"R" is for Retirement...

Which is what I did at 5 pm on Thursday 19th December 2013.      I have been in the paid workforce for 40 years and thought it was time to leave and make a start on that long list of  "to do things" that I have been compiling for quite a few years now.     Hubby has been retired for the  last 10 years and has been waiting very patiently for me to come to this decision.     Me not working will also mean a break for him not having to drive around to the office, collect me for lunch, the return drive back after lunch and sometimes of an afternoon.    As you can see he has been doing a countdown for me each day

Below is a piccie of the cards that I received from family and friends, gift cards I received from the office and the flowers were from hubby.

The Westfield Gift card was very for an extremely  generous amount so I will take my time and buy something very special with it.

Retirement for me means not having to be at the same place at the same time everyday and instead of having to look at the day behind a window I can be out enjoying it.   It will mean the freedom to just look at the day and say lets do this or that.   Pack up and go off  wherever and whenever we decide and be able to join in for lunches out with our other friends who are also retired couples.    More time for sewing, gardening, shopping, reading, movies, blogging, friends, family and us.  

And of course as you all know I became a grandma 10 weeks ago and it will mean that I can spend more time with our precious little angel.

Well that was my announcement that I referred to in my previous post.

Back soon with some piccies of what I have recently finished.   In the meantime happy sewing.
 

Nature in my back garden

As we head into the summer months Sydney is known for its thunderstorms which mainly brew up out west and drift across the mountains then head out to sea and as we are quite close to the water we are often in the line of fire so to speak.   I took the photo below from my patio mid afternoon a couple of weeks ago as we watched the storm clouds gathering overhead

I took the next  photo of a huge spider web which was  across a walkway in the garden.    As you can see it is rather large but we never did find the "builder".   Just as well I am thinking by the size of the web.    I often walk into webs around the yard and spend several minutes trying to detangle myself from their stickyness.  

Ever heard the expression flat out like a lizard drinking well here is one that I found just after sunset "drinking up" the last of the warmth from the bricks.

And of course summer in Sydney is not summer without the constant noise from cicadas which seem to go day and night depending on the heat.   Living in a bushy area sometimes the noise can be deafening and you have to be very careful not to stop too long under a tree as you will be "rained" upon by them.   Most unpleasant.   They are quite a strange looking insect with their big bulging eyes as can be seen below.

I hope that you enjoyed  looking around my back garden as much as I enjoyed showing you.  

I will be back later on this week with an announcement and some things to show you that I have recently made.

In the meantime happy sewing.