July 1, 2014.  That was my Retirement Day.  I can't believe I am approaching the 15 year mark of retirement.  It seems like just yesterday I was flying out of Karachi, Pakistan on my way to 3 days in Santorini, Greece.  That was the gift to myself for serving my final 2 years in Pakistan.  I was only 65 and was totally against being forced to retire at that age. But that was the rule for the Foreign Service so I had to comply. 

I had served for a full 6 years, getting in just under the age of 59, the cut off age for joining.  I could do three 2-year tours and then out.  I had no time for language training so I couldn't even try for a post where I had to speak the language. I served in Honduras (I'm fluent in Spanish), Oman and Pakistan.  I loved it all.  Yes Pakistan did had its moments but so did Honduras.  Honduras is one of the most dangerous countries with more murders per capita than any other country in the world.  And in Pakistan I had 5 full time guards at my house and traveled with one to go shopping, get my hair done or to a doctor's appointment. But it was doable.

Once I got home, had all my belongings delivered in 3 different deliveries and got settled into a routine, I thought...How great is it that every day is Saturday???  I immediately got back into selling on Ebay and within months I had a booth at an antique mall selling treasures I found at Estate Sales.  I loved it and decided retirement was a golden opportunity to do what I wanted, when I wanted to do it and for how long.  

When I processed out in Washington DC, I signed on to do TDY (Temporary Duty) assignments. A year after I retired, I got an email asking if I would like to go to Singapore for an 8 week assignment supporting the Regional Security Office (RSO)?  Oh yeah!  Loved that assignment!  The following year, I went to Kuala Lumpur to support the Ambassador for 6 weeks.  Loved that one too.  The following year, I went to Brunei for 4 1/2 months.  That assignment was amazing, also supporting the Ambassador there.  While at each of these assignments, I found myself saying to co-workers "When I get home, I want to..."  As much as I loved the travel and once again working with others, I realized that I had things I wanted to do at home. The money was great but what's life if you can't do what you want?  So when I got the email telling me it was time to renew my Top Secret clearance, I read it over and over and decided I was done.  Done with being away. Done with living out of 2 suitcases.  Just done.  So I replied back that I no longer needed that clearance.  

I made so many friends and now I live vicariously through their Facebook posts. I love when they are excited about their next assignment. I love seeing pictures of their R&Rs and regional travel. But I also love that I can travel when I want but have my own home and bed.  While serving overseas, I traveled as much as I could. Flights are cheap and I took advantage of it. I went to Paris for Christmas, Kenya for a photo safari, Italy for 3 weeks, Bangkok for some training, Spain for fun, Bali because it's amazing, Istanbul cuz it's my heritage, Sri Lanka with a friend (climbed Sigiriya, a huge ROCK, the ruins of a 5th century city) and Dubai, going to the top of the tallest building in the world (at that time).  Oh, and Antigua, Guatemala for Easter Week.  

If you are looking for a terrific job with lots of perks, look into serving in the Foreign Service.  You can go to usajobs.gov.  Qualifications?  When I was in training, there was a FedEx driver and she made it in.  Have good health and a good credit report. A background check will be performed by the FBI so you should have a good record.  I had a background in Medical Management and that helped me start at a slightly higher pay.  

Honestly, you won't regret it.  One of my proudest moments was in Karachi. I noticed that none of the 200+ local guards on compound only had badges (no photo) from the company we contracted with. With my boss' blessings, I took on getting each and every one of them an official US badge with photo.  They were so proud and when I was done, I was asked to speak to the entire group.  I loved it! Here I am with a few of the guards.  I girl can never have too much protection!

Concerns for Our Future

 I'm sure I'm not alone when I say I am really fearful of what the future of this country is.  The Right is saying and doing things that I thought I'd never see.  From the supreme court voting to abolish Roe and taking away a right to a woman's own body to what is being done in schools.  I thought book banning went out decades ago along with burning witches at the stake.  And for Rhonda Santis to say slaves benefitted from being slaves is outrageous.  He is crazy but worse he is dangerous.

I am in Texas and totally ashamed of the governor.  He is a trumpy wannabe and is harming as many people he can with legislation he has signed.  He made ordinary citizens bounty hunters who could turn in anyone seeking an abortion or anyone helping that person seek an abortion and receive a huge reward. Among many other things, he removed any restrictions for owning a gun, including assault type rifles and now you can open carry a weapon anywhere you want.  Even as young as 18.

I backed Beto O'Rourke in every election. In my opinion, he lost because Democrats didn't want to get off their butts and vote.  It is one of the few things you can do to determine the direction of YOUR country!  School Boards are being filled with right wingers who want to control what your kids learn, what they can wear and which restroom they can use.  These are different times than even the last 10 years and being involved with every single election is important.  It's important because those people move up the line from the school board to mayor and on to bigger and more powerful positions.  Be active in your local elections because those people may soon be making decisions for more than just your kid's school and if you don't like them, vote them out!  The ballot box is your voice.  Use it!

Embracing The Gray

 I am the proud owner of 73 years of life.  I own every minute of those 73 years and am proud to say I have little or no regrets.  I hope I'm around to post the same at 80!

My heritage is Greek & Turkish on my father's side and French and Scotch Irish on my mother's side.  When I was young, my hair was very dark brown, almost black with red highlights when I was in the sunshine. My father told me he had a sister with the same color as my hair.  

Here is my high school graduation picture with pretty dark hair.  

At around 27, I started seeing gray hair making its debut.  At that age I wasn't ready to see it, so I started coloring my hair to hide it.  The only problem was that with such dark hair, the roots showed up horribly.  So my hairdresser suggested we lighten my dark brown hair to a lighter version.  And we did and the gray roots weren't so prominent.  And we added highlights sometime in my 40s or 50s.

Fast forward to age 73.  I've reached the point of being oh so tired of every 4 weeks going to get my roots touched up and covering the gray.  Heck, I'm 73 after all and I should finally embrace the gray, right?  I tried it once before at age 65.  I did it cold turkey and just let the gray grow out.  I was going to Brunei on a TDY assignment after retirement and would be there for about 5 months. I just didn't want to mess with coloring my hair myself.  Well, my advice is to never try this cold turkey! After letting the gray grow out about 5" I saw that it was a beautiful silvery platinum gray.  There were many strands that actually sparkled in the sunlight.  But I wasn't ready.  Back to the hairdresser to bring back the brown before I was wheels up.  So.  This week after much searching online for "best ways to go gray" and "popular gray hair color" I decided to take the plunge.  My hairdresser listened to me and looked at the pictures I saved on my phone.  She got it.  And the result.....

It does look a little blonde but she did confirm she used gray/silver dye.  Now, as my roots grow out, they will blend in with what I now have.  Once the gray grows out to the length I want, we stop the highlights.  If the color needs to be adjusted, she can do it when I go back in 3 weeks.  I'm now a 73 year old with gray highlights in my brown hair and I really love it.  In the light it looks blonde. I never wanted to be blonde but apparently I am slightly blonde now.

My advice to anyone thinking about quitting the 'cover up' is to talk to your hairdresser.  Take pictures of the end result you are looking for and DO IT!  As I sat for the 30 minutes with foil all over my head, my brown hair turning some form of gray, I was actually scared.  Scared that I might have made a mistake.  But when the foil came out and I got to a mirror and removed the towel, I loved it!  It was even better than I hoped for once it was dry.  It's a big deal to finally let your true colors show.  I'm glad I finally did.  
 

Long Time, No See

Yes, it's been a while!  For some reason I wasn't able to log into my blog but after trying yet again, I was successful! Hoorah!

I'm really bummed out on how this country has become so divided, so angry and seems to have just lost its way.  I am hopeful that things will look up soon and the hatred and anger will subside.  It was so painful to watch the crazed rioters storm the Capitol.  I never saw that coming and was just in shock.  Hopefully, things will calm down and cooler heads will prevail.

It's been 6 1/2 years since I retired and oh boy, do I love it!  But it seems I'm busier than ever.  I'm still selling on Ebay and have 2 spaces at a Marketplace near me and sell both vintage and current day items...whatever I know will sell.  My friend Delta and I go to estate sales every Thursday and Friday and load up the car with treasures.  Once home, things are cleaned and the research begins on their worth (or not so much worth).  

I am religious about wearing a mask (double masking now) and use hand sanitizer and wash frequently.  There is no way I want to die from this awful virus, so all precautions are taken.  I just wish everyone would be as mindful of the simple things they can do to stop the spread.  *sigh*

That's all I know for now. I was surprised to finally get to my blog so I just wasn't prepared to write much, even though so much is on my mind.  

More later!

New Knee

It's been a while since I've added anything to my blog, but I guess there's not been any earthshaking news to report or I've just been so busy in retirement that I haven't had time to sit and think about what's been happening.

That said, a couple of things have taken up lots of my time.  One is the political posture of late and the other is...I got a new knee!  I finally decided I had had enough of my sore, bone-on-bone knee and took my doctor's advice and had it replaced.  It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be.  It was done January 7, 2019 and I'm progressing just fine.  I was off the strong pain medicine after one week and just taking Tylenol.  My advice...if you need it, get a GOOD doctor and get it done.  Quality of life is important and mine has improved.  It will take another 10 months or so before my body fully becomes accustomed to my new part but in the meantime I am noticing improvements all the time.  I still have stiffness and occasional discomfort but I am definitely 'on the mend.'  Lovely photos of my new knee!

The other thing that has taken up lots of brain time and emotion is the political issues going on.  I am not/not a Trump fan...he needs to go.  The garbage he spews is hurting this country, dividing this country and most certainly is his effort to change this country.  I support Beto O'Rourke for President and am thrilled that he finally announced.  I campaigned for him when he ran for senate against Ted Cruz, but was mildly happy he lost so he could run for President.  He is for the people and I have seen how he brings people together, unlike our current president.  So what if he was in a rock band when he was young...good for him!  So what if he has a DUI on his record.  Who can say they have a perfect record and did nothing in their youth that was wrong?  I am proudly wearing my BETO 2020 hat and will do what I can to gather votes for him.  My hope is that everyone will look at each candidate's platform and then make a decision.  We can't afford to have another trump in charge.  We don't need a president who resorts to name calling, alienating our allies...one who feels he does not need to receive briefings from experts and makes decisions "from his gut feelings."   We don't need a president who has had so many of the people he surrounded himself with serving time or under indictment.  We need to return honesty and integrity to the White House.  

I know many of you may disagree with me but I hope you will take a hard look at every candidate running for President.  We owe it to our children and grandchildren to be more careful who we put in charge of their future.  I welcome comments and am happy to discuss my feelings.  But any that use profanity or resort to name calling will be deleted.  

My New Tee Shirt Quilt

In my 7 years serving in the Foreign Service, I had the wonderful opportunity to travel the world. I bought quite a few things, probably too many things, to remember each place.  Since I like to wear tee shirts, I tried to buy one from different places I visited.  It was a way of getting a souvenir that I could actually use and not just put on a shelf. 

A couple of years ago, I went to a craft fair at a local high school and ran across a lady who turned tee shirts into quilts.  I fell in love with her work!  It took me 2 years to finally have the shirts together that I wanted made into a quilt. I know…life gets in the way of great plans.

I contacted Melinda and made an appointment to meet with her and go over my future quilt.  What an amazingly nice lady!  I spend about an hour or so going over different fabrics, colors of fabrics that would go between the panels of my shirts, the backing, what I wanted stitched along the border and what I wanted stitched across each of the shirts from different countries.  The result was much more than I expected!  I knew it was going to be beautiful based on the quilts she had on display at the craft fair.  Around the border, she stitched the different countries the tee shirts were from. Across each shirt, she stitched something I said about it or a design.  On the back, which is dark blue, you can see more detail on what is stitched over the shirts on the front.  And because she stitched the design over each tee shirt, there will be no shrinking or shifting of the shirt.  

I know I’ll be using this quilt this winter and many winters to come.  One friend said “You aren’t going to use it, are you?”  I said “Hell yes!  Why wouldn’t I?”

If any of my Foreign Service friends wonder what to do with their tee shirts from their travels, contact this wonderful lady. She will Skype with you!

See the camel stitching?

I grew up in Coronado.

I love the plate of pasta for Italy!

 

Camels!

First Turkey Trot in Oman with shell stitching

Had to include my tee shirt from the Foreign Service

Sally and I did have an adventure in Sri Lanka!

Ahhh...Italy!

On my way to Retirement I made a short stop...the reference to "Thanks Dad" is because he was born in Greece.

If you think you might want one of these quilts made with your shirts, below is the contact information for Melinda.  It's not cheap, but it is something you'll treasure forever!  And it doesn't have to be just travel. She does beautiful quilts with your son or daughter's team shirts or vacations, like what is on her card below. She went with her family to Disneyland.  What a great way to remember a special trip!

Coming Out Of Retirement – Take 3

Retirement. Sometimes it’s a permanent thing and other times it’s, well, temporary. For me, as a retired State Department employee, it’s an on again, off again thing.  When I retired in 2014, I signed on to be called for temporary duty assignments worldwide.  In 2015, I spent a week in Singapore, in 2016 I was in Brunei for 4½ months, and now I’m in Kuala Lumpur, commonly called KL, for 1½ months.  I do enjoy the travel, meeting new people, using my skills again and earning a bit of cash. 

Kuala Lumpur is the capital of Malaysia as well as the country’s largest city. The weather here is that of a tropical rain forest climate from March to October. It rains nearly every day so you always have your umbrella with you. Temperatures year round are pretty constant, 75-90 degrees.  The city is very lush with plenty of green space and modern architecture. 

Last weekend I went to the Central Market. I’ve been to many market places around the world and this one was as fun as any other I’ve visited.  It was quite calm compared to Istanbul or Muscat, where you hear a constant chatter from vendors and the smells of food, incense and who knows what fill the air. This market had wonderful shops and at times, I felt I was back in Muscat!

Pashminas, paper mache camels and ornaments and rugs were everywhere.  And then there was a shop that had the beautiful painted ceramics from Turkey. I left Istanbul with a suitcase filled with them! I also came across a shop that sold the coconut bowls from Vietnam, I think…polished on the outside and painted on the inside and decorated with mother of pearl or crushed egg shell. I’m going home with plenty of these!  I’ll definitely make another run at this market before I depart KL.

Last night I had dinner with a co-worker at an open air restaurant, Fuego, with a spectacular view of the city skyline. It was cloudy so we missed a great sunset but the surrounding buildings provided a beautiful blend of colorful lights that more than made up for the lack of a golden sunset. The Petronas Twin Towers were lit up like diamonds, as was the space needle-like building. It had jewel tone colors changing every few seconds. Unfortunately, we could only see one of the Petronas Towers because there’s another very tall building under construction, blocking its twin.  The food was delicious, the company perfect and the views spectacular.  It was the first time I’ve had a margarita with no ice, a grilled lemon slice as garnish and served in a martini glass. But it was tasty.

Unlike Brunei last year where I lived in a very large house, while in KL, I’m living in a hotel room with a kitchenette.  It’s quite comfortable and I am able to do some cooking on the 2 burner cook top and the microwave. Fortunately, there is a restaurant and the food is pretty good…and quite cheap.  I can get a great teriyaki chicken breast, roasted potatoes and a salad for about $9.00US. Not bad at all.  Last week, at about 9:00 pm, the fire alarm went off in the hotel. It was an alarm like none I’ve ever heard…sounded like a very loud motor with the noise rising and falling. It turns out there was no fire. Someone was frying something in their kitchenette and didn’t turn on the overhead fan and the smoke set off the alarm.  The last time something like that happened, I was in Karachi. Someone in the apartment building started frying bacon and then decided to take a shower.  The bacon burned, smoked like crazy and set off the fire alarm.  The entire building was evacuated into the very hot sun outside. Marines were in full gear and no one knew what was happening…just that we had to get out of the building fast.  Not a fun experience, especially in Pakistan!  I doubt that person will every leave the frying pan while cooking bacon again.

As much as I enjoy these infrequent working trips and travel opportunities, I do think I’ll make retirement permanent when I get home. I love the travel, the money and the opportunity to see things I wouldn’t otherwise see, but I love being retired even more. I love that every day is Saturday.  I love doing whatever I want, whenever I want.  I have enough airline miles to travel to Europe if I want or make several trips to Oregon to spend time with my 3 grandsons.  Life is too short and at my age, I need to be enjoying it every day.  I’ve earned it.