Another (hopefully graceful) transition!

Aah yes, those transitions, changes in life that we all continually encounter...we just try to handle them as they come, and hopefully those transitions take place gracefully, with little more than ripples in our daily routines.  Because whether we readily admit it or not, I believe that most of us, like our animals, are creatures of habit.  And change can be a decidedly uncomfortable, oftentimes unpleasant and downright scary undertaking.  But change we must!  We must always remember that life is a series of continual changing, evolving and growing.  Without that change, life would quickly become stagnant, and we'd most likely die.  Literally or figuratively, wither up and be no more.  Such a pleasant thought!

The most recent transition to which I'm referring is the retirement of my husband.  Having been laid off from his job early last year, his unemployment benefits are finished.  This coming month of February will be the first time that he will be collecting the first of (hopefully many) social security benefits payments.  Yikes!!  For some reason, I envisioned this as something that would happen a long way off, you know, when we're old.  Ahem...does this mean we're old?  Nope!  Quite the contrary, I see this as another chapter in our lives.  With God's mercy, it will be a long and fulfilling chapter where we have more personal time to enjoy doing the things in life that we previously didn't have much time to enjoy.  Working is something we must all do in life, but it seriously infringes upon our personal pursuits!  And frankly, I can be a bit testy about how little of our time we're able to utilize and enjoy doing what we want.  It's just never seemed fair to me, especially when I look around and so many families have only 1 working family member.  Do these stay-at-home working family members seriously realize just how much of a luxury that is?  I understand working around the home, but it is quite different when one has to commute to a place of employment 5 days out of every 7 and be there without fail, doing whatever it is that you do in order to collect your paycheck.  It's vastly different than working from home, scheduling your own hours and accomplishing whatever it is that you determine will be done in that particular day.  Very different.  Aahh well, but then life just isn't about being fair is it?  Life just is, what it is.  Life is what you make of it.  I have a good life, and I'm thankful.  I also admit to looking forward with great anticipation to the day when my time is much more, my own time.  In the meantime, I'll continue to commute and do my job to the best of my abilities, and also be thankful that I do have a job that I usually enjoy, and that helps to pay our bills, and take care of our animals and our home.  But I digress...

My point is, we're adapting to this most recent change.  I'm actually looking forward to my hubby being at home more often, and being able to pursue projects around our property and our home without everything trying to get finished on our weekends.  Hopefully, this change will enable us to follow more entertaining pursuits on our weekends!!  Now that is something to look forward to!!  I am all open for that...poor guy, just don't know if he realizes everything I have in mind for utilizing his time.  This must be how it is for husbands though, their wives always finding new and more clever ways to fill up those idle hours.  Idle - hah!!  Ladies, you can relate right?  :)  And besides, you realize what's said about idle time being the devil's workshop don't you?  Mustn't contribute to that!!

In other news that is news, our weather is considerably warmer and wetter.  It's much more akin to what we usually expect in January.  The mud is back to being sticky and wet, no need for the water trough heater, and the blankets are only for Miss Kadie on those particularly wet and blustery days.  However, she doesn't really need a blanket for warmth at all, I just don't want her getting wet and chilled.  Our temps are in the upper 40's by night, and into the 50's by day.  A light jacket or vest is all that's required to ward off the winter's chill.  I've noticed recently that the horses are starting to shed their winter coats as well, so are the dogs.  Just maybe, we're in for a warmer and drier spring than we've had in the last several years.  That would be wonderful!  I've noticed the daylight hours being a bit longer as well.  There's still some light in the sky when I head home in the evenings, and daylight savings is less than 6 weeks away.  I'm amazed at how well I'm handling my SAD this year.  Although, there's nothing in particular that I'm doing, it just doesn't seem to be bothering me much yet this year.  What a blessing that is!

We took a day trip to the beach last Sunday.  It was raining on and off all day, but there was very little wind.  The surf was angry and the tide was in, which made walking on the beach a more cautious affair.  Despite the weather and the formidable waves, we donned our coats and hats and walked to our heart's content.  I've definitely noticed Annie slowing down a bit lately.  She loves walking, but she prefers to stay close by my side and keeps my pace rather than running off with Ruby.  It just breaks my heart to admit this, but it's true.  My girl will be 8 on April 30th, so she is a mature lady, a puppy no more...I will love her and care for her every single day that we have together.  I'm her person.  She's a momma's girl, and always has been.  :)

When we grew tired of walking, we went into McMenamen's Pub for their amazing clam chowder in sourdough bread bowls.  Oh my - their chowder is the very best I've had since I worked for Lois DeVore many, many years ago.  She took her chowder recipe with her to her grave, and the world would grieve if it only knew what it was missing.  I can honestly say that this is the first chowder I've EVER had that even remotely comes close to Lois'...and that is saying something.  It is delicious and I highly recommend trying it if you have a McMenamen's near you.  Try it alongside an icy glass of their Ruby Ale...they brew it themselves and it's infused with raspberry puree.  So good!

anticipation...

 My sweet hubby had cleaned the stalls and put hay rations out before we left, so when we got home, all we had to do was bring the horses inside and give them their grain.  They were definitely ready.  Warm, cozy stalls are much more inviting than standing outside in mud and rain.  Our ponies love their little homes, and that makes us happy!

January full moon over cingspots

May we all look upon our transitions with grace and with thankfulness...
Blessings, Lorie @ Cingspots