How to fill time in retirement

 Another year is coming to a close and it's time to review what new restaurants I visited during the year. First, when I started my retirement, I decided it would be nice to eat at one new place every week. The first year (see graph) I accomplished my goal and the second year I dropped to 47 of 52. But after a few Doctor appointments about weight and other things caused by weight, I realized maybe I should slow down my eating so I dropped to just one new restaurant every two weeks. For the next three years I met that goal. Then the pandemic hit in 2020 and eating out slowed way down and over the next three years I was averaging one new restaurant every two months. Things are getting back to normal and I said a year ago in this Blog, I would get back to the 26 a year rate. As you can see, I only got yo 14 but that is at least one new place a month. Hopefully, in 2024 I will get back to 26. Number of NEW restaurants by Year When I started keeping my dining statistics in a spreadshee...

 Since the start of the pandemic in 2020, my visiting new restaurants and other places has slowed way down. I only started to travel again this year with a trip to Vermont. Now I am trying to hit some new places in the area where I live in Florida. My first stop was the Vero Beach Museum of Art (VBMA) located just over an hour south of my house. I had been to the are before, Riverview Park, for a Pirates Festival. I was just across the street from the museum. The reason for my visit was to see the M.C. Escher exhibit. Funny, I found out about it from one of those annoying ads in Facebook. I guess this one was not too annoying. I have always been a fan of Escher, and own a book of most of his art, but I had never seem his art in a museum before. I am glad I went. The first three pieces are favorites of mine. They also had some of the original wood blocks. They also had a few with witches which I do not remember seeing before, but I liked them... The VBMA has other works on display a...

 It was written in March of 1983. It is my Dad's journal and I am trying to type it into the computer, and although I am slow, I am enjoying "hearing" my Dad's voice again.  On this particular day he got kind of...Well, you read it for yourself... All the photos were added by me, his journal was written in cursive, and just words. Harold while he was writing his journal outside the trailer And it's a time for reminiscing – over six years since we moved to Florida and have lived in Parkway for Mobile Homes. And have worked for SuperX and South Atlantic Dist. almost 2 ½ years. Dad Shackett died in Jan '81. Dad Provoncha in Apr '82, and Mom Shackett in Mar '83. But we have had three grandchildren in almost that time with Joshua being born in Aug '78, Israel in Aug '81, and Jared in Dec '82. The waves roll in and recede. We have been lucky with BJ living and working close by; with Tom making 5 visits over the past 2 ½ years. And finally John ...

 It has been a while since I have shared some of my digital hoarding. Here are a few more pictures that I have saved. Most of these were saved back during November and December of 2020. The first photo is a hit dog joint that use to be right on the beach in the town of Satellite Beach. Lum's was famous for cooking their dogs in beer. The company is now defunct although a few of the restaurants are still in use. This particular one was turned into a Perkins. I had many a meal at this place while partying along the beaches. In 2004, it was taken out by the hurricanes and now is an empty lot. The surfers still reference Lum's as a site where the waves may be good. I am not sure where I grabbed this photo but it is labeled as the 1940 MHS Hockey team. MHS was Middlebury High School, where my dad graduated in 1939 (or was it 1940?). I think the goalie looks like a Doria, but not positive. And the player sitting, one in from the right, looks like Louie Emilo. I graduated from MUHS (a...