Roadsidea Gone Wild

Posted on March 29, 2023March 29, 2023 by The Retired Alchemist

It does not matter if it is a drive down a country road or a leisurely walk through the woods, I always have my eye out for Roadsidea. We can be enjoying a lovely, quiet drive, watching the countryside roll by, when I spot it. Mr. U has become resigned to my urgent call to “stop the car!” Matter of fact, he is now able to stop on a dime, knowing it will require backing up or turning around if we don’t stop quickly. It can be an unexpected, spur of the moment find, or a trip with the intent purpose of getting Roadsidea. It has become such a common activity for my wonderful sister and I that my niece, who has been an innocent witness to several of our stealth excursions, dubbed the term Roadsidea.

Roadsidea – The collection of free items from nature for the express purpose of decorating.
Décor-free Dictionary

The hunt for Roadsidea

While Roadsidea is a beautiful, free decorating style, I think the best part is the discovery of it…and sometimes the getting it home. I have been accused of taking it to extremes when I find something on a trip that I HAVE to bring home. The gathering of Roadsidea, has provided a lot of fun, humorous experiences…although I may have a warped idea of fun. For example, there was the time that my mom, wonderful sister, and I went on one of our many girl trips together.

We stayed at a beautiful Bed & Breakfast in Leavenworth, Washington. The B & B had a long, winding birch tree lined driveway leading to the gorgeous estate. My sister and I immediately spied the white birch bark and thought the same thing; it would be great to decorate with or use on our homemade cards. ~~Great minds~~ Roadsidea minds think alike. The next day, on our way back from shopping and eating, my sister pulled the car over in the B & B driveway and we gathered up the bark that had fallen off the trees. Amazing white bark with streaks of black and brown. My mom was appalled and worried we were going to get sent to jail for stealing. We felt like we were helping with roadside cleanup.

At least Leavenworth was close to home, unlike the cotton I found on a trip to Scottsdale, Arizona. Mr. U and I were in our rental car driving out to a trailhead for a hike when I spotted the fluffy white cotton growing on the edge of the road. I am embarrassed to admit it, but being from the chilly north, I had never seen cotton bushes still in the ground before. They were gorgeous and since they were left on the edge of the field after the harvest, I felt like they were free game. I gathered a large bouquet of them. Mr. U kindly asked how I was going to get them home on the plane. I tied them up and stuffed them into a large garbage bag as a carry on. We got a couple curious questions from TSA and more than a few strange looks from other passengers, but most of the branches made it home undamaged. I used the pods that fell off in transport to scatter below the vase of cotton. Loveleeee! (I just checked on Amazon and they charge $13.00 for 12 pods.)

Then there was the trip down the west coast where I found some tall, wispy sea grass on the side of the road. I could just see it in a vase decorating the mantel. We stopped so I could pick several to take home. Mr. U kindly asked how I planned to pack these fragile stems in a cramped, two-seater convertible with over 700 miles to travel. We made it work by carefully arranging them around the suitcases in the small trunk. We just had to gently rearrange the trunk every time we got our suitcases in or out. Mr. U really is a saint.

Last week my wonderful sister, dad and I headed out to gather pussy willows that grow along the road past my dad’s homestead. It was an uncharacteristic sunny March day that gave hope that spring is coming. The pussy willows hang over a creek, so one person has to pull the branches down with a long hook while the other person clips them off, without falling in. Good thing my wonderful sister is a willing accomplice. My dad enjoys being out in nature, so we brought a camp chair for him to sit in and observe while my sister and I reached, fell down, got our feet wet, and laughed as we cut the pussy willows. After this same excursion a few years ago, I made the mistake of leaving the pussy willows in the car overnight. My car smelled like a swamp for a week. Only made that mistake once. Did I mention that Mr. U is a saint? Now I leave them out in the garage for a few days to dry out.

Recent *Roadsidea* excursion. The ice is starting to come off the water…yeah!

Decorating with Roadsidea

Please tell me that my wonderful sister and I are not the only ones who find nature so beautiful and fascinating that we feel compelled to bring it indoors to decorate. The fact that it is a temporary decoration makes it even more precious. Bonus that it is free. And…it makes my heart smile when I look at it. Here are my top ten favorite ways to decorate with Roadsidea:

Collect rocks from a stream to place in the base of a hurricane candle holder.
Arrange cattails in a large floor vase.
Place a vase of wispy sea grass on the table. Gather shells and sand from an ocean beach to scatter around it for a summer tablescape with a blue and tan color scheme.
Gather colorful autumn leaves, acorns and water chestnuts to enhance a fall table.
Break off branches of soft white cotton and place in a pottery vase with a few pods scattered around the base of it.
Pick up pinecones to fill a big wooden basket by the fire. Spray them with a little fake snow at Christmas time, or dip in scented wax to use as fire starters.
Cut long stems of pussy willows to fill a pitcher for a side table.
Trim fir tree branches to grace a mantel or make Christmas wreaths.
Pull up intricate, lacy green moss to lay in the bottom of a clear vase.
Gather fluffy, golden stems of wheat to make a fall bouquet.

My mom worried that it was stealing. My sister and I call it roadside cleanup with the intent of thrifty decorating. You decide.

This Week in Retirement…a Micro Trip & a Win

Posted on March 25, 2023March 25, 2023 by The Retired Alchemist

Our retirement plans included a variety of travel, but less than a year after I retired, COVID hit. And we all know how that went. Like most people, we are finally feeling comfortable to travel again. When Mr. U and I were planning our retirement and how we wanted to travel, we found it helpful to think about trips in three categories:

Micro Trips: Short 1-2 day trips that are close to home. These are typically quick getaways to a fun place for a night or two or taking our camper to one of the many nearby campgrounds. These are inexpensive trips that we fit in whenever the urge strikes. No limits.
Mini Trips: These trips are 3-7 days and are a further drive or require flying. Our goal is to do at least two of these a year.
Macro Trips: These are the big hairy trips that are more than a week and require a long distance to travel. For us, that would be the East Coast or out of the country. We hope to do one or two of these a year.

Micro trip west through the Cascade Mountains.

This week I had an appointment in Seattle. Instead of making it a utilitarian, ho-hum trip and staying at a Comfort Inn, we decided to make it a little “micro” trip. We splurged on a room with a lovely view of Lake Washington. The hotel is located at Carillon Point, which was once a busy hub for ship building and is now a marina. That evening we watched a moody sunset as we enjoyed seeing the city lights come on across the bay. In the morning we walked across the courtyard to the Carillon Kitchen for a light breakfast made with fresh, local ingredients. Travel, even micro trips, gives me a fresh view of life again.

March Madness Update

The Gonzaga Bulldogs have made it to the “Elite 8!” Despite all of the upsets, my bracket is holding strong. Or maybe that is because of all of the upsets. Either way, I have a shot at winning the family bracket. It is about time my children gave me money! You can guess where I will be tonight at 6:00. Go Zags!

Some of my sibs & their spouses celebrating with us after a win. We are sporting our temporary Zag tattoos. Picture is a little blurry, but it was hard to get this crazy group to sit still. Gotta make life fun along the way.

Just an average day in retirement

Posted on March 21, 2023March 21, 2023 by The Retired Alchemist

When I first retired, like most new retirees, I was frequently asked what I was going to do with all my time. Now, over three years in, the most frequent question I still get asked is what I do with all of my time. Like I have an excess of time now…geez! How do I explain to people how much I enjoy my slow mornings, without sounding lazy? Or how going into town is an event and not necessarily an everyday occurrence? How do I explain that there is no average day in retirement?

What does your ideal, average day look like in retirement? I say “average” day because many of us envision travel as part of our ideal retirement. I know I do. Travel days take on a life of their own. But there are many days in between travel. Average days when you do not have anything special planned. How does your typical day or week at home play out? How do you visualize your ideal retirement lifestyle? How do you shape it to be more what you want? It is preferable to figure this out prior to retiring but it is never too late to think this through and then take the action steps to make it happen. After all, retirement is the perfect time to practice a little Alchemy. Three years into retirement and I have developed (or should I say evolved into) a loose structure to my average days when we don’t have anything in particular planned.

What does an average day in retirement look like?

Below is my perfectly average day in retirement:

Definitely, definitely wake up without an alarm. This is usually around 6:30. Not waking up to an alarm clock is one of my favorite things about retirement.
Mr. U and I have our morning “coffee” time. This is something we have done since we first got married and I attribute it to keeping our marriage solid for over 40 years. It is our time to talk over our thoughts, plans, and dreams, as well as the nitty gritty organization for the day.
After our coffee time, we each fix our own breakfast and have some time to ourselves. A day or two a week Mr. U will cook a breakfast for us, or we will go out to eat, but we are talking average day here. We do not usually meet up for lunch. How does that sayings go, “I married for life, but not for lunch?” It is an adjustment spending so much time together when you both retire, and we feel like we bring more back to the relationship if we have some time apart.
I love slow mornings when I have leisurely time to read, blog, journal, pray and just reflect. I absolutely need this down time to ponder. And just so I don’t ponder the whole day away, I also jot down what I want to accomplish for that day. If I don’t do this, the day slips by and I don’t get anything done that I intended. Like many people, I have also jumped on the Wordle band wagon and try to solve it every morning.
Get up and move. Time to do household chores, because apparently, they do not magically disappear in retirement. (My perfect average retirement day would not include chores, but just keeping it real.) I try to do 15 minutes of gentle yoga to maintain balance and flexibility. Then I head outdoors whenever possible. I prefer to fill my water bottle, pack a light lunch, toss my journal into a bag and hop on my bike or just take a walk. My favorite excursions are next to a river or lake.
Afternoons are open to what fun the day presents. This is where play happens. It is a good time to consider doing what puts you in a state of “flow.” Where you get so absorbed in what you are doing that you lose track of time and suddenly realize that it is already dinner time. This could be spending the afternoon with someone or pursuing a personal interest or project. It is different almost every day. I try to purposefully decide how I want to use this precious time. Your retired so you get to pick!
I like to sit down and enjoy a glass of wine at the end of the day, preferably while something is grilling on the BBQ. While we do not typically have breakfast or lunch together, Mr. U and I almost always eat dinner together. And unless there is something significant on, we do not eat dinner in front of the T.V.
Evenings are still a little unsettled for me. My energy has dwindled by then, both mentally and physically. When you are retired, you get time during the day to do what you love so you don’t need to cram it into the evening. For example, I used to read every evening that I had the chance but now that I have time to do that in the mornings, I don’t have a strong need to read in the evenings. I have started watching a little evening TV, but I am not a huge fan. I am curious how other retirees use their evenings.

My perfect average retirement day

Keep in mind that this is my perfect “average” retirement day and not necessarily every day and not my perfect retirement day. That would be out on the boat in flip flops, pulling up to dock at a waterfront restaurant for dinner and then watching the sunset from the bow of the boat with a cold drink and good company. Or a day traveling to new sites, going on a hike and then dining alfresco. However, this post is about a retirement lifestyle that I can enjoy on an average day that feeds my soul. Average days are the meat and vegetables that make up retirement life. Travel and other special experiences are the spices you add on top.

If you have not retired yet, it is never too early to think about how you would like to live your average retirement days. If you are retired, are you living your best life on the average days or do you need to tweak them a little? We want to make every day great and not just tread water until we are on the other side of the dirt. What does your perfect average retirement day need to include?

The Secret Life of Stuff

Posted on March 15, 2023March 15, 2023 by The Retired Alchemist

This is our year of downsizing. We have lived in this large home for 22 years. We raised our family here. The walls echo with good memories: birthday celebrations, holiday traditions, parties and family time. Our oldest son and his wife got married out here and son #3 & his fiancé are planning to this summer. The property is in a private setting with beautiful mountain views. But it is also a lot to maintain, and now that we are empty nesters, we do not need all of this space anymore. The driveway is long and steep, and Mr. U has to keep it plowed in the winter. It is a 25-minute drive into town. We are ready to downsize, at least physically, if not emotionally.

To start the process, we cleaned out the ~~hoarder’s~~ bonus room recently. It filled the entire truck, both the extended cab and the bed, as well as the back of the car, and we still have another load to go. How does this happen? Four kids, busy jobs and too much stuff is how it happens. First world problems. It feels so freeing to unburden ourselves of all of this #%&$. I am really more of a thrower than a keeper but throwing requires decisions and I am not good at decisions. Decisions like: Will I use this later? Could one of the kids use it eventually? Will it hurt the giver’s feelings if they find it at a thrift store? Or should I sell it at a garage sale next summer? (Which would require keeping it longer.) And what if the giver happens to stop by the garage sale? See, tough decisions.

Our life story in boxes

These past couple weeks Mr. U and I have also been going through all of the memory boxes and pictures, trying to determine what to keep. The process is bittersweet. There are so many happy memories, but it is coupled with the stark awareness that that time of our lives is over and will not happen again. These are hard decisions and I have been accused of “paralysis by analysis” a few times in my life, which does not help. So, I have identified two questions to I ask myself when I am trying to decide what memorabilia to keep:

Will I ever want to go through this stuff again myself?

Do I want my kids to have to go through this after I pass?

If the answer to both of those questions is “probably not,” then it needs to go. Tough, but necessary choices and these two questions make it a little easier to decide.

Some of the memorabilia we have hauled around with us for over 40 years includes two shoeboxes full of letters we wrote to each other when we were dating. We lived in two different towns, and this was back when you had to pay by the minute for long distance phone calls. (If you could get the gabby neighbors to get off of the party line so that you could make a call. If you know, you know.) Consequently, we wrote a lot of letters. For the past few weeks, we have been pulling our chairs up to the fireplace in the evenings and reading our letters out loud to each other. We laughed and reminisced but then we had to decide if the letter was worth keeping or not. The criterion is that it has to tell part of the story from that time in our lives. If not, it gets tossed into the fire. The advantage of the fire is that we can’t change our minds and pull it out. What is decided is decided. The fire is also pretty warm and cozy to pull up to on these cold winter nights. Hygge Anyone?

Heirlooms and sentimental items

It is the sentimental and heirloom pieces that I have the most difficult time releasing. I clearly need to read Marie Kondo’s book again. Our families on both sides have given us a lot of nice heirlooms that we really, honestly, do not need or have room for anymore. However, we feel responsible to keep them. After all, we are maintaining the family history. Not keeping ALL of the items feels like turning our backs on our roots. There are several heirloom pieces that I love and want to keep, but many of them are really not me and don’t fit in with our style. Our stuff can be suffocating. I think that the stuff we surround ourselves with, subconsciously, defines us. Decorating with too many items that are not what we would choose can pigeonhole us into an environment that doesn’t feed our souls. We spend a lot of time in our homes, and we want them to make our hearts sing when we are in them.

The secret life of our stuff…

This year I am vowing to honor my authentic self a little more. Quit living my life as I think everyone else wants or expects of me and start living it as more of a reflection of my true self. I also want to surround myself with what nurtures my soul and makes me smile. Purge and release the stuff that weighs me down with expectations.

In releasing stuff, we are also releasing burdens to be someone we are not anymore. We grow. We evolve. And change is a part of growth. We are not the same person we were 20 years ago. For the first 15 years of our married life, I decorated similar to how my mom did. It was what I was familiar and comfortable with and… there were all of those lovely hand me downs. But now, after all of these years and more than a few poor decorating decisions (a pastel floral couch and loveseat come to mind), I am finally figuring out what items I love and make me happy to be around. As we all know, true pleasure does not come from our stuff, but it is what we spend a lot of our time looking at and cleaning, so we want it to reflect who we are now and what we enjoy. We want our eyes and souls to smile when we look at, use or clean it. Of course, there are a few sentimental pieces I still want to keep. Besides, I want to ~~burden~~ pass down some of them to my sons and their wives. And the cycle of stuff goes on.

What do you need to release in your life that is keeping you from being fully yourself?

This week in retirement…stepping back in time.

Posted on March 11, 2023March 11, 2023 by The Retired Alchemist

Last weekend Mr. U and I made the short drive east over the 4th of July Pass to take a step back in time for an evening. Our destination was Enaville, Idaho. Enaville is home to the self-proclaimed oldest restaurant in Idaho: The Snake Pit. Established in 1880, The Snake Pit is located in the Silver Valley. The valley was a bustling mining and logging area in the late 1800’s and well into the mid 1900’s. Because of this, the area was also well known for its brothels. The Snake Pit strives to maintain the rich history of the area with its eclectic, and often bizarre, memorabilia that decorates the inside of the restaurant and bar. The restaurant is famous for its BBQ and Rocky Mountain Oysters, which are still on the menu. Can’t say as I have tried them. We played it safe and went with the prime rib.

An eclectic decor with lots of antiques.

The Snake Pit is located at the hub of an outdoor recreation area. In the winter months there is snowmobiling and cross-country skiing, as well as two down-hill ski resorts close by. It is situated at the fork of the Coeur d’Alene River, which is an outdoor summer paradise, known for great camping, fishing, rafting and kayaking. One of the trail heads to the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes is just down from the restaurant. This well maintained 73.2 mile rail-trail is popular for walking and bike riding. If you are in the area, be sure to stop by and see the old Cataldo Mission too.

One night a week, the Snake Pit has their prime rib dinner (until it sells out) and some live music. While we were there we were treated to some great blue grass music by a local string band, Four Peace Live. They started at 5:30 and played for 2 1/2 hours straight! Their lively music even coaxed a few dancers out on the dance floor. You feel like you have stepped back in time with the atmosphere, music and down-home cooking. Not a bad way to spend a winter evening.

I hope you are taking the time to do something out of the ordinary this week!

TheRetiredAlchemist

Month: March 2023