I’ve blogged about my husband’s battle with retirement. About his need to still feel productive and his complete inability to relax and enjoy some well deserved leisure time.
I’ve blogged about him retiring in December of 2022 only to return to work in August of 2023.
I’ve blogged about him retiring again in February of 2024 because the gov’t treated him like a new hire and forced him to retake 8 months of training even though he worked there for 22 years and could teach the classes himself.
So…
We’re barely three months into retirement part two and if you think he’s been able to sit back and relax any better this time around you’d be dead wrong.
Because this week found him here…
.
.
On a roof that’s not ours, replacing siding and fixing window leaks.
Working with the contractor we hired to work for us.
Remember my perfect carpet? The expensive Karastan I chose on day one…
.
.
The salesperson from the store where I found it (they have exclusive rights to the brand and none of the other places we’ve tried can sell it) has been staying in touch after giving us an installation estimate. When I finally told them my husband balked at the price and was looking around for something comparable but cheaper, they wanted to help and said they would check their inventory.
I received this message a week ago.. but didn’t tell my husband until he’d had his fill of fruitless floor shopping.
I’m evil that way.
.
.
To be honest I didn’t think carpet was something you could barter… but you live and you learn.
And you can tell one of us is not having a good time.
.
.
This is not my fault as I found the perfect carpet on day one… but my husband swore he could find something comparable for less money so we kept shopping.
.
.
This was an interesting display.
.
.
Made even more so by the fact it opened for samples.
.
.
After another whirlwind weekend tour of flooring stores, my husband chose carpets he thought were close to the shade we wanted. Even though I (and numerous salespeople) assured him they weren’t.
.
.
Ironically the two large sample boards he brought home were very close to the price point of my original choice which kind of defeats the purpose… no?
.
.
And since none of them were the right shade (again), my spouse is slowing coming around to the realization he should have just agreed to my selection a few weeks ago and called it a day.
While we’re (none too patiently) waiting for the new living room furniture to be delivered, it’s time to turn our attention back to the bedroom.
.
.
The newly trimmed windows and sills are in…
.
.
The new door has been installed…
.
.
With its pretty morning reflection.
So now we need to get rid of that horrible dusty rose carpet the previous owners chose and replace it with a nice neutral beige.
I did a little preliminary shopping and fell in love with a Karastan.
.
.
Of course I did, it was the highest quality and most expensive available. Unfortunately the husband did not fall in love with the price and wanted me to choose something less pricey.
So began our carpet shopping saga.
You know the drill…store to store to store trying to find something comparable. He thought it would be easy.
He was wrong.
.
.
He brought this one home, but it was too grey.
.
.
He brought this one home, but it leaves those awful striped vacuum marks.
.
.
He brought this one home and asked Lord Dudley to choose, but nothing matched the quality, softness or color of my Karastan.
Day 7, the last full day of our southern anniversary vacation started like the previous 6… with a card.
.
.
This trip was our gift to each other so I opted for a card a day instead.
I’m thoughtful that way. 😉
.
.
It also started with the malfunction of my very last can of (the now reformulated and totally awful Aussie instant freeze… may a pox fall upon their houses and render every last one of the executives bald) hairspray.
Oh, the horror!
With my drastically unsecured hairdo, we headed out that morning to buy a thank you gift for our neighbor who was caring for Lord Dudley Mountcatten in our absence. On the way out of the store I chuckled at the appropriate license plate of the elderly owner.
.
.
And speaking of moss…
.
.
We decided to make the most of our last day and return to the Botany Bay preserve to fully explore Boneyard Beach at low tide.
.
.
Passing under that gorgeous canopy of trees again on the way in.
.
.
It never got old.
.
.
Our previous two trips to the beach were shortened first by loss of daylight and then by rising tide.
We hoped for better viewing this time.
.
.
I know the pictures don’t do it justice…
.
.
But you have to trust me, this place was amazing in person.
.
.
.
.
Even with bad hair and high winds.
.
.
The skeletal remains of all those trees made it feel like another planet.
.
.
Or maybe this one after some kind of Planet of the Apes scenario.
.
.
.
.
Look…
.
.
My husband smiled, so you know it was special.
.
.
I swear if I lived in this area I’d be here everyday…
This last entry will be an easy guess, but it comes with a story.
These aren’t old family pieces, but they’ll always hold a special place in my heart.
.
.
Many moons ago when my husband retired from the Marine Corps, money was tight. He’d bounced around from job to job but couldn’t really find anything he enjoyed. I was working part time for a property management company but it didn’t pay well.
He’d sent out a lot of resumes but until something panned out he was driving truck. Big rig, long distance hauling. I hated it as he was gone all week, but it kept us afloat.
On one of his weekends home we went to a lovely antique store where I saw the above items. They’re chickens, so my eye was immediately drawn to them. If I remember correctly they were about $125, which 30 years ago… we didn’t have to waste.
But my amazing husband scrounged the money somewhere, put them on layaway and drove back to the store every week until he paid them off so he could give them to me for my birthday that year. The poor man probably skipped a meal every day while he was on the road in order to buy me that gift… so to me they’re priceless.
Day 5 of our 40th anniversary trip dawned sunny and warmer.
.
.
Which was such a welcome change I actually got the husband to participate in … and (half) smile … for a morning balcony selfie.
.
.
On the itinerary that day? Charleston.
.
.
By way of Toogoodoo.
At first I thought the nav system in the overpriced Lincoln was drunk…
.
.
But no, the road exists.
Toogoodoo: The name given to the creek and the area by the Bantu (African) slaves who worked the sea island plantations surrounding it. The word translates loosely as “I have plenty/ My life is bountiful”.
A sentiment that resonated with me all day.
Charleston is a southern city I’ve always wanted to visit and in a little over an hour, we were there.
.
.
We skirted the harbor…
.
.
And drove down one of the most famous neighborhoods.
.
.
Filled with lovely homes…
.
.
All facing the water.
.
.
Unfortunately right after we started driving we ran into a detour due to storm damage from the night before. So we zigged and we zagged in our giant monster rental and elected to ditch the traffic for a walk.
.
.
This is the most popular park in town and thankfully pretty deserted off season.
.
.
It sits right at the mouth of the busy deep water harbor…
.
.
And don’t you dare let Fido off his leash.
$1087 seems like an arbitrary sum, but whatever.
.
.
We hopped over puddles and made our way to the park’s most popular tourist attraction.
.
.
The pineapple fountain.
.
.
Pineapples are a symbol of hospitality and you’ll find them everywhere in this friendly city.
.
.
This is probably a beautiful shot in summer when the sun is high…
.
.
But I couldn’t quite capture the canopy angle properly this time of year.
.
.
Done with the park, we strolled.
.
.
Charleston is an old city with beaucoup traffic and very little parking. Take my advice, put on a pair of comfortable shoes and walk…
.
.
It’s the only way you’ll get a real feel for the place.
.
.
We were headed for the French Quarter and the magnificent Rainbow Row so beloved by Instagrammers.
.
.
I couldn’t wait to explore, so of course my husband had to strike up a half hour conversation with this nice gentleman who had a strange car.
.
.
In case you’re wondering, it’s a Figaro built by Nissan in the early ‘90’s. Only 20,000 were made and he said his wife had to have one. It’s a tiny little thing but after battling the in town traffic with our luxury behemoth rental, I’m sure it’s perfectly suited to life in Charleston.
Not wanting to waste any precious time on our week long vacation, day four threw a monkey wrench in my carefully planned trip.
.
.
We woke to overcast skies, an egret in the pond and a forecast of what turned out to be a mini hurricane. Heavy rain, high winds and dangerous surf are not prime beach resort conditions.
And if that wasn’t bad enough, I burned breakfast. Again…. due to the stupid flat surface stove that had two burners in one.
.
.
High level heat if you turned right, high level heat if you turned left. This proved too much for my under caffeinated morning brain to handle and henceforth, the husband was on his own when it came to eggs.
.
.
But at least the dish sponge was happy.
.
.
Not having walked the beach since we got there, I forced my spouse onto the sand before the storm arrived. That’s his arm to the right of the photo, pointing out which unit was ours. I’m not sure why as we had just exited it and I was unlikely to forget that quickly.
.
.
My husband is not a beach guy, not an idle walker. He needs a destination and purpose…
.
.
I told him pleasing his wife of 40 years should be motivation enough.
😉
.
.
We had the beach to ourselves, but it was cool, dark, damp and hellaciously windy.
He didn’t believe me when I told him how hard it’s been to find fabric for the furniture he chose so I’m continuing to show him firsthand.
Seeing is believing after all.
In my search I’ve discovered that even though different stores sell the same brand, they’ll often have different fabric available and I’ve made it my mission to check them all.
.
.
Hence our trip to Waterville to a small but 5th generation family run store.
.
.
Their showroom is a two story barn from the 1800’s.
.
.
And while they didn’t have the particular style set we wanted, they can order it…. at what turns out to be $600 less than their larger competitors. Free delivery included. I’m all about supporting small local businesses so this is where we’ll purchase it.
If we can ever decide on a fabric.
.
.
Green is still nonexistent. And even the blues that I didn’t really want are muted. But I pulled and pulled hopeful something would catch my eye.
.
.
This photo perfectly portrays how thrilled my husband was to be on the journey.
🤣
.
.
I’d tentatively narrowed it down to these two with the husband bored out of his mind behind me.
Until…
.
.
He discovered a huge computer loaded with the company’s app.
With it you pick your style…
.
.
And punch in the fabric number for a peek at what it will look upholstered. He had fun with this for quite a while, laughing at how horrible some of the patterns were. But when I gave him the number for the fabric I was considering?
.
.
I stopped laughing because he said the cushion had two eyes staring at him.
.
.
Jesus wept.
Will nothing please this troublesome spouse!
🥴
.
Where there's only one step from the sublime to the ridiculous.
River's world..... 