A Break From Retirement

Retirement is great...every day is Saturday.  But I needed a break from my busy schedule (ha) so I'm here on Kauai, Hawaii.  My son and his family live here and they are skiing in Bend, Oregon.  They needed me to come to house sit, dog sit and chicken sit.  Two Golden Retrievers and 8 chickens need to be fed!  I did this last January when they went skiing and I guess it's going to be an annual thing.  I'm happy to do it and love the time to just relax...more so than I do at home.  One can't relax too much!

It's a shame we all have to wait until age 65 to retire (officially).  You spend your life hoping that you'll still be healthy and happy so you can enjoy the 'golden years' in whatever way you can.  I saved with a vengeance and it is paying off now.  I'm living comfortably in Texas on my social security and the small pension from my 6 years with the State Department.

I supplement my income by selling on Ebay.  It's so much fun going to estate sales, finding a real bargain and then selling it for much more.  Each month I make at least enough to make my house payment.  This week I went to a garage sale here on Kauai and found a vintage metal foil, waxed paper and paper towel holder...remember those from the 50s or 60s?  I paid $1 for it and looked it up on Ebay and found it selling for $25-29.  That's the kind of fun you have on Ebay!

So back to the chickens.  I have them to thank for breakfast.  I went out and pulled 2 fresh eggs from the hen house and had fried eggs for breakfast. The best!  That makes up for the rooster who sends out his first crow at precisely 4:00 am.  After a week, I'm able to go right back to sleep until he goes off again at 6:00 am.  You have to take the good with the bad, right?

The beaches here are so beautiful.  I don't swim much but I do love walking on the beach.

This ends when I return home on February 11.  I had originally planned on coming here for my twin grandsons' birthday March 1-11.  So, about 3 weeks after I return home, I'll be returning to Kauai for another 11 days.            

Life is good.

Glass Beach...lots of beach glass

View of Hanalei and Bali Hai

Huge surf at Hanalei

Hanalei Beach and the pier

Home Leave: Our Reward for Service

I have completed my tour in Muscat, Oman and am now spending the first half of my 25 days of home leave on the beautiful island of Kauai.  My son lives here with his wonderful wife and their adorable 3 sons...my grandsons.  Home Leave is mandatory and must be taken between overseas assignments.  And when I say 25 days,just weekdays are counted in that 25.  This does not include weekends and/or holidays.  It's a time when you reconnect with family and friends and it helps you stay grounded after serving overseas for an extended period of time. 

I'm a workaholic, to a certain degree.  So, for me, home leave can be painful.  I'll be ready to get back to work after about 3 weeks.  Keeping busy is key for me.  Currently, I have no problem doing that!  Today I took my 5 year old grandson, Gavin, on a trip to 2 different beaches here and we had a blast.  He insisted on bringing his pail and fishing net just in case we saw fish.  We didn't.  But we did encounter a monk seal at Haena Beach.  At Ke'e Beach (or End of the Road Beach) we saw some pretty wild surf.  You could see 2 para surfers surfing at Tunnels, on the outer edges of the reef.  It was beautiful. It was kind of a rainy day but hey...it's Hawaii and who cares if a little rain falls on you??  On the way back, we stopped and had a Bubba Burger in Hanalei. Gavin is so much fun to be with and we had so much fun today.

In about a week, I head for Home Leave, Part 2 in Fort Worth, Texas. It will be wonderful to see my 97 year old Dad again.  And have some great Mexican food!  But until then, I will continue to spend quality Home Leave Time with Gavin and my other 2 grandsons, Micah and Makana.

Gavin, ready for a fish sighting

January 1, 2012

1/1/12.

Another year. I wanted to write something here but haven't decided if I want to reflect on the past year or think about what's in store for me this new year.  Since I seem to be very preoccupied with planning for what's happening now, I think I'll share what my thoughts are about 2012.

This is the year I will move to my next post.  Life in the Foreign Service is a challenge...you have to be careful not to accumulate too much "stuff" because you have to pack out every 2-3 years and move to a new 'home.'  During my short 6 year career, I think I'm safe and will never exceed the weight limitations we have for government moving.  But that doesn't mean I won't buy lots of stuff!  During my first tour in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, I bought things like beautiful baskets and some traditional Lenca pottery, made the same way as the Mayans did centuries ago.  There was also some paintings I fell in love with (thank you Julio Mata Sanabria!) and ended up with 3 of his best.  So far, so good.  Fast forward to Muscat, Oman.  It's a good thing I didn't spend too much in Honduras because I discovered the gorgeous carpets of the Middle East here!  Oh boy...did I ever!  The one below is one of my favorites of the silk-on-silk.  It is gorgeous! I have 5 silk (3 4'x6' and 2 3'x5').

This is the first one I bought...a Persian wool and the largest at 10'x13'.  I hope that when I leave this job and return to a normal life that I have a house big enough for it! 

All totaled, between what I have bought here and in Istanbul, I am the proud owner of 11 carpets.  And I still have 3 1/2 months left here.  That number could go higher!

So...back to what all is on my mind for 2012.  I am up to my neck in the paperwork it takes to get me from Oman to Pakistan.  There is so much to do and if you don't think of all the questions and get answers before you get there, for some things, you are out of luck!  For example, my job is for 1 year but I want to extend for the second year.  This would be perfect as it would take me right up to June 2014, which is the month I have to retire.  If my request is granted, I am entitled to a bit more weight in my shipment to Pakistan.  However, if I don't find out until I get there, I have lost out on bringing a few more precious belongings.  Hopefully, I'll get word soon on my request.  This past week a couple things were finalized and I now no longer need to worry about where I will stay in DC during my 2 weeks there.  I also found out I will be able to put my car in storage for the duration of my tour.  These were big ticket items that were causing me to lose sleep...not any more!  I know that with the holidays, emails were slow to be answered and some people in DC were on vacation.  Now that the holidays are over, I feel certain that things will move along faster.  My biggest fear is that I won't think to ask something that I shoul have and will live to regret it. 

I've started gathering up things I will want to sell in a yard sale before I leave here.  I found out last week that a friend has already gotten that ball rolling.  She and her family are departing post about the same time I am and she is going to have a multi-family yard sale.  Yee haw...so now there is one room in my house where I am putting things I don't need to keep any longer.  This is a good thing because I have lots of beaded jewelry that I make and it will be a great opportunity to sell it. I've been making jewelry for a few months now and figure by the time I get out of the Foreign Service, I may have a few pieces to sell to add to the measly income I will have until I find a real job!  I use gemstones, pearls and mostly silver in my designs and make necklaces, earrings, bracelets and  

badge lanyards for those of us who have to wear badges at work.  It's much nicer to have a piece of jewelry to hang your badge on than an old standard issue chain.

Anyway, I'm gradually adding to the pile and hope to rid myself of some added weight and 'stuff' that I really don't need.  Of course, all my 'stuff' is excellent 'stuff' so I'm sure it will fly off the sale table!

I will leave Oman on April 12th, fly to Kauai and spend 2 weeks spoiling my 3 grandsons and then fly on to Fort Worth, Texas.  It will be great to see my father again and spend time with friends for another 2 weeks. Then on to Washington DC where I will take a week's worth of training for a high risk assignment, do a little shopping and then, on June 2, board a flight for Pakistan.  I have no qualms about going to Pakistan.  I will be fine and as they say here, Insha' Allah, or God Willing, nothing will happen to me.  I know He is watching over me.  Every decision I have made has worked out and there is nothing to make me think that will change now. When you make decisions with your heart, they are bound to work out!

Home Leave In Pictures

Sometimes you just can't adequately express how things are in words. It takes pictures. So, here are some pictures of my Home Leave so far. Hawaii...Grandchildren, gorgeous flowers and beautiful scenery. Fort Worth...my 95 year old father.

Micah is in his swimming pool, showing me his form on a boogie board and Makana is just looking all innocent. He's so cute...

Below is me with the beautiful NaPali coast of Kauai in the background. More pictures of our

day long catamaran trip, cruising up and down the coast of Kauai. It was wonderful...I highly recommend Capt. Jack's NaPali cruises. Great drinks, great food and a very entertaining crew. And of course, some breathtaking scenery.

We saw dolphins making an attempt to play around the front of the boat,

never quite figuring out which was the front and back of it. We saw gorgeous light shining on the cathedral-like peaks of the coastline. It was just a wonderful 6 hours on the water.

My son Bobby and his son Gavin enjoying the cruise.

And lastly, my wonderful Dad in Fort Worth, Texas. Last night he was all smiles as TCU won their game against UCLA. As I write this, UCLA is way ahead of TCU but we'll see how it ends. I sure hope TCU wins.