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| where are you? sincerely hoping all is well with you and yours, just thinking about you. cheers suzy |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| I've also wondered about Sherry. She seemed sad and discouraged when she last wrote. I hope she's all right. |
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- Posted by mendocino_rose z8 N CA. (My Page) on Mon, Aug 13, 12 at 9:45
| She's on Facebook today. She seems just fine. Maybe she wanted to take a break from the forum. |
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| Thank you Pam. We all need time to regroup once in a while. |
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| That's Good. |
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- Posted by plantloverkat 9a north Houston (My Page) on Mon, Aug 13, 12 at 17:07
| Wasn't her last post on the thread about gardening books? Perhaps she got some of the books recommended here and has gone on a reading spree. |
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- Posted by sherryocala 9A Florida (My Page) on Mon, Aug 13, 12 at 21:53
| Awwwwww!!! You guys are great!! How do I love thee??? Yesterday I did not get on the computer because I had to clean my kitchen!!! The computer lures me deep into the comfort of the sofa and refuses to let go of me. Hours can pass, meals are missed. I barely get up to go to the john let alone go out to the garden. So I decided I MUST limit the computer! I was really enjoying "The English Garden" that I mentioned in the other thread. Never having taken Western Civ, Europe in the eleventh century was totally new to me and totally enthralling. Along about page 140 she got into the weeds about what castle owner knew which garden designer back in the 1700's. Then I figured out she was losing me. I'll get back to her and skip forward to the gardening stuff that I'm sure is there. My books arrived - "The Well Tempered Garden" by Christopher Lloyd, "Rose Gardens" by Jane Fearnley- Whittingstall, and "The Adventurous Gardener" also by C. Lloyd which I was reading last night. I love his writing. As I was reading the Preface, I kept thinking "I need to share this on ARF." Listen to this. Re his 'laissez-faire' attitude: "Obviously I care intensely but perhaps I have developed a capacity for not worrying when worry will only take the pleasure out of gardening." Re orthodox gardening: "A leavening of skepticsm and independence of thought is healthy. You'll make mistakes but you'll perhaps learn not to mind making them." And about aging: "Never take the 'I shan't see it' attitude." You would not believe the instant, involuntary relief that hit me with those simple words. The latest news is that I will be retiring soon, maybe around end of month. I figured less money was an okay trade-off for more of everything else and less of the chaos and bizerko (boss) at work. So DH and I agreed. Now I'm making to-do lists and taking extra vitamins, trying to get the energy back and directed positively. So I'm looking forward to peaceful poverty or maybe impoverished peace. Which one sounds better. Hmmm. I think the first. Who knows. Maybe it'll just be peaceful lower-middle-class. :)) Guess how I came to see this thread. I had a personal message on Facebook from Malcolm Manners. He'll see this, and I'm sure he'll laugh when I say I was wondering why he was contacting me and not saying why. I was afraid his next post would be "I'm in town. Would you like to go for a drink?" Ha! I don't know what that says about me, but I was so touched by his concern when he finally got to the point of his message. He was kind of worried and so were all of you. You're all wonderful, sweet people. Can I share one more thing from Lloyd? "Keen gardeners can be quite starved for the right sort of company." - "people who really look at plants and gardens in the same way as you do, to talk to about your garden (and theirs and everyone else's that either of you happen to think of at that moment) as you move slowly, ruminatively from plant to plant, border to border, looking, thinking, stirring the pot in which ideas and plans were lying dormant." Isn't that what we do here? We're just a bunch of keen gardeners ruminating about the gardens we love. Thank you for being the "right sort of company". And Suzy, Ingrid, Pam, Plantloverkat and Malcolm, you make me feel special and blessed. You are special beyond words. MWAH! Sherry |
Here is a link that might be useful: If only sweat were irrigation...
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| Sherry, glad you're with us again as miss your optimism and hope! I think we all garden in challenging environments, and I "think" I know how hard raising roses in Florida must be. Congrats on retiring! It's one of the best decisions I have ever made, finally at age 70, and it took a long time to get rested up. Love it, especially every Monday morning when I don't have to get up and go to work, yes! I like C. Lloyd and plan to get more books by him. That's been one of the perks I've enjoyed since retiring, reading again. Right now I'm stuck on Beverley Nichols books, "Down the Garden Path", "Thatched Roof", etc. Nothing earth shattering about gardening, just good humorous writing from the 1930's about living in the country and having a garden. Best of luck on your retirement; I was very uneasy about the financial aspects, but so far, so good! ogrose |
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| Sherry, glad you're with us again as miss your optimism and hope! I think we all garden in challenging environments, and I "think" I know how hard raising roses in Florida must be. Congrats on retiring! It's one of the best decisions I have ever made, finally at age 70, and it took a long time to get rested up. Love it, especially every Monday morning when I don't have to get up and go to work, yes! I like C. Lloyd and plan to get more books by him. That's been one of the perks I've enjoyed since retiring, reading again. Right now I'm stuck on Beverley Nichols books, "Down the Garden Path", "Thatched Roof", etc. Nothing earth shattering about gardening, just good humorous writing from the 1930's about living in the country and having a garden. Best of luck on your retirement; I was very uneasy about the financial aspects, but so far, so good! ogrose |
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- Posted by floridarosez9 10 (My Page) on Tue, Aug 14, 12 at 8:39
| Sherry, don't worry about being poor. Once my husband and I retired, we were living off much less than he alone had made. Needless to say, we were nervous. But you no longer spend money on work clothes or those impulse buys you make when you're in stores. My car leaves the driveway maybe once a week, on average, and my husband's truck goes once a week to buy horse and cattle feed. Because I'm not tired all the time, most of our meals are now homemade, not restaurant. One caveat, though. Before we did it, EVERYTHING was paid for--cars, house, credit cards, etc. I actually wish I had done it sooner because my arthritis has become so bad I can no longer spend the entire day out in the garden like I used to. I have to pace myself now. ENJOY!!!!!! |
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| So glad to have our old Sherry back! Warm congratulations on your retirement (and getting away from your boss!). People at work can really sour your life. With more time to garden now, I have a feeling you'll overcome all the obstacles, especially once cooler weather sets in. Ingrid |
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| Top news, Sherry - no question you are doing the right thing - no susbstitute whatsoever for time to do stuff you want with someone you want to do it with...and you know there's heaps of that sort of thing. Yep, enjoy every second. |
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| Congrats on the retirement decision, I am so happy I did, when I did...and floridaroz has good advice, to get everything 'paid off' before, and to have a few bucks set aside for unseen expenses..also have the 'health insurance' solidified, maybe Medicare? if old enough? that can be a real problem...now you will have time to do the things you always wanted to do but never had the time for! and floridaroz has it nailed, you will have to 'pace yourself' sooner than you expect... but hey, you're going to have all day to do it!! Wheeee! sally |
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- Posted by mariannese 5b (My Page) on Tue, Aug 14, 12 at 17:44
| I'm glad you're back too! You've been in good company with C. Lloyd while you've been away, I am rereading The Well-tempered Garden myself, for I don't know what time. I've been retired for nearly three years now and love it. It took almost one year to adapt because I did some little jobs for my old employers the first year so I couldn't relax completely. I felt flattered to be still wanted but it didn't help me to adjust completely to my new life and I had to pay more taxes than I expected so it wasn't worth it financially. Now I feel free and never think of the old workplace. I don't have to commute by bus 80 minutes a day, I can spend early mornings in the garden, reading the newspaper, something I never had the time to do while I worked. I don't need any work clothes, I eat when I want to with no lunch breaks, the grandchildren can pop in any time they want, like today when one of them just wanted to use the loo. They live close. It's a beautiful life! |
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- Posted by sherryocala 9A Florida (My Page) on Tue, Aug 14, 12 at 19:52
| I guess from what all of you say it will take some time to adjust and get into the groove of retirement. Sounds like nirvana to me. Ogrose, your saying that you now have time to read was good news. I hadn't thought of that. I'm trusting that the hope and optimism will return soon. Floridarozes, we only have a small mortgage payment for a few years so we'll see how frugal we can actually be. Isn't there anything you can take for your arthritis? Mine is Rheumatoid so I take REAL drugs that thankfully deal with all the pain, and shovels fit well into my gnarly hands. Thanks for the sound advice. Pacing myself is good. Ingrid, the extra gardening time will be a plus as you say, but it will be the extra time for all the other things that haven't been getting done. I hated always being behind the 8-ball. Your warm congratulations are much appreciated. Suzy, I like that bit of Brit lingo... Top news! Thanks for cheering me on. Sally, all good advice. Insurance is expensive but at least we have it. Mariannese, you paint such a pretty picture. It sounds like a dreamy life. Thanks for sharing it. Sherry |
Here is a link that might be useful: If only sweat were irrigation...
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- Posted by organic_tosca 9/Sunset 14 (My Page) on Tue, Aug 14, 12 at 22:34
| I'm a bit late catching up with all this, Sherry, but it's good to "hear" your voice again. I agree with the others about retiring - for months after I did it, I could feel the stress just soaking out of me. I didn't realize what a struggle it all was until I got out of it. ENJOY!!! Laura |
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- Posted by organic_kitten 7 (My Page) on Tue, Aug 14, 12 at 22:52
| Sherry, You have no idea how much happier you will be. Retirement is wonderful. Yes, less money, but so much less stress...Blood pressure lower, life brighter, the phone can ring without worrying about what problem is on the other end. Congratulations and enjoy it. kay |
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- Posted by floridarosez9 10 (My Page) on Wed, Aug 15, 12 at 7:58
| Sherry, thanks for asking, but no, there isn't. I was on NSAIDS for so long they started destroying my kidneys (be careful with those, folks). Of course, the COX inhibitors can cause heart problems, so my doctor doesn't want me on those. That leaves Tylenol and aspirin (and Tylenol can fry your liver), and they don't really help my arthritis is so extreme. The bad part is, it isn't in a joint that can be replaced like I did my knee. So I pace myself like I'm sure many others do. |
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- Posted by mendocino_rose z8 N CA. (My Page) on Wed, Aug 15, 12 at 10:28
| I love the quotes Sherry. How wonderful that you are retiring now. Think of all the time you'll have for your garden. |
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- Posted by sherryocala 9A Florida (My Page) on Thu, Aug 16, 12 at 23:56
| Laura & Kay, your positive outlook gave me a good comeback to my boss who told me I'd be back in 3 months. I told her, "Everyone I've told thinks I'll love it." Boy, I enjoyed that. She's such a wack-job! Floridarosez, I'm sorry there's nothing you can take. Some years back I took Bextra (Cox-2) for a year until they took it off the market. Boy, it worked wonderfully. I really don't want to go back to being in pain. Unfortunately, there's some question whether Medicare will pay for the Enbrel I take, but that's 4 years away. Fun, fun. Have you ever read Christopher Lloyd, Pam? He seems right up your alley. Sherry |
Here is a link that might be useful: If only sweat were irrigation...
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