Wonderful, wonderful.

Now that I’m retired, time is defined by something other than the work schedule. When I practiced nursing, everyday begun at 5 AM and ended at ten, with a lot of living in between. I knew that anything I wanted to accomplish had to take place before 7 PM, when I turned into a pumpkin. So if there was shopping to do, or kids to run around, it better be done on the way home from work. My children knew that the time to ask me to take them some place was at the curb while I was still in the car. Otherwise, Mother would whine.

The first month home after I retired was great; I had something planned almost everyday! Then I started to get tired. Even having coffee with friends can be exhausting if you never get a break from it. So I decided that I had to make myself a schedule and stick to it.

I had an epiphany yesterday about this. You still need to have a day off, even if what you are doing on a daily basis is the greatest thing you can imagine. When I repeated this to Jim, he looked at me and said, ‘Da.’ Well, I am a worker bee. I like to get things done. It didn’t occur to me that having more fun everyday than I could have ever imagined would require a rest.

So I have decided to pare things down a little bit. For a while there, I was going out every night, from one knit in to a spin in to dinner with friends. However, there are several things I do that are sacrosanct.

Tuesdays I go to tapestry class. Its three hours of meditive peace where I am also learning more than I could have imagined. The other women who attend the class, including the teachers, are kind and warm. The two teachers are accomplished tapestry weavers whose work can be seen by going to http://www.brennan-maffei.com and at the bottom of the home page, click on Wednesday group. For me to study with these two is a chance of a lifetime.

Thursday night I have yoga. Yes, hard as it may be to believe, Miz Iron Bottom is trying to become more flexible.

After yoga on two Thursdays a month, I go to Bungs Tavern to meet some friends and to sit and knit. The venue is a little strange, but we like it there because it is convenient for most of us and the gals who come from Pennsylvania don’t have to drive too far. I love to hear about their lives and plans. It also forces me to knit.

Sunday is church. For the past almost five years, rarely did I get there on a Sunday morning. My only problem now is not volunteering at every opportunity.

One Friday a month, I drive two hours to Blairstown, NJ on the Delaware River to meet with the North Country Spinners. I love the women who belong to this guild. They are so warm and giving with their knowledge, and I like being part of the broader community of fiber people. After I leave that guild, I go to another spin in closer to home with my friends from the New Jersey Fiber Fanatics. Some of these women are insane; including myself, but it is a great opportunity to unwind in a safe environment!!!

Every other Wednesday I drive to Philadelphia to study weaving with my friend, Bettes. She is a remarkable woman whose weaving is breathtaking. Her husband is an art history bigwig at U of P, and I like to mossy around his home library to peak at the many wonderful lithographs they have.

The rest of the week is divided into setting time aside to visit my daughter, meet friends who patiently waited for me to return to planet Earth for coffee, spending time with my husband, and last but not least, weaving.

There was a brief moment in time where I almost sold my looms. Horrors!!! I am loving weaving again with a passion. Two of my six looms have warps on them and I am winding away on my new (old) warping reels and wheels. I hope to have some pictures to post very soon.

Reluctantly, I pick up knitting needles occasionally. I still enjoy looking at other knitters projects; hence the number of things faved on Ravelry. I think I have to recover from knitting on demand. I often wonder if I could really knit something that fit me. Its easy to knit for a dummy!!! My knitting buddies have developed a method for getting things done this year. They are choosing 12 patterns from their stash, and then trying to match the patterns up with yarn from their stash so they can use it up. I really like that idea. But then it occurred to me that I should really finish 12 things this year that are in progress!!!

My friend, Liz, is shearing her sheep in March. I am going to go down there to help her if it kills me. There will be plenty of wonderful wool to buy, I am sure! I have to be patient and wait for nicer weather so I can get into my barn and start up the carder and dye pots again.

Another friend recently purchased a complete woolen mill! This is dream that I may have to enjoy vicariously through her. Wednesday I get to go to her house and play!

My long abandoned perennial garden has also been calling to me. I thought my days of gardening were over, but I think not. The garden catalogs are starting to pile up and I can’t wait to start digging and dividing again.

Last night when I was sitting in my recliner with a dog on either side of me, laptop on my legs, and my husband was in his with matching dogs and computer, I suddenly said, ‘My God, I am so lucky!!!’

Wonderful, wonderful.