dear diary (my Sunday Blog)

Dear Diary

I had a heart-to-heart talk with myself this morning. Those that read my blogs know I don’t hold much back. My kids hate this and sometimes I make their eyes bleed especially when I write about sex but…  I write to share my thoughts in hopes that others won’t feel so alone and can maybe relate somewhat.

When we age a thing called pensions comes into play and most grown-ups have private pension plans or funds called registered retirement savings.  Unfortunately, I never did grow up, and besides I had already spent mine or what little I had put away. Setting sail to explore the world and myself, after a forty-year marriage ended in divorce, gave me new insights into everything and I would do it all again.

The reason for my blog this morning is a pesky thing called money, it is invading my space and wanting me to make some hard decisions. Keeping my place here in the South is not cheap, the difference between our Canadian dollar to American makes me poorer than I already am. The government probably pays me enough to be old as long as everything is paid for, but it doesn’t cover my winter home here. Shit! ooops my outside voice…

So I decided maybe it was time to sell and cut my losses. Yes, I did this last year too, but my son came to my rescue and helped me out.  So here I am again in the same position and I really need to dig my own way out.  I’ve always been independent and managed to survive on my own. The trouble with my decision now, is I’m not ready to leave all this behind yet. Sure I could maybe rent a cheaper place but mine is bought and paid for, thing is, the lot rent is year-round and very expensive.

Being a winter visitor for over eight years just gets better with each passing year. How this is even possible is beyond me, but it is. I decided to get out of my comfort zone this past go-round and joined a women’s fun golfing league. Although golfing didn’t interest me in the least it turned into a bonus of making many new friends, from all walks of life, and I love it. (the friends.. not so much the golfing lol)

I also partnered with a couple of my great chef friends last year to create a unique series of cookbooks.  We hope to help working women/men or anyone that hates cooking to make their lives easier and tastier.  Since my passion is writing I also get to indulge that side of it. The original intention for the cookbooks was to eventually create extra cash flow. We are now into our second cookbook featuring Ukrainian dishes and we made a decision to donate all money received to the people of Ukraine.

Needing an extra income I was leaning towards the cookbooks but, helping Ukraine was very personal for me and my gratitude to all who’ve donated so far makes me want to weep. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I also know this is going to take another turn. Between us, my chef friends Emily and Nettie, there are more causes that could use our unique way of raising awareness and money for them. Giving back has now become a priority for me and I hope we can continue to pursue this further.

So dearest diary, here I am confronting myself this morning and having a heart-to-heart talk about what is it I REALLY WANT. As I looked around me my head was telling me what I SHOULD do.  Someone was interested in buying my place and I admit I was a little excited because prices here have tripled in the last couple of years. That I would be getting a great return on this investment was even better and in American money to boot!

The thing is, my life has changed again this past year with my decision to get out of my comfort zone and it’s been a great year.  Being older we have less time left here than we think we do, lol..  okay so that’s not really funny.

I do what I want, say what I want, and go wherever life leads me. Sure my mouth gets me into trouble sometimes but it comes with being true to myself and I don’t apologize, well sometimes I do. In my previous blog I mentioned something about not needing money to be happy, but not having it is also sucking at my happiness well.

Long story short, I’m enjoying my time here and not ready to leave this chapter of my life.  Trying new things and exploring new avenues keeps me involved and excited and quite possibly alive. I had a memoir I started that is half finished but hit a snag almost a year ago. The Too Lazy to Cook-Books had filled that niche but, but, now I need to make some money.

The View was on tv in the background and they had Meghan Trainor as a guest when I left this blog to go watch it. She was promoting her new book ‘Dear Future Mama’ Jesus.. she is so young and that is her SECOND book apparently, what is wrong with me I can’t even finish one book?  She describes motherhood and how she couldn’t find what she needed to know about breastfeeding, latching on, and a lot of stuff I thought you could just google. Well, she tried that and came up empty, so she wrote a book about it.

Okay anyone reading this..  here is my breakthrough this morning and yes!..  I am invigorated and ready to rock this out. I’m putting my memoir on hold, it’s been there for almost a year anyway. I’m going to start writing a new book and the title of this new book I’m going to write is, wait for it…..   Dear Future Older Gal.. or Sex After Sixty?

Trust me when I say that sex after sixty is the best I’ve had (sorry/not sorry kids) and I’m going to write about it. There are a lot of stories from this naked city and seems I’m not shy about sharing them… omg, could this pay my rent here I’m wondering.  Excuse me while I send a text out to the gal that was interested in buying my place… it’s not for sale anymore. I’m letting out a contented sigh and wondering what the first paragraph of my new book will look like… omg!

copyright

April 29th 2023