Janet's Blog

retire: verb leave one's job and cease to work, typically upon reaching the normal age for leaving employment.  synonyms: give up work, stop working, pack it in, call it quits withdraw to or from a particular place.   synonyms: go away, take oneself off, shut oneself away In May, I officially retired from teaching preschool.  I suppose that at least one or two of the traditional definitions, listed above, apply to me.  I definitely stopped working at a job I had been doing for quite a while.  The state of Nebraska considered me old enough to draw some retirement income rather than simply resign.  I guess you could say that I withdrew from a particular place, school, to another particular place here at home, but I haven't exactly shut myself away. I don't quite know what to say when someone asks me if I am enjoying retirement.  Apparently, my retirement is not at all conventional.  After all, how many other retirees still have children at home?  I don't have t

Late Sunday afternoon, I drove to the ranch all by myself--no kids, just me and my music.  The 2 1/2 hour trip was uneventful, even enjoyable.  Traffic was light. The expansive blue sky and rolling sandhills were awe-inspiring, as usual.  The golden cornfields, and acres of drooping sunflowers, swayed gently in the breeze, and herds of black Angus grazed contentedly in the distance.  No one cared that I sang along with the radio.   I avoid making the trip to the ranch during wet or snowy weather, because the last eighteen miles of unpaved roads become nearly impassable then.  I don't like to drive those last few miles after dark, either, because it can be really, really dark out there, in the middle of nowhere, and I don't see well enough to drive safely on unfamiliar roads after dark.  There might be as many as eight ranch houses spread out along those last eighteen miles.  It's rare to meet any other vehicles on the narrow country roads, especially after dark.

It was a dark, chilly, evening, and I was out with a couple of high school friends, walking door to door to try and sell tickets for the current Fairbury High School musical.  I didn't have a speaking part, but I was content to sing in the chorus, as I did for every musical the school produced during my four years there. I don't remember for sure which musical we were doing that year, perhaps Finian's Rainbow , but it doesn't really matter. Everyone who was affiliated with the musical in any way, big or small, was required to sell tickets.  As I recall, the town was divided into sections, and each of us was given a map, with a few blocks designated as our territory.  We usually went door to door with a friend or two, hoping to meet our quotas. On this particular night, we were canvassing the east side of town, not too far from the high school.  As we walked up the front sidewalk of a mammoth old home, the dim blue light of the television was flickering through a

Erin just bought a house in Cheyenne.  It's a mid century modern home, build in 1952.   Mid century modern is defined as "an architectural, furniture, and product design from the middle of the twentieth century."  Her house certainly fits the bill. Erin's cozy brick house has been completely remodeled, but it still retains elements of the original design.  The updated galley-style kitchen utilizes the same footprint that it has always occupied.  No walls were knocked down in this remodel!  The back entry, just one step down from the kitchen, includes laundry facilities, as well as the furnace, hot water heater, and ample storage.  Mid century architects must have been known for their practicality. The house was originally billed as a three bedroom house, but one bedroom has undoubtedly been used as a den or office for decades.  In fact, the original window has been replaced with sliding glass doors that lead out to the covered patio. Everywhere you loo