My Second Act

I have now been retired for two years. That in itself is something pretty amazing, but what follows amazes me even more. This past year has been a whirlwind of learning and growth, settling into my new life as a full-time artist.

It was only 18 months ago that I took my first drawing class – I wrote about it in Me? An Art Student?. I look back on those posts in this blog, and laugh at how awful I was at drawing. Today, my paintings are selling, and selling for a whole lot of money. If you had told me that I would be a successful artist at this time two years ago, I would have laughed in your face.

Colleen’s Decadent Meatloaf

When our son went to UC Santa Barbara, he discovered just how bad dorm food can be. Faced with pedestrian choices day after day, he and his friends used to talk about their parents’ cooking, and share what they missed the most on the culinary front. His food memory was my meatloaf, and his friends couldn’t believe that was what he was missing.

Fast forward to his sophomore year, when he and his friends moved into a house in Isla Vista. One night he made this meatloaf. By the time it came out of the oven, all 7 of his housemates were in the kitchen, noses quivering. Our son ate his meal, and put the rest in the refrigerator with stern warnings about pilfering.

The next morning, all his leftovers were gone. Yes, it’s that good.

A Year of Growth

Any major life change provides an opportunity to grow and learn, as well as the dangers of stagnation. Retirement is no different. When I started this journey, I decided I wanted to explore something I have never done before. I chose learning how to draw and paint. Being good at it was irrelevant. The important thing was to try something new and perhaps find a passion that would carry me through the next chapter in my life. The cover photo is a pastel I did 2 weeks ago in drawing class. I never would have thought I could produce anything of the quality of that little pastel – especially not dashing it off in 3 hours during class.

October Surprise

During my genealogical journey, I have found several surprises, a few of which I’ve written about here. However, this past week’s October Surprise has surpassed all the others.

My Nana had a baby daddy.

A Plethora of Cousins

Imagine sending a chance message to someone who posted a pic of your deceased ancestor’s grave on a geneology site, and finding 240+ distant cousins a day later. Not only that, but those cousins are all in a Facebook group dedicated to the descendants of the ancestor that emigrated from Germany to the British Colonies in 1736? Yep. That happened to me. And it was awesome.

Family Lore and Surprises

For the past 2 months, I’ve been researching my family tree. As I mentioned in a previous blog, […]

One-Handed Cooking: Saffron-Prawn Risotto

A freak accident last week left me with the ring finger of my right hand in a splint, and strict instructions from the doctor to not use it for 4 weeks. Yeah. That’s fun. No showers, no washing my hair, no picking up sauté or grabbing onto anything with my right hand, no writing, typing, painting, no doing dishes, no cooking. Basically, no stress on that finger at all.

NO PAINTING OR COOKING? Cue the scream. Time to get creative.

What I Have Learned.

I can’t believe it’s been more than 6 months since I retired. So many changes. So many adjustments, […]

Treasures of the Past

I had an unusual experience recently. I saw a picture of me – taken in the 19th century. It was very unsettling. It also started a new passion to explore in my retirement. No – the cover photo isn’t the one. You’ll have to read the story to see it.

Mirror, Mirror, On The Wall…

Who is this person, after all?

That’s what I’ve been saying this past week, every time I see my reflection. For the first time in my life, I’ve consciously changed my hair color. Now, a stranger looks at me in all kinds of shiny surfaces. She has very pretty hair… whoever she is.