious trouble getting along with his boss.  The hard bitten detective has become so cliche.  Falk has his issues but he is not the typical anti social police detective.  

The Best of It wasn't worth reading: 

The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker.  Very disappointed.  A great premise, a good beginning but the story does not hold up.  It is translated but even with that allowance the prose are not the issue but rather the holes in the plot.

The Book that didn't live up to expectations:  

The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett:  I was even more disappointed with this book.  As a first of this kind of detective story it does not hold up over time.  The dialogue is atrocious and Sam Spade is just not likable.  The whole plot is convoluted and the host of characters are stereotypical.

 

Best Historical Fiction: 

The Voyageurs by Margaret Elphinstone. A Scottish writer did an excellent job writing a historical novel about Canadian voyageurs.  Despite it's length, I read this book in a very short time, choosing to spend an entire day powering through to the end.  A very enjoyable book even though some of the story is very sad. 

Best Read Again of a Favourite Book: 

The Shrouded Walls by Susan Howatch is one of my favourite books to read and reread.  The main character, Marianne, an unintentional detective is one of my favourite characters. 

Best "I'm glad I read this even though it is extremely dark and heavy": 

 Anil's Ghost by Michael Ondaatje.  My title says it all.  However, this is the only book I have ever read about Sri Lanka and it's civil war.  The story is dark but Ondaatje's command of the English Language makes it worth the read.  

Best Memoir:   

Educated by Tara Westover is powerful.  It also helps one understand why the United States is in such a mess.  Tara Westover is resilient and an inspiration. 

Best Book I Bought this year: 

Back to Baking: 200 Timeless Recipes to Bake, Share, and Enjoy by Anna Olson.  Because having a perfect scone recipe is worth every cent! 

I have quite a line up of books for when the cooler weather forces us inside this fall.  Anticipating a need for stronger restrictions may happen in the fall, I have stockpiled classics and mysteries as well as developed a new list of books to be read.

Retirement and the Pandemic

I have been so thankful that my husband and I are both retired during this pandemic and particularly the lock down.  It has made it so much easier for us. The Corona virus has brought about dramatic changes in our lives in the past six months; some we can take in stride but others have been difficult.

 At the beginning of the lock down I promised myself that I would not complain about the situation for several reasons. 

The first is that complaining doesn't help; it weakens your resolve, plays havoc with your mental health and saps your energy. This is not to say that I never complain, its just that if I can I save complaining for when it will actually accomplish something.

Second, the lock down made sense at the beginning of the corona virus outbreak. The medical professionals didn't know enough about the virus and how to deal with the disease.  Our age and underlying medical issues made staying away from others easy in order to ensure not becoming ill. The lock down was the only sure way that we knew could prevent the spread. 

And thirdly, we have more reasons to be thankful and count our blessings than reasons to complain. It would be unfair to complain when so many people had to deal with so much more and under such difficult conditions.  Ten reasons we were not in a position to complain.

1: We fortunately have not downsized. We still live in a house with a large yard,a deck and enough space that my husband and I can spend quality time together yet could still spend time apart to have precious time alone. Like many others the lock down gave us plenty of opportunity to deal with clutter, clean, organize the house and try new recipes.   

2. We live in a detached home.  I reminded myself often that just walking out the door into fresh air was something many people were not able to do, let alone have a yard large enough to enjoy and a deck to sit and bask in the warm weather. We have no shared hallway, no elevator, no stairwells like we would have had in an apartment or condo. We did not need to worry about  pushing a button or breathing contaminated air in an elevator. 

3. We are retired! So no need to organize space and time to work from home. No schedules, no zoom meetings going awry, no need to meet anyone else's expectations.

  

4. We are alone in the house: No children to support during distance learning.  That would be tough.  And tougher still if your child struggles with school, or stresses easily.  Also no young children to keep occupied or teenagers to keep at home.  All stressful situations.  

5. We are technically savvy and have good internet service to stay connected to the outside world. Our children can keep in contact with us through FaceTime, Snap Chat and texting.

6. We have many interests and hobbies to give our days variety, structure and purpose as well as the space to pursue them. 

7. We like each other and are accustom to spending large chunks of time together.     

Sounds simple, but many people were alone and lonely, or locked down in unpleasant or unsafe situations with people they don't like.  

8. We live in a small town in a large area that had fewer cases of the disease. This does help lower the anxiety.  

9. We are not that social. In fact we are homebodies. For extroverts and people who like to be surrounded by others, the lock down must have been excruciating.  As introverts, we can tolerate a great deal of social isolation.  In some ways staying at home is not that difficult but when the time came we were excited to see people we know and have social interaction when we could.

10. We thankfully, had an opportunity to take a once in a lifetime trip returning just at the beginning March, so not all of our travel plans for 2020 were derailed.

As much as I appreciate that the lock down kept us safe there are however some aspects were difficult, some very difficult and some very painful.  Along with being thankful, we still need to acknowledge that what truly makes the situation difficult and what we will most appreciate when this pandemic ends.

 Not being able to pop out to the store without a second thought whenever you need something was uncomfortable and took adjustment.  Just a little thing that used to be taken for granted, now reminded you that your freedom was curtailed by this disease.  

We had to cancel plans for the trips we were to take to celebrate my husband's 60th birthday and for our 35th wedding anniversary.  We were unable to visit my father and family for quite some time. Phone calls only.   Although we can visit now it still needs to be done with care and consideration.  

Most disappointing of all is not being able to visit our son, our daughter and her husband and our precious grandson.  Shortly it will be a year since we hugged him, our daughter and son goodbye.  Our plans to visit in April were rescheduled to June and then to July and then August and now that is slipping away as well. It is not feasible for them to try to cross Canada to visit us for the summer either. So we have not been physically present for his entire year as a two year old.  

With the real possibility of further lock downs being required in the fall and winter, we need to take advantage of the good weather and enjoy what freedom we do have now.  

My Grandmother's Recipe for Banana Bread

It makes an old fashioned banana bread that if you cut thick slices and slather with butter it can make a great banana bread sandwich.   My grandmother made this often so that we could have banana bread in our lunch boxes. 

Very different flavour, texture and sweetness from the Banana Cupcakes posted earlier.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F

Beat together until fluffy:

1/2 c. shortening

1 cup sugar

Beat in:

2 tbsp milk

3 ripe bananas ( you can mash ahead or just toss one in at a time and beat in)

1 egg

Add and stir in 

1 1/2 cup flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

Put in a prepared (greased) loaf pan

Bake 1 to 1 1/2 hour until tester comes out clean.  Remove from pan after 10 minutes.

Okay, my break from blogging is over!

WOW!  I really took a break.  The thing is once you take a break, you don't know where to begin again.  And it just gets difficult to admit that you have put something on the back burner and then left it to burn.  

Sometimes I thought about restarting and was overwhelmed by the idea of beginning and stopping repeatedly.  So I think I'm over that now.  After all, life happens and hobbies get shelved until it is convenient to resume.

So what have I been doing since my last post way back in March 2017?  Most happy and some sad events.

My husband retired in June 2017.

Our grandson, Moe was born in August 2017 way out in British Columbia.  

We started travelling...to BC of course often; to Italy, France, Vatican City,  Jamaica, Costa Rica, Grenada, the Bahamas, Australia, New Zealand, Las Vegas, Mexico, Arizona, and New Mexico and the East Coast of Canada.  The pandemic interrupted our plans for 2020.

My mom required care when she became ill before she passed 2018.  One of the great blessings of being retired is that you are able to be there to care for a loved one when and if they need you.     

Sons moved home to live for a bit and then moved out again. Each of the kids bought a house..one sold and bought a

We welcomed a new daughter-in-law when our younger son was married in 2019.

And then there was the visiting and hobbies and adventures--knitting for the grandson,enjoying my time with my husband and then of course the pandemic. 

So yes, we have been busy and the blog has been ignored.  It has been calling to me and I have managed to ignore it for quite some time however, now the calling is stronger than my power to ignore.

Plus I'm excited about writing again. !!  I have a whole long list of topics to write about. 

I have many new recipes, a pile of great books that I have read, adventures and travel stories and all sorts of information to share.  See you soon!  

Visiting Beautiful British Columbia

CHETWYND ROCKS!

Despite telling everyone how wonderful it is to visit to Chetwynd BC, I am fairly sure that I won't be able to convince many people to visit.  After all it is very north and it is a small community.  Unless you want to visit to fish or hunt or plant trees or perhaps to ski at nearby Powder King Resort most people stay in the southern parts of British Columbia.  Perhaps the week long Chainsaw Carving Tournament held each year in June might entice you to visit.  For us of course the visit is sweet because we have family to spend time with.

We flew to Calgary and then took a smaller plane into Fort St. John where our daughter picked us up.  Our options would have been to fly into Vancouver first before transferring to a flight into either Fort St. John, Dawson Creek or Prince George.  

From Fort St. John to Chetwynd we spent an hour on a beautifully paved road where we saw fields and fields and cattle.  However, we did not see a house, or barn or garage.  We did not see a driveway and mailbox but we did see the occasional roofed shelter for the cattle. Beautiful scenery but no real sign of people. Definitely felt alone on the road! Then finally just on the outskirts of Chetwynd we saw a smattering of human habitation.

Our first view of Chetwynd was magical.  The road curves and turns down a significant hill opening up into the town at the bottom of the valley.  Everything was neat, clean and green, green as the town has a wide grassy boulevard on either side of the highway that splits through the center of town with plenty of well placed trees on either side. Even though Chetwynd is further north than Timmins the trees are much taller. We were there in July and it was hot and very beautiful.   

Actually the whole town seems to be in the middle of the forest as we noted very well when we climbed Mount Baldy with our daughter.  She was climbing this "hill" most days along with her dog.  It's referred to as Mount Baldy because at the very top there are no trees.  She thought we were going to get to the top to experience the fabulous view of the valley from up there.  She was either overestimating her parents' abilities or she was out to kill us.  We huffed and puffed up the continual switchbacks up the side of the mountain.  When we reached the lookout at the half way point we called it quits.  The view was more than fabulous enough and the next leg after the lookout appeared to go straight up a wall.  Definitely not an excursion for the faint of heart--or the weak hearted!

The town has benefited from some smart thinking.  The community complex has the library, arena, pool, curling rink, rock climbing wall, squash courts, bike and skateboard park all in one area and close to the local high school.  As well baseball diamonds and hiking trails are easily accessible.

  

Each year the chainsaw carving contest welcomes carvers from around the world.  Although most participants are from Canada and the US, there have been carvers from Japan, Wales, Australia, and Scotland who have attended..along with others.  Part of the competition is the donation of each carving back to the town so that it can be put on permanent display.  Many are placed in between the trees along the main thoroughfare through town creating a sort of hall of carvings through town.  Others can be found at the town hall and the welcome to Chetwynd signs. They are wonderfully varied in theme, style and talent.  We enjoyed a morning walking along reading the plaques on the carvings and taking  pictures of carvings.  

 Here I am standing on a carver's masterpiece.  I hope he doesn't mind.  At the beginning is a picture of the rocks I picked up on our side trips to Tumbler Ridge, Hudson's Hope and Moberly.   We're looking forward to many more wonderful visits to Chetwynd!

Far Too Long!

               First, my apologies.  I have taken a long, long break from blogging.

At first, my break was legitimate.  It was just to be over the summer to allow me to enjoy the warm, Canadian season with no obligations.  In that time, I could build up some good blogging materials and ideas by doing some travelling and those only-in-the-summer type activities.  That actually did happen.  The summer provided great memories and wonderful fodder for blog posts.  (This is me in Chetwynd)

When the summer ended, I intended to start regular blogging but somehow true procrastination started instead.  I did begin going to the gym and pool regularly most mornings, which still left the afternoons and evenings available to write but somehow I kept putting it off. Maybe all my knitting was more compelling.


 Then the Christmas season was here and truthfully how do you fit in time to write when you are busy getting ready for Christmas--a perfect excuse to procrastinate? So I intended to start again in January once the husband went back to school.  But that plan went awry but not just because of procrastination. However now I am back.  This post is the first leap to get over the hurtle.


That's the thing about procrastination...once you put something off once, it is easier to put it off the next day, and easier still the day after that.  Then it becomes a game to see how long you can go without doing that particular thing--lots of reasoning and rationalization and excuses.  That could be my rebellious streak.  Soon, I would rather wash the floor than do the thing that I am putting off.  Once the task gets to that point it becomes a huge thing that seems impossible to do.  

A friend of mine sent an excellent link to a TED talk about procrastination that inspired some reflection upon my own habits, thought processes and reasoning around putting things off; especially things that I really want to do, that are important to me and things that make me feel accomplished or fulfilled or excited or proud when I do them. This long break from writing has lead to my New Year's Goal: to focus on taming my procrastination habits that interfere with happiness or doing things I want to do.  I need a new motto, maybe this one:

       DO IT NOW Before LATER BECOMES NEVER

I have more to say about procrastination but I'll save it for another blog...later.  I guess the motto can't apply to everything.

                              

Canada Day means Summer!

Happy Canada Day!  

Our wonderful holiday for Canada's birthday.  The first long weekend of the hopefully long, endlessly sunny summer.

This is Moe's last summer as a teacher so it's our last true summer holiday.  From now on summer will just be summer, a change of season but not a holiday from work.  So we get to practice being retired together for the summer.

It's time to change up our daily routines, no alarm clock for weeks, no reason to go to bed early.   We'll be getting out the beach reading including some new books, some already read books and piles of magazines.

Moe will be firing up the barbecue and meal prep will be easy. A lot less housework and lots more days at the cottage, and plenty of time in the sunshine.  Canadian summers are wonderful!

But best of all we will be traveling to gorgeous BC.

I bet your mind immediately went to visions of Vancouver or Victoria maybe Tofino and the Rockies.  That's not where we are going.  Remember the Friendly Giant?  How he always said look up, look way up as he arranged that fabulous tiny furniture?  Well, look way up on a map of British Columbia and eventually you can locate the Chetwynd near Dawson Creek, north of Prince George.

Why would we go to Northeastern BC, not even to the mountains but to the foothills of Peace River area?  What is there that would encourage us to take a flight across three provinces to Calgary and then transfer to a small plane to Fort St. John?

Family of course.

Our daughter and her husband will pick us up at the airport and I will get to do the annoying mom thing of wanting to see every mundane thing.  Like the grocery store where they buy groceries, the post office and the highlights like the schools where they work, the Powder King ski resort...everything in town.  They tell me it will take fifteen minutes.

I have nothing against Chetwynd. My daughter and her husband both have jobs there.  She has her own classroom, something that might not be possible in Ontario.   But it's just so far away.  Bring on Moe's retirement so we can visit more often!

Enjoy your Canada Day.  I will be happily packing!

  

The Story of My Piano

On my to-do list (could be called my bucket list or my retirement dream list) has always been learn to play the piano.  As I mentioned in my last post, I am more than a little musically impaired.  Can't even hum a tune much less sing in any key other than off or out of. At hockey games, I needed to watch other moms so I could clap in sync when we were doing some crazy clap and stamp your feet nonsense.  Thankfully when the boys get older they really want you to stop cheering like that.

But I still want to learn to play the piano.  In order to do that, you need a piano.  So for some years I've been sort of, kind of secretly hoping to get one.  None of the kids were interested in learning, so it didn't happen when they were at home.  In the last year, I started looking on various second hand sites but with no real luck.  So I retired with the plan to learn written down but no piano and no real leads to getting one.  Learning to play was taking on the shape of one of those "yeah, yeah, I'm going to do that someday" plans that never happen.

Then serendipity... my neighbour, Carole, (who was part of my nebulous plan as a person to teach me since she has taught piano,) decided to relocate to Jasper. This meant selling her house and much of its contents.  She invited me over for early dibs on some of her larger items before her yard sale.

There was already items missing in the house, things in boxes to be shipped to her new home and my eyes went right away to her piano.

"What are you doing with your piano? I asked, expecting the answer to be that she was shipping it or storing it or it was sold.  Instead the answer was,

"I'm trying to sell it but can't find anyone to buy it."

A deal was made, and I was on her deck calling over to ours to tell my husband I was buying a piano.  Just like that, the biggest part of the learn to play puzzle was solved.

Her deck to ours!

Moe was skeptical, where would we put it--I had an 25 year old answer for that.  When we chose plans for the house I always knew a piano would fit exactly in one spot in our living room.  It was empty enough, still waiting for the piano. Then he needed to know where his favourite chair would go. I had an answer for that.  How and when would we get it moved to our house since it required at least four people.  I had answers for that.  Have you ever noticed that if you really want something you can make it happen..eventually?

A couple of nights later, at my mother-in-law's 87th birthday celebration, I asked my two brothers-in-law, John and Robert if they were around the next morning to help move a piano along with my two boys and hubby, that way they would be five people.  They agreed and then, John suggested doing it that night instead of waiting to do it during the garage sale even though they'd be one less guy.

I hurried home with my sister-in-law, Denise to check whether that was convenient with my neighbour.  No problem, she wanted it moved. The birthday celebration was interrupted.

So in came the men, John appointed me as foreman which is really a joke because he sold and moved furniture for years and Cameron had worked a summer as a mover. The neighbour was sidetracked by my sister-in-law to sell her a bed perfect for her visiting grandchildren--so really no supervision at all.

The piano made it down the stairs, out the front door and across the driveway. The men needed to put it down to re-position.  A request for Carole to play was made.  So there on a beautiful early summer evening, half way on her lawn, halfway on ours she played a few bars of a remembered Beatles song. Ah, one of life's beautiful, unexpected moments.

Perfect for a concert

With a little more huffing and exertion and moving of items, the piano made it up the front steps and into the house to be maneuvered into the very spot I had picked out on the floor plans years before.

John asked me if I knew anything at all about playing a piano.  So I showed them everything that I knew...how to play the scale of C with my right hand. (Thanks Beth.)

I bought a book recommended by the instructor on You Tube that Cameron found for me. And now everyone in the house has soldiered through my hours of practicing so that I could "master" the scales almost and have  When The Saints Go Marching In be recognizable. I have hours and hours of practice ahead of me.

Carole came over before she left and played a piece. The house filled with beautiful music. How bittersweet for both of us.  The piano may never be played as beautifully again but the house can be filled with music anyway.

My new baby!

 


Thanks to Moe, Cameron, John, Robert and Carole for helping my plan become a reality.

If you're not doing it now...

If you are not doing it before you are retired you won't do it after you are retired.  I heard this caveat a long time ago and stuck with me.

It could be a play on the adage: Don't put something off until tomorrow because tomorrow may never come or it might be a different way of saying, work to live; don't live to work. Whichever, it's worth considering before retirement.

According to Zilinski's  How to Retire Happy, Wild and Free :

"Leisure consultants and pre-retirement planners state that if you are not spending any time pursuing these activities before retirement, it is unlikely that you will spend much time on these activities after you quit work."  P. 17    
( I reviewed this book in an earlier blog.   If you copy and paste this link you could check out that blog entry:
https://debslifeinretirement.blogspot.ca/2016/02/reading-to-prep-for-retirement.html

Zilinski recommends making a list of 10 favourite interests and activities that you would like to pursue in retirement and write how much time you are presently spending on these activities. His reasoning is that unless you have a variety of activities to engage in when you retire, you may become bored and even depressed so you should start cultivating and pursuing interests while still working. He contends that even the most enjoyable activity loses its charm if it becomes routine.

When you are really busy with your career and family there may be plenty of activities that had to be put on hold. Even if you haven't done something in years, you might be able to have time for it again once you retire.  The real issue is whether you start those activities again and if you will become involved in new activities when you have the time.

So I did a review of the activities that are taking up my time to see if I am the exception to the rule-- They fall into a few categories and I left off quite a few things that fall into I was doing them before--like exercise, reading, traveling, cottage, shopping.

Old but different; the unavoidable things that still need to be done because retirement doesn't make them magically disappear.

1. Housework including decorating and organizing--certainly did housework before retirement, definitely still doing it now.  The difference is I can actually enjoy it now.  I'm not saying I love cleaning but there is more enjoyment in having the time do a decent job and to enjoy the results.  A great thing about retirement is not needing to cram all that work into the few hours available at night and on weekends.

2. Cooking-  Thanks to the difference in our schedules I wasn't really doing this much before retirement, Moe was doing most of the daily cooking so I just did the same old stuff when I cooked. That's why I said I wanted to learn how to cook again in retirement.  I've certainly enjoyed trying new recipes especially when they turn out well.  Not a new activity but actually enjoying doing it is new.

Not new but with a twist

3. Baking--this is something I have loved to do since I was a kid.  However, before retirement I baked on demand (read only when I had to or if I had tons of time).  Now I bake more often and try new recipes and even ones that are a challenge.

4. Yoga--I was doing yoga before I retired.  At home, often from videos and apps and books but sporadically.  The twist here is now I go to yoga classes-regularly.  Classes are so much better.  Didn't have time for classes before.  Love yoga!!

5. Knitting--wasn't doing this before retirement because it is addictive and will keep you from going to bed when you should.  But not new since I have been able to knit since high school.  Now I am knitting again.  And it's still addictive and still keeps me up at night.  The twist is that I joined a knitting circle--we knit for charities and it is a once a week social outing.

Below are Actually New Activities.  Hah!!

6. Duolingo--it's an app that helps you learn another language.  I am improving my French, everyday.  Yes, I live in a French home and took French to grade 12 but I still have learned a lot from my iPad--I once said to kiss my neck when I really wanted to say kiss my butt--my pronunciation needs work!  C'est la vie!

7. Blogging.  Writing and publishing my personal writing--definitely new.  Still scary.

Below is Proof that I'm an Exception to the Rule of "if you didn't do it before you won't do it after you retire":

8.  I have no rhythm, I can't sing to save my life but I have always wanted to play so I bought a piano and am learning with lots of practice....

Thanks to my friend, Beth I was able to play the Scale of C with my right hand when we moved the piano into our house. It seems like thousands of years ago she tried to teach me on her grandmother's piano. That's as far as we got.  I now know all the scales with both hands and in unison, and a couple of songs.  I still can't sing or carry a tune, so my piano playing career will remain in the house.

So that may make me an exception to the idea that if you weren't doing it before you won't do it after however, as I said I am also not the exception. I was sure I was going to be doing these things but...

9. I still haven't made it to spin class or the pool, my garden doesn't exist and I've only painted one picture.

But then again, there is always September.