Julie's Web Journal

So, we're (mostly) retired now. Paul fully retired in February, and I retired from almost everything except creative work (does one ever retire from that?) at the end of February.

I joked that I wanted to walk out of FenCon and onto a cruise ship. Hey, I came close! I walked out of FenCon on a Monday, and then the following Saturday we boarded a plane to Ft. Lauderdale, spent the night, then embarked on our vacation on Sunday. Pretty good, I'd say!

How was FenCon? Fun as usual, but if you were there you'll know about the challenges we faced this year. 

The cruise was great. You can read about it here. We needed the break. I decided not to even think about the number of calories or drinks I was consuming during the week. Of course, I did imbibe responsibly. I didn't want to be the drunk passenger showcased on someone's YouTube channel. It wasn't just the alcohol. It was the decadent coffee beverages, the all-you-can-eat buffet, the three-course meals. It was enough to guarantee massive weight gain, and I didn't care. It was time to have fun. Imagine my surprise when I discovered I had put on a single pound over the course of the week. It probably helped that we did a lot of walking, both on board and in port stops. 

Other than the cruise, my time has been taken up with some major relaxing. And sailing the Bureaucra Sea. Which is not the same as the Accountant Sea. I expect they had a lot more fun. Long story, but my Social Security benefits got messed up, and I'm still trying to get things untangled. This is mostly not related to the current political climate, and I shall tell the story once I reach the end. At least I'm getting something, and Medicare seems to be working, though I had a blonde moment and messed up my first premium on the supplemental plan. Whee! The biggest task has just been getting my sleep cycles and stress levels under control. I'm getting there. I seem to be past the constant anxiety dreams.

So, as old (mostly) retired people, what are we gonna do? Well, we're already getting started on a few things. We can take day trips, go to a movie matinee, visit a restaurant at an off-peak period, all sorts of things. In fact, Paul's last day of work was on a Monday (some corporate accounting thing), and Tuesday we drove up to McKinney to enjoy lunch at the Tupps Brewery. Of course, one of the perks of working from home is the occasional lunch out of the house, but two hours out and not even having to think about coming back to the desk? Priceless!

I've done a bit of writing, and am working up the energy to get back in the craft room and do some other creative things. But first, I must get my sleep and stress levels fixed. 

So, that's about it for now. I'll try to update more often.

(A housekeeping note: Comments still aren't working. I need to add that to the to-do list. Or not. Hey, I love conversations with readers, but don't miss the spam at all.)