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Second Friday Retirement Adventures – November 2026

Retirement officially began for me August 1st, so each second and fourth Friday, I reflect on the first year of retirement in two-week windows and what it’s like in this new chapter of life. This idea of retirement reflection was sparked when members of my writing communities and personal friends asked me how I would spend my time and if I thought I would get bored. At the beginning of my first week off, I used a green spiral notebook to make a list of all the things I wanted to do — something enjoyable each week, blending in some new hobbies, adventures, and routines as well.

My first item on the list was learning to play Mahjong to exercise my brain, and my list seems now to resemble seedlings that turn into plants with shoots that grow off in different directions and keep growing like hostas and irises and mint, taking over the whole back yard. Each new experience uncovers a whole uncharted world to discover and explore.

My late father said this about retirement: You don’t retire FROM something, you retire TO something, and you’ll be busier than you’ve ever been. He was right, and I love doing what I want to do when I want to do it and having the flexibility to travel and engage in new hobbies – or stay home in comfortable clothes and enjoy a more relaxed pace on the Johnson Funny Farm.

Here are 52-62 of the most recent things I’ve enjoyed in my first three months of retirement, plus a bullet list of 1-51 previous adventures – and I’m not even four full months into this new gig.

62. Play Mahjong in a Mahjong hall on an automatic shuffling table – The Velvet Wind in Asheville, NC offers group play and has both automatic and regular tables. It was a treat to play here, and the tiles were huge (great for aging eyes)! I don’t even know how to act anymore after such a treat. My mouth fell open like a kid in a candy shop. Watch this shuffler!

Dear Santa, I’ve been a good girl this year!

61. Play Mahjong in a mansion – Silvermont Mansion and Park is a community center on the National Registry of Historic Places in Brevard, NC. It was built in 1915 as a residence, but now it is a thriving hub that schedules events such as Reader’s Theater, meeting spaces, open studio for artists, basketball, mahjong and other games, and more. I called ahead to ask if we could play, and Brenda told us to come on and they’d shuffle us in. I played in a mansion last Monday!

Bethany and I were playing the same line.

60. Taking last minute turns to discover what I might have otherwise missed – My sister in law wanted to visit Brevard College, but our time ran short, so we drove past it but not through it. On the way home, I spotted Furman University up ahead on the right, and made a surprise decision to turn in and drive through. We were speechless at its beauty, so I parked the car. We got out and walked through the rose garden, saw the fountain and bell tower, and even visited the chapel when a student ambled in and started playing the majestic organ. You can hear a moment of awe in the video below.

59. Hiking in to see the waterfalls of Brevard, NC – I hiked short distances (and I do mean hike – we had to climb inclines) to find two of the many waterfalls around Brevard, Land of the Waterfalls. My sister in law and I were able to see Hooker Falls and High Falls on a recent trip, and we’ll return to see the others once we’ve caught our breath.

High Falls
Hooker Falls

58. Seeing the White Squirrels of Brevard, NC – I spotted them! And they are most entertaining and anything but a hallucinogenic mushroom myth! A fellow postcard poet who lives near Brevard gave me tips on where to find them, and I not only did I get to see the white squirrels, I got to meet my fellow poet turned friend on the trip as well. We had lunch at the old Woolworth Walk diner and had our picture taken in front of the postcards in Malaprops! You can see the white squirrel scamper right up to me in the video below.

57. Book Store Shopping Trip – I took a trip with my sister-in-law to Brevard, NC to visit bookstores as we traveled and spent time in western North Carolina. We visited Highland Books in Brevard, NC; Malaprops in Asheville, NC; As the Page Turns in Traveler’s Rest, SC; 2nd & Charles in Greenville, SC, and also Mr. K’s Used Bookstore in Greenville, SC (the largest used bookstore in the state). We used technology to route our trip based on the bookstores that would be open at the time of our travel along our route home.

56. Designing and Creating Porch Goose Outfits – Porch geese are all the rage right now in outdoor decor. I recently sent a pair to my brother and sister in law as birthday gifts with fishing outfits for their dock on Lake Hickory at their North Carolina home. It’s a common practice in some second homes on St. Simons Island that if the owners are in town, they raise their personal flag on coming and going so that local friends have a secret code for who’s in the house. My brother and sister don’t have flags on their lake house (yet), but I thought the lake equivalent might be geese on the dock. While I don’t have a lot of company for porch decor here so deep in the country, I got a seven inch coffee station goose and made some outfits for it. As I was sewing, I thought of my granddaughters and their love of fashion and ended up packing a 7″ goose and sending them a box full of clothes. According to their mom, they are obsessed with it and taking turns dressing it. And I’m still sewing and naming geese outfits.

The Thelma Lou

55. Creative Kitchen endeavors – I was going along in my days, happy to bring a plate of Halloween Oreos to the Mahjoween gathering a friend planned, but she reminded me that I was capable of more creativity in the kitchen and that I should resist temptation to settle for store-bought cookies. The porch geese witch hats inspired the treats I made: chocolate covered Bugles with small cookie wafers and a peanut butter chip as a hat buckle. Retirement brings time to get in the kitchen and experiment with food creations I never was able to pull off when I was working every day.

54. Oystershell and Sanddollar decoupage – I’ve been decoupaging pressed flowers and leaves, and so I’ve added tissue paper and napkins to the lineup. I’ve made oystershells and sand dollars to hang on the Christmas tree. Back in the 1970s, before we deemed it a bad thing to decorate using sea creatures that were once living, my mother used sand dollars to hang all over the tree with red ribbons. I found the box of them as we were cleaning out, and I’ve repurposed them. Since I can’t bring them back to life, I can breathe new life into them and continue to celebrate the lives they lived in the ocean.

53. Online Book Discussion of The Calamity Club – Kathryn Stockett, author of The Calamity Club, made an appearance as part of the Bookaccino virtual author event lineup to discuss her recent bestselling novel. I was so happy to be able to attend and take part in the discussion on the heels of just finishing the book.

52. Dumping the RV – For the first time ever, I dumped the gray and black tanks all by myself. I’m preparing to be able to take part in some solo Girl Camper events, and this less desirable part of travel is a necessary part to be able to join up with other women campers and take part in those opportunities to meet new people and see new places. I’ve done the duty!

Here are the previous things I’ve added to my list of 100 Things I’m Enjoying in Retirement. I’ve reversed the order, going backwards in time to the beginning.

51. Kindred Spirits October Book Club

50. Watercolor Poetry Postcards

49. Attending two Stafford Challenge Guest Poet Zooms

48. Open Write with my EthicalELA writing community

47. Making the Perfect Cup of Tea to drink while making mental notes about Things that Don’t Suck

46. Daytime Movies

45. Decoupaging Candles and Bookmarks with Wildflowers

44. Plant Pressing

43. Virtual Author Reading for Time in the Landscape

42. Author Reading for Anna Roseboro’s Book Study

41. Indie Bookstore Shopping

40. Dock Time on Jackson Lake in Georgia

39. Adopt a Dog

38. Train Ride to See Fall Foliage

37. Cabin for a Birthday Celebration in North Georgia

36. Fall Baking

35. Hosting Open Write

34. Kindred Spirits September Book Club

33. Mahjong in Blairsville, Georgia

32. Daytripping for Lunch and Small Town Adventuring

31. Hiking the Appalachian Trail

30. Camping at Vogel State Park

29. Lunch with Friends

28. Almost-Birthday Pedicures with my Sister-in-Law

27. Mahjongg Regular Group Formation

26. Stafford Challenge Writing Workshop

25. Stafford Challenge Small Group Zoom Meetings

24. Dolly Parton Tribute at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee

23. Labor Day Camping at F. D. Roosevelt State Park in Pine Mountain, Georgia

22. Watercolor Postcards

21. Monthly Small Postcard Poetry Group

20. Office Cleanout

19. Re-Vamping the Reading Room

18. Barnes and Noble Virtual Book Club

17. Kindred Spirits Book Club

16. Novel Writing with Nick

15. Lounge Pants Spree

14. Porch Sitting

13. Fabric Postcards

12. Zinnia Arrangement

11. Mahjong 102 and Free Play

10. Wayfaring to Margaritaville for a concert

9. Wayfaring to FDR for camping

8. Cascadia Postcard Poetry Fest

7. Summer Reading Poetry Book Club

6. Local Bookstore Book Club

5. Friends of the Library Book Fair

4. Yoga

3. Morning Walking

2. Rag Quilting

1. Mahjong 101

And I will continue watering seedlings of adventure and discovery to see what all grows!

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A Postcard Poetry Friend, Highland Books, and Malaprops

Cascadia postcard from poetry written and shared in July

There’s something magical about the mountains that no camera can capture and no words can describe. It’s a feeling. It’s a mindset. It’s what John Muir meant when he said, “The mountains are calling, and I must go.” It’s how I felt when I was in Portland, Oregon taking in the full majesty of Mount Hood, and it’s how I feel this week in western North Carolina.

A big part of our travel has been bookstores. My sister-in-law and I fell in love with Highland Books in Brevard, and I’ve added it to my list of favorites, with Malaprops in Asheville and Powell’s City of Books in Portland, Oregon being right up at the top of the list. Fun fact: they’re all Independent bookstores, and they’re thriving. It’s hard to find a great poetry section in a big chain bookseller, but the poetry sections in these stores are thoughtfully curated.

Malaprops – Asheville, NC

I belong to a Postcard Poetry group led by Barbara Robinette, and I was so pleased to meet another member, fellow poet Kit Schmeiser of Asheville, yesterday when we visited the downtown area to play mahjong at The Velvet Wind and go book wallowing in Malaprops. Kit and I have exchanged poetry postcards for a couple of months now, and that’s how we met. She sent me a postcard with a white squirrel from Brevard, I sent her one letting her know I was on the way to spot those squirrels, and Kit reached out to Barbara to connect with me by phone before my trip to give me all the best kept secrets about where to find them and what to do in Brevard. We had our photo made together by the postcard rack as we looked at all the gorgeous cards. I like that our first names are so similar!

Kit (L) and Kim (R)

We had lunch together at the old Woolworth Walk lunch diner, and I enjoyed listening to Kit describe her process of choosing postcards that speak to her (I knew what she meant when she said she has to feel the pull of the card). She writes poetry based on the postcard in an ekphrastic approach, and she chooses cards and poems especially for those on her list of names. She’d been taking a book binding class earlier in the day, and she shared her book process with me. I was fascinated with her descriptions and impressed by her passion and talent.

This is what matters in poetry. The human connection. I’m so glad that we can share the journey with others who notice what needs to be seen in the world and share it in writing.

Before Malaprops, we visited Highland Books more than a few times during our brief visit to Brevard.

And the trip home holds more book scouting adventures – including the largest used bookseller in South Carolina! It’ll be like a treasure hunt.

Staff Pics display in Highland Books – Brevard, NC
New this week in Highland Books – Brevard, NC
Poetry from Portland, Oregon written in July even though majestic should have a J and not a G in it

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White Squirrel Tree Houses in Brevard, NC

In Brevard, North Carolina, Silvermont Mansion and Park has giant hemlock trees on the front lawn, and they’re home to some of the white squirrels of this town. As my sister-in-law and I traveled in to spend a few days exploring, we searched for a place to play Mahjong and learned that Silvermont is not only a place to try to spot white squirrels, but also offers open play on Mondays and Wednesdays at 1:00. We signed up and arrived on time to play several rounds of the game, and then took a quick tour of the mansion before going outdoors to look for squirrels. It was our first attempt, and we’d been told to look for anything white, even something that looks like it might be a white trash bag, and it is probably a squirrel. Then, we were told which tree they seem to call home, and we headed in that direction. Sure enough, one was digging and eating something at the base of the large hemlock tree. We observed for a while and took some pictures to show the cute little critter to everyone who wonders if the white squirrels are real.

They sure are, and they look fluffy white with a thumbprint of gray like they’ve just come out of an Ash Wednesday service with the little smudge on their heads! It was entertaining to watch, and we just stood in awe of this white squirrel, watching and wishing we had white squirrels where we live.

We finished Mahjong just in time for a quick tour of the mansion, even though they had just turned off the lights for the day. Come with me on a quick tour of a few rooms in the mansion…..and keep scrolling. My favorite picture is the one of the white squirrel at the end!

Tomorrow: More white squirrels, and we’ll take you on a quick adventure chasing waterfalls!

Silvermont Mansion and Park
We were playing the same line!
Some ladies were there for their Open Studio, where they work on their own art in production, and we enjoyed spending some time talking with them. This lady was working on an acrylic marker piece.
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Brevard and Asheville, North Carolina Adventures

A delightful thing happened last week. I received an email from Barbara Robinette, organizer of the Postcard Poetry Fest (PPF), sharing an email from another PPF participant who wanted to connect via phone or email regarding my upcoming trip to Brevard. I’d received a postcard with a white squirrel on it in October, and I knew instantly from the photo that it was from Brevard, home of the white squirrels that are not albinos but a localized species unto themselves. I’d mentioned in my response postcard that I would be in Brevard on a girls’ trip with my sister-in-law in November, and she wanted to reach out to share some must-dos on our trip. However, the contacts needed to be quick since we were leaving within days. I responded to the email, and within an hour, I was on the phone with Kit Schmeiser learning all the things to do in Brevard and the surrounding area. We talked for an hour about where to eat, where to shop, and most importantly, where to observe white squirrels in the wild.

One of the places turned out to be the first place we planned to visit on our loose itinerary – Silvermont Mansion and Park. I’d learned they offer mahjong open play on Mondays and Wednesdays, and when I called to inquire whether they’d welcome two players from Georgia, the manager assured me they would. We, too, chatted for a while on the phone – about the current weather and blessings they were not involved in the recent flooding that happened in Blue Ridge and McCaysville, the offerings of the mansion ranging from tennis to Reader’s Theater to open art studio days and so much more. I began to sense the strong sense of a welcoming community before I ever set a foot in Brevard, North Carolina. I also made a mental note: there seems to be a way for everyone here to plug into something.

After conversations with both Brenda and Kit, we rearranged our plans to include more of the authentic local experiences to connect with community, nature, arts and literature, and local cuisine. Instead of making our way from Williamson, Georgia to Brevard, North Carolina by way of a bookstore tour on the way, we moved our bookstore tour to the end of the trip, keeping Highland Books in Brevard and Malaprops in Asheville as highlight experiences in each of the cities and saving the other stores for later to see if we have any of our tightly budgeted book spending money left by the time we finish shopping in these two landmark bookstores. One on my list to buy on this trip is The Comfort of Crows by Margaret Renkl, which I have on my Kindle but desire to hold and savor its colorful illustrations. If you’ve read it, please comment and give me a gentle nudge to carry it to the counter and bring a treasured copy home with me, along with any others you highly recommend.

We were blessed with a fantastic day for travel. Cool temperatures in the 60s, sunshine, and the glory of the changing of the leaves along the winding mountain roads were fabulous ways to begin the trip. We set out at 7:00 a.m., and arrived in Brevard in time to eat at a local farm to table restaurant called Fable. Its vibe was botanical with its pressed flower and plant prints along the wall, and minimalistic with its airy and uncluttered feel – and plenty of windows that let in a lot of natural light.

In true sister in law form, we share samples of our food with each other. Bethany ordered a chicken salad sandwich, and I got the fall salad and a blueberry muffin. The chicken salad sandwich on Focaccia bread was as tasty as it gets, and the fall salad popped with sweet potatoes, beets, and feta cheese. We bought extra muffins to save for breakfast. We had just enough time for a quick dive into a store on the way to Silvermont.

I’ll share more about our experience at Silvermont tomorrow! But for today, just know that it feels great to declare Mahjong!! in a mansion, and yes, there are white squirrels at Silvermont.

Here in Brevard, North Carolina

cool, clear night skies offer quiet

moments like in A Charlie

Brown Christmas

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Mountain Fascination

There’s just something about the mountains ~

I can’t explain it, but they call

and John Muir knew the same pull

They’re calling. We must go.

So I pack my bags,

set GPS

fill the tank

and set

out

I’m sharing postcard poetry from summer’s Cascadia Postcard Poetry Fest 2026
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Moon Worlds in a Tea Cup

Lately, I’ve been sorting through memories of childhood as I digitize old family photos, and besides all the old Childcraft volumes and vacations and vintage Barbie dolls, another thing that brings great joy is teacups and saucers. One year around 1970, I picked a tea set from the Sears Catalog, and I’ve since passed that set to my granddaughter for her to play with, with its real porcelain-painted pink roses. It was a set to behold!

Today, though, I enjoy the relaxed pace of retirement in my mother’s cups and saucers that I saved. I couldn’t save them all, of course, but I saved enough to give as gifts to each of my Kindred Spirits sisters last Christmas and for me to use on days when I needed to feel close to Mom. I like to go look in the door of the antique secretariat, the oldest piece of furniture I remember all the way back when we lived in Kentucky when I was and infant and toddler age, and choose from it a cup and saucer. I boil water in my electric tea kettle and pour a cup. Just a teaspoon of Monkfruit sweetener and a few minutes in the tiny cup brings all those memories of childhood tea parties back.

Clink with me today! Tea cheers!

Mom’s china I mismatched: these are pieces from Aynsley of England

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Dive In or Climb Up!

In June of 20206, I spent a week in the Pacific Northwest with a group of writers, and what a stunning place of natural beauty! A dear friend and her husband, Glenda and Ken Funk of Idaho, took me to waterfalls and a scenic vista where I could see for miles in every direction and take in the rugged terrain and all its wild peace. Every few months, I get the urge to travel beyond the state of Georgia, and the fever is striking again. It’s predictable, really. I’ve learned to book getaways in sync with when I’ll be climbing the walls to travel.

I leave Monday for a week in North Carolina with my sister in law and travel partner, who is also an avid reader and writer. While next week’s trip won’t be one quite as mountainous and far away as Oregon with a bookstore as big as Powell’s City of Books, there will be Blue Ridge mountains and Malaprops. I’ll climb some mountains to find some waterfalls and we’ll dive right into some books.

We’ve also managed to find two groups for playing Mahjong. One is in a mansion in Brevard, and the other is in a velvet-draped room in Asheville called The Velvet Wind. I’d also like to invite you to DIVE IN and learn to play Mahjong. A friend and I have created a Facebook page, where we will be posting invitations and learning sites. Come join us at Tiles and Smiles on Facebook!

And may all the mountains you climb today, and all the lakes you dive into be blessings!

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A New Tea!

Stretches of time to sit and write were as rare as hens’ teeth when I worked full time, but now that I’ve retired, they are frequent and savored like a warm croissant drizzled with cinnamon honey butter. I’ve recently completed my late father’s unfinished novel with a fellow writer, a family friend more considered friendly family. Writing groups, monthly challenges and yearly challenges are springing up everywhere. Even though the official site closed down last year, November is still Nanowrimo (National Novel Writing Month), and alternative sites and resources are in full swing, Poetry Outdoors is happening, and one of my favorite Substackers, Tammy Evans, has a Flash Fiction challenge going on as well. Writing opportunities are everywhere! The Audrey Gidman prompts for November are always inspiring, and I could spend all day at home in the drizzling rain just writing.

First things first, though.

The countdown to Christmas is on now that Halloween is over, and I’ve found the perfect tea I couldn’t wait to share. It’s the mint hot cocoa of tea, and I found it in The Fresh Market in Peachtree City earlier this week when my sister in law and I went shopping for Mahjong sales in Heirloom Market next door. On a whim, we walked over to take a stroll and see what trouble we could find in The Fresh Market. I’m making the switch back to decaf, and I needed tea and coffee.

This tea is the perfect writer’s tea. I think the minty taste and aroma might actually wake up my brain more in the wee hours when I rise to write, before the dogs get stirred up and I help get my husband out the door to go to work. If you’re in the market for a new fireside drink with a zing of mint to awaken the senses but you can’t decide between hot chocolate and tea, here’s your answer!

You’re welcome.

Tea Nonet

Peppermint Bark Cool Winter Herb Tea ~

How I wish you were here to sip

a freshly-steeped cup with me!

I’d bring out the dainty

bone cups and saucers

with fresh mint sprigs

just for us

to sit,

sip

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Organizing Vintage Postcards

My brother and I have spent nearly a year and a half shuffling through our late father’s things, using what we can and letting go of the rest. I replaced my great grandmother’s table I’d refinished so that I could incorporate our childhood breakfast table into my kitchen, next to the corner cabinet that I also brought here to the farm. The practical and sentimental things have been easiest to decide. But there were oddball things, too, like entire albums of vintage postcards and ephemera. Tons of costume jewelry picked up at estate sales. Old dishes, collectible Andre birds and baseball cards and old Corning Ware and Pyrex and McCoy ceramics. The books filled seven storage units, boxed human-high in rows down the. middle.

So what about those postcards? A year into the sorting of things, I began to realize that perhaps they had a use I could never have predicted. It came in my monthly small group Stafford Challenge writing conversations when Denise Krebs of California, Barb Edler of Iowa, and Glenda Funk of Idaho and I sat together in a Zoom and they invited me to become a part of the Cascadia Postcard Poetry Fest. I was dealing with a family emergency at the time, and almost let the opportunity pass. Thank goodness they persuaded me to take a stab at it.

I’m so glad I said yes. I created some postcards with various art techniques, and also added a few of Dad’s vintage postcards, sending them out in the mix after airing them out a little so they could breathe outside the plastic covers. Nothing crumbled, and the stamps stuck, so I sent out a few to test the system. I wondered if recipients even knew that underneath the stamp, it said “Place 1 cent postage here” inside a tiny stamp guideline.

After the July challenge to send postcards to the folks on our lists, a smaller group invitation came out for those who wanted to continue writing postcard poetry each month. All we had to do was email Barbara Robinette at rosablue722@gmail.com and request to be on the list. She sends the addresses and the instructions at the end of each month for the following month. The group is still open for new participants, and if you’re interested, you can email her at the address above.

I spent time last weekend organizing many of the vintage postcards into monthly piles and Ziplock bags so that I can work ahead a little, since I like to send out postcards to everyone on the list and not just the required three. I like to think of the history of each postcard as many decades later, it realizes its potential and comes alive like some buried time capsule unearthed into a new resurrected life. I wonder what shop it sat in, waiting to be purchased all those years ago, and who purchased it with the intention to send it to someone. I wonder why they didn’t send it as planned.

And I wonder what it says about hope. If postcards older than I can suddenly spring to life and travel across the globe with stamps as their passports to new places as they bring smiles to faces at 32 mailboxes each month, how can any of us give up hope of a miracle happening?

If you’re on the fence, thinking you might like to join the challenge but a little intimidated about writing a poem on a postcard, please take a leap and start with a short form like a haiku or an acrostic. No one has to be a famous writer to participate in this. It’s about the sense of community it brings and the ways we can share with each other to make a positive difference. Plus, you may receive a vintage postcard that wriggled its way out of a time warp to make its way to you.