Here I go...the beginning of my retirement.  Officially retired Sept. 1/12 but haven't got around to starting my blog...true to what everyone says "You'll be busier than when you worked".  It's true but the difference is it's things I want to do and it's at my pace, not someone else's.

Enjoyed lazy mornings, savored my coffee!  It wasn't all roses which I thought it would be.  I actually felt a little stressed and anxious as my retirement date neared.  Did I make the right decision?  Was I going to be okay financially?  Was I going to miss everyone at work?  What was I doing!  These questions all went through my mind.

Even though I loved my job I wanted the freedom to do what I wanted when I wanted.  To be able to travel and stay longer and further away.  This is all happening now.

Spending time with my grandson has been awesome.  He's growing so quickly and I am able to go and take him for walks while his mom is working with her students.  It gives me one on one time and I think he is starting to know me.  It's wonderful.

The weather has been exceptional and that has been a definite perk this year.  Lots of walks and time outdoors.

I've always wanted to blog.  I usually journal when I travel and have had some requests from friends and coworkers to be able to follow me in my travels.  My house sitting/pet sitting has always been interesting and has allowed me to live in different parts of the city but always had to be within traveling distance to work.  This year since retirement I've had a house sit in Summerland for friends of mine and it was wonderful.

Powell Beach, Summerland

I have now secured a house sit in the south of France in Vence which is just outside of Nice for 6 months!  This is my dream come true to do house sitting internationally and it's coming true!  I leave for Vence on Jan. 2/13 and will be blogging about it.

In the meantime I am off on a trip to Asia.  This is a trip that my friend and I were waiting to do once I retired as we wanted to go for a longer period of time.  We leave on Oct. 11th and won't be home until Dec. 7th.  2 months!  We'll be touring Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand.  We fly to Hanoi to start and I hope to block and post pictures as we go.



So life is busy!  I am worried about being away from family for so long.  Haven't done this before but as my mantra chants "you won't know until you try it".  Believe!  Go for it!  Life is short.....stay tuned!