Generally, this is one of my favorite holidays.  Bill and I have dressed up in fun costumes and “trick or treated” to all of our friends houses.  It gives us a chance to say “hi” to those we don’t see very often and they get a kick out of our good time.  This year we are just tired and decided to stay home, build a nice fire and watch the World Series.  In a way, I feel sad that we aren’t out and about; on the other hand, it feels good to be home in my comfy clothes.

I did prepare a Halloween Haiku…

witches, goblins, ghosts

things that go bump in the night

leaves cover the ground

I have been doing some quilting!  Yeah, finally some quilt content.  I have been working on the Halloween wallhanging for Wendy.  Obviously, it won’t be ready this year but I think she will get it for Christmas.  The top is completed and I started the quilting last night.  Here’s a sneak peek…

My retirement has been interesting, to say the least.  I have spent more than 40 hours a week since the first of the month working at the new Lowes.  Consequently, I’m tired.  Yesterday was the opening day so my schedule should slow down a little.  I was off around noon the last couple of days and I like that. On another note, I have lost 4 or 5 pounds and I like that, too.

Speaking of retirement, I received a couple of very special gifts.  First of all, my daughter contacted several friends and family members and organized purchases of Pandora charms.  I was not aware of this jewelry but here is a link if you want to know more about it.  She asked each participant to write a memory and purchase a charm of their choice.  She made a card out of scrapbooking materials with each memory and attached the corresponding charm to the card.  The four of us went out to dinner and she presented me the gift; all the cards were wrapped and in a little basket, the bracelet was in its box. Many of the cards made me cry as I remembered my friends and relived their memories.  What a wonderful gift.  Thank you, Wendy, for being the thoughtful, creative, loving daughter that you are.

Yesterday after work I was able to meet my best friend, Su for lunch.  I haven’t seen much of her this past month either.  We stayed for a couple of hours catching up and before we left she gave me a handmade basket to celebrate my retirement.  (I keep telling her to stop giving my gifts.)  This little basket was made by a Passamaquoddy Indian woman named Clara *** .  It is signed on the bottom and dated ‘98.  This basket is one of a collection that belongs to Su and the fact that she has passed it on to me makes it an invaluable gift.

That’s all for now.  Thanks for stopping by…

;o)

I started working at Lowe’s the beginning of the month and haven’t had time for much of anything else.  I worked 7-6 for six days in a row and that doesn’t leave much time for fun things.  So far, retirement isn’t any fun.

I have been sewing a little almost every day on the wallhanging for Wendy but I doubt she will have it by THIS Halloween.

On Saturday I went to the Cocheco Quilt Show in Rochester, NH which was very enjoyable.  I purposely left my camera home so that I could wander and enjoy, without feeling like I had to have a photo.

Hopefully I will get caught up and on a regular schedule soon.

Thanks for stopping by…

;o)

We are spending the week in Bar Harbor and visiting Acadia daily.  I thought I would be able to post the day’s adventures and a couple of photos each evening but I can see there is no way that will happen.  I started last night but my sciatica was screaming so I had to put the computer away.  Instead, I’ll do a quick catch-up later.

The weather so far has been beautiful, warm for this time of year and no rain (overnight, maybe).  Tomorrow, Campobello Island, New Brunswick.

Thanks for stopping by…

;o)

Today opens a new chapter in my book of life.  How do I feel?  I’m not sure.  It’s surreal.  I’m excited and anxious at the same time.  I feel like a kid in a candy store.  It’s hard to believe that this day has actually finally arrived.  I have been looking forward to this day and counting down since the beginning of the year and IT’S REALLY HERE!

“I’M RETIRED”

“I DON’T HAVE A JOB; I’M UNEMPLOYED”

Yikes!

I have applied to be a volunteer with the local animal shelter, as well as a part-time position at the new Lowes in town.  I hope we can spend the winter in the south where it doesn’t snow.  I have started a list of some things I want to do…

Spend more time quilting

Dye some fabric

Get the garden cleaned up

Plant the mums

Exercise more often

Take an online class

Sell some stuff on eBay

Get some items into my Etsy store

I’ll keep you posted.

Thanks for stopping by…

;o)

As Frank Sinatra would say…

And now, the end is near;
And so I face the final curtain.

My countdown calendar says 0 days till retirement.  Technically, tomorrow is the last day so I guess the calendar was off by a day.  However, after tomorrow…

I will no longer get up at 0500 to get ready for work (I hope)

I will never wear a fire department uniform again

I will never drive another piece of fire equipment

I will never put on protective gear or wear an SCBA

Hopefully, I will never be in another burning building

I will never experience the same camaraderie and feeling of family with my coworkers

However, I will step through the threshold into the unknown and paint a new picture.

I heard these words at my nephew’s graduation several years ago…

“Don’t cry because it’s over; smile because it happened”

Thanks for stopping by…

;o)

25 years ago I walked into the Sanford Fire Department to work 10 hours a week as the ambulance billing clerk.  In only 11 days I will walk out of the SFD for the last time as a firefighter/EMT.  It has gone by in the blink of an eye.

25 years ago my son was 8 years old and my daughter was only 4.  They are now 33 and 29 (you could have figured that out for yourself) and  have both graduated from college.  My daughter remains single; my son is married with a daughter.

25 years ago I was married, living in a 200 year old farmhouse in a rural area of Maine.  Today I am single, having divorced in 2000, and live with a loving, generous man in a less rural area of Maine.

25 years ago I was only 35 and today I am 60 (I know, you could figure that one out too).  When I got hired, I never expected to become a firefighter and I certainly never expected that I would retire from this profession.

Yesterday I traveled to the retirement office and completed the necessary papers.  It’s official.  September 16 is the first day of the rest of my life.

Time flies when you are having fun or so I’ve been told.

Thanks for stopping by…

;o)

Another week at “Fun at Camp” has come and gone.  This year was a little different because Greg, Vanessa and Ella came and spent the entire week.  That meant a whole week enjoying my granddaughter.  She is getting so big and is walking, although tentatively.  She gets around so much faster crawling that I think she prefers speed over technique.

Bill, Wendy and I arrived late Friday afternoon about 30 minutes before a horrendous thunderstorm struck the area.  It was very scary.  Lightening was striking everywhere around us.  Wendy was a little panicky because we didn’t have cell service and she was afraid something would happen and we would have no way of telling anyone we needed help.  Thankfully, that wasn’t necessary.  Neither of us liked it very much but Bill didn’t seem too shaken by the whole thing.

For the most part, the weather was good all week.  We were able to spend some time on the beach every day, even though it clouded up in the afternoon early in the week.  We took advantage of a cloudy day on Sunday and went to play miniature golf.  Well, it was cloudy when we left but was pouring by the time we called it quits somewhere around the 8th hole.  Everyone was drenched but that didn’t stop us from getting ice cream on the way home.

We spent time doing what we always do at camp…reading, floating, eating, relaxing, listening to the Red Sox (that can be a real downer sometimes, though).

Speaking of mosquitoes.  We were warned that they were very numerous this summer.  That was a understatement!  They were awful.  Usually, when we sit around the campfire at night, there are a few mosquitoes.  However, this year they were swarming all day.  Even though it didn’t rain every afternoon when it got cloudy, we couldn’t go outside and just sit because we would be eaten alive.  The little kids are very tasty to the darn things…they were full of little red bites.  Ella got most of them on her face and Trevor got them around his ankles.  Even though we slathered them with all kinds of kid safe bug killer, they still got lots of bites.  Finally, by the end of the week and cooler temperatures, they subsided, which allowed us to sit by the lake and read.  The only good thing about them was the fact that they were small and slow.  If you spotted them landing on you they were easy to smack.

It was an entire week without internet, which felt a little strange.  Funny how quickly the computer, e-mail, Facebook, Google etc. have become a staple of our existence.

Needless to say, I haven’t gotten any sewing done lately.  After completing the hanging sleeve for the “Oriental Flower” I actually got a few inches sewn down.  I planned to work on it a little last night but by the time we spent about 10 hours, packing, cleaning, unpacking and putting away, I couldn’t keep my eyes open much past 9.  I had to return to work today so going to bed early was not a problem.

Bill and I traveled to North Conway one afternoon to pick up some staples at the grocery store.  We stopped at a great little quilt shop there.  Of course, we couldn’t leave without buying something.  Bill purchased a charm pack of Halloween fabrics so that I can make something to decorate Wendy’s apartment.

I found some butterfly fabric which I have started to collect for a quilt for Vanessa.  It was on sale for $3.99/yd so I bought the end of the bolt, 2 3/4 yards, which I can use for the backing.  I also bought some bee fabric on sale to use for the backing of Wendy’s bee quilt, which I haven’t started but have all the fabric I need.

Now to make a decision on the pattern.  I want to make a scalloped edge which I have never done before and am thinking about some applique but that may mean that I don’t finish it for another several years.  That’s just too long.

I have 9 more shifts and 16 more days to work before retirement.  I’m getting excited.  I have an interview with Loews on Monday for a part-time position.  They are opening a new store in town so it would be perfect.  I’m crossing my fingers!

Thanks for stopping by…

;o)

Greg’s funky monkey quilt is done, completely done.  I finished the label tonight and got it sewed onto the back.  I don’t know exactly how long this has taken but it seems like…forever.  Seriously, why can’t I complete a quilty project faster?  Answer…I don’t sew often enough.

The quilt has been called Greg’s Funkey Monkey quilt but I changed it on the label.  It is now (drum roll, please) “For The Love of Monkeys”.  TaDa  It is kind of a play on “for the love of money” and I thought it sounded cute.  After all, it is his love of sock monkeys that created a need for this quilt.

"For The Love of Monkeys"

pieced back

Hanging from the line

Hopefully, we will travel down the beginning of next week and present it to him.  I’m giving Vanessa the “tote bag from hell” which she commented she really liked the last time they were here.  On top of that, I have several outfits for Ella that I want her to have before she outgrows them.

Only 3 weeks until we all go to camp.   That will prove to be interesting; hope it all goes well.

Only 43 days till retirement; that will prove to be interesting as well.

Thanks for stopping by…

;o)

As I continue to count down the days (45) left until I retire, I continue to mark the last time something happens.  Last week I had my last performance evaluation.  Last year my supervisor was an acting Captain.  In other words, he was temporarily assigned to my shift as the officer in charge.  He wasn’t very happy about the situation and didn’t “buy into” the evaluation idea.

However, this year I have a new Captain who tested for the position and is a very good influence on the shift and a great teacher.  He believes that every call is an opportunity to learn.  We spent an hour or so discussing my evaluation, which was very positive.  As I will be leaving in only a couple more months, the discussion regarding goals for the next year wasn’t very appropriate but we talked about it in terms of after my retirement.

There are a number of things that I will miss when I leave and I think the opportunity to work with this particular person and learn from him is something I am sorry I can’t take advantage of.  My last Captain was a great guy but not a very good teacher and I missed out on a lot of information.

I have also worked my last Wednesday truck check.  That is a day spent going over the truck and checking everything from tires, to fluids, to valves etc.   On the first Wednesday of every month we have to flush water out of every discharge gate.  It isn’t difficult; just gets everyone wet!

I will continue to make note of the “lasts” as they occur over the next 45 days.  Only 8 more night shifts and 10 more day shifts.  Then…every day will be a weekend day and maybe I can get some quilting done!

How about a couple of garden photos so this post isn’t all words, no pics.

poppy from seeds Wendy brought from Texas

daisy with ruffled edges

veggie garden 7.31.09

Thanks for stopping by…

;o)

Yesterday I gave the Chief of the department my letter advising him that I would be retiring effective October28th.  That’s only 55 days.  YIKES!  I have been procrastinating for the past several weeks, knowing that once I gave them a date, it would be official.  It took me quite a while to complete the letter because of the tears clouding my vision.  What a dork.  It’s scary and exciting at the same time.  I’m sure I have said that more than once in previous posts.

The Chief and I had a nice conversation over the next hour about my time there, about what I want to do when I leave, about how the job has changed over the past 20+ years.  The actual job of putting water on the fire never changes, except that there are new nozzles and ligher hose and foam that can be added to the water to make it “work” more efficiently.

What has changed is the amount of education that is available and even required to do the job.  I was hired as a career firefighter in 1984 with absolutely NO experience in the fire service.  That wasn’t totally unusual then but it would be unheard of now, at least in this area.  Someone could join a department as a volunteer without any experience and they could get the education and practice they need “on the job” but that would no longer be acceptable for a career position.

We also talked about how the “family” feeling of the firehouse has changed.  Even though we eat and sleep together, the bond is different, not as strong.  I don’t have any explanation for that.

I do know that once I leave, I will no longer be a part of the family.  We agreed that there is a glass door that slams shut when one of us retires or resigns and we just don’t fit any more.  They will still working the job but I will be a visitor.  That makes me sad because I know it will happen and it doesn’t take very long.  It will only be a few years and many of the people that are hired won’t have a clue who I am.

There are a few things that I feel sad about or will miss…

First of all, my granddaughter will never know me as a firefighter.  She will hear stories about it or see pictures and will know that’s what I USED to do but she won’t really know me as a firefighter.

As I drive along, no one will wave and expect me to wave back.

No one will pull over as I drive down the street.

I will get a ticket if I run through a red light or stop sign. (I do come to a crawl when I approach a red light or stop sign because you would be surprised how many cars Do Not Stop just because I’m entering the intersection with a big red truck, lights flashing and sirens blaring.)

I will miss the bond that is so strong with my coworkers as we depend on one other in life threatening situations.

I will miss the fact that some days I really do make a difference.

However, I won’t miss sleeping away from home two nights a week.

I won’t miss getting up several times during the night to deal with someone’s emergency.

I won’t miss going to work in bad weather, no matter how dangerous it is outside.

There are more I’m sure and they will come to me as I count down the next 55 days.  Maybe I’ll just call out sick on my last day, rather than spend the day as a blubbering idiot with tears streaming down my face the entire day.  This is gonna be a rough ride.

Thanks for stopping by…

;o)