The Cliffs of Moher - Ireland
Blubell Cottage Air BnB - Ireland
Galway - Ireland
Leed's Castle - England
Cliffs of Dover - England
Bath - England
Pompeii - Italy
Paris - France
Hope you enjoyed the pictures - no narrative, just visual stimulation!
Sunday, July 5, 2026
Relaxing vacation photos . . . just sharing
There are not many things that can beat the relaxation of a vacation:
The anticipation & angst of retirement
Retirement . . . what a beautiful word! Or is it? It seems like many of us look forward to retirement and then when it is just around the corner, we start to wonder what our lives are going to be like when we don't have to report to work and punch a clock on a regular basis.
I am going through this phase of transition right now. A few months ago, I trained in the person who replaced me. Now, I need to start figuring out what to do with myself every day. Don't get me wrong, I have plenty of things to keep busy, however, I am used to a daily workweek routine. After I retire, I am not going to have my schedule laid out for me and I will need to structure my days so one doesn't bleed into the next. and then before I know it I have not left the house or accomplished any of the tasks I was hoping to. Some people wake up in the morning, and they can have their whole day planned out in their head within the first 5 minutes . . . this is not me. I go to my calendar for a peek at what my day will be like. I need to begin to build my list that will define what goes into my retirement calendar.
So, what is my calendar going to look like? What tasks do I need to accomplish every day. Do I even need to accomplish something every day? Are there hobbies I am going to restart and if so, should I put them into the calendar, so I do them? Are they even a hobby if I have to schedule them or are they now a new "job". What if I wake up and don't want to follow my agenda for the day? Do I just delete tasks from my calendar without rescheduling them? If I do that, will the tasks ever get done? So many questions!
I don't really want to have such a rigid calendar that I don't enjoy life day to day. I know that I want to travel and there are many family and friends who have extended invitations of hospitality if I want to go visit. I also know that I want to seriously focus on my personal health. I want to start an exercise routine, but I just need to figure out what that is going to be. I know from prior experience that I don't do well keeping up with exercise routines. I know it will need to be simple and short in duration or I won't do it. Cooking is another task/hobby (I love to cook) that has fallen by the wayside. There are too many calories lurking in the cabinets in my house and they need to be evicted. Chaos and clutter have also taken up residence without a lease and neither one of them contribute to a smooth-running household - they too must be evicted.
My sewing machine, over-lock machine, knitting needles and crochet hooks all need to come out of the dark closet, get brushed off and polished up again. These were the very items that used to help me keep sane when my children were younger . . . it is time they rise up and take a stand with me. I might even start doing projects on my Cricut. Who knows?
Retirement: The stage of life where one becomes independent again. Only this time I am not leaving home to start a new life . . . I am coming home to start a new life. Wish me luck!
Saturday, October 1, 2022
Change Is Good
A lot has happened since the last time I blogged. I changed jobs and my new career path took me to long-term care (LTC) where I was given the opportunity to experience a whole other side of nursing. Acute care nursing had its challenges, and I enjoyed every one of them. However, life changes occur as we get older and in lieu of that, so did my career path. In December of 2020 I accepted a position in a nursing home - it had been 12 years since my last stint in LTC. I was very excited but also very nervous. What if I didn't like the work? What if my new co-workers didn't like me? I also worried about having to learn all the different tasks that went with the new job. What I hadn't thought about was all the physical differences between my old job and the new one. I basically went from a desk position to a floor position and was no longer getting only 800 steps a shift - I was now averaging around 5,000 steps each shift. The other problem . . . elderly people are always cold - the thermostats were set to a balmy 74 degrees. Holy crap! I am going to talk about some of those changes as I slowly sweat to death.
Connections: I forgot how much I enjoyed interacting with the elderly. When I was growing up, my 70–80-year-old neighbor lady was one of my best pals. I would run across the yard and go visit Dena whenever I had the chance. Sometimes my sister would come with me. Dena lived in a big old house and sat in her rocking chair much of the day, looking out the window while she was crocheting. Her sister, Laura, also lived with her. Laura was blind but boy could she play the piano and sing. I learned how to play Rook, was introduced to the joys of piano playing, and was fascinated by the endless miles of thread being crocheted into beautiful works of art. Dena liked to crochet large tablecloths with intricate patterns and doilies so dainty they looked like lace and spider webs. Their house had ten-foot ceilings, hard wood floors, crown molding finishes, stained glass windows, and built-in cabinets that stretched from floor to ceiling. There were beveled glass china cabinets, with pillars reaching up to the ceiling, that were filled with knickknacks and other wonderful treasures to look at. Both ladies were still active in their advanced ages - Dena was a retired nurse and she drove a big old red vintage car - us kids used to call it a land yacht. She would get in her car, rev the engine, and if it was possible to squeal the tires on gravel, she could have done it. She drove like a bat out of hell. She once rode with my mom in our family car and at one point the window started to make a whistling noise. Dena asked my mom how fast she was going, and mom replied that she was driving 55 miles per hour. Dena commented, "Oh, my car doesn't whistle like this until I get it up to 80". That comment pretty much sums up Dena's zest for life.
I was flooded with memories of Dena and Laura as I continued to learn the different aspects of my new job. Over time I developed a great rapport with the staff and came to love and be loved by the residents. When residents passed on to be with God, I mourned but wasn't stricken by grief because I know that before they died, I made a difference in their life no matter how short their time with us was. I developed real friendships with many of the residents while learning their life stories. I love to travel and many of the residents worried about me when I was on my trips while at the same time looked forward to getting e-mails and updates on my adventures.
Fast forward 20 months . . . life changed again, and I have made another career change. This time I am taking on the role of care coordinator at a sister LTC facility. I has been 14 years since I last worked at this site and I am both nervous and excited to take the next step forward in my career. I won't have as much physical hands-on interaction with the residents, but I will have a very important role in making sure they get the best care possible. I just completed my first week of orientation in my new job as Care Coordinator, and I LOVE IT! The skills and experience I have gained over the years have been extremely helpful and I am still able to create that long term connection with the resident that was missing when I worked Acute Care. I believe in the holistic approach and working with residents and their families to develop the best plan of care for everyone is a huge part of my new job. I have been able to reconnect with prior co-workers and the job itself has consistent hours that do not require weekend or holiday shifts to be worked. The physical demands are less, and I can appreciate that as I am getting older and find that I have to slow down some . . . just a little :)
I anticipate that this job will be my final career change until I retire, and I am okay with that. The road always twists and turns but eventually we end up where we are meant to be. This journey started the day we moved into the big green house, and I looked across the yard to see a big boned, white haired lady walking toward my family to welcome us to the neighborhood.
Life is good, change is good ~ Daemon
Sunday, May 30, 2021
Vaccinated . . . it's the only way to travel (seriously)
I really debated whether or not to get a Covid vaccine. In the end, the deciding factor was this, "A vaccinated me could travel to other countries easier". I'm not even going to try lie and say I did it because it was the right thing to do since I work in healthcare. Those who know me best would have seen right through me anyway.
I am not opposed to vaccines, and I am not really worried that they aren't safe. However, I have reacted to vaccines in the past, and I have a history of not retaining immunity. My dilemma was this: What if I got the first dose and I reacted and couldn't get a second dose. Would it have been for nothing? I decided to wait and get the Johnson & Johnson vaccine - the "one and done" seemed like the best choice. I mean, if I reacted then it was already a done deal and I wouldn't have to worry about a second dose, right? I had a date lined up to get the vaccine - my son got one several days before I did and he got sick. He had already had Covid once over a year ago. Hmmm? Was J&J the right one to get? Then, a couple days before my vaccination appointment, the health department put a temporaty hold on the J&J due to reports that people were developing blood clots. Of course, I happened to be in this risk group. Nope, J&J was off the table for me - now what?
I spoke with some of my healthcare co-workers and did a little more research and decided to get the Moderna vaccine. Other than my arm being really sore for a few days (it's a tough shot), I was fine. I had a mild headache but otherwise everything went really well. Last week I received my second vaccine. Still had the same arm pain but otherwise, it wasn't too bad until approximately six hours later. I started to get a headache and felt tired. My arm was getting more sore and I was feeling slightly nauseated. I went and laid down. Within 24 hours I had a fever, chills, migraine headache, nausea, a sore throat, dizziness, blurred vision, and my muscles and joints felt like I had been dropped off a cliff. My hands were swollen so I couldn't get my ring off, but my mouth was dry like cotton. I couldn't see the veins in my hands so I knew I was dehydrated (that's my tell).
I laid back down and went to sleep again. The next time I woke up I had to make it downstairs - I needed something in case I vomited. I could hardly move; my joints and muscles hurt so bad and I had to hold onto the wall so I didn't fall over from having vertigo (spins). I knew I needed to hydrate so I grabbed a large glass of water, a bucket, and made my way back upstairs. I slept again. I think it was Friday afternoon when I got up to get more water. My whole body was hot and flushed. My husband was getting ready to go to the cabin and he asked me if he should stay home with me. Nope . . . I wanted to feel sorry for myself, by myself. Off he went for the weekend. I was hoping I would feel better by the next day. It is now Sunday, three days later, and I still don't feel so great but only the rash, mild headache, and dizzyness are left. I am hopeful they will all be gone by tomorrow.
Tomorrow, I have to go to work. It is holiday pay tomorrow and the miser in me likes getting paid extra to do my normal job. Don't we all? Just in case though, I lined up someone to work for me on the off chance I wake up feeling like crap. Was the vaccine worth it? Of course . . . how else will I travel without having to quarantine? The fact that I am protected from Covid is just an added bonus!
Random thought: My parents took me and my siblings over to friends, neighbors, or family members who were infected with measles, mumps, & chicken pox so we could "get it and be done with it". However, that probaby wasn't the best strategy and definitely not one recommended in today's world. Vaccinate, vaccinate, vaccinate . . . and if you don't, that's okay. Risk is a personal choice.
This is randomly me ~ Daemon