Other than checking my emails first thing this morning, I had not looked at my computer until six o'clock this evening! This is something of a record for me ... and it was not until I looked at the date that I realised that it was Friday and almost the end of the month.
The last few days seem to have flashed by, mainly because my wife (Sue) and I have been doing so much work in our garden. She has been trimming back the rampant shrubs with a vengeance as well as planting large numbers of annuals and perennials in the newly defined flowerbeds. I have been doing the heavy work, and to date I have installed nearly 60 feet of wooden lawn edging and shifted nearly half a ton of topsoil and compost. It has been hot, sweaty work, and for someone who hates gardening ... like me ... it has not been the most enjoyable of experiences. That said, there is something very satisfying sitting down afterwards with a cold drink looking at the work I have completed.
The upshot of all this manual work is that this week I have done very little that has been wargames-related. Hopefully that will change over the weekend, and next week will certainly see me doing a lot of wargames-related activity ... but more of that next week. In the meantime there is a unopened parcel of stuff that was delivered this morning awaiting my attention. I am hoping that it might be some ROCO Minitanks, but I won't know until I open it.
The last few days seem to have flashed by, mainly because my wife (Sue) and I have been doing so much work in our garden. She has been trimming back the rampant shrubs with a vengeance as well as planting large numbers of annuals and perennials in the newly defined flowerbeds. I have been doing the heavy work, and to date I have installed nearly 60 feet of wooden lawn edging and shifted nearly half a ton of topsoil and compost. It has been hot, sweaty work, and for someone who hates gardening ... like me ... it has not been the most enjoyable of experiences. That said, there is something very satisfying sitting down afterwards with a cold drink looking at the work I have completed.
The upshot of all this manual work is that this week I have done very little that has been wargames-related. Hopefully that will change over the weekend, and next week will certainly see me doing a lot of wargames-related activity ... but more of that next week. In the meantime there is a unopened parcel of stuff that was delivered this morning awaiting my attention. I am hoping that it might be some ROCO Minitanks, but I won't know until I open it.
Ah, the garden - I have been EWOG (Englishman Without Garden) for two years now in my nice new (but gardenless) flat, and it pains me every day. *Sigh*
ReplyDeleteColonel Scipio,
ReplyDeleteI have lived in a flat ... but I prefer my house and garden, even if the latter seems to be taking up a lot of my time of late.
All the best,
Bob
Welcome to retirement, somehow the days seem to pass gently, but when you look at the calendar time has whistled past a strange paradox. I remember when thinking ahead to retirement my concern was whether I'd find enough to do. I now don't understand how I managed to do so much gaming/painting while I was working!
ReplyDeleteWill McNally,
ReplyDeleteI totally agree about time just zipping past without you noticing. Like you I expected to do loads of wargaming when I retired ... but somehow I don't seem to do much more than I used to.
I still suffer from insomnia, but my stress levels are far lower than they used to be and my quality of life is far better as well. Even the gardening - which I don't think I will ever love - gives me a feeling of satisfaction when I get a job done.
All the best,
Bob
Bob, perhaps you can take the opportunity to landscape your garden to suit Funny Little Wars style wargames?
ReplyDeleteThat, or growing something I can eat, is the only garden activity I enjoy!
Arthur1815,
ReplyDeleteDon't think that turning my garden into an FLW battlefield had not crossed my mind ... but the 1-in-10 slope makes it unrealistic. This also makes growing vegetables difficult ... so most of the garden is lawn and flower beds.
All the best,
Bob
If I may quote Bridge Over the River Kwai: “It is quite understandable; it's a very natural reaction. But one day - in a week, a month, a year - on that day when, God willing, we all return to our homes again, you're going to feel very proud of what you have achieved here in the face of great adversity. What you have done should be, and I think will be, an example to all our countrymen, soldier and civilian alike. You have survived with honor - that, and more - here in the wilderness. You have turned defeat into victory. I congratulate you. Well done” Col Nicholson.
ReplyDeleteOf course I have to contrary also so: “Be happy in your work” says Col Saito. I also have a nice garden area, but our summers on the Gulf Coast are far too hot and humid to enjoy out of doors for long, other than the beach. However in a month or so it will cool down a bit (if the hurricanes hold off) and we can enjoy a cool drink and a nice BBQ outside under the magnolia tree with the cats malingering about.
Bob, I share your disdain for gardening work! It's one of those things that's better when it's done, rather than in the doing, as far as I'm concerned. I hope you can find more time and energy for the stuff you do enjoy (like gaming)!
ReplyDeleteI have never had any doubt that I can find plenty to keep me occupied in the far distant days when I will be able to retire. The real trick I think will be how much of that time is taken up with things I am not exactly thrilled to do and how much energy I will have to do all the things I want to do.
CoastConFan,
ReplyDeleteThe 'quote' from Colonel Nicholson is very typical of the attitude that I was taught at school, which can be summed up as being 'if you don't like the job you have been given to do, do it as well as you can and when it is over you can feel proud that you did it to the best of your ability and in spite of yourself'. I have heard it described as being an example of the Protestant Work Ethic and as Christian Public School Robustness.
I like the hot weather ... but I don't know if I could live with it the way you do. The joy of living in our part of the UK is that the weather is rarely extreme ... and after 60+ years I have sort of got used to it.
All the best,
Bob
Fitz-Badger,
ReplyDeleteOne of the interesting things that I have found is that without the demand to get up and go to work, it is very easy to slide into a lifestyle where nothing ever gets done. I didn't want to do the garden, but it needed doing. It gave me a purpose to get up and get going ... and then to relish what time I had left to do other things.
Achieving the balance between what needs to be done and what you want to do is the key to a happy retirement ... but it takes time to get that balance.
All the best,
Bob
"but the 1-in-10 slope makes it unrealistic"
ReplyDeleteMountain warfare, Bob? French vs Italians would suit FLW perfectly. They could take it in turns to be uphill.
Regards, Chris.
Chris Kemp,
ReplyDeleteDon't think that the idea had not crossed my mind!
The problem with the slope is getting the figures to stay upright and to stop them falling over all the time.
All the best,
Bob