Working!

Somewhere down south in May during our vacation - I know how to work one of these!

As regular readers of this blog have probably noticed, I've been absent for the past few days.  "What happened to Ron?" you might ask.  Then again, you might not ask but I digress.

So here is where I've been....WORKING!  Yep, I'm working full-time again,  Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.  Well, maybe not FULL-TIME (like five days a week) but four days in a row is enough to knock me for a loop.  Especially in the middle of the summertime tourist season.

Good Old Ron, he can always be depended on to fill in for all the absences caused by the life dramas of his co-workers.  That's the way it has always been that way my whole adult life.  No complaints here though although at times I haven't felt appreciated for plugging these absences and keep the business running wherever I happened to be working at that time.  I'm glad I have a job.  I'm glad I'm alive.

I've been working since I was ten years old when my Mom sought a job for me as a paper boy.  Daily I delivered sixty Philadelphia Evening Bulletins and about ten or twelve local papers.  I also delivered the Sunday paper which usually required two trips home to load up on newspapers.

Over the years since then I've had such jobs as (in this chronological order) mowing lawns, orchard picker, meat market clerk (the real meat market - not the other "meat market" which came years later), shoe salesman, dishwasher, waiter, soldier, hotel night auditor, clothing store salesman, accounts payable clerk, trust remittance clerk, trust operations supervisor and manager, bank project reconciliation manager, gardener, trust operations manager, trust operations consultant, and now to take me to the Finish Line.....hotel front desk clerk.

Not for me the privilege of having mommy and daddy pay for my college education (I joined the Army and went to college on the G.I. Bill).  Not for me the privilege of having mommy and daddy pull strings to get me a plum job.  No folks, all my jobs I got the hard way by asking and proving.  On my own folks, by the bootstraps and yes, I'm still and liberal Democrat and not one of those crazy assed Right Wing Republican Nut Jobs.

Now, at the grand age of seventy (of which I am very proud), while all of my peers are NOT WORKING and enjoying the fruits of retirement, and whose major decision of the day is deciding what restaurant they're going to feed their face that evening; Good Old Ron is still working.  Folks, that's just the way I'm made.  So while they're all lazing around, getting fat I'm staying fit and trim both mentally and physically by still getting my ass out the door every week and doing real work.

Again, I am not complaining.  I am glad that my Mother put me to work when I was only ten years old.  It's like Bill said "You HAVE to work Ron, you would go crazy if you didn't."

Now, granted if I had many more weeks like I had last week with the constant inflow and outflow of the guests in the hotel and all their needs, I WOULD go crazy.  "Do you have a pool?"  "Do you have any playing cards at the front desk?"  "What time is checkout?" "Can I get six in that room?"  "What time is breakfast?"  "How far is Annapolis?"  And all the while the phones are ringing from folks who waited until the last minute seeking a room for the weekend.

Caller:  "I know this is last minute (do you think?),  but do you have any rooms this weekend?"

Me: "No, we don't have any rooms this weekend.  We're full."  

Caller:  "Do you know where they do have rooms and how much and what are those rooms like?"  

Me:  "No, I don't know where they have rooms and what those rooms are like.  Perhaps you should CALL THEM and find out. "

Yes folks, it's been THAT kind of week.

I'm supposed to only work two days this week (we'll see how that goes) and then next week it's another FOUR DAYS IN A ROW.

I'm looking forward to fall folks, really looking forward to fall.  Get those kiddies back to school and have life return to normal around here.

Self-portrait of me at Rehoboth Bay

Time to Retire?

Hey folks, I'm working a marathon consecutive six days in a row at the hotel during a very busy time.  I won't be blogging for the next few days.  Any rumors that I have decided to stop blogging or have lost interest in blogging are great exaggerated .  I love to blog but I just can't do my best working all these hours.  I remember something my Mother told me when she came from working a log shift at her Pepperridge Farm job.  She worked on the cake layer line in the frozen foods division.  Yes, my Mom had one of those "Lucy and Ethel" conveyor belt job.  My Mom's "Ethel" was her sister-in-law and one of my favorite aunts, my Aunt Mabel.

My Mom accepting her 25th anniversary award from her Pepperridge Farm Supervisor

When she came home from her regular shift at Pepperridge, she went up to the garden she and my Pop had.  She hoed eight rows of corn like she usually did.  Then she came back to the house and prepared a whole meal for the family.  For the first time in her life she said she felt tired while hoeing the corn.  Of course she was tired before but this was a different kind of "tired." She was 64 years old.  She said that's when she realized she couldn't do what she used to do.

My Aunt Mabel had a similar experience.  She was 72 years old when she realized that she just couldn't make those full family meals for her many membered family.  She said "Ronnie, I'm just tired."


Well guess what boys and girls, I am tired.  Sure, I think some people I work with read this blog.  Maybe my boss and even the owner reads it occasionally.  Let me say this, I'll work as long as I am physically able to work.  I can manage quite well working two days a week.  But his six days in a row is a killer.  I am EXHAUSTED.  Tired man, TIRED.  In a few weeks I'll be 70 years old.  Hey, maybe it's time to hang up the old boxing gloves.  I'm telling you, it's looking mighty tempting.

I enjoy working.  I like the interaction with my coworkers and the guests at the hotel.  Oh sure, occasionally I get a rude guest who insults me and puts me down.  That's not fun and it takes just about all my self control not to lash out with anger and sarcasm.  But I manage.  However, I wonder, how much longer do I want to do this?  Then I think of the extra money my job provides.  While I don't make a lot of money, I make enough to enable me to buy "extras" like sponsoring a family reunion coming up in a few weeks.  I order books form Amazon.com and don't worry about the cost.  I have all the latest gadgets.  Bill and I can do the extra things that make life enjoyable.  Yes, this will take some serious thinking.  Once I make the decision to leave my job, I'll never apply for another job in my life.  I will never go to another job interview begging for a minimal pay job.  I've been working for over sixty years now and some time of job,   maybe now is the time to retire?  Maybe.

The Bluebirds of Happiness

Bluebird eggs May 1, 2011

At the beginning of May, when Bill and I left for our weeklong strip South, mama bluebird had just laid five perfectly oval blue eggs in the bluebird box in our backyard.  I was worried that the eggs wouldn't be there when we got back.  Last year when we left for our trip South, we left four young bluebirds in the box but when we came back the baby bluebirds and the next were gone, pulled out by the bored eight year old son of the Hispanic man who mowed our neighbor's lawn.  I vividly remember how angry, sad and disappointed I was that the stupid, mindless, thoughtless act of an unsupervised child destroyed a whole nest of baby bluebirds.  Especially after all the difficulty I had with keeping the sparrows out of that bluebird house.  The previous two years mama and papa bluebird had raised two sets of young bluebirds each season.  Last year they never came back.

Our Bluebird box in our backyard - home to generations of bluebirds

Thus it was with some apprehension that I left for vacation this year.  One thing, my neighbor no longer employed the Hispanic man to mow his lawn.  That kid is probably off somewhere else destroying something because of his bored curiosity.  I prefer not to think about it.

What was also ironic, that the bluebirds laid their eggs just as I was to begin a busy month of activity.  I knew once I returned from our trip south I would be working full-time at the hotel, until the new front desk clerk was trained.

I was very relieved when we returned from our trip and I saw that the bluebird nest was unharmed.  Mama and papa bluebird faithfully feed their young ones all day, every day.  In the past their were only four eggs so I could open the bluebird box and observe and record their growth.  This year, perhaps to make up for last year, mama and papa bluebird laid FIVE eggs in the tiny bluebird box.  I was able to open the bluebird box a few week before they got too big then I had to observe from afar.  I didn't want to take a chance of one of the baby bluebirds falling out of the box when I opened it.

Freshly hatched baby bluebirds

Growing baby bluebirds - the last time I opened the box to observe

Then yesterday, as I returned home from my last full-time shift at the hotel, I walked over to the bluebird box to see if I could still see a baby bluebird's mouth sticking out of the entrance to the bluebird box.  Much to my surprise (and delight), the bluebird box was empty!  The baby bluebirds were out.

Empty nest yesterday - they're gone!

Now wasn't that the perfect metaphor for my past month of hectic activity?  I began the month with the freshly laid bluebird eggs and ending the month with the baby bluebirds now having their freedom.  Just like me, I now have my freedom.

I love my job and hope to work at it as long as I can but I also want the freedom of enjoying and participating in my summertime activities.  I can't do that stuck behind the front desk at the hotel six days a week (then recovering the seventh day).  I am so happy to get back to my normal routine.  I'm back!

Strawberry Fields

Yes folks, that is how I spent my early morning hours, picking fresh strawberries.  My boss and his wife told me about this farm in Lewes that you can pick your own fresh strawberries.  He told me that about three weeks ago.  I've been working so much that I haven't had time to even look for the farm let alone spend an hour or so picking fresh strawberries.

I love strawberries.  I have them on my breakfast cereal every morning.  The strawberries I eat are those faux strawberries that they sell in the supermarket for $4.99 a plastic container.  The strawberries look like strawberries but they have the consistency and taste of the plastic container that they come in.  Well, after all, they had to make the long trip from the fields of sunny southern California.  We have our own sunny fields here on the eastern coastal shore of Delaware.  So I made an extra effort this morning and got my behind down to the Magee Farms on Wescoats Road in Lewes and picked me a batch of strawberries.

Picking the strawberries brought back memories when I used to help my Mom pick strawberries out of her personal strawberry patch at her home in Pennsylvania.  With the sun, warm breezes and fresh air, and memories of Mom, I had a super morning picking strawberries.

Now it's time to go to work again.  I work tonight then tomorrow at 7 am and the next day and then, hopefully I go back to my regular schedule.  The new guy is working out fine.  In fact I like him very much.  As my former co-worker says "Sometimes one door closes and another door opens."  It's going to be nice working with a normal person for a change.  She was such a drama queen.  I need to get back to normal.


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A Breather

Still working full blast at the hotel.  I have a little window of opportunity here on this warm, sunny Friday morning to update my blog.  Of the four front desk clerks at the hotel - one quite which was why I was working full-time.  Another (full-time) had a family emergency which caused her to be missing in action from work all this week.  The third front desk clerk, who is part-time like me, also had a family emergency (her dog was dying).  So you know where that left me.....working EVERY DAY.  Both the manager (who is doing day duty this morning) and I have been filling the void.

I was so exhausted two days ago after completing my shift, I could even see straight.  I had just finished shoveling dirt for over two hours (I thought I had the day off that why I made that major physical expenditure) to complete the dirt island for our three new river birch trees.  By the time I was done my shift, every muscle in my body ached.  Even my bones ached.  My body hasn't felt like this since I went out for the track team in high school and my then young body was subjected to hours of intense physical workout.  It was different then because I was so young (16).  Hey, when you're 69 years old the ole body reacts in a whole different way to extreme physical workouts.  One benefit, I finally lost that ten pounds I've been trying to shake for a couple months.  I'm down to 158 (from 168), lean and mean pounds.  Hardly a trace of the spare tire ("love handles") are left.  Big whoop!

Pictured is my first asiatic lily bloom of the season.  I actually had a chance to tour the backyard this morning and I caught this beauty in the early morning sunlight.

I'm off to work again today, the eve of Memorial Day weekend.  The kiddies are already in the hotel (I checked them in last night).  I've already had one of the guest who are coming in tomorrow ask if there is a barbecue grill in the suite.  EXCUSE ME?  It never ceases to amaze me what some hotel guests expect.  The answer I gave is NO.  I suggested that they go to Gilligan's Restaurant which is about twenty steps away from their suite and order their grilled hamburgers (or whatever) THERE.

Have a great weekend!

Hanging On

Ryan contemplates "How am I going to do this?"

Last night I worked until 11 pm.  Headed home in the rain.  I got up this morning at 5 am to be at work by 6:30 am.  I have to set up the breakfast buffet at the hotel.  I just got off work from a very busy day.  I do the whole thing over again tomorrow.  Usually I work Wednesday and Thursday nights 3 pm to 11 pm.  However, the past week and the next three weeks I'll be working five days a week, Tuesday through Sunday.  This weekend is the Big Wedding, which is always a fun bonanza.  Actually, the wedding guest haven't been too bad.....so far.  We'll see what tomorrow brings, the day of the Big Wedding.

Ryan unties the ropes

What got me today was one lady who called to make a reservation for next week and wanted me to assure her that there would be NO STRAWBERRIES at the breakfast.  Well folks, we DO HAVE STRAWBERRIES.  She said "I can't even have strawberries NEAR any of the food!"  Well, you know what dearie?  Don't stay at any hotels or go out an eat, that's my advice.

Ryan unloads...the first tree

This is just one example of why I like working at a hotel.  I never ceased to be amazed at what hotel guests request, ask or do.  I've been in the hospitality business for over ten years now and there is always something new that I haven't faced before.  Someday I will have to write a book about my experiences.

Ryan delivers...the first tree.  Beautiful....tree.

For now I'm trying to keep my life in balance and not being too successful.  I have a couple of tons of top soil that is to be delivered next week.  That delivery was delayed because of all the rain and the compost people rightly believed I would be paying for wet dirt.  I need the top soil to build a mound around my new river birch trees.  I had those delivered last week by "Ryan" (a hunk and a half thank you please).

Ron digs a hole (not the first or last he will ever dig)

Sometime next week we have to go to Pennsylvania to my brother's to pick up my Mom's wheelbarrow that is almost brand new and now not used by my brother (he's not a gardener like me).  And to top everything else off one of our sprinkler heads in our irrigation system popped yesterday.  I got home too late to call the irrigation people to come out and fix it.

And cleaning the house?  Forget it.  Now that my whole schedule is disrupted by working full-time, our normally pristine abode will have dust bunnies abounding.

I'm trying to keep up on my blogs.  Stream of consciousness here.  I was talking to my brother about working full-time and he understood completely.  He's also retired.  He said he couldn't do it now.  I'm doing it but I'm struggling.  It's hard to believe that in my previous life I used to commute back and forth to Philly every day and come home and do yard work until dark and on the weekends do all my chores.  Who was THAT PERSON?

A Good Day

Carrie the Plant Lady - one of my co-workers

Yes folks, you read that right.  Today was a good day....at work.  I wasn't happy about going to work today because of what I had heard from one of my co-workers a few days ago.  To be very frank, I felt I was getting to the point where I had had enough.  I work very hard and am damn good at what I do but when I feel I am not recognized, or appreciated or even worse; wrongly accused, then it is time for me to seriously reevaluate the worth of keeping my job.

I've been around long enough to know just about all the scenarios at work.  I had feared the present scenario was going down a familiar path that I didn't want to trod.  For the past two days since I've been off I haven't been in a good mood because I knew I was going to address this perceived problem head on.

Why this particular situation was bothering me so much is that I don't want to quit my job.  I like my job, I like the kind of work I do, I like my co-workers, and hey...I even like my boss and the owner.  Thus when I heard a certain statement referring to me (which I won't go into here because of privacy - I don't know who is reading this blog), it just took all the wind out of my sails.  I work long and hard and I do my damnedest to do a good job and I do a good job.  There was a very good reason why  I won the President's Award in 2000 from the Hilton Hotel Corp as Best Guest Service Representative.  Yes, I won a trip to Disney World ($500.00 cash, four days in Disney World all expenses paid and a plaque).  I am good at what I do.  Something I don't have to be modest about.

Me and my Aunt Mabel with Mickey at Disney World April 2001

But because of a shortsighted comment I heard, I began to question whether or not it was worth it to continue going into work.  I now think I have blown this situation out of proportion.  In fact, after today at work I am certain of it.  So it looks like I will continue to be a hotel front desk clerk at least for the foreseeable future.  And that make me very happy.

Touching Base

White Rose at the Inn where I work

Just touching base here folks to let everyone know that I am still alive and well.  I worked at the hotel last night 3 pm to 11 pm then in this morning from 7 am to 3 pm.  I don't have to tell you workers out there that I'm operating on exhaust fumes at this point.


Thank goodness my manager hired the replacement full-time front desk clerk today.  This time it is an elderly man like me.  That's good news because unlike the front desk clerk who left, who was a single Mom with two female children, I probably won't have to be called in on short notice like I have been in the past.  You know how it is with the single moms, always one of the children is sick or she can't get a baby sitter.  Us single guys, rarely a crises unless we're passing kidney stones (which happened to me a couple of years ago causing me to miss a week's worth of work).


So here I am folks, pushing off of of these blog postings that I hate to do.  Little content and nothing clever to say for you all to remember and gush over.  Just touching base letting you know I will be on this schedule for at least another two weeks.  The new front desk clerk doesn't start until May 27th.  At least his training will be minimal, he is coming from a job as a hotel front desk clerk.  Thank God for small favors.


The hotel is full this weekend.  As I left today at 3 some  of the kiddies were already in, screaming and talking non-stop.  I can forsee a LOT of calls to the front desk for extra pillows and blankets.  Hopefully I don't get THAT call for the clogged up toilet (a not unusual occurrence when the kids are in the rooms - they tend to throw towels down the toilet - probably one of the reasons our major competitor hotel in town doesn't accept children).


I'm in tomorrow afternoon 3 to 11 and the same hours for Sunday.Then I have two WHOLE days off until I do it all over again...for the next two weeks.


Hold all my calls.

Still Trying to Catch Up

My backyard Iris's with homemade bird perches

I knew when we went on our trip south last week I would fall off of my regular blogging routine.  Then I had the curve ball thrown to me of the regular full-time front desk clerk quitting at work.  I had to take her full-time shift until the hotel hires her replacement.  Resumes are received and interviews are being conducted but no clear candidate is in sight.  In the meantime I'm working every day except Mondays and Tuesdays.  Of course this comes at the worst time of the year.  Spring time is when I do most of my major yard work in preparation for the summer and fall season.  Thus, when I'm not working I'm out back, frantically and furiously taking advantage of the mild spring weather before the hot, muggy and mosquito infested days of summer are upon us.

I am a very orderly person.  Also referred got as very anal.  Guilty as charged.  The result of the disruption of my routine is that everything is thrown off.  The only thing I can advise is that if you're a regular reader of my blog, be patient.  I will be back to my routine.....eventually.

Walking at the Bottom of the Pool

On hot, humid days like today I feel like I’m walking on the bottom of a pool. We’re going through a period of hot and oppressively humid days punctuated by ferocious thunderstorms in the evening.

My boss called me yesterday afternoon to ask me for a “big favor” (his words.) He wanted to know if I could come into work the second shift (3 pm to 11 pm) yesterday. I checked my calendar and I had those hours open (no surprise) so I told him I could come in. Even though I was cut back to one day a week last month, I’ve been called on frequently to fill in for my co-workers, who are either on vacation, sick or on personal business. Tomorrow and Saturday I’m filling in on the 7 am to 3 pm shift. My regular schedule is Mondays 3 pm to 11 pm. When I got into work yesterday my manager asked me if I could also work Tuesday 7 am to 3 pm. I’m glad I have the opportunity to earn the extra money but I’m starting to feel like my friend, The Cajun who works almost seven days a week at his two jobs. If I’m not careful, with all my traveling back and forth to work, I’m going to get rear-ended by one of these crazy drivers who have descended on our beautiful seaside resort. He’s been rear-ended twice in the past month traveling on Rt. 1 to work. I only have to travel on Rt. 1 for a short distance before I make a left turn on New Road. However, just last week a crazy driver who was impaired and speeding at 90 mph rear ended a van which resulted in the death of a 64 year old passenger. That accident happened near Cave Neck Road and Rt. 1, a short distance from where I live and before I turn off on New Road. This is proof that danger lurks everywhere, not just in the heavily congested stretch of Rt. 1 between Lewes and Rehoboth Beach. The more I'm out on the road the more I increase my chances of being involved in an accident. I would like to keep those chances at a minimum.

When I left for work the sun was out but I’ve learned I can’t count on the sun staying out. A short time after I got into work yesterday afternoon, the skies opened and a heavy thunderstorm dumped about five inches in half an hour. I had to call Bill and ask him to bring in my rain parka. One of my jobs last night was to clean up the Waterview Room after a meeting of a business group that has been in the hotel for the past several days. It’s no fun carrying a bin of dirty glass and meeting paraphernalia back to the main building and getting soaked in the process. My Eddie Bauer rain parka with a hood helps to keep me dry so I don’t look like a drowned rat after several trips back and forth between the Waterview Room and the main building. I have to look my best behind the front desk. First impressions you know. Thunderstorms are forecast for the next ten days. That’s good for the farmers but not so good for the hotel business. My parka will go into work with me every day now.

Business has finally picked up at the hotel. Last night we were almost full. This weekend we are sold out as we were last Saturday night. That is good. I can feel that the economy is starting to take a turn because more potential guests are calling the hotel to inquire about availability of rooms. But now there is a change because almost all of the callers are shopping around for the best rate. I don’t blame them, I would probably be dong the same thing if I needed a room. However, even at a discounted rate, I couldn't afford a hotel room.

Another sign that the economy may be improving, albeit slowly, is that more For Sale signs are going up for houses in my development. I wish them the best of luck. I’m still not over the nightmare of selling my house way back in 2006. Someday I will write a blog posting of that worst time of my life when I was carrying two mortgages at $3,998 a month from April to November of 2006. I was standing on my financial precipice. It was close but I survived by getting a mortgage for the difference in the purchase price of my new house and the sale price of my old house. This was my first mortgage since 1976 which I will pay off when I’m 95 years old. I would prefer not to have a mortgage but I am thankful I found a way out of avoiding foreclosure on my new house. It was real scary there for awhile. I hope I never go through an experience like that again in my life. I'm still recovering from PTSD from that nightmare.

This morning I ventured out to do some weeding of the flower bed in the front of my house. It wasn’t too long before I was sweating. Working outside on a day like today is like walking in the bottom of a swimming pool. I hear heat and humidity like this is normal summertime weather for Florida. That’s why I would never live in Florida or any other southern state like Georgia, Tennessee or South Carolina that has energy draining heat and humidity like we’re having now in good old coastal Delaware.

A friend in Pennsylvania sent me an e-mail a short time ago telling me he is on his way down to Rehoboth Beach for the weekend. He is staying with a friend in Rehoboth but is stopping by here first. We’ll take lunch today at my new favorite restaurant, The Flying Crab. That will be a nice interlude before I jump back into the (work) pool.

(Note: pictured is a Swallowtail butterfly pupu. This is the last one in my garden. They love parsley plants. I planted extra parsley plants for them this year and about a month ago I had a number of Swallowtail pupu on those parsley plants. But alas, I think my backyard population of birds (Purple Martins, swallows and bluebirds) found the pupa and they are no longer. Bill and I are carefully monitoring the safety of this lone pupa. I hope he/she survives.)

Super Bluebird

Lots going on here in Ron's World. Today I'm going to stick with the progress of my baby bluebirds in their bluebird house which is guarded by the biggest bluebird I've ever seen. It's a Super Bluebird! He's been fighting off swallows and sparrows from his five baby bluebirds. So far he has been able to repel all attacks from the barbarians.

As you can see from the picture I took a few minutes ago, the baby bluebirds haven't opened their eyes yet. That will probably happen in the next day or two. I will keep the readers of this blog posted when that event happens. In about a week they will be covered in a soft down of blue hued feathers. In about a month they're out on their own in the big world.

I always feel guilty when I open the front of the bluebird box to take my progress pictures. But I think Super Bluebird understands because he goes away a short distance and watches from his perch from my neighbor's screened in deck. As soon as I finish taking my pictures and turn around to return to the house, he flies back to his perch on top of the bluebird house. He looks at me and I can sense he understands that I am not a threat to his babies.

One more day of work then I have a few days off until Saturday when I go in to fill in for another co-worker who has a class. Tonight I'm filling in for a co-worker who is vacationing in Ireland (must be nice.) I have to get up to Pennsylvania to visit my Mom. I also have to return some genealogical items to my cousin Elsie Mae. I borrowed her parent's funeral books back when the winds were blowing cold. The trees are now green and the temperatures are warmer. I haven't been able to travel to Pennsylvania recently because I had a cold, too much rain, and my erratic work schedule at the hotel. I foresee sunny days and a clear work schedule in my future and I better make the trip soon. If I don't my family members may disown me.

This is a short post because I have to get ready for work. These four day work schedule are a bit much for me. I've gotten too used to the freedom of only working one or two days a week, Mondays and Thursdays. Four or five days in a row is a killer. I guess I got out of practice. I'm glad I have a job and a job that I like. Except perhaps for the issues I'm having with the owner but that is another whole story. I haven't decided yet whether or not I want to post that drama on my blog. Right now I'm going to put all of that out of my mind and enjoy this sunny, warm day.

Getting Back In The Groove

Day Two of my regular routine since my six week stint of working full time. It is nice to wake up at my usual time of 6 AM and turning on "Morning Joe" and watch Joe Scarborough make a fool out of himself (one of my favorite past times) and watch his guests discuss the political landscape of the day. I love the freedom of rolling out of the bed when I feel like it. That's what retirement is all about, freedom. Even though I work part time, I still feel the freedom. That freedom was lost when I work full time. During my six week marathon run of working full time, my garden maintenance fell behind. Also, I wasn't able to make my usual daily blog entries. My other activities that I had to suspend was cooking and cleaning the house. All back on track now. Yesterday, I made an absolutely delicious dish from my crop of tomatoes. When I lived in Pennsylvania, I couldn't grow tomatoes because I lived in the middle of the woods. I didn't get enough sun to grow vegetables and whatever vegetables I did grow, the local deer population would quickly devour them. One thing I'm finding in my old age that my best recipes are the ones I make up myself. I just put in ingredients that I like. Yesterday's recipe was to brown several cloves of garlic in olive oil. Then chop two boneless chicken breast in medallion shape (done when the chicken breasts partially thawed.) Brown in the olive oil with the garlic and chopped onion. Cover with four cups of peeled plum tomatoes and a bunch of chopped fresh Italian parsley and fresh basil (from my garden.) Add one cup of Sauterne wine and simmer for about a half an hour. Serve over rice. DELICIOUS! At my age I have trouble digesting processed foods with a additives and preservatives. My "Chicken Ron" is the perfect meal for my sensitive stomach. Then I pushed my luck and made a fresh snacking apple cake. I had a recipe for a snack apple cake (8 inch pan size) but I didn't like the the usage of shortening. So, instead I substituted 1/4 cup vegetable oil and added a cup of sour cream. Again, DELICIOUS! In the summer I don't always have time to go to this kind of trouble to cook from scratch, especially cakes. But I do have a sweet tooth. I've tried different cakes that I purchased at the local supermarkets. None of them work. They don't taste good and they give my stomach a workout because of all the additives and preservatives in the store bought cakes. I ended the day with a nice walk through the development behind where I live. Now I am really getting back in the groove.

One More Week

Just one more week! The past five weeks I have been working full time at the Inn, filling in for a co-worker who is on maternity leave. She is schedule to be out six weeks. That means next week is my last week of working full time. I'm glad I had the opportunity to work full time. First, it enabled me to sharped my skills at the front desk. Only working twice a week, during the night shift, doesn't expose me to all the different situations that a front desk clerk encounters. Also, working one day after another full time, enables me to pick up my speed. I've also learn how to lay out the breakfast. This morning was my first big test in that category. I passed! Tasha, the regular breakfast hostess came in and pronounced, somewhat surprised, "You did well." You know what? That compliment from her meant just as much if not more than my boss complimenting me on a job well done. Working full time has put more money in my bank account too. That money enabled me to pay my annual school/real estate taxes with a check right out of my checking account. Something that wasn't possible when I lived in Pennsylvania. Back in those day I had to sell stock and cash in CD's to pay my Pennsylvania taxes. After paying my Delaware school taxes, I had enough money left over to buy real wooden blinds for the many windows in my house. Now didn't they change the character of my home? It looks like a real home now. I think we'll stay here. By the way, today is my partner's 80th birthday. Who would have ever thought I would be living with an 80 year old man? In about a month I'll be 67 years old. Who would have ever thought this young mind would reside in a 67 year old body? Well, one more week to go and I can get back to my regular schedule. And what would that be? Watching "Morning Joe" in the morning, catching up on my e-mails and posting to my blogs until noon time. Lunch, a nap, then a bit of gardening or shopping. Then my cable political shows in the late afternoon into the evening. That's basically my schedule, punctuated twice a week by working at the Inn Monday and Thursday nights. Works for me.

Coming Down The Stretch

Only two more weeks left on my current temporary gig at full time work schedule. While I don't mind working full time, it doesn't leave me much time for what I really like to do - working in my garden and posting to my blog. While I appreciate that opportunity to work full time I'll be glad when I go back to part time work. At this time of my life, my routine and lifestyle is more suited to working part time. Working part time gives me the opportunity to have the best of both worlds. I have the freedom of retirement and yet still have the discipline of the workplace. I realize this doesn't work for everyone but it is what works for me. I guess I'll always work. At least as long as I can get up in the morning and put on my pants and shoes. However, it is getting tougher putting those shoes on.