A look back and forward – 2018

By Dianne on December 31, 2018

It’s the last day of 2018, so time to look back at what has been an amazing year, and to look forward to what might happen in 2019.

Learning

  • I passed Calculus 30! I didn’t get it at all the first time I took it in first year university MANY years ago, and it always bothered me. So I had told myself, that someday when I retired, I would try again and succeed. And I did! Yay me!
  • I learned to hula hoop! (Another thing I’d never been able to do, but was determined to someday.) I hired a teacher for myself and a group of friends on my birthday. It was a blast!
  • I learned to play pickleball! It’s great and will give me something to do in the winter.
  • I started a 2-year course in Lay Worship Leadership. It’s really interesting and it led me to giving my first service on Dec. 30th.

Books

  • I had two books come out this year! Dear Me: The Widow Letters which I self-published through Driver Works Ink in Regina, and Grampa, Will You Tell Me a Story?, the first Pickles children’s book, which was published by Baobab Press in Nevada.

Travel

  • I visited my son and his partner in Oregon this spring and stopped in to visit Bill’s cousin and his wife at Kootenay Lake on the way home. Very heartwarming.
  • I went to St. Peter’s in Muenster for a writer’s retreat this summer. Very productive.
  • Posey and I went to Kimball Lake for a week in August. Very relaxing.
  • I went with my friends Adele and Ray to Ecuador for 2 weeks of birding in December. Very awesome!

Events

  • Performers I saw this year included Tom Cochrane, Matt Anderson, Michael Kaeshammer, Melissa Etheridge, and the Saskatoon Symphony (doing the music of Harry Potter).
  • The 1st (Annual, I hope!) Saturday Morning All You Can Eat Cereal Cartoon Party at the Broadway was soooo much fun!
  • I ran (?) 10K in the Saskatchewan Marathon.

 

A pretty darn good year, I’d say!

So what’s new for 2019?

  • I turn 60! To celebrate I’m going to try 60 new things throughout the year. Wish me luck! Should be fun.
  • I have a wack of bird pictures from Ecuador to go through. That should take a good part of 2019!
  • I’m going to work on another anthology – Dear Me: The Mother Letters, written by women who have experienced the death of their child.
  • I’m going to visit the Yukon with my friend Myrna. She’s calling it the MAD Adventure (Myrna And Dianne). I just hope it doesn’t turn into the DAM Adventure!
  • I’m going to see one of my favourite bands – Lighthouse!

 

I continue to put one foot in front of the other without Bill. It’s been four years, and somehow I still can’t really believe he’s gone. And in a way, he isn’t. Love lives on, and for that I’m grateful.

Happy New Year!

 

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A look back and forward

By Dianne on January 13, 2018

I usually do this post between Christmas and New Year’s but was busy finishing my PreCalc class then. I wrote the final today, so it’s time to review 2017 and look ahead to 2018.

It was a very good year. Lots of adventures, lots of time with friends, lots of learning.

  • In February, I travelled to Cuernavaca, Mexico with a group from church on a social justice learning experience. It was amazing, and definitely a life-changer. Before flying home I went over to Mazatlan to visit my friends Myrna and Glen on their last winter retreat. A wonderfully relaxing time.
  • While I was in Mazatlan, I decided to go online and check out what dogs were available for adoption. Just looking. The plan was to wait until the end of July before getting a dog, but then I saw this picture:

How could I resist? On February 28th Posey moved in. Love her to bits.

  • It was about this time that I called the school board and told them to take me off the sub list. I was saying no every time they called anyway. Retirement is awesome!
  • In June, I went on a tour of Newfoundland with my friends Jo and Judy. It was a fabulous trip! I was hoping to see icebergs, whales and puffins.

Mission accomplished!

  • July brought my last retirement year trip – a bus tour to Haida Gwaii with my friend Betty Lou. We had a lot of great adventures (and misadventures) and laughs together.
  • It was while I was on the ferry to Haida Gwaii that I got a call from a publisher offering me a contract to publish a story of mine as the first Pickles children’s book, with creator Brian Crane. So exciting!
  • In August, Posey and I went camping at Kimball Lake for 9 days. We both loved it.
  • In August, I also started the final push to solicit letters from widows for a book that will be out this year. Now that my PreCalc class is done, it’s full steam ahead on it!
  • I signed up for two classes at the end of August PreCalc 30 and hula hooping. Unfortunately the hula hooping class was cancelled due to a lack of participants. (I know – I couldn’t believe it either!)
  • In September I joined Weight Watchers because it was time to shed some poundage. I’ve reached half my goal so far, and have much more energy now.
  • In November, I traveled to Toronto for a weekend conference for widows. It was very good. Exhausting, but very good.

So what’s up for 2018?

  • Calc 30
  • Dear Me: The Widow Letters will be out this spring.
  • Camping at Kimball Lake this summer.
  • The Pickles book will be out this fall.
  • Another birding trip with my friends Adele and Ray, this time to Ecuador! (December)

Despite having the occasional widow panic attack (I can’t do this alone!), my confidence in myself is growing. I feel Bill with me often, which now can bring smiles as well as tears. Love lives on. Life is good.

May 2018 bring you joy and adventures!

 

 

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Looking back, looking forward

By Dianne on December 28, 2016

 

 

I always feel like the end of the year is like being at the top of a mountain. Look one way and you can see where you were in the last year, look in any other direction and you can see the possibilities for the next year. Between Christmas and New Year’s is when I like to climb my mountain.

 

 

 

2016 was another year of adventure and change for me.

  • In February, I took my first solo trip out of the country. I went to Cuba over the school break. It was important to me to prove to myself that I could do it. Plus I saw some new birds. 🙂
  • In March, Bill’s brother, Bob, died. He had cancer and it changed him. It was like his spirit died when he got his diagnosis, and finally his body caught up with it. It really was a blessing.
  • I retired at the end of June. Thanks to Bob’s generosity, I was able to retire a few years earlier than planned. After seeing too many people die too young, it felt like the right thing to do. I am enjoying it immensely!
  • I finished two quilts this year. One for myself and one for a friend’s new baby. I’m not speedy, but I am enjoying it.
  • I went camping for two weeks in August at Kimball Lake. That place always restores my soul. And I survived a big storm in my tent – playing my ukelele and singing at the top of my lungs because no one could hear over the thunder anyway. 🙂
  • I visited my friend Bett in Kitchener at the end of August. I was amazed that almost every building there is made of brick. And I saw both a male and female cardinal. Bonus!
  • In September, I fell down an old well hole and broke my arm. I should say, and only  broke my arm. It could have been much worse. And it’s about 90% back to normal now.
  • Right after breaking my arm, I visited my friends Cathy and Nick in Klamath Falls, Oregon. Of course, it was a little different trip than I had originally planned, but they took good care of me and we had a wonderful visit. Cathy and I drove up to the magnificently beautiful Crater Lake one day. If I had seen that sight on a postcard I would have sworn it had been photoshopped. Amazing.
  • I’ve done a little subbing. Breaking my arm put a kink in those plans, but I’ll do more next year. Although I have to admit I really enjoy being able to go “Umm, no, I don’t feel like working today.”
  • My retirement dream trip was a December birding trip to Costa Rica with my friend Adele and her husband Ray. We arranged it through a company called Costa Rica Gateway. We had a guide (Steven Easley) who took us around to different areas of the country and over the 12 days, we saw an incredible 382 different birds! Plus learned to take better pictures. I didn’t get pictures of all the birds we say, but I’m working my way through the thousands of pictures I did take and am sure I have over 200 to add to my site. It was a fantastic trip with great friends and a terrific guide.
  • Greg and Troy and I spent a quiet Christmas together. I’m lucky to have them so close. We opened presents, ate turkey and watched Elf, which was Bill’s favourite Christmas movie.

So, overall it was a good year. And more adventures are planned for 2017!

  • In February I’m going to Cuernavaca, Mexico with a group from church and then hopping over to Mazatlan to visit my friends Myrna and Glen before flying home.
  • In June I’m going on a tour of Newfoundland and Labrador with my friend Jo. Hoping I see some icebergs and some puffins.
  • In July I’m going on a bus trip to Haida Gwaii with my friend Betty Lou. Then my year of retirement travelling is done. I’ll do some more camping in August, then get a dog and stay home. And be very content.

I have so much to be thankful for. True, it’s a different life than I was expecting, but it’s not a bad life. I still miss Bill, and always will, but I know he’s near and is always looking out for me.

I hope 2016 was a good year for you as well, and wish you all a very Happy New Year!

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