settling in

Now that I've been retired six weeks, I have adjusted to a pattern that is comfortable for the time being. I walk daily, go to Curves 3x week, and read books. I cut the grass, including our neighbors' (who are temporarily absent the man of the house), and dabble in the garden. Just as occasionally as while I was employed, I clean house. I have the luxury of giving more attention to meal preparation and hubby-care. I am weighing options for volunteer work or some kind of additional structure like a class, for in the fall. For now, I am enjoying the option of "taking off" with a minimum of fuss. Hubby and I were able to go out of town to meet friends a couple times, like I never would have had I been working. I'm taking a road trip with daughter #2 and H and I are attending an out-of-state wedding after that.
I'm resisting the urge to make my blog a series of book reports. I'm still on the stem-cell-research kick, trying to bone up before the Bioethics weekend in July. _Stem Cell Wars_ by Eve Herold was gripping, but maddening. She gratuitiously offends conservatives, while framing human cloning as a logical, inevitable, and entirely legitimate step forward. She certainly augmented my realization of how inconvenient it is to be an "absolutist." Happily, she is not my only source of information. _Stem Cell Now_ by Christopher T. Scott has more scientific detail, and is more balanced. I'm just halfway through it. A little volume by John Kilner and Ben Mitchell _Does God Need Our Help?_ has an unabashedly Christian perspective--good for those of us who seek this, probably not helpful for "non-extremists."
Yes, my book stack has _some_ variety. I enjoyed the diversion of _God in the Fairy Tale_ by Jim Ware. He makes a good case that many of the familiar folk and fairy tales contain truths of the Biblical story of suffering and redemption. Additionally, he got me thinking about creative writing, something I used to enjoy. Maybe now that I have time...
More later.