What's After Work?

For a year and a day I have been waiting and on March 16th 2021 I received the second of the required vaccines needed to prevent covid 19. It has been a long strange journey to get here. During this time I have learned about myself and others.  Last January Jan and I took a big trip to Hawaii. It was great we flew from Tampa to Hawaii in a big plane packed in with a bunch of people we did not know. No masks or excessive hand washing. I'm not even sure we carried any hand sanitizer. While there we ate out at  restaurants and visited sights with lots of people.  I also just started my retirement in January and had planned to do lots of fun things. I was going to get involved with volunteering in my community. Jan and I were going to travel and see things. Then before I could even get started on March 15, 2020 everything came to a screeching halt.  Next thing I know we are sitting at home watching Netflix and figuring how to order groceries online. I broke out the sewin...

  Our March trip was a visit to Evansville Indiana to celebrate Art's (Jan's dad) 97th birthday.  But before our trip north we headed south. For one of my varied aliments I see Dr. Castro at the Cleveland Clinic in Weston Florida. I can't say enough good things about the Doctors and staff of the Cleveland Clinic. Every time I visit I am made to feel that my care is their first thought. Also there is some great artwork on display through out the clinic. I really enjoy seeing all the art on the walls. And I got a good review by the Doctor! After visiting Weston we headed north via the Florida Turnpike. Jan and I traveled the entire length of the Turnpike.  All 312 miles of it. Along the way we passed several Turnpike Travel Centers. These advertised gas and food as well as restrooms. We decided to stop and give it a try. These are really big rest stops. They are in between the north and south roads so if you don't pay attention or get a little confused when leaving you ...

Now that I am retired I have time to notice the small things. One thing I have noticed lately is a small Spineybacked Orbweaver spider . I have been watching it weave its web for about two months now.  It is really quite interesting how it remakes it's web over night. In the morning is when its web looks its best. By the afternoon it looks quite tattered. This morning it looked like she had completely redone her web because all of the attachments to the wall and plants had been moved slightly and I was able to get behind the web to take this picture and catch the sun through the web.  I'm not sure how long the spider will stay here but I'll keep watching.

  The first week of February Jan and I took a trip down to Everglades. Other than driving through the Everglades on Alligator Alley Jan an I have never visited the Everglades.  For this trip we rented a class "B"rv. We had been wanting to try one and this fit the bill.  This one is made by Winnebago. It is like driving a really big van. Inside there is room for two to sleep, shower and cook dinner. On top are several solar panels that keep the batteries charged. I was also surprised to find the mileage acceptable, 16 to 17 MPG.  We camped at the Everglades Flamingo which is the southernmost tip of the Florida peninsula. This is semi-primitive camping, no hot water in the showers. But other than that is is a very nice campground. the sites are very large and spread out. We never felt that the other camper were too close. At night the lighting at the campground is very subdued and we could see lots of stars. The first full day in the Everglades we had planned a boat t...

 With a year of Covid under our belts I've been thinking about what will define this era. I think it will be the masks we are wearing. These are a visual representation if the many things we are all going through.  I know that there are other things that could define this time; washing hands, social distancing, unemployment, fear and anger. but these are all things that can be connected with other times or events. Masks are focused on this time only. Masks are either a symbol of caring for others or submission to an authoritative government. Masks played a part in the downfall of some political aspirations while boosting others.  I have noticed masks being discarded most places I go nowadays. I got to thinking that a year ago seeing a mask was a rare event. Now most people I see out are wearing masks and they are loosing then everywhere. I have started photographing masks as I find them. The more I look the more I find. By the end of this I may have quite a collection of ...

January 6, 2020 was my last day of work. I remember that it was rather anticlimactic. It was the day after Winter Break and a teacher work day. Everyone at work had just come back and it was a non-student day. I was there because if you work one day in a month our health insurance covers you for that month, If you have ever priced insurance a month is worth working a day. So after a number of very nice parties celebrating my retirement. (I know that is a strange concept now, getting together in large groups for any reason. ) I had a few weeks to just relax, sit back and contemplate my future. Ummm what should I do? I thought it would be sleep late and watch late night TV. No! My body had other plans . Even without the need to get up and go to work I was still waking up early and getting sleepy around 10 pm. I guess my body was having a hard time adjusting to this new life style. The nearly 40 years of work had taken it's toll. I realized I would  never be able to go back to my 20...