How to take a day off from retirement: Monday 2 September 2019

I love being retired. I try not to show off about it too much, because so many of my friends are still workers in the salt mines (poor things), but I love the freedom, the creativity, the flexibility. I am very self-directed, and always have quite a lot of things I want to do. I have some volunteer work and there is always the gardening and the housework and cooking.

Every now and again, though, you just need 'a day off"- change of routine, change of scenery.

DH and I saw the opportunity to do that last week on a day which was quite unusually warm for the end of winter. It was going to be 28C so we packed a picnic full of the leftover nice things from the Choir supper we had provided the night before: cheese, strawberries, cracker biscuits, cut vegetables and a feta dip.

We recently bought a year pass to the National Parks With our various discounts, this was quite a bargain, and will encourage us to visit scenic places nearby, as often as we can. This time we went north to a park that used to be 'way out in the bush' but is now being surrounded by suburbs: Yanchep National Park.

When I was a girl, we went there a LOT. It was a destination, a picnic spot and for my mum and dad, it had a pub where they could get a quiet drink on a long weekend! (Not much used to be open, in those days). 

DH and I walked around the lake and enjoyed the different scenery than the places we usually visit. I was delighted to spot this native orchid -it is quite small but exquisite. You have to keep your eyes open in the Australian bushland. (I might also have been scanning for snakes, but that is another story!)

The wattle is in bloom (hello hayfever!) and it is really pretty just now. Look at that blue sky!

Have you ever noticed that you feel calmer outside? It is easier to slow down, take your time and breathe outside. It is easier to take a long time over lunch, to enjoy a quiet talk with your nearest and dearest, and then to come home feeling refreshed.

Apart from this lovely day we are still getting quite a lot of rain, which is lovely. We are thinking of spring, however, and making plans for our Sustainable House Open Day, which is just 2 weeks away now. Just a bit of preparation and planning to come.