Posted on 12/24/2024 6:09:36 AM PST by MtnClimber
Try model railroading...
Some people want to be happy and others want to be productive. People are different and it’s the final years we are talking about. No wrong suggestions here.
I lost my voice permanently a little over five years ago. That was my chief tool in my career as a teacher and counselor, so I was forced into retirement. I wasn’t that far off the age. I was hit with a rare form of esophageal asthma caused by allergies the docs couldn’t find or fix. I gave up so much food, but gorged on what I could still eat. Then I got hit with a severe heart condition. Just bloated and unhappy and having awful symptoms. No longer wanted to go anywhere...
I didn’t realize it, but nearing 70, I had given up. So, the heck with that...I just lost ten pounds in a week. Tonight the wife and I will listen to Christmas hymns. Tomorrow, I will watch most of my grandkids enjoy Christmas.
Whatever fits you this new year, just enjoy it, and make it count. Merry Christmas, everybody. Our Saviour was born.
I have mentioned this “trick” before in other contexts and folks seemed to like it.
Give yourself a week to do this so you can have time to recall everything.
Task:
Make a list of every good thing you have ever done in your life—every accomplishment, whether great or small.
Nothing is too small.
When the list is done it will be a long list. It will show you what you are good at.
Then find a way to do more of that.
I had never heard of a Rose Engine and had to look it up...that looks like a real gas!
If I had room, I would have an entire machine shop...alas, I live in a small ranch type house, and have nowhere to put anything.
I had an awesome job when I was going to college after I got out of the Navy, I was a lab assistant at a Medical School Pharmacology department. The guy who was my boss had an entire machine shop, everything, a solid Bridgewater milling machine, lathe, table saw, drill press, you name it. He told me I could use it anytime I wished, for whatever I wanted, no questions asked! He had me making electrophoresis machines out of plexiglass, and I just loved that. Boy, was I ever lucky. I worked a couple of weeks around Christmas at a UPS distribution center, and that sucked, but in the early Eighties, I took what I got.
So, yeah. I pined for a shop, but...in this world, not to be, unless I win the lottery...:)
As a compensation for not having the room or equipment to do woodworking or machining, I have taken up 3D printing, which is a real hoot! As we speak, I have a 12 hour print about 3/4 done! I had gone through several cheap Chinese hobbyist printers, but...they didn’t print parts faithfully even if they were printed cleanly. You had to file, sand, and carve pieces to fit together, and it was unsatisfying. I finally purchased a printer that was a step up (and at least ten times more expensive) but boy, is it worth it. I can measure things with a caliper (such as a small electric motor) and when I print it, it fits like a glove!
I am using a free online 3D program called TinkerCad, but...I need to learn how to use a serious 3D program. That’s coming...:)
I retired 12/31/2019.
I now spend all my time with the gal I married in 1972.
But since I’m with her all the time, I’ve started noticing little things I’d never noticed before, and I’m suspecting something.
I’m not certain, mind you, blur I’m starting to suspect she may be the one.
Even today you can’t go wrong with it.
What has happened to the Boy Scouts saddens me. I got valuable life lessons out of it.
But that is how it is now.
Few people understand what you and I know about the pain/age factor. I had a recent conversation with a physical therapist, she said most of her clients are elderly addicted to the recliner. A simple way to view your joints and muscles is: Use them or lose them.
Weight lifting is a Godsend in old age. Bed exercises are also helpful before you get out of bed in the morning.
My goal when I was working was how to make it through each day with least amount of trouble & maybe making a livable wage. Now that I’m not working, life is different. I have a better bank account now (not from my working days) but no marriage partner anymore. I try to do whatever I can at my church & I suppose that is my main goal, plus some giving to worthy causes.
I can certainly buy into that.
lol. May be Time for a trade-in. But, they’re REALLY expensive now.
*
Through the years I accumulated a pretty nice machine shop, although the vertical mill is a cheap small one. Sadly, I can hardly use it due to lousy eyesight and bad knees. I did teach my boys to use it, so maybe they will put it to good use.
The more I learn about the Rose Engine, the cooler they seem. There are Youtube videos which demonstrate their use ... they are pretty fancy machines and make fancy things. Oddly enough, they have been around for a long time, 1780s I think. Queen Victoria had one that she used as a hobby.
Santa is on his way. Merry Christmas.
Also still working at 72. Easier staying sharp when surrounded by smart young people and working on significant projects.
I have a To Do list and look at all I wrote down then precede to do other things.
One of my To Do items is to look at my To Do list.
Since retiring I have enough things to do to keep me busy like taking a nap whenever I want 😴💤
I plan ahead to goof off.
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