Category: Fun

I did something this week that I have never done in my life.  I completed a crossword puzzle. Actually, I completed four crossword puzzles. If it sounds strange that a word hound like me would never attempt such a task, I can explain.  I’m not very good at sitting still for extended periods. I think it is the same reason that I don’t play card games or do very well fishing from a boat. This old boy needs to be moving or at least actively engaged if confined to a chair. Playing poker for pennies or wading a stream for rainbow trout I can do…bridge is not my game.

This week I am recovering from knee replacement surgery.  Although I am doing well, the process is tortuous for someone averse to remaining still.  The act of sitting is especially difficult in the early stages of recovery because I have to keep my leg straight for long periods and apply ice at regular intervals.  Blogging is made difficult with these restrictions because sitting at a desk with one straight leg is very uncomfortable for me, and typing on a laptop from a recliner is equally challenging.

Patience is the real issue. Every morning I ask the Good Lord to send me some, but the problem is that I can’t sit still long enough for His patience to reach me. No more whining, I promise. The fact that worn-out knees and hips are replaceable is a blessing and, with time and a good regimen of therapy, everything should be on the path to normal.

This week’s chapter of Easin’ Along will again be short.  After getting caught up on all the magazines I accumulated over the summer, I tried to focus on something interesting to share with readers; a task not made easy on pain medications. I’m off the pain meds as of Thursday but the activity level remains low. About all I can do is think about what I would rather be doing if I were somewhere besides a recliner or the bedroom.

I’ve been here and I don’t want to do that anymore.

 

I would much rather be preparing for a road trip.

 

How about a morning walk to see the sunrise?

I don’t consider this fishing, it’s more like good buddies having a morning coffee session.  At the least, I can walk to the water’s edge to cast a line or retrieve a catch.

I’ve thought a lot about a trip to peek at the fall colors—maybe next week.

Pork shoulders on the grill…who wouldn’t want to wade into some good barbeque?

I’m having a good time thinking about winning The Ultimate Tailgate Camper. I love this picture of Helen’s non-stop excitement.

Speaking of the new camper, I also wanted to share the video of our prize-winning moment and have posted it below. I almost HAD to sit after this one, but managed to lean on Helen (and my cane) to stay upright.

These are just a few of the many things I focus on while sitting idle in my recliner. Thanks for letting me share them with you and for Easin’ Along with me as I continue to heal. I have to ice my knee now.  See you next week.

 

 

 

I have made many online friends through Easin’ Along, most of which I’ll never meet in person, but I cherish the opportunity I have to communicate with all of them. Earlier this week, Nancy Dobbins, who writes a very well-crafted and often thought-provoking retirement blog, Defining Third Age, posted an article detailing some of the pleasures and challenges she uncovered during her first year of blogging. Within that post, Nancy listed both the “pros”, all of which I share, and the “cons” of writing consistently good articles consistently. I’m willing to bet that all of us who practice this labor of love called blogging have felt every one of the items on her lists. One of her “cons” hung prominently over me this week.

“There is pressure to produce frequently, as well as to produce posts with good content.”

I felt the pressure this week. To blog or not to blog…that was the question.

We returned from a delightful two weeks on the road. As always, we very much enjoyed our time spent in North Carolina, and I can’t say enough about the eight days we spent in Edisto Beach sharing glorious weather, the beach, and the creek with our beautiful granddaughters. It was a different scene when we arrived back in Knoxville.

The most glaring issue was the fact that I had knee replacement surgery scheduled a week and a half out and, the “do list” was long. Even though I can barely walk for more than thirty steps without taking a break, there was still Lucy (trailer) to unload, clean, and winterize before putting her away for a few months. When we opened our garage door, we discovered that the faucet on our laundry sink had a leak that needed repair. The handle on our bathroom toilet had broken before we left and could no longer go ignored. I had appointments to keep, paperwork to complete, an RV we won three weeks ago needed moving to a different spot in the storage lot.  Helen said I had to get a flu shot.

To blog or not to blog…

Retirement is a wonderful period in our lives due to the time we have to delve into the things that give us joy and pleasure whether it is art, music, exercise, Bible study, golf, travel, or writing. The list is endless. I love my blog and, now into my fourth year, Easin’ Along is as much a part of me as my family. My blog replaces the journal I kept for twenty years and adds the structure that I need in my life now that I am no longer working. I don’t want to lose that. Selfishly, I write for me as much as I write for you.

 

So…distractions be damned, I won’t let a leaky sink shelve Easin’ Along this week. Nevertheless, my time is short so I’m going to give readers another peek at Creek Week. Helen took many of the pictures shown above and below with her iPhone.  I am impressed with the quality and think you will be as well. To reduce upload time, I reduced a few pictures to a smaller size, but you can enlarge any of them with a simple click.

Nancy, thanks for highlighting the “pros”.  As I commented on your excellent blog post, eventually they will far outweigh the “cons”.  To my fellow bloggers, thanks for keeping in touch and for your insight into retirement—the best gig out there. To my readers, thanks for stopping by and for the opportunity to share the experiences and the joy of retirement with you. Hopefully, we’ll have many more days together while…Easin’ Along.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Helen and I have made three trips to Edisto Beach, SC, in just over one year. After our first visit, this small, quiet beach town, became an immediate favorite. Before we left our campsite on our second trip last year, we made sure we had confirmed reservations for this fall. Fall came, and, sure enough, we’re here again.

We left Knoxville almost two weeks ago and camped for three nights alongside SoCo Creek in Cherokee, NC. There’s something almost medicinal about SoCo and the North Carolina mountains and, although the setting won’t heal my arthritic knee, just the thought of listening to the sound of rushing water as the sun rises and a cup of fresh coffee in hand will most assuredly take my mind off of it. We left Cherokee in good spirits and, as we like to say in jest, transform our mountain home (Lucy – our fifth wheel) into our beach house.

Edisto Beach State Park has two campgrounds, and we have a reservation for eight nights at the beach campground. Before making reservations last year, Helen walked the entire beach campground to find the perfect campsite. I have to hand it to her; she found it—a lovely large site with a stunning view of the creek, marsh, and the setting sun. We parked Lucy and within 30 minutes of arrival, had the chairs out, drinks poured, and Helen’s puzzle ready to tackle. It’s Creek Week at Edisto Beach!

On Saturday around mid-day, our son and both granddaughters arrived from Charleston to tent camp on our campsite. Windy conditions prevented them from spending the afternoon on the beach, so they helped Helen with the puzzle before beginning to write a story about their doll family. Their story was still in progress when they left the next day, but the early draft was excellent, and I promised to use it as a guest blog post in a future edition of Easin’ Along.

By Sunday morning, the wind calmed, and the beach called all of us. Both girls danced in the surf and searched for shark’s teeth. The youngest found a big tooth very quickly, and I soon found one as well. Readers can judge which is the largest. After that discovery, the race was on to see who could find some more. I captured a great picture of both girls in search mode and captioned it “The Sandpiper Pose.”

For the remainder of our stay, I have spent more time creek watching than beach walking. Every morning an egret patrols the creek at high tide searching for breakfast. He does more looking than eating, but he’s a persistent sort, and I doubt he leaves hungry. A pair of herons usually sleep in the Live Oak behind Lucy. They’re not early risers.

On the morning this picture was taken, they looked a bit cranky. Maybe they had a late night. One of the two finally came out from under the covers in time to troll for lunch.

The goldenrod that surrounds our campsite is home to hundreds of butterflies, and watching them is almost as interesting as watching the birds. The bright yellow of the goldenrod is a perfect backdrop for their orange color. This pair put on quite a show for us.

By mid-week, the weather improved considerably, and I was up early and decided to check out the sunrise on the beach, which was about 200 yards from Lucy. I made the short walk between the berm that protects the campground as a pink glow over the horizon announced the impending arrival of Ol’ Sol. A pelican greeted me with a solo flyover, but a  sandpiper hardly gave me a second glance.

A crowd of onlookers soon joined me with cameras at the ready. At around 7:25, the sun began to peek over the low clouds and continued to reveal itself in a slow ascent. Cameras, including mine, clicked rapidly. Within minutes, the sun became wholly exposed, and the cameras dropped. No one left disappointed.

Ordinarily, a dazzling sunrise would be enough for one day, but the beauty of our campsite is that glorious sunsets over the creek are just outside our door. On the same day that we witnessed the sunrise, a few thin clouds moved into the western sky, setting things up for an evening spectacular. While waiting for the big show, I noticed the moon hanging out just to the southeast. I suppose Mr. Moon didn’t want to miss the show either. Soon, the big ball dropped enough to give the western sky just a glint of pink before turning up the burners and going all orange. The waters filling the creek reflected color to our feet. I wanted to applaud but couldn’t take my finger off the shutter button. Here’s a sample from the show.

Creek Week is the best example I can give of what I call a “Slow Walk Through the Golden Years.” With beauty like this in front of us, there’s no reason to hurry, so; we’ll sit creekside for a while longer before we continue…Easin’ Along.