2015 Begins

The new year arrived while Jim and I were visiting our cabin near Elcho, Wisconsin. It was bitterly cold, but once the kerosene stove and the fireplace both kicked in we were comfortable. Subzero temperatures in the teens meant we spent much time in front of the fire and cooking so we'd have another heat source. I managed to gain almost 5 pounds in spite of skiing a couple times. Some of that weight came from Heather's Epiphany party in Minneapolis where she served my grandmother's chip dip. It, and the chips, are my undoing. (I'm back to counting calories and carbs to get back on track.)

Skeleton skier on the cabin mantel

by the Miguel Paredes workshop in Puebla, Mexico.

I have no specific resolutions for 2015 except to put my various interests on a weekly timeline so that I don't ignore things that I want to do. I'm very good at diverting my attention to some petty thing that could be left for another time (or no time). Some of the things on the weekly schedule include another kitchen enhancement (involving glass), wrangle the hundreds of Oaxaca photos into a cohesive group (and keep taking more), organize the home business affairs (like my mother's system), plan a couple trips (Tucson and Alaska are in the works), keep plugging away at Spanish (weekly class and Rosetta Stone), continue exercising so that my knee will hold me up for more tennis (while controlling carbs), and "live in the moment" with no whining about the weather. This is quite difficult because of the time I spent in Oaxaca where the weather is perfect every day. I keep remembering the flowers and the patio and the papaya . . . 

But this is what this part of my retirement is about. Try things, enjoy life, give back, and make changes if I/we want. That is a very privileged place to be.