We Survived Retirement July 21 - 27, 2024 (but just barely)

Retired Life. Sunday.

The stupid alarm went off way to early in an attempt to get us to get to church on time. We ended up looking at the Jesus picture below, remembering why church makes us happy, and then got up and got going.

When I opened the carton of eggs to fix breakfast, I found someone had written some sort of love note on one of the eggs. Flirty store clerk? Egg farmer? Frivvy? Someone else? Oh....wait.......

Sacrament Meeting. Sunday School. Then back home for lunch. Then to Mom's to take her the Sacrament. Back home, we fell into these deep comas for a couple of hours. Retired life can be exhausting.

The rest of the day was spent reading, watching church videos, wondering exactly how hot it really was out there (we didn't venture out to see...) and consuming some of my delicious old people's hamburger steak. And yes, two hours of The Chosen.

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10Hanna Stewart-Longhurst, Jeremy Stewart and 8 others

Retired Life In Action. Monday.

Yea, it's still hot out. So I did a lot of indoor project stuff. Like dusting the house top to bottom. Topped off the hot tub and changed the filter. Changed the filter on the HVAC. That was not without drama. After replacing the filter, the HVAC would not come back on. And it was getting HOT! I was just about to call the repair guy when I noticed I had flipped it to heat instead of cool. Service call bill averted.

I spent time today putting the finishing touches on our planned Alaska Vacation next week. Figured out what Geocaches to find up there. We had hopes of grabbing one in each of nine Burroughs. But, the Yukon-Koyukuk Burrough would require an out-of-the-way drive of 166 miles to get. So, we may be out of luck on that one. Also figured out what we are going to eat and where and when.

In the evening we watched a prerecorded football game. New Orleans Bowl featuring Jacksonville State and Louisiana. It included several brawls, close score throughout, some insane passing TDs, three pick-sixes, and OT. Jax State's first season in FBS ended with them winning their bowl game. Entertaining game to watch.

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11Hanna Stewart-Longhurst, Justin Stewart and 9 others

How to do retirement. Tuesday.

Grocery Day!! I don't know exactly why, but we look forward to this day.

Plan week. Make menus. Create shopping list. Drive to Worley (via the backroads....harvest is beginning), eat lunch at Red Tail, buy cheap gas, pick up groceries, drive back home, bring in, put away.

And then took a nap. Then we watched a couple of shows.

Cool accomplishment today. I studied the boundaries of the Yukon-Koyukuk Burrough and found where it drops down southwest before we arrive at Fairbanks and our highway we'll be on drives into it right there for a few miles. And there are several nice caches right there waiting for us. The fun of maps and this game..........

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14Hanna Stewart-Longhurst, Justin Stewart and 12 others

Retired Life. Wednesday.

Short and easy today. We drove to Seattle. Checked into an Airbnb. Went to dinner with Maria and Brendan. Had a great visit. That is all.

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17Hanna Stewart-Longhurst, Justin Stewart and 15 others

How we do retirement. Thursday.

I woke up in a strange bed in a strange house and not sure what day it was. After a bit, I figured it out. In Issaquah in an AirBnB. And it was Thursday. The day we usually go to the temple to worship.

The AirBnB was just a short drive from the Seattle Temple, so we went over there to worship. We love this temple for its incredible flowers and such on the grounds. Hanna was happy. She loves flowers.

Then we checked out of the AirBnB (by the way, how many pillows does one bed need anyways? What's funny is that we always chuck them on the floor and use our own. We always sleep better with our own pillows.)

Before leaving the West Side, we hiked around this one park and grabbed a Geocache. Frivvy was happy with the hike. And it's what we do. And we found a "Coug" flag by the park amongst all the Husky fans.

Once home, we were tired, so zoned out and watched some shows. And were very grateful that we don't have to go back to work tomorrow. Or the next day. Or the day after that....

+3

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21Hanna Stewart-Longhurst, Jeremy Stewart and 19 others

 How to do retirement. Friday.

I woke up early and really tired still. Then I remembered that I was retired and didn't have to go to work, so I rolled over and went back to sleep. Nice to be able to do that.

Today was <drum roll> old folks go to breakfast day. We went to the Harvester, which included some Gin Rummy. (That's a card game, not an alcoholic drink...)

Once back home, I created a list of the things I want or must have done today and tomorrow before we leave on our trip to Alaska. And then started whittling away on that list.

Added to the list was change the tire on the old JEEP. Somehow it got a screw in it when we went to breakfast. And then the tire wrench was missing. And the jack wasn't working well. I had to use the jack and wrench from the new JEEP. Good thing it went flat in the driveway and not out in the woods or someplace.

Other items off the list now: change the batteries in the outdoor thermometer, download maps of Alaska onto my phone so we don't get lost if we lose internet, order an actual fold-up paper map of Alaska because we're from the generation that knows how to read a map (while a GPS will get you where you are going, a map will tell you what's over the next mountain, if we're going to pass by a lake, and other cool stuff.) Break down slab of bacon into servings and put in the freezer. And BBQ up some pork chops for dinner.

I also took a picture of a cool Hot Wheels car that looks just like my new truck. My new favorite toy!!

We then declared it date night and watched a movie.

Amazon dude brought altimeters for both JEEPS because I want my JEEPs to be cool that way. Sitting on my kitchen table, shouldn't they both read the same altitude???

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11Jeremy Stewart, Stacy Oh and 9 others

The story of our retirement. Saturday.

I only got two things off that pesky "must do before we go" list. I put the tire back on the Jeep. And I filled out my ballot. My head about exploded going thru all that. So many folks running. I guess that is a good thing.

And then the party began! Luigi and Brooklyn brought their new baby, August, out to see Hanna's Mom and to have dinner with us. See adorable pictures, including a 4-generationer, below.

Best part was they brought us a blueberry pie. Yum!

And finally, the Highlands was taken over by a herd of Elk. See the mama Elk and the baby Elk. And then the papa Elk. And then more

Elk. And finally, the huge one posed just right to show off his rack to the camera. A beauty!

+5

All reactions:

12Hanna Stewart-Longhurst, Stacy Oh and 10 others

How to do retirement. Friday.

I woke up early and really tired still. Then I remembered that I was retired and didn't have to go to work, so I rolled over and went back to sleep. Nice to be able to do that.

Today was <drum roll> old folks go to breakfast day. We went to the Harvester, which included some Gin Rummy. (That's a card game, not an alcoholic drink...)

Once back home, I created a list of the things I want or must have done today and tomorrow before we leave on our trip to Alaska. And then started whittling away on that list.

Added to the list was change the tire on the old JEEP. Somehow it got a screw in it when we went to breakfast. And then the tire wrench was missing. And the jack wasn't working well. I had to use the jack and wrench from the new JEEP. Good thing it went flat in the driveway and not out in the woods or someplace.

Other items off the list now: change the batteries in the outdoor thermometer, download maps of Alaska onto my phone so we don't get lost if we lose internet, order an actual fold-up paper map of Alaska because we're from the generation that knows how to read a map (while a GPS will get you where you are going, a map will tell you what's over the next mountain, if we're going to pass by a lake, and other cool stuff.) Break down slab of bacon into servings and put in the freezer. And BBQ up some pork chops for dinner.

I also took a picture of a cool Hot Wheels car that looks just like my new truck. My new favorite toy!!

We then declared it date night and watched a movie.

Amazon dude brought altimeters for both JEEPS because I want my JEEPs to be cool that way. Sitting on my kitchen table, shouldn't they both read the same altitude???

All reactio