How Did We Ever Have Time For A Job?

I’m not the only person who has said that recently.  I’ve heard it over and over through the years from people who have “retired”.  The word retired does not really seem appropriate for most of us these days.  I think a better word would be ‘repositioned’.  We have repositioned ourselves for a lifestyle and work that is different from anything we’ve done before but we are definitely not anything close to idyll!  We enjoy all the work we do but we also really enjoy the fact that we can quit for the day at whatever time feels best.  We are not watching the clock.

There is always something to do here.  In addition to the necessary life sustaining work of keeping our home comfortable and stocked with what we need, there is an abundance of outside work that, in this season of the year, is almost constant.  The olive trees are doing their job of growing their hearts out but we have to prune, fertilize, lime, weed and worst of all, keep the deer away from them.  The grapevines are shooting along nicely on their way to covering the support wires and even have tiny new little grapes on them.  They also require the same kind of work as the olive trees on a regular basis.  We have a small raised bed garden and flowers around the house that never have quite enough water.  The larger garden that is planted farther from the house has been weeded and we have tried to keep the deer away from that although with almost no success.  For some reason, the grass just keeps growing and doesn’t let up until mid fall.  There is always some sort of job to do.  We just try to keep it on a doable rotation.

Additionally, we have completed many projects of updates and organizing around the house.  We have built fences and cleared wooded areas under the trees.  Presently, we are preparing a site for the sawmill which will hopefully arrive in a couple of weeks.  Once that is set up there will be no end to the new possibilities for building around here.  Mike has many ideas of things he would like to do and I also am constantly planning my next stitching project.  Recently, I started making sourdough bread, although with very slow and limited results.  I continue to work on new recipes and find what we like best.  All these things take planning and time so that there is hardly a time that is not busy.

However, by mid to late afternoon, we are both ready to wind down and have a seat on the porch to catch our breath and reflect on the day.  This is when we really enjoy the fruits of our labors and think about the directions we are charting for ourselves.  We are so thankful to have the opportunity to enjoy this season of our lives here.