LOOKING BACK ON THE LAST YEAR

If you would like to see an overview of the year you can see it here: 2016: The Year In Review. This is a story page made on Adobe Spark. It may take a few moments to open; then you can scroll through at your leisure. It even includes a short YouTube video slideshow. Enjoy!

FIVE MONTHS

It has been 20 weeks since I last worked. That is 5 workless months.

It is difficult to review such a time period in one blog entry. After my delayed departure from the job that I did for over thirty years, I was certainly ready for a break. My almost-7 week trip to Europe offered me a pleasant barrier to the new realities of being  “alone” at home for months on end. 

The whole period from my initial planning for retirement until now has been a good transition, which has allowed me plenty of time to think about things. I believe that a major is what this whole blog has been about.

Now I am at home during the days while my wife is still working. How am I doing on my own SCIMP Scale?

Socially, I have made sure that I am staying in touch with friends. It is definitely a process that I have to initiate; it doesn’t just happen. That said, others have also reached out to me and I really appreciate that. I have tried to incorporate other aspects of my well being into this category through lively discussions, and joining friends for walks.

Creatively, I have been working on making a documentary and continue to take photographs and present those efforts in the best possible ways. I am trying to work out future trips; many might not see this as primarily a “creative” process, but I do.

Intellectually, I have been challenging myself to learn new processes, particularly film editing. I have re-engaged with my joy of reading, which had been flagging for a while. I am also trying to make cognitive sense of the recent elections.

Meaningfully, I have been reviewing aspects of my life up until now. I have found myself cleaning up around the house and, in doing so I have come across old journals and photographs, which I have examined at an initial level. It is fascinating to look at old photos and to read entries from transitional periods and difficult times in my life.

Physically, I have noticed that I feel better when I am active. Although this is obvious to most people, it is something that I am actually consciously feeling in my body for the first time. I have been trying to get a rhythm going wherein I can get some exercise every day. Once again, this process feels as though it is in its infancy but it has taken on more importance in my scheduling.

So that is a brief overview of how I am faring on these parameters. I am worried about the winter and hoping that I will not feel trapped inside. I am having some difficulty finding clarity on some of my next projects. I occasionally feel a little bored. But generally I am overwhelmingly satisfied to find my own body rhythms. I love being able to sleep in and to listen and respond to my body as I go. I go to sleep when I want and get up when I want.

THE FIRST FIFTY DAYS OF RETIREMENT

I remember counting down the days to retirement, and now i am counting up the days from retirement. I only had about 10 days at home before setting off on this long trip. I am a little concerned about how the reality of being home will hit me after this great whirlwind of travel has settled down and I find myself without specific daily structured plans. I will certainly be taking time to review the wonders of this travel opportunity that I have been involved in. I need to re-visit different aspects of this trip and touch base with some of the people that made various parts of this trip special for me. I will be working on photographs taken on this journey, and I will also be taking a look at the video from the reunion to see if there is a documentary waiting to happen there.

I have been driving on the fabulous roads of Scotland. Some of the single track roads in the north and the Isle of Skye are invigorating. 

I have enjoyed the challenge of looking ahead to see if there might be a vehicle speeding toward me at an upcoming sharp bend. The magnificent views are a dangerous distraction to a driver. There are frequent tiny areas where one can pull off the road to allow oncoming traffic to pass; it is, however, a matter of timing as one has to communicate through ESP with strangers in passing cars to navigate the roads, drop-offs, rough edges, cattle grids, narrow bridges, sharp turns, and hairpin bends in a safe manner. Sometimes one has to also account for the powerful effects (on others) of Scottish whisky. 

There are only a couple of days left now before we return to Madison. Best to fully enjoy the beauty of what we have here and relax into the future gradually as it happens.

GREETINGS FROM EDINBURGH

 

Edinburgh Castle

Well, time passes and spaces transform. I have been traveling for more than four weeks and barely remember where I am at times. Places and faces have flown by. It is difficult to clasp any memory; sometimes it is hard to slow down at all for fear of missing a nugget of gold. I have seen and felt so much beauty, warmth, and love. I have seen colorful streets and monuments, rolling landscapes passing by fleetingly. Magical, profound interactions blend together.

Right now I am in Edinburgh in a gorgeous Georgian style Air BnB in New Town during the Fringe Festival. We just arrived here and it feels good to relax beneath 12 -foot ceilings by a big bay window. The view outside is of the typical limestone buildings seen throughout this majestic city. I am here with my wife and my brother after a crowded train journey from Carlisle. This is the fifth country visited on this journey after being in England, France, Portugal and Ireland. 

St. Paul's Cathedral and Millennium Bridge, London, England

Ireland

Belem, Lisbon, Portugal

The Louvre, Paris, France

Most recently we were at my brother’s house in Cockermouth in the Lake District. This seemingly rudely named town is at the mouth of the River Cocker and is known as the birthplace of William Wordsworth and the origins of the cocker spaniel. Whilst there, we were able to meet with my nephew Owen, his girlfriend Tracy, my niece Francesca, her five month old daughter Ada, and Ada’s father Stephan.  Quite a family reunion!

 Alan, Stephan, Ada, Francesca

Tracy

Bill

Owen

Prior to my time in the Lake District, I was in my hometown of London at a reunion with friends from 45 years ago. It was amazing to see some of my close friends whom I lived with at such a formative time straight out of high school so long ago.

Mark

Doug

Jeff

Spencer

As I have moved from one adventure to another it has been difficult to find the time or space to sit down and write. I have been enamored by my surroundings and engaged by the stream of wonderful people that I have spent time with. It is as though I have no choice but to live in the moment with little time to reflect upon the events. Of course this lack of the usual processing time leads to some underlying and as yet unvisited emotions which currently well up inside me and swirl around in an abstract melee.

I still have almost two weeks to explore Scotland with Cindy, my wife. It will be nice to retreat to our casual way of life and to our more familiar shared pace. For now however we have a festival to explore here in Edinburgh.

PORTUGAL

Continuing on the theme of allowing my travel photographs to describe the places they depict, here are some of my favorites from Portugal.
We'll start will Porto:

Then, let's take a look at Lisbon and the surrounding area:

So far this has been a whirlwind after-retirement trip. I am in a constant state of excited, creative flux. I am mingling, and indulging, experiencing the new and the familiar, exploring the unknown along with the nostalgic. I am in a state of active seeking along with the quiet of repose. I find myself resonating in a space somewhere between solitude and social abundance, in stillness amidst chaos. This absurd dichotomy insists that I become more alive, energized and motivated by the magnetic forces drawing me on.

PARIS

I feel like it is best to let the pictures do the talking. Paris is all that one imagines and more. I am staying in a wonderful apartment near the Luxembourg Gardens. Weather has been perfect and I have been walking my ass off.

The Eiffel Tower fireworks celebration on Bastille Day

Lavender

Notre Dame at Twilight

Paris is indeed a place for lovers:

Places, people, art, architecture, culture, history and modernity; altogether very civilized living!