A Retirement Blog by Caree Risover

Dear All, We are having a wonderful time here at Chez Nous. The scenery is fantastic and the weather sublime. Wish you were here. Love from Caree and Mister E x Yes, since returning from Scotland we have been indulging ourselves with a staycation. It is the first time since retiring that we are actually experiencing prolonged summer weather. Having been told that with global warming our summers locally are set to continue in damp and windy fashion, I had actually given up any expectation of high temperatures and sunshine without travelling abroad to find them. In the past, when they did arise, I was always at work and whilst an office environment may have the benefit of air conditioning, I am struggling to think of any other advantage. Here at Chez Nous, there has been no cost for our vacation; we haven't had to limit our belongings to a suitcase each; there has been no long, arduous journey to get here; we have enjoyed total privacy and familiar surroundings wi...

We have just returned from another trip to Scotland to further our restoration project. The boat is currently in a shed with a slipway view. She has no engine or windows and although her gas fittings have now been replaced as a result of a leaking pipe and connections, the cooker bears a large sign warning us that it is a criminal offence to use it until additional ventilation is provided to both the cabin and gas locker.  We took advantage of a lull in activity pending delivery of the new engine and windows to commence a cleaning operation. I began by tackling the inside of the hull behind the head (toilet) which has also been removed to enable reservicing of the seacocks to take place. I don't think anyone had touched it for 40 years, so if nothing else there was a sense of achievement when I finished and found that there was actually white under all the blackened layers. In the meantime Mister E inspected the bilges, only to discover that the main one under ...

Four years ago today we flew out to Kefalonia after I had packed up my briefcase and left the office for the last time, the night before. I'm so comfortable now in retirement that it is getting harder to recall my previous existence. Trying to reflect on the intervening period, I can see that the initial honeymoon period was very much a time for recuperation. There was a great deal of rushing about and adapting, bringing with it recovery and the necessary rehabilitation ready for a completely different way of living to that to which we had become accustomed whilst working. Gradually the need to simplify has become a part and parcel of our daily living and even though we are not always very good at it, we do keep trying. Similarly exercising has wound itself into our everyday lifestyle and we are currently finding ourselves with both strength and vitality that we would never previously have expected. A year ago I felt that I had more energy, drive and passion as...

Just a very quick update on our restoration venture . Still in the boatyard and stripped of her engine, gas fittings and windows, I'm wondering if we've really bought mainly fresh air! Oops, I forgot about the all permeating scent of diesel; hopefully the lack of windows might help release that!

Let me set the scene: I was in the kitchen finishing a cup of tea at the end of a late lunch, following on from a busy morning when I had assisted my fellow almshouse trustees at an Open Day.  Suddenly an enormous clap above my head jerked me up and out of my seat, the drink splashing across my knees. The noise was accompanied by a flash of lightning and then the skies opened and the rain came down in torrents. The electricity went off momentarily interrupting Mister E's televised viewing of the World Cup, but he instantly became more interested in seeing just how much rain was falling and to what extent it might replenish those empty water butts. As soon as he mentioned those, I felt a sense of guilt. Zeus the ancient Greek god of the sky, had responded to my request in style and made no secret of announcing his presence, hurling thunderbolts in the process. I understand now just how easy it must have been to get duped into worshipping a pagan deity. I almost ...

  Unbelievable it may be but despite all the rain last summer, autumn, winter and early spring, my water butts are now dry. I have 5 large ones all fed from various parts of the roof and the last time this happened was 2006. I remember it well because I had to fill them by hose so that a good neighbour could water the garden whilst we were on holiday; then, contrary to all forecasts, two days after we left the heatwave ended and it poured down for the remaining period of our absence. Of course, I am the villain of this latest situation having poured litres of water on the garden over the last few weeks in an effort to nurture new seedlings and plants as well as those in established pots and ever thirsty rhubarb. Now I could go outside and do a rain dance; I could use diviners and try to find a new water source but what I'm doing instead is calling it an official drought and resigning myself to the situation. I seem to recall that whenever anyone in authority has pr...

Yesterday Mister E and I had a brief mosey along Northallerton High Street, closed to traffic as it celebrated the 1940's . With live music, albeit an empty dance floor on the pavement in front, bomb disposal experts, an array of vintage and classic vehicles in use in the 1940's, GI brides, nurses with babies in prams and shops with themed windows it was a unique transformation. Coupled with a blue sky, it certainly seemed to have brought the crowds out. Too often and too close to home we hear about shops closing and the difficulties faced by retailers with competition from online sales, increased business rates and the limited spending power of consumers as their wages stagnate and austerity, coupled with the impending effect of Brexit, continues. I'm sure demographics must be playing a part too, as more and more of us leave the workplace and move into retirement leaving impulse purchasing behind. Setting aside the whole issue of fostering nostalgia fo...

  It's been another busy week here in retirement, governed, or so it seems, by g-force*. As ever I've been spending time in the gym where strengthening the lower back muscles and glutes seems to have been the order of the week. I guess I've made the grade,  because I've managed to spend my afternoons in the garden digging the ground, moving soil and transferring plants from the greenhouse to grow in the newly constructed vegetable beds which Mister E has made for me. I've been exhausted by evening, covered in grime and ready for the hot bath that has generated sufficient recovery to enable me to spend the twilight hours concentrating on the GDPR or to give it its full title the General Data Protection Regulation which took effect on May 25th. Something to do with my previous life but I'm responsible for its implementation at the Almshouse where I am a trustee and, of course, am following an action plan of change as Parish Clerk. So much administratio...

It is now 3 years since I played the Mins Game , ridding myself of 496 items of extraneous stuff.  Across at The Minimalists they are urging everyone to play again this month (only 30 days and 465 items this time).  What is it about stuff ? I'm convinced mine indulges in asexual reproduction. It doesn't matter how much I trash or donate to charity there always seems to be more oozing from the corner of every room I enter. You would think after all this time, I'd feel on top of the task in hand but somedays I actually wonder if, in order to succeed, relocating and downsizing is going to be the only the way.  Now the truth is I don't like stuff and am not particularly driven by material possessions. Consequently, I don't tend to make a habit of  unneccessary or impulsive shopping. Thinking about it though, I wonder if that isn't the root cause of the problem. Instead of embracing the throwaway society, Mister E and I are inclined to hoard items tha...

Back in the day, hot summer Friday afternoons were tedious affairs heralding the start of something much more relaxing after a stress-filled working week and then followed quickly by weekend plans, invariably spoiled by unseasonal rain. Retirement Land  is so different that at the end of a Friday afternoon and a series of days in the garden all with  pleasant sunshine, it was hard not to feel a little smug when, at 5pm, the heavens opened. Fortunately it must just have been a passing cloud as the shower was fairly brief. With more rain forecast for tomorrow, however, it's good to know that seeds have been sown, borders weeded and all is beginning to look under control outside. After a couple of  summers of unsettled weather, it is a joy to be able to savour home and garden, stepping from one to the other as the mood suits with doors and windows wide open. We have managed to proceed with plans for our herb and wild flower borders and Mister E has been skilf...