Retirement projects

For the past few days I have been feeling like I have accomplished very little since retiring.  It just seems like there is so much to be done.  Then I took the time to look on the calendar and realized that I have only been retired for three and a half weeks and as I have looked through some of my pictures I can see that I have accomplished more than I thought.  Here are a few of the things I have been doing.  

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Our church has been in the middle of some remodeling.  Some walls were taken down and offices moved around.  This spring as the church's librarian, I was asked if I would consider moving our library from its present location to another space as part of that remodeling process.   This was our original library.

Several years ago this room had been pretty much a classroom with a few bookshelves in it.  I painted the walls, pulled together all the bookcases and unused furniture from around the church  and turned it into a organized working library where people could come and quietly read or meditate. It has become a much used spot in the church. Now the room was needed for an office.

So I was given the challenge of turning this somewhat boring meeting room into a combination library/meeting space.

 The first thing my hubby and I did was give the walls a fresh coat of light gray paint to go with the new carpet that was laid.  I spent the first week after school got out, purging old books moving bookcases in, and placing all the books we were keeping back on the shelves.  It was quite a job and took many hours of work but I think it turned out rather well.

Wall to Wall Books with space for growth

There is still a meeting space

 

A children's Corner

A place to sit quietly and read

All that is needed is a few more silk plants and some pictures on the wall and it will be finished.

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My second week of retirement we had to have someone come out to take down some trees.

See how massive the tree was compared to the house and flag pole.  Even in this picture is was starting to turn.

From the first day we moved into our house 30 years ago this tree has been part of the landscape. Towering 65 feet, green and lush, it was its own ecosystem, home to birds and squirrels.  We even saw a raccoon or two hanging around in its branches from time to time.  Suddenly for no reason that we have been able to figure out it began to die.  By this summer it had become so brown and dry that we feared the possibility of it going up like a giant torch on the 4th of July. For our safety and the safety of our neighbors it had to be removed.

It was so sad to watch such a wonderful tree come down, but as you can see, there was no green left.

Removing the branches

Taking the tree down in sections

Making sure it falls the right direction.

Right where it's supposed to land.

Plenty of firewood for years to come.

I am going to miss that big old tree but I am hoping it will be a good change, allowing the plants and trees around it light and space to grow and spread.  Time will tell.

There is another smaller project I have been working on as well.
My daughter decided she wanted to learn how to knit an afghan from this ball of giant yarn.  It's been a few years since I have knit anything and I wasn't all that great at it even then.  I had to take a quick refresher course on YouTube before I could tackle it.  I have never used such big needles or yarn before but together we are figuring it out.  I think my daughter is going to enjoy snuggling into it when winter returns.

 In between these projects, there have been some doctor appointments, yard work and even a couple of days visiting with family in Oregon. I guess I really have been busier than I thought.
Please feel free to leave a comment.  I always love hearing from everyone.