Ode to Summer of 2025

Posted on September 2, 2025September 2, 2025 by The Retired Alchemist

And in the blink of an eye, the greenery outside is shifting to gold and variegated shades of brown. The beans and peas in the garden are long gone, while the tomatoes are plump and juicy and the pumpkins are turning orange. Kids are gathering their school supplies and finding out who their teachers will be. The sun is setting lower in the sky as summer gives way to autumn. I am ready because in some ways, it has been the summer of our discontent.

I spent way too much time this summer keeping our home clean and “show ready” to sell. I am quite sure that I appeared to be a homeless person as I stored our dirty laundry basket and shoes, etc., in my car (because no one wants to see dirty laundry when looking to buy a house.) After several showings, we got a solid offer at the end of the summer. It turned out to be perfect timing since the closing date was three days after our move in date for our new home. I guess I wasted a lot of precious worry time on this. (A post on the new place will be coming.)

A lovely couple about our age bought our home. I always thought it would be a young couple with a family that would move in here. It just goes to show that life is never what you expect. After the offer was made, they came out to see the tractor, as they were interested in buying it too. We enjoyed a glass of wine and a toast to their new home as we sat out on the patio. This was while the house was still pending, with several inspections yet to be done. The four of us had a good chuckle knowing that our realtors would probably not approve of this get together prior to the sale going through. Boomers… always breaking the rules.

Summer highlights in pictures

This is an obligatory post. Kind of like the short essay you had to write when you returned to school every fall. The essay that was written in response to the prompt, “what I did last summer.” While it has not been your typical easy going, relaxing summer, we did squeeze in some fun things along the way. We tried to stay close to home since we needed to keep the house up and there were constant decisions on the new build. We had a great builder, but it is still imperative to keep a close eye on the building process to ensure it looks like you expected. While this is fun and exciting, it is also mentally and emotionally exhausting to me. This is definitely our last build. Next stop, the nursing home.

Instead of the essay, I thought I would tell what I did last summer in pictures. Besides, a picture is worth a thousand word, right? So fair warning – photo bomb ahead.

The only thing that makes a summer concert better is when it is out on a boat.

Snuck away for a beautiful night in Seattle to see a Mariner’s game.

My friend and I spent a lovely afternoon trying our hands at watercolor painting. You are never to old to learn something new.

We celebrated our granddaughter’s second birthday and enjoyed time with her and her new little brother.

We took our oldest two grands camping for a couple of days. The weather was not great so instead of swimming we rode bikes and played lots of camp games.

We got a couple nights of gorgeous sunsets at the campground.

And it would not be summer without a trip to Arbor Crest Winery with my sister and her family.

Good wine, good music, good company and good views.

The state fair is fun for all ages, from my two-year-old granddaughter to my 98-year-old dad. Honestly, who doesn’t love a delicious elephant ear?

The finale of summer is our annual extended family campout over Labor Day weekend that son #2 and our niece organize for us every year. So nice to pass the scheduling baton on to the younger generation.

The adults did a lot of campfire sitting while the kids played games and built this fort that kept them entertained for hours.

Son #2 and my BIL won the annual corn hole tournament this year.

The campout culminates with the nominations and vote on the “knuckle head” and “knot head” awards.

But mostly, I just spend this summer cleaning and packing up our stuff.

Welcome back

If you are reading this, I would like to say thank you for coming back after I took the summer off from blogging. I know that long stretches without a post can be the death of a blog. And if you are a new reader, I would like to welcome you. While writing seems to be stuck deep in my DNA, it is the readers that give me the energy. So, thank you again for following along. I hope that you had a wonderful summer!

Signs of Summer

Posted on June 1, 2025June 2, 2025 by The Retired Alchemist

And all at once the rain stopped, the mud puddles dried up, and the blossoms opened. People crawled out of their stuffy homes with squinting eyes and exclaimed, “it is finally summer!”

We’ve had a busy few weeks with family in town, birthday celebrations and preparing to put our home on the market. We almost missed that summer arrived in the process. Yahoo! Let the blooming and sunshine begin.

I hope that you can take some time to enjoy the pleasures of summer: the first of the garden gifts, baby birds chirping to be fed, firing up the BBQ and having a meal al fresco, or a relaxing sunset at the end of a full day. It is the little things.

“Some of the best memories are made in flip-flops.”

Kellie Elmore

Cheers to the retirement years and the arrival of summer!

Ode to Summer

Posted on September 18, 2023September 18, 2023 by The Retired Alchemist

September 23rd is officially the last day of summer, but the signs of fall have been in the air for the last couple of weeks. Where did summer go? I feel like time goes faster, even though I am less pushed for time now that I am retired. We live where there are four distinct seasons, which I love. And I adore fall, but it is hard to say goodbye to summer because it is so chock full of wonderful things to do. Other than camping, we try not to travel much June through September because summer is so beautiful where we live. Winters are another thing. (Fair warning, prepare for summer photo overload in this post.) Most of my summer delights are simple things like:

A more relaxed casual pace
Gathering friends and family around the pizza oven

The pizza oven area has become a favorite Gathering Place.

Dining al fresco
Sunsets

Tomatoes and basil from the garden make a fresh caprese salad. Mr. U caught the salmon (left).
Can’t you just smell the earthy marsh under the sunset (right)?

Getting loads of vitamin D
Being on/in the water

I will harness anybody I can to go kayaking with me.

BBQing (although we brave doing this even in the cold weather)
Campfires and the obligatory s’mores

Son #2 came up with our new favorite dessert: s’mores pizza.

Camping
Riding my bike in nature’s beauty

Foraging for huckleberries
Garden to table eating

And last but not least… it is easier to drive (no slick, icy roads)

The vast majority of my life has been controlled by the school calendar. First it was grade school, followed by too many years in college. Mr. U’s entire professional career was in secondary education and of course our kids’ lives revolved around their school schedule. Then the last 15 years of my career, I spent in academia. EVERYTHING had to fit around the school schedule. Now it is controlled by the feel of the air as the seasons change. I am making a conscious effort to enjoy each season for what it has to offer. Towards the end of summer, I always reflect on whether there is anything I have not yet done this summer, that I will regret I missed. Then I try to fit that in before the days get colder. I think I will try to be proactive this time and make a list of all the things I love about fall and make sure I take time to do them.

It is the simple things I don’t want to miss this fall. Things like…. kayaking in the early morning before the fog lifts off of the lake, gathering family to go tailgating before the university football game, trying a new soup recipe, harvesting the corn stocks, pumpkins and gourds from the garden to decorate the front porch, breathing in the heady scent of an afternoon slash fire, savoring that first bite of a fresh warm pumpkin doughnut, and going on a walk in the late afternoon shadows to gather acorns and water chestnuts for roadsidea. It is the simple things that make the season tangible and take our breath away. And it is the simple things that can slip by unexperienced or unnoticed because the big stuff pushes them out of the way. Obligations, commitments and the mundane tasks of living are like an aggressive bully, shoving the joy out unnoticed. I have to remind myself that I control my own schedule in retirement. I decide what I am going to prioritize. When life feels like the days go by too quickly, it can cause anxiety. The antidote to that is to intentionally slow down and appreciate the moments. So, this fall I am making a commitment to myself to take time to fully experience the season through my five senses.

Speaking of enjoying life with your five senses – there is a new place in town

The beautiful kitchen is open to the dining area.

Sorella’s has an extensive cocktail menu.

Well technically, it is not in my town, but it is only a quick 45 minutes away. I would love to keep this place to myself, but it is too late. The word is out. Sorella’s, which means sister in Italian, is the perfect blend of upscale, yet relaxed, and old world, yet modern Italian dining. I want a restaurant to have a great atmosphere, as well as great food. I want it to appeal to as many of my five senses as possible. The young woman who started the restaurant a few months ago had a vision that came through in every detail, from the fresh flowers to the classy chandeliers, to the big chunky Italian marble slab for the bar. You are immediately taken into the moody vibe as soon as you enter, with melting candles and a gallery wall that the owner created herself. She collected vintage pictures of classic places in Italy, Italian cookbooks, advertisements and people. These are all in thrifted frames that the owner painted an antique brass. All of the food is served on mismatched china that she collected from thrift stores. Love it! It is the perfect blend of old-world charm and contemporary chick.

Entry table (left) & gallery wall (right)

My niece invited my sister and I to join her at Sorella’s for dinner and the food was sooooo good. My niece, who knows the owner and had been there before, suggested we try several different menu items and share them. For an antipasto we had Dante’s Meatballs. The description of them on the menu says, “that is all you need to know” and they are absolutely right. Order them if you go. We followed that with the Burrata salad, which was sublime. Such a wonderful, unexpected blend of flavors. The Bolognese has house made pappardelle. Honestly, I think I could have just eaten that by itself and been happy, but the sauce adds a delectable rich flavor. I was surprised when my niece suggested we order the carrots. One taste and I knew why. They were roasted with goat cheese, fresh parsley, hazelnuts and hot honey. Heaven help me, I was in gastronomic heaven. I will definitely be going back.