Perhaps this is a good time to catch up on a few things that have happened to me lately.
On January 1, 2010, after being off work for two weeks because of Christmas Break, I woke up at 5 a.m. with the strong feeling that I didn't want to go back to work.....ever. I asked my boss on Jan. 5 if I could work the rest of the week, take two weeks to think about it and then retire. He agreed. I have no regrets as of this day.
I have stayed home and tried to be a "house husband" to Liz. I keep after the dishes and Liz has not had to wash too many since my official retirement in late January. I do all the laundry and I prepare the evening meal.
The rest of my time is spent reading the comments on news stories and editorial pages in the Sheboygan Press and participating in the discussions. Even more so than that, I have launched into playing guitar and singing. I have purchased two more Taylor guitars, a 714ce LTD last June and an NS24ce a couple weeks ago. I tried to sell the 210e but after a few low-ball offers I pulled it off the market and will keep it. I now have 5 Taylor guitars and a Gibson and I play all of them.
As of this date, I have more than two dozen video recordings of myself playing and singing on my YouTube channel http://youtube.com/geoman7447
I have been actively recording a song or two each day since March 5th of this year.
I have also begun to attend social gatherings of musicians in the area. They are called Open Mic / Jam Sessions and are hosted regularly. I have attended in Saukville, Random Lake and last night in Sheboygan at the Wesley United Methodist Church. It was a small as it's ever been last night as there were only 8 of us present. People bring guitars, dobro, violin (fiddle), harmonica, mandolin, banjo, ukelele and even a steel pedal guitar. Typically, everyone sits in a circle and they pass a microphone around and each person in turn leads a song of their choosing. The leader will tell the guitarists what chords are contained in the song and then sing it into the microphone as everyone else strums, picks, blows, shakes, pounds or does whatever else is musical. Verses are played without singing so that the solo musicians like the dobro player, blues harp guys, and other instrumentalists can play a verse as well. It's a group of mostly older people (over 40 by vast majority) with some as old as probably 80? There is sandwiches, soup and other snacks provided by the host and by anyone else who cares to. I'm amazed and very pleased that this kind of thing is available to me. I feel I fit in quite well with my degree of familiarity with guitar chord playing.
Our new garage and sunroom were completed last fall and I'm writing this in the sunroom. Both have transformed our home into a much more wonderful place for the long haul to eternity.
I have contracted with a landscaper to come in and plant a lawn as about 60% of our lawn was torn up to put in some tiling to handle drainage and to move some electrical lines underground. The lawn should be planted in the next week or so.
Last night, I also found that some of my musician friends regularly to to Elkhart Lake with their kayaks. Since I've been looking for someone to kayak with, this is a double windfall for me. We'll see where this goes but one thing is certain.
Retirement is marvelous!!
Ciao, babies!!
