Gardening, Sewing & Golf

Many people struggle with retirement. Without the daily schedule of a job -- the tyranny of an 8-hour work shift -- they are lost. I think it's much harder for men because they are usually defined by their jobs. Whereas, women are more likely to have ongoing hobbies they enjoy -- like SEWING. Retired men have long days with nowhere to go and nothing to do. Whereas retired women are delighted to have more time to SEW, grandbabies to cuddle, (Expo trips to plan, classes to look forward to, fabric to buy...lol). I believe the key to a happy retirement is HOBBIES. And, as you well know, I'm a woman CONSUMED with her hobbies...

When my husband retired -- John was looking forward to having the luxury of TIME to spend doing the hobbies he loves. (as opposed to all those years he never missed a day of going into a job he HATED). John enjoys golfing, fishing, hunting, Civil War history, baking Italian bread, being an avid baseball fan, making maple syrup -- and he loves mowing his very large yard AND he is a lifelong avid gardener. As you can imagine -- HE COULD HARDLY WAIT TO RETIRE...and I was very hopeful.

This year, John joined a beautiful public golf course only 20 minutes from the house. You know how it works -- the more often you go golfing, the "cheaper" every round is -- right? He was welcomed into a very interesting group of early-morning-golfers.

The good news is with the moderate summer weather we've had in Iowa -- John's frequent golf schedule means he's amortized a round of golf down to about $3.00. The bad news is here's what the garden looks like... As it turns out -- John's gardening could easily be compared to my housecleaning. He loves to golf. I love to sew. Hey -- we ALL MAKE CHOICES!!.

LOL...The only thing that matters is that HE HAS NEVER BEEN HAPPPIER. And -- hey -- even with all the weeds, we're still getting plenty of garden vegetables. Of course, the #1 sandwich this time of year is a good old-fashioned BLT. And we love 'em! But the unique sandwich we look forward to every year is the Jay Ohland special:

Spread one slice of fresh bread with chunky peanut butter. Spread the other slice of bread with mayonnaise. Put a thick slice of tomato right in the middle (i need salt).

UNBELIEVABLY DELICIOUS...trust me....you will get so hungry for this sandwich you'll start dreaming about it next winter...