My husband retired in July of 2019. It has been such a fun adjustment for both of us. He is just getting to the point where he doesn’t automatically think he will be going back to work on Monday. We often have to think twice to remember what day of the week it is. Mostly, it is like life is all one long weekend, which is awesome!
This weekend we decided to spend a few days up the mountain at our little bungalow in Downieville. We haven’t been here in a couple of months what with the holidays and general busyness. We had hoped for a snowy weekend but it doesn’t seem like that is going to happen. There is a dusting of snow just a bit higher than us. Maybe it will get cold enough to snow a bit lower. I hope so!
This morning we took a nice long walk between rain showers. Because we are on the river up here, winters are very damp and chilly. All the moisture in the air creates the perfect environment for all sorts of moss and lichen to thrive here. The oak tree trunks and lower branches are covered right now. It dries out quite a bit when the weather is warm and then greens up in the cool of winter.
I love being up here. It is so quiet and really relaxing. This afternoon I will sit in my cozy little kitchen and list a stack of patterns in the pattern shop I have. It has been a while since I worked on that shop and I have hundreds (truly – hundreds!) of patterns to list.
Later today I have a date with a good book and a sweet quilt. I am currently reading Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood. This has been in my stack of books to read for a long while now and it is really good. This quilt is one we keep up here and I love it. This was the first time I did a block of the month and it was hosted by Aurifil some years back. The bright colors are unusual for me and it makes me happy!
This town is tiny and I could smell someone baking something yummy this morning. Of course this makes me crave something home baked. We don’t keep very much in the way of a pantry up here but I do have flour and sugar. I think I will make beer bread this afternoon. We brought elk chili (from the freezer at home) up for dinner. Don’t you think beer bread will go great with that?
Anyway, that sums up the weekend for us! Last week I did quite a bit of quilting on my Squared Away quilt. I would estimate I am about 1/2 way to finishing. So that is the goal for this week. Finish the quilting and then move on to binding it for the first finish of the year. Hope you are all enjoying your weekend!
What a sweet getaway! Your kitchen is so cute, and I love your bold and bright BOM quilt. You might just see some snow tonight.🙂
Hi Christine – nice to hear from you! I love the kitchen – Ray cleaned it up and it is so sweet now. Very basic – and maybe not all that fun to cook in (I hate electric stoves) but very cozy! I had hopes for snow but it isn’t quite cold enough. Oh well. Take care and see you soon!
Thanks for sharing your getaway pictures with us. Sounds like a nice way to relax from the everyday hustle and bustle of life. Warm dinner, warm cozy quilt, good book to read and what a wonderful weekend! Enjoy.
For sure! After the busyness of the holidays, it is so great to come up here and just be quiet! Hope all is well with you.
Sounds like a well deserved break. Enjoy your time.
Thank you Anja. We are always happy to be up here. 🙂
We have a clock that shows the day of the week, because sometimes we forget. It’s great to be retired 🙂
Haha – that is great! I admit, I often have to think for just a second to remember the day. Since we aren’t working and there are no kids going to school, it just doesn’t matter as much! I agree, it is awesome to be retired!
We love retirement, too – for exactly that reason. We often lose track of what day of the week it is. Your place in Downieville looks cozy and sweet – enjoy your weekend!
Thank you Diann. It is tiny and very cozy – perfect for the two of us. During the summer there are lots of people around playing on the river but in the winter it is very quiet. We love being up here. Take care and enjoy the weekend (if you can remember when that even is.). Haha.
Your views from your walk are just gorgeous; I love that misty view through the trees, as well as the mossy trunks. Yes, I’ll bet the beer bread was tasty with the elk! I think we started to watch a show based off that same historical event, but it moved too slow for us or something. Wonder if I’d like the book. You know I like that quilt with its bright colors!
I was wondering about the series. I don’t want to try it until I finish the book though. The beer bread was great. I added minced onion and we had some bacon left from breakfast so we chopped it up and stirred that in too. Yum!!
If you stay there in Downieville for another day or two, you’ll most likely get snow. We have 3 storm systems coming in over the next week, by next weekend you’ll FOR sure have it! lol. Enjoy your stay in your sweet little cabin (I live a ridge or two over from it).
Hi Bernie! It sounds like a fabulous weekend, and best yet – no hint of a migraine. I love that photo of it snowing in the higher elevation. I can’t quite imagine being retired – I’d be willing to give it a try though – but I can imagine not knowing exactly what day it is. That seemed to happen over the holidays quite easily. Ahh yes, the time it takes to list things. That would be a fulltime job all on its own. ~smile~ Roseanne
I remember when my hubs retired, and how long it took to lose that Sunday evening feeling about returning to work on Monday. And the days of the week? Well, the best way to keep track is to note which day is “the big newspaper” day. 🙂 Your get-away place looks lovely, though I’m sorry for you to not get the snow you want. I’m grateful to now live in a warm place where winters are mild. In fact, today’s high is expected to be 85. Love it!
We relate to wondering what day of the week it is. 😉 I assume you decided to keep the Downieville place instead of selling it? I fell in love with Downieville the first time you blogged about it, and I’ve never seen it in person! Sounds like you are enjoying a wonderful cozy weekend.
No we still plan to sell Downieville. We listed it last summer and it didn’t sell so we will list again in the spring. Since it is still ours, we get to enjoy it this winter. I do like it but if it sells this year, that is good too! It has been a fun project though. (Well fun for me and a ton of work for Ray!)
Retirement is fun, isn’t it?!!! When my husband retired, we had the same thoughts -so fun, what day is it? I do love being able to just run off for a couple of days whenever we want.
For sure! It is great to be able to do whatever we want for the most part. Still feels strange actually! After working for such a long time….
You’ll enjoy Alias Grace — I’ve seen it as a movie. Congratulations on being able to get away and relax. It’s not always easy to do. Take care…
You are right – sometimes we forget to just take a little time and skip the chores etc. It was such a relaxing weekend. The book is a good one – I will watch the movie after I finish the book. (I usually prefer to the book to the movie – so we will see!)
It looks so peaceful and calm up there. I’m envious! Hope you had a wonderful, restful time.
It was such a nice weekend. Cold and gray out so perfect for reading, watching movies, etc.
Lovely!! Hope all is well Mari.
Elk Chili and Beer Bread sounds like a yummy combination. A bright and cheerful quilt just makes it a perfect getaway. Hope you have a lovely time.