Today, Saturday, for the first time in a while, I am spending the entire day relaxing, also waiting for the Patriots playoff game to start, which it will do at the very civilized hour of 5:00 pm. The temperature this morning during my seaside run was 55, and the high is expected to be 70. Tomorrow we will be back to our fun-yet-hectic schedule, Morris dancing followed by pub stop followed by contra dancing, over a period of about twelve hours.

While cooking dinner a couple of days ago, I kept being distracted by the sunset, so much so that I stepped outside to snap a picture several times. Then I discovered that I could create an animation in Google photos. It’s fun to be old, able to discover things everyone else has known about for a while. My first animation is a little jumpy because I wasn’t thinking about combining the shots when I took them, but you can see how the sky changes.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Il6QSYJTknIoWyG52

My horticultural deficiencies continue to be apparent, but I’m seeking help. A friend from Scottish who is also a rose expert showed me how to prune my large rose bushes severely. My calla lily has defied my previous blog about it by developing three more blooms. Most of the plants are pretty happy due to last week’s torrential rains, really the strongest we’ve seen since we moved here. You may have heard about the deadly mudslides they caused in Santa Barbara County.

I got a jigsaw puzzle for Christmas and completed it this week.

My life of puttering still feels strange, which is good, because I will be looking for a job in earnest after my March trip to New Jersey. There simply doesn’t seem to be much temp work here, perhaps because it’s such a small metropolitan area, though I may get a short assignment in February. I will find out tonight if I have to report for jury duty this week.

Some day I really will retire, and spend my time dancing, playing music, reading books, volunteering, hiking, biking, blogging, posting tidepool pictures on iNaturalist, and traveling, with no end in sight. Will that be a well-earned rest, or a waste of time? Some days I want to enjoy my life, and on others I think I should be improving it.