Autumn Colours

Don’t you just love the colours of autumn? In Sydney, we don’t really get the classic colours of the leaves as they die, mainly because we don’t get that radical change in temperature, nor do we get proper frosts.

We don’t have to go very far to see those wonderful colours, though. Les and I did a day trip up to Bathurst during the week, and the trees along the way through the Blue Mountains had definitely started to change. And on the road through Lithgow, there are trees in the median strip that are well on the way to losing their leaves, and have some beautiful colour.

The best thing for me was when we got to our house in Bathurst. In our back yard, we have our own autumn colours!

In our new back yard, we have a peach tree (no peaches left, as the previous owners ate them all L) and an apple tree with heaps of apples on it. There are some other deciduous trees, and I’m fairly certain they are fruit trees, but I don’t remember what they are – that can be a pleasant surprise for next summer.

our apple tree

From a distance the apples looked great – a good size, and some good colour (they are Pink Lady, so don’t have a really bright red colour). But up close, they aren’t so good. They have suffered from lots of bugs. I presume this is because they haven’t been looked after properly. I hope I can do better next year, but I will have to do a bit of research to find out what they need.

When next we are there (in a couple of days), I’m going to pick all the apples. I won’t just throw them out, though. I want to cut each one and see if there is anything that can be salvaged. If there is, I’ll do something with them – maybe stewed fruit, or chopped up to put into muffins, or dried – there are so many options.

Yes, I know, I’ve got off the subject again. Autumn colours, wasn’t it?

The Australian bush is really amazing. It doesn’t really matter what time of year it is, there is something in flower. So when you think autumn colours, don’t just think the reds and oranges and browns of dying leaves. Think of yellow (wattle) and orange (banksia) and pink (pink wax flower).


banksia

wattle

 

pink wax flower, with ant

I read somewhere that there is always a wattle in flower somewhere in Australia. I presume there are so many different types of wattles and that they flower at all different times of year. Mostly we just think of them in flower in August, and that is certainly when those people who suffer from hay fever mostly know about it! I remember as a little kid happily bringing flowers to my Mum, and being devastated when she didn’t thank me like I thought she would.

But again, I’ve wandered off the subject.

I love the colours around us. I think I notice them more now I’m not rushing around so much. And I appreciate how the colours change with the seasons. Kind of like me, I suppose.

 

Ups and Downs

This week has had its up and downs, so I’m feeling a bit unsettled at the moment. Actually, if I’m honest, I’m feeling a little lost, or disconnected. Let me try to explain.

part of my routine -
a necessary part of my day

We are trying to move to Bathurst, away from the rush, and anonymity, and anger, and crush, and isolation of the city. We have been trying to do this for some time, but have had a few obstacles in our way. Each time we make a little progress, something else happens to slow things down. And this past week was another of those where things didn’t happen when we thought they would. So that was a Down.

Because a planned day-trip up to Bathurst had to be delayed, we both needed to get out and DO something. So Les quickly found a lovely long bushwalk in the Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park that we could do. He is a wonderful person, because this bushwalk has an easy side-track that goes to a kiosk that sells cappuccino! So that was an Up.

see all the lovely grass trees!

 

 

 

 

The weather for the day we walked was fine – in fact it was quite warm. We did the hard part of the walk first – up hill from Bobbin Head to the Sphinx Monument. Then we could do the easy part at the end – along the creek back down to the marina at Bobbin Head, and the coffee shop.



It is hard to believe that such walks exist within the Sydney Metropolitan Area, because when you are doing them, you feel just so far from the city. My favourite plants (xanthorrhoea, or grass trees) were everywhere, some even with spikes.

lonely and late flannel flower

And I even spied a lonely flannel flower, which is my favourite flower – it is VERY late in the season. So this walk was definitely an Up.

Then my best friend had to cancel out of coffee this week, as she wasn’t well. And she is heading off to visit her Mum for a couple of weeks, which means that I won’t see her for some time. That was a Down.

But I still caught up for coffee with another friend. That was an Up.

And my regular Saturday morning exercise group was cancelled because the trainers had to go to Queensland for a funeral. That was a Down.


a goanna we surprised along the track

So my week was all about plans and routines going out the window. None of these were earth-shattering, and you would think being retired would mean that small things like these would be nothing to worry about – I mean, I’m retired, so just chill! But I think I may have mentioned (once or twice?) that I like plans and routines. Somehow they make me feel comfortable, and connected to the world. I try to go with the flow when the plans and routines don’t happen, but sometimes that is just beyond me.

One of the things about retirement is that to a large extent, I can do what I want, when I want. In theory, this could mean not having any plans at all, and just being spontaneous! But I’ve learnt that I don’t feel happy like that. I’m happier with structure. So rather than trying to force myself into being something I’m not, I’m learning to work with my little quirks. Now all I have to do is learn how to not get all bent out of shape when the plans and routines go missing in action.

And remember that one size definitely does NOT fit all when it comes to retirement. MY retirement needs to suit ME. And if the plans and routines don’t work out, I’ll feel lost, but I’ll still be here, and next week will be better (I hope).

Let's Get Physical - Why?

That mental picture of Olivia Newton-John in workout gear is not going away, is it! The younger generations may not have that problem, but anyone who was around in the 80’s will know what I’m talking about.

The kind of “getting physical” Olivia sings about isn’t really the message today, unless, of course, you want it to be! I’m talking about getting myself into good physical condition.

the walk we took my mother on for
her 80th birthday!

I’m not talking about being in seriously good condition like the trainers on the Biggest Loser. I don’t think it’s possible for me to be like those trainers. I just want to be healthy.

Why do I want this? I want to be well enough that I can enjoy doing the things I enjoy – the things I want to do in my Joyful Retirement. That doesn’t mean I have to be able to run a marathon, or do 100 push-ups, or a pull-up (pull-ups are seriously impossible for me to do!), or be a perfect size X (insert desired dress size here), or never eat chocolate again.

When planning for retirement, we put together a list of the things we wanted to do – travel, do bushwalks, take up hobbies (Les wants to start doing lawn bowls, apparently it isn’t just old people who play these days), build a vegie garden, catch up with friends.

the ship we did a harbour cruise on

Imagine how hard it would be to travel if I was way overweight and couldn’t fit comfortably in the plane seat. Or I couldn’t climb to the top of the lookout to see the whales swimming by. Or I couldn’t go on a harbour cruise because my balance was bad and I risked falling over and breaking a bone.

Imagine how hard it would be to play lawn bowls if you can’t bend down (actually, they have special sticks you can buy that mean you can pick up the bowls without having to bend over!).

Imagine how limiting it would be if the bushwalks we went on had to be less than 15-30 minutes because I couldn’t walk further than that without getting exhausted.

What this means, though, is I have to put in some effort to maintain a healthy body. I like the comparison with a car – we all try to put the right fuel into it, service it regularly, give it a wash every now and then so it looks pretty, and it rewards us with working when we need to use it, and for a good number of years if we look after it well.

I also like the car comparison because there are so many cars out there – ranging from the slick little MG, to the hulking great Hummers. I drive a silver Toyota Corolla – how much more average can you get! So, I can’t expect to get a physical condition like an MG when I’m actually a Corolla.

some flowers I saw on one of my walks around
the neighbourhood

So, what would happen if I didn’t look after myself? Well, it is no surprise that I’m getting older, and let me tell you that things start going wrong when that happens – things that you have very little control over. I never had an issue with high cholesterol until I turned 50, then WHAM! I hadn’t changed my diet, so all I can assume is that it is just one of those things that I have to live with.

But there are things that I can delay – like muscle degeneration, changes to bone density – or improve – like heart health, fitness level, balance. And if I don’t do anything about these things, how will I be able to enjoy my life?

That’s the Why – or my motivation for trying to be in good physical condition. All I had to do then was develop a plan for how I was going to do it – aah, yes, planning, and Be Prepared!

Be Prepared

Being prepared -
having a camera handy when out and about

I like to Be Prepared.

Yes, I was a Girl Guide. I can’t remember exactly how long I was one for, but I do remember heading out for meetings once a week, in my snappy uniform. I probably stopped going when it was no longer something the cool girls did. Not that I was one of the cool girls, but I desperately wanted to be, so Girl Guides had to go.

But that is beside the point. The point is, I absolutely LOVE the motto. At the time, I didn’t really think about what it meant. I’ve just Googled it, and apparently (according to Wikipedia, so it must be right J) the first handbook for Girl Guides, How Girls Can Help to Build Up the Empire  says the motto is because you “have to be prepared at any moment to face difficulties and even dangers by knowing what to do and how to do it”.

Well, that may be true, but it sounds a bit dire and dramatic. For me, being prepared means I feel more comfortable, in control, and able to cope with what might get thrown at me. It enables me to feel comfortable that I’ve made the right decision. I can be a bit obsessive about it (some might say anal), and spend WAY too much time and effort getting totally prepared. But you don’t need to know everything in order to make the right decision, you just need to know enough to make a good enough decision.

 

Les is a lot like me when it comes to being prepared. You should see the work he does organising our holidays! Before our first holiday together, he even had our rest stops planned for days when we were driving. He isn’t as detailed now, but you get the idea on how he feels about preparation.

It can be tough writing a blog like this!

Yes, I’ve wandered from the point again.

Anyway, when we were looking at retiring, of course we had to Be Prepared (aren’t I a good little Girl Guide). Part of that preparation was reading suggestions, advice, and whatever we could get our hands on to tell us what we should do. I mean, we really want to enjoy our retirement.

We didn’t need to read all the stuff about financial readiness – we have a financial adviser who said we had enough money, and our own calculations (done using a much more conservative set of assumptions) agreed.

What we wanted to read about was what physical, mental and emotional preparation we needed to do. And it turns out there was a bit to do.


Getting into good physical condition
- Sand dunes at Kurnell

We had to be in good physical condition. Makes sense. Retirement is a bit of a waste of time if you spend it all being ill, or feeble, unable to get out of bed.

We had to really want to retire, not just not work – there is a difference.

We had to be ready for the emotions involved in retiring and being retired, and have strategies for dealing with them.

In future posts, I’ll talk about each of these in more detail. In the meantime, know that retirement is better if you are prepared for it. Here are some books we used to help us Be Prepared!


Brilliant Retirement by Nick Peeling

101 Secrets for Great Retirement by Mary Helen and Shuford Smith