New chapter to an old book

     I think I am just bored.
     I am always looking for something to do, but I don't want to do anything.....which if that makes sense to you, we'll pop a bottle of Indiana red and you can 'splain it to me, Lucy, cause I am clueless.
     Example:  Bought a hook for dearest to hang her purse on...... two weeks and counting and she still puts in on the floor because I haven't done my two minute job.
     But I have played solitaire.
     Have lines to learn for a little play this summer....have not worked on those for two weeks.  But I have taken some naps.
     I am doing a column for the Rochelle News Leader.  It is once a month and will begin after my park board sentence, I mean term, ends on Monday.  It's a column on local issues.....not funny, not serious, not too negative..... I am sure it will be so popular I will be swarmed by autograph seekers and publishers with book deals.
     I finally mowed at Emily's this weekend.  She had done it a couple of times but was gone and I needed something to get me outside.  Mowing when you don't have a yard is like an unexpected Christmas gift from a crazy aunt.  You want to open it, but somehow fear the anticipation is the highlight.
     I should keep track of my volunteer hours.  Maybe I'll create a weekly listing of hours given and distances travelled......and then not fill out the list or actually lose it like I have done the Tuscany list (three times!).
     I should learn to focus  more.... and if you replace the o with an i you get a plant!  Hmm.....
     I was thinking the other day about how I compare with people who are young.  We have our strengths.
     For example, people under the age of 40 know how to download tunes ... I know how to put that spindle in a 45 rpm record so you can play it on the stereo.
     Under 40s know how to text.  I can still dial  a rotary phone.
     Media nuts have multiple controls.  I know how to get up and push the channel up or down button on the front of the tv.
     Garman and Siri tell younger motorists where to go.  I still rely on the voice next to me in the front seat.
     The list could go on and on but I think I'll go put up a hangar.  And practice lines.  And nap.
     But first.....a little solitaire.

Smells, aches, and other neat shtuff

This has been a busy week.
Yes, I am retired.  And I do a lot of things I want to do, as my past week shows:
Monday.....night game at Wrigley
Tuesday.... Prayers2Pass at St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Wednesday...United Way allocation committee meeting
Thursday... oil change in Rockford and cable repair guy
Friday.... Cub game
Saturday... 92 birthday party
Sunday... MS Walk

     So I am tired this afternoon.
     Highlights and lowlights:  The MS Walk in St. Charles.  I had a little over $600 donated in my name, and I thank everyone who gave.  Emily, Sheri, Sarah and Noelle also walked with me along the Fox River.  We had a nice time walking, chatting, ogling other walkers and runners (especially young men!), plus we walked to raise money for a cause.
     Had a coupon for $20 off for an oil change and did not use it, and realized too late I paid for a tire rotation.  The rotation was supposed to be free, but I did not remind them.  Hopefully my account will be credited.
     Cubs won Monday, lost Friday although that was a winnable game and they just didn't hit.
     Lunch in French Market....delicious grilled cheese with cheddar, bacon, and Granny Smith apples.....it was yummy!!
     Lunch at Big Al's Italian beef near the ballpark....and I ate it without dripping on my shirt.  One of the best tasting Italian beefs I have had, by the way.
     Meeting students from every spectrum of life who were concerned about finals, their future, their friends and families.....and offering them spiritual and physical refreshment.
     Listening to the explanations given by various agencies doing business in Ogle County and providing services to the elderly, poor, troubled, and disabled.  These groups do a lot for those who  need help.  So if you don't contribute to the United Way, please consider doing so.  If you want information on how to do that, contact me.
     Spilling two gallons of gas in the trunk of my Honda.  That's why I have been driving with windows open and the heat running full blast.  I think it will clear up in five or six months.
    An addiction in the making......I seem to have had coffee every day.  Robyn's Nest in Oregon, Cypress House in Rochelle, Starbucks in Chicago........ and my personal favorite is Cypress House in Rochelle.
    But the next weeks will be a little less busy:  mini courses at Tilton,  BZ day, Exit 99 show (please come) a birthday dinner, sub gig, and hopefully watching a lawn get planted and the land graded.
     Like I said, retirement is a time to sit back, relax, and do nothing.