Well, this is embarrassing.....

This is the second time I've written this post - it was originally titled -

"Officially Retired!"

I had it all written, comlete with a picture I wanted everyone to see - one of the reasons I enjoy rising early each morning. I had clicked on the picture to enlarge it and make sure it was the one I wanted to upload - I hadn't saved the draft, Blogger wasn't autosaving and when I hit the 'back' button to go back to my draft - yup, it was gone.....

So, now we're starting from scratch - I've got a pretty terrific memory, but some things just don't hang around in the brainbox - especially when you're writing from the heart.

I am now (as a friend once put it)

"Unemployed with dignity!"

I never realized just how hard it is to retire from a job one loves, how difficult it would be to leave behind those friends that you're so close to and have come to think of as family - how much I would look forward to getting up each morning and planning my day without having to actually plan it.....

I've not yet cleaned my studio, but I've at least gotten the top layer of dust off the furniture in the house. The kitchen hasn't been re-arranged yet, but the laundry is all done for the first time in ages instead of in bits and pieces, just getting by.

I really do need to find some kind of schedule I can live with from week to week - that studio needs to be put to rights first. The spinning and knitting and felting (oh, alright - FULLING) can be put aside for a while and the patterns I've been writing and working up are stored in a folder on the laptop for the time being.

So, here's one of the reasons I look forward to each morning - an example of what God's paintbrush can do:





It was wonderful, standng in the parking lot, pointing at the sky and just turning to catch the 'brushstrokes'.

You know, I've just deleted the last half of this post again - it was profound.....

So, since this message seems to be doomed, I'm outta here for now - more tomorrow.

Night all - be well!