Sounds ideal to me!

I love beans & cornbread!

I stayed home and worked because of the weather. Guess it's a perk of the electronic age

Sounds nice.

I did go out, but made chili, too, using our homegrown peppers, garlic, and tomatoes. The garden lives on in my belly.

I went out to the grocery store today and then later this afternoon, I started making my chocolate Habanero hot sauce, because I have to make it in the yard. Since it was 69° and sunny, I decided that it was okay to do this. I stopped halfway through, however, before I needed to put on my swim mask and snorkel. I'll finish it tomorrow or Friday.

When the weather is bad, I do enjoy not having to go outside, but those opportunities are rare. However, they do tend to happen more often in December.

I make Texas style cornbread, which has no flour and no sugar. And I do like it with beans as well, but I do not make navy beans, except when I make minestrone, which I make with 1/2 navy beans and 1/2 red beans. I prefer Lima beans with cornbread.

I left here this morning for an appointment with Orthopedic Doctor........Don't have to see him again until October 2020. YAY! It was autumn when I left and by the time I got to P.T. at noon, it was summer. I was dressed for autumn. When I got home, I wanted to make cupcakes for a luncheon on Thursday, but I was so tired I couldn't see straight. DH mad a lovely chicken salad, had that with a cup of tea. Trying to get the house picked up now 'cause cleaning gal comes in the morning.

A lot of people don’t know it but you can have mail delivered up to he house on a rural route with boxes at the street. My mother had been ill and her mailman said I should get a form from the post office to fill out for her home. Then I would have to put a mail box either on the house or on the porch railing. It was a great thing for her, no more having to walk down the driveway in icy weather for her mail.

Also, I got her garbage company to come get the garbage from next to the garage. They were very accommodating.

46 work days then I’ll be able to do the same!

Yesterday it was cold and rainy. Today it was warm and rainy. I have baked enough Christmas cookies to feed an army. I would rather work in the yard. AmyLou, I understand your mail carrier frustrations. Currently we have the best one ever. He does not stuff “do not bend” into the mailbox, even though it’s clearly some advertising thing. Asked me where I prefer he put my packages and such. I would love to give him a Christmas bonus even if it’s against the rules. But he seems like the person that will not accept it even though nobody would have to know.

Congrats nhbaskets!!!

Iris, I think the rule is that you can't tip your mail carrier in cash. I give mine a $20 Starbucks card and it's always happily accepted. If I know I won't be home, I put it in an envelope with a few curly ribbons poking out, so it isn't mistaken for a piece of my own mail.

I left mine a bag of coal. She didn't take it. Vile creature.

I agree, Glenda. There's nothing better than retirement.

jupidupi, I thought I read that you can't give any kind of gift card to a postal carrier, but that you can give cash up to $20 for each holiday or a birthday if you know their birthday. You can give cookies, candy, etc. I often put out little treats for our dear mailman. Today he got a plate of cookies.

We now have a mailbox on a post right outside our front door. We can't walk out the long driveway anymore. We had to get a letter from the doctor stating our handicap and also write a letter of our own to go with it to the postmaster. We pay extra to have the garbage person come to the house to get the trash can since we aren't able to wheel it out to the road. That needed a doctor's letter too.

At one time I had to install a new post and went ahead and bought a new mailbox, there are a lot of regulations including color, height, etc. But aside from mixing and pouring some concrete for the post it really wasn't a big deal. I'm thinking that raising your mailbox an inch would take an hour.

I was just having a conversation with my son the other day about standing up and not backing down when an issue is morally important, but going ahead and acquiescing and just doing it if it is bureaucratic bs.

Lucille, we are going to raise the mailbox. Thing is,its not such an easy fix. It's a heavy metal box, welded onto a metal pole and embedded in concrete. Not in a hole in the dirt filled in with concrete. All concrete. So we have to bust up the concrete or get someone to cut through the metal pole and re-weld it.Or both. In addition,both me and SO work full time jobs that don't involve being a jerk for fun like that beast. We are busy. At least 4 people that work at the post office have told me that they all hate her there too,because she is holding over 100 people's mail, and it is creating more work for them during an already extra busy time of year. We will fix it when we can. But it's an inch. And she is ridiculous.

So true! We stayed in the house today too. It was a yucky cold wet day. I laid down for a nap. Got up and ordered a pizza. Just wasn't feeling like doing anything. Watched a little TV, read a bit, and then back to bed with my tablet. And here I am. LOL

I did the Xmas cards today as little as there are. In the past weeks, I've gone thru at least 300/400 books, maybe more. I'm redoing a small bedroom we use as a library. When husband retired from his state job he worked two or three winters at the Book Of the Month and was allowed to purchase three books every working day for 25 cents so I had 100's and had to go thru every one. I kept all the antique and decorating ones and donated eight big boxes to our local thrift store. So by the end of the week, that room will be completely done and I will like it for the first time in 35 years.

"When the weather is not delightful, you get to stay home, make navy bean soup, cornbread and take a nap."

yes and I've been doing a lot of that lately. we seem to have a storm come in about twice a week these days. My body doesn't like it at all! It drizzled here most of yesterday. A funnel cloud was sighted up around north Phx, lots of accidents and another roof over the pumps at a gas station came down on 2 cars that were under it. N Phx and Scottsdale had lots of hail. the news showed kids making snowmen out of the hail. The ground around me still hadn't dried out from the last rain a few days back. There's nothing out there that'd get me out in it. I made spaghetti soup Sunday. I usually want that or chicken noodle soup in weather like this. next time I'll make that. the news now says we should have sun for the next 10 day (subject to change for sure). They said another 'storm' will be coming from CA but will go farther north of the Phx area. I did get a load of laundry done on Tues and hung outside. It's still out there.

I know it seems trivial to most, but the one thing I love the most about being retired is that I don't have to answer to anyone anymore or to feel like someone is looking over my shoulder. I was always the kind of employee who once the job was learned there was no need to be "supervised" - I did my job and never took advantage of the company in any way. So I always hated any kind of heavy handedness on the part of my superiors or their butt-kissing lackies. Believe me, in an office populated by mostly women, in general there were always plenty of those. And please refrain from going off on me about being offended by that statement. I never had that problem when I worked around men, in general if they had something to say they said it to the face, they didn't go running to "mommie boss".

I totally agree with your statement rita. It got bad enough I swore I'd never work for another woman again. Every time I did, it bit me in the rear. I told my current boss 13 years ago (been here 15+ years now), I'd stay with him if he promised the "real" supervisor (he's leaps and bounds over her rankwise) never did my review again. It's been peaceful since then. The male is a hands-off, she's a micromanager. We're all still around and still working together, so it must work.

As a stay at home homemaker, I have not retired. I do what I want now. I do have my mail box just up at the edge of my porch. I have had it there probably 4 or five years. I could have had it mounted to my house if I had wanted. Yes, you do have to fill out a form from the post office. It may be different in different states, I don't know.

Sue who is staying in again today, it is 19 out this morning.

Thanks to this post, I'm having beans & cornbread for lunch today. YUM!

Glenda...your food suggestion, bean soup & cornbread does sound delish! Maybe time for some cornbread...to go with the spinach pasta dish I made yesterday.

This reminds me of a phone call I got from a personal trainer friend, who was retired, before she moved. She said," I swam laps for an hour. Ran the track for an hour. I just got up from a nap. Do you want to meet me at the trail head and do the Incline? " Now that's "retirement!" I wish!

We are in NE Ohio and were trying to decide if we want to move south when we retire. We're leaning more towards maybe getting an RV and traveling south & west when it gets cold and snowy here. One of the reasons why we probably won't move south is for the very fact that when it's miserable out, when you're retired, you don't have to go anywhere!

I'm looking so forward to the day I can stay home and make soup and take a nap! Glad you're enjoying retirement Glenda!

I walked the grands to bus stop; visited my coffee gossip friends across the street; put away the kayaks for the winter; now I'm in the sun room streaming Johnny Mathias music and taste testing a gift of honey washed coffee beans.

Hey share, any snow?

Me too, ritaweeda! Whenever someone asks me what I like best about retirement, I tell them for the first time in my life I'm in charge of me and how I spend my days/time. I love not having to answer to anyone!

Congrats, nhbaskets! I remember that countdown - the last 30 days, I took great pleasure in getting a big, black sharpie and crossing each day off of the calendar. Xing out the last day was such a thrill!

amylou -- I suppose you can't put a one-inch 'floor' inside the mailbox and either remove the door or hinge it to that height? Would the interior space still *conform*?

What functionary has the power to have this person 'rewarded and removed'?

Not having to set an alarm clock unless there is something I want to do! If the weather is nasty, I can just stay home!

Best thing? One need not go to work every day! And if the weather is nasty, one can stay in ones robe and curl up with a good book and a dog/cat on ones lap.

Amy, call the Postmaster General. It's illegal for your mail carrier to be holding on to 100 people's mail. Do the other four people who work with your mail carrier agree with the mail box height requirement that your mail carrier is demanding? Regardless, your carrier can't hold your mail hostage.

The phone number for the United States Postmaster General Headquarters is 1-800-275-8777.

Sleeping in and staying up late. Not having to dress up in work clothes. Shopping, eating, travelling without time restriction. Heck, just about everything except missing daily contact with good friends I've made at work over the years. That and being so less organized (because I can) and, do I dare say it, being lazy at times. Too bad we can't retire earlier when we are in our prime :-)

Thank you. I have called them. They tell me that there IS a requirement for mailboxes to be a certain height,and that she does not have to deliver my mail until I fix it. And they agree that it is excessive for her to hold mail for one inch,but technically she is in the right,rule wise,so there is nothing they can do.She has to hold it at the post office for 10 days before she can send it back,so I have been going to pick it up. Really though,even if she was compelled to deliver my regular mail,she has not delivered a package since she has been my carrier. She always finds some excuse. She would rather spend 2 minutes filling out that stupid paper for me to come pick it up myself than 30 seconds driving up my driveway to bring the package. She. Is. Useless. Both the employees at my post office and the postmaster general have said they have received a couple HUNDRED complaints on her, but as she is not breaking the rules,just being an obnoxious jerk, they cannot fire her. I wonder if postal workers are union?

The cornbread sounds wonderful. Will have to make some tonight (from cornbread box mix). The bean soup is a gas booster though. Well, I guess if you are retired, there won't be any worries. :-)

The chemical in beans that causes flatulence can be reduced by putting them into a large volume of water (4 x or more as much water as the volume of dried beans) that you bring it to a boil. Turn off the heat, cover and let it sit for one hour then drain the beans, rinse lightly, drain, then resume cooking. For added protection, take a few Beano tablets. Guaranteed to reduce or eliminate intestinal gas.

The same technique works with dried split peas.

Amylou, is it possible to dig out an inch in front of your mailbox, instead of raising it?

I'm likin' nickel's idea.

Thanks Elmer for the info. This is educational. It takes so much time to make it "gas-less". :-)

No nickel, it's in concrete,not dirt, that goes all the way to the asphalt of the road. Nothing to dig.

No need to dig. Take the mailbox off the post, nail a piece of wood board onto the post and then put the mailbox back on top of the wood board.

Its welded onto a metal post. No worries though, We will get it fixed. We just have to wait for someone we know that can cut it and reweld it to have time to come do it for us. but its still annoying.

When I look out of the kitchen (or bedroom) window to see the wind blowing the falling snow so heavily that when it passes out of sight on the left it's only an inch or so lower than when it came in at the right a couple of seconds earlier ...

... I tell myself "That's O.K. - I didn 't want to go anywhere today, anyway!"

Some people heavily dedicated to their work/career who, nearing retirement and having few other interests, have indicated some concern about what they were going to do with themselves on retirement.

I've asked a few of such, "What is it about freedom that you find so disconcerting??"! _______

amylou ... I was hoping that the box wasn't welded to the pole, in which case I wondered whether you could get a piece of 4" square wood and drill a hole about 2.5" deep into more or less the middle lengthwise of a size tight enough that you'd have to hammer it on to the top of the pole, then screw the box onto the block of wood. With may be another block below it, in case the 2.5" depth seemed too fragile.

As it is, do you know any farmer or mechanic/handyperson in the area who has a truck with a welder on the back? If not, ask among your friends to find one, so you could get a piece of pipe about 2" high compatible with your post and either cut the pipe with a hacksaw or, probably easier, get the welder to cut it using a cutting torch, then weld in the new short piece.

Some of your friends may know how to search out such a person in your area on the internet.

Probably somewhat less costly than calling a commercial agency.

Do you figure that as your carrier ages ... she may shrink a bit (as many seem to do as they age) ... in which case, do you figure that the dreadful shortage of that inch might trouble her somewhat less?

ole joyfuelled

glenda, do you have any cornbread left? What's the back of your cornbread looks like?

I just baked some thanks to this thread. I added walnuts and raisins that weren't on the box mix. This is my 1st time baking a cornbread, did I burn it or it's just right for homemade? Want to see a pic of yours.

Little bit of dark cornbread spread with butter, doesn't make that much difference. Mine stuck, so it was rather brown, but didn't stop me from eating and even crumbled some in the navy bean soup :o)

Thanks glenda! I think I burnt it. Lol