About Me

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I'm 57 years old, working full time, wife, mother and grand mother, wishing that I wasn't working full time! I love and enjoy our children and grandchildren, our dogs and cat, our garden and allotment. I love crafts - knitting, sewing, crocheting, patchwork and restoring old furniture. I love to go to country auctions and love thinking that I've got my self a bargain!

Saturday 1 November 2014

Is there anybody out there?............

Afternoon All,

Its been a while since I last posted hasn't it?

Life sort of got in the way for a long while - I found it hard to have the time to write posts with work and commuting - I have managed to read a lot of your blog's and have stayed in touch with a number of blogger's.

So what's changed to make me be writing this post now.................I have retired from work!!

I am now a retiree from the rat race - I finally got off that tread mill and now have time to stand and stare, breathe in the fresh air and enjoy my family and the simple pleasures in life - you can tell from my sheer delight that this only happened a week ago.

I realised around March that as far as work was concerned I was 'old school' - I believe that in public service you're there to give a good service to all customers - at work all that seemed to matter was how many awards we won that week.

The plan had been to wait until I was 60 and then retire but I had my pension figures for me to retire this year at 59 and the difference just wasn't worth going up and down the motorway for and spending my time doing a job that I was no longer enjoying - so I made my decision in September and finished a week ago.

It means that we are on a tight income for the next 7 years until I get my state pension but it'll just be a case of managing and getting on with it! At least I wont have to do that commute which had been getting worse and worse recently - I had been working 8 hours and then commuting 2 1/2 hours on top, so just felt completely shattered all the time.

So what's been happening in my little world since I last posted...........we have a beautiful new granddaughter I. a sister for E. there is just 15 months between them so its  a handful now but they will grow up together. My Hubby has retired and is enjoying being at home. We have a new puppy Winnie - she's a Corkie - half Cocker and half Yorkie with a little bit of Jack Russell thrown in too - soooo naughty but so lovely. We've been down to Cornwall twice this year and had brilliant holidays and weather on both occasions. My daughter has secured a really prestigious position in her field and I am very proud of her and her achievements - I think that is all the big news. Oh and we have a new allotment to work on. Pictures of all to follow - when I can remember how to upload and find my way round the blog!

So now I'll be able to post more often and record how I spending my well earned retirement!!

Speak again soon

Byeee xxx




8 comments:

  1. Hi Trudie so good to see you back writing again and I look forward to news on your allotment. Hope your enjoying your retirement so far you deserve it.
    Much Love
    Claire xxx

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  2. Well done. I have never been so busy since I retired, but I can walk away when I have had enough. Yes its tough budget wise, but so many pluses.

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    1. Thanks Jill - it's good to be back again and to not be feeling so shattered too xxx

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  3. Hiya Claire - How are you and the lads - hope you are all ok - I am really enjoying retirement Claire, I've looked forward to it for soo long and it's so good to get up each morning and think the day is all mine to do with as I want - after 25 years of working full time it's lovely - keep in touch Claire speak soon xxx

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  4. When I first retired early, I felt guilty if I sat down to just be, took me a few years but I am there now. DB always finds things to do, not quite so much for me. At least you are saving loads of petrol money!

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    1. We're certainly saving a lot of petrol money - a drop of over £300 from when we were both working and commuting - I've sat down each afternoon this week to watch Christine and Gardens from Above on the TV and really enjoyed it xx

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  5. How has your first few months gone? I did the same in July and the first 6 months has been quite exciting!

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  6. Hi Trish
    It's been brilliant - I can't believe how lucky I am to be finished and now love Mondays - it's so nice to know that the whole week is mine to do what I want with it. It has been really busy, I've been decluttering and decorating but I think that has been all part of the transition process - casting off the old life for a new one - I've also wrote down some of the things I did at work and that has helped me to put work away in a little box to the back of my mind but I do love being retired and being at home - what about you? are you enjoying retirement and how did the transition feel to you? xx

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