Office Pink Saturday

One of my goals for this first year of retirement is to set up a new place to write and blog. I made my first step this week and bought an office chair. I am embarrassed to admit that for the last fourteen years I've been using one of my dining room chairs at the computer. The new chair did not come assembled and it did not come in three easy-to-put together parts as the salesperson promised. I will work on that hurdle next week, but it is good to be moving forward with my plans.

Besides the completely practical -- having a good chair -- I am dreaming of design ideas. Last week I went and explored and thought of pink as a work space color theme. I am also thinking about green, which would match more of the things I already own. I like the idea of pink or green and either one would be a lot more fun that the office color scheme I left behind of gray and more gray with oatmeal accents.

I like these stacking bins. I'm not exactly sure what I would use them for, but the colors caught my attention. 

I have ideas on how I would use these great boxes, and I like both the pink and the purple. 

I'm not sure that these would be practical -- I'm leaning to having hanging files -- but I love the colors.  

I'm moving along in my 40 Bags in 40 Days Challenge. I've decluttered four bags for the Salvation Army, three bags of paper and have a bag of paper that needs to be shredded. I actually have extra space in my clothes closet and no intention of filling it. I am looking for another pair of pants for the summer and a black t-shirt, but that's about the extent of the clothes shopping I want to do.

Today was glorious. It was in the low 60s and I saw the first real sign of warm weather, the sidewalk tables on Broadway. I thought it was a little cool in the shade to be sitting outside, but other people were enjoying the warmer weather. There's a prediction of snow for next week, but I'm happy for every sunny day we get.

Thanks so much for joining me for Pink Saturday fun.  Take good care and have a very sunlit Sunday!

Please Call Me Elastigirl

Now that I've reached sixty plus -- or even when I reached fifty plus -- I am no longer asked what I want to be when I grow up. At fifty I was settled into a career and now that career has wound down and I'm doing exactly what I've wanted to do, writing, and for my own pleasure. I also don't get asked what superhero I'd like to be. That's a question for another time in the life cycle. But I do have a superhero I'd like to be very much.

I'd love to be Elastigirl, one of the heroes of "The Incredibles," a favorite movie. Helen Parr, aka Elastigirl is calm and capable, but above all, this very creaky sixty-three year would love to be as lithe and limber as Elastigirl. I've been thinking of her for the last few weeks, because I took up yoga a few weeks ago. This isn't the first time I've taken yoga classes, but it's the first time since my spinal surgery, and physical therapy. I joined my friend Betsy at the yoga studio she's been going to for chair yoga. I thought it would be doable and for the most part it is, but it's amazed me how many complicated poses can be constructed using one folding chair.

Despite a rocky first class and the near castastrophe of getting my leg caught in the chair -- I had a brief flash of calling the Fire Department to extricate me from the chair -- during the second class, I returned again this week and felt more comfortable. I doubt if I'll come close to Elastigirl, time and tide have guaranteed that, but I'm planning to stick with yoga. It's the closest I will get to being like my idol, at least for this sixty-three year old.

I had a very nice first day of spring. It was warm enough to be outside without gloves and I just wore my lighter winter jacket for errands and my walk. I had a productive 40 Bags day and shredded/discarded a big bag of paper. I also started the book shelves and brought some books to the library for their sale next week. It's time to be ruthless with my books. They're really starting to take over my apartment.

As always, thanks for visiting. Wishing all a bright and balmy first Friday of the spring.

The Sentence I Never Thought I Would Write...

I'm saying it loud, I'm saying it proud...

I Love Spring Cleaning!

I never thought I could write the words love and cleaning in the same sentence, but it's true. I am loving my spring cleaning. 

When I retired last summer my bright and beautiful Goddaughter, J.,  made the very good suggestion that some decluttering was in order for my apartment. I agreed, but decided that I would just enjoy the summer and the huge change in my life. In the fall I'd find a place for the treasures I had brought home from the office and all of the other accumulated stuff. 

The summer flew by and on Labor Day I broke my foot. Walking was  the big problem for the fall. Then the holiday season came along, physical therapy, the Christmas plumbing disaster and the floor issue. Thankfully all of these crises are now behind me and it's the fall-out from moving things around for the new floor installation that pushed the issue. I needed to move things from the living room to my bedroom for the floor to be installed. I can put things pretty much back to where they were before the work was done, but I want to put a lot less back and make some changes. The floor disaster has turned out to be the impetus to purge, declutter and shred and make my apartment roomier. Surprisingly, I am loving the process. 

Some of BlogLand is doing the  40 Bags in 40 Days Challenge, and count me in. I didn't plan the timing, but Easter is the goal date and that gives me a month to do the cleaning and decluttering I want to do. Counting the two bags I pulled together for the synagogue collection for the East Harlem explosion relief, I've added another bag of shirts and sweaters and one of kitchen things. I'm taking a bag of books to the library tomorrow and I've shredded two bags of paper. I've got a big -- enormous -- goal in mind for May and this fits my time frame perfectly. I'm keeping my goal private for now, but I do have an appointment next week to discuss what I'd like to do. And yes, I'm excited.  

It's officially spring -- It's very early March 20th -- and I am welcoming my favorite season with the sentence I never thought I would write, I love spring cleaning.

Happy, happy spring. I hope this wonderful season brings you lots of good times, expected and unexpected.

As always, thanks for visiting and take good care!