retirement activities

Cheap Thrills at the 2014 California State Fair

Posted on July 25, 2014 by Arlene Poma

The California State Fair is only minutes from our home, so we try not to miss it. We start by buying a ticket package from our local COSTCO, which covers parking, two admission tickets and a $10 voucher towards food and drink. By planning in advance, we won’t have to stand in line. Since our national economy is still unstable, why would we want to waste money by forgetting to use our goodies? By purchasing this package in advance, we have made a commitment to attend the fair at least once during its annual run.

When it comes to the attending the fair, we don’t decide what to do until we get there. We’ve been going to the California State Fair for years. In fact, in the 60s, I went to the fair when its location was on Broadway. I know. I’m dating myself, but why should I care? I don’t have any problems when it comes to aging gracefully.

Usually, Mister Jack goes to the California Lottery exhibit for the Scratchers. Mister Jack is not a hardcore gambler, so I patiently wait while he stands in line to buy the tickets, scratch off the tickets to reveal the numbers and cash in his winning tickets. This exhibit always has a crowd because if you buy enough tickets, you get to spin the wheel to “win” more Scratchers. Am I confusing you? Good! So I pick a place to sit, zone out, watch people for entertainment, and work on my tan while he goes through this California Lottery ritual. When the money is tight, the lines for the lottery tickets and the Scratchers are very long. This year, I got smart and brought sunscreen and bottled water. Luckily, we didn’t attend the fair during the fire or the time it hit the triple digits. The show must go on, but not for us. We would have been miserable in those situations.

We decided on getting a noodle and rice plate with an egg roll on a stick. See the sweet and sour sauce on the egg roll? Of course, you don’t. It happens to be a clear sauce. If you can believe that. As long as I can order a corn dog at the California State Fair, everything is all right with me. We had corn dogs for dinner. If you really want to know, I wanted the funnel cake. I wanted it stacked with ooey, gooey strawberry filling. Topped with about six inches of whipped cream.

Dreamer!

My biggest fantasy would be getting to any state fair in the U.S. and plopping my butt down on some deserted table with every sample of grease or sugary dish that was available for human consumption. Who needs to look at exhibits? Who needs the rides? Why would I want to go to a live concert by some famous singer or group or when I can sit down and listen to their music in my home or in my car? Let’s get real. There’s nothing like being fat and happy in California.

And yet another thing! Me and Mister Jack have kids–the furry kind that don’t talk back or get into your retirement money by way of extras like braces, college, weddings, grandchildren, etc. This sign is a myth. If you buy the “wisdom” on this blue ribbon, I have a sinking house in the swamps of Crescent City, California that I can sell you. I know a spoiled, entitled brat when I see one because it takes one to know one.

We don’t like rides. We don’t win stuffed toys. But we love, love, love the animals. Check out the pink hooves on the pony.

The only best behaved kids are the furry ones. We don’t believe in bringing our dogs out in this heat. Or any public place where people are eating, drinking or purchasing food.

The Brewer’s Festival featured award-winning beers from the California State Fair Commercial Craft Brew competition. Since it was held near the racetrack, participants were able to view the horse racing while sipping samples of micro-brew from a 5-ounce souvenir mug. Award-winning Track 7 Brewing is a local favorite–as well as a favorite with the judges. I sat in the shade with my complimentary Coke. And got eaten up by bugs.

We made our usual rounds at the urban gardening exhibit because we are always looking for ideas when it comes to our 1/4 acre of suburbia. I also make sure we hit the building displaying the county exhibits. If a California county has travel brochures and publications, I’ll pick them up for my research. I love to travel. Although we are both native Californians, we will never know everything about our beautiful state. But who says we can’t try? Travel is the best way to see the world.

What??? You’ve never been to California? Come on down because we’d love to have you! I was born in Sacramento and raised in the Sacramento River Delta. Let this farm girl give you two links to get you started:

www.discovergold.org

www.visitsacramento.com

Retirement and a WordPress.com Anniversary

Posted on March 27, 2014 by Arlene Poma

Time flies when you’re having fun.

I received a message from WordPress a couple of nights ago. My blog, SheRetired.wordpress.com, has been with WordPress for one year.

Happy Anniversary to Me!

The news was comforting. Earlier that day, I was making a stir fry and doing step-by-step instructions with photographs. Just as I was finishing the dish, my camera fell off the kitchen counter and hit the tile floor. I tried to take the final photograph for my blog, but the built-in flash was broken. The last stir fry photos came out dark.

I could not see myself without a camera, so it was off to shop for a replacement. Although I always wanted a Nikon camera with all the fancy lenses, I didn’t want to babysit it whenever we traveled. I wanted a nice camera that could fit in my pocket. My husband, Mister Jack, came along with me. Once we carefully picked out a camera, Mister Jack surprised me and purchased it as my early birthday gift. He explained that he had planned to buy me a camera, but who cares if my birthday is in late May?

Retirement, Retirement, Retirement

My early retirement was forced on me because of an on-the-job injury. My ego was tied to my work, so it was very hard for me to retire. I had no idea of what people did when they retired because I had planned on working until the age of 65. I was nearly 44 at the time of my retirement, and spent nine years trying to get used to the fact that I was not going back to the same line of work that I trained for.

A Dinosaur Returns to Writing

I am a highly creative person, but I certainly am not tech savvy. During my nine years of wandering and trying to be a retiree, I took a class about establishing a blog for fun or profit. The class came with a step-by-step manual on establishing a Blogspot blog. I didn’t know there were any other choices, so I sat in front of my laptop and created SheRetired. I wanted to do some creative writing. After several months of posting, I left to try content writing.

My background is in journalism, photojournalism and creative writing. When I graduated from college in 1981, it was all about Woodward and Bernstein. My jobs before and after college came with a desk with my editor nearby. My work will always have my byline because I created it. It’s a pride thing because if your facts are wrong, you have to answer to your critics. Or write a public retraction. Luckily, I never had to do that.

I quickly found out that content writing was not my cup of tea. For one thing, it pays in pennies, and no bennies. In my case, I was confined to my kitchen table and pounding away at my laptop keys because making money required volume. And volume does not allow you to leave the house. Everything was done through email, so if you are gone, you miss the assignments or get dropped because at any time, your online bosses can blow you off. In my case, I wanted the experience, and I knew that this kind of pay was too much bang for the job and not enough bucks. I told one client that I made more money as an illegal farm worker ($2.10 an hour in 1970) than his pennies per article. And the fact that he didn’t know what he wanted, and kept changing his mind on what he wanted me to write. So I fired him and permanently walked away from content writing. This type of writing does not feed my creative soul.

I haven’t been writing online for a long time, but I’ve learned a few things. As a Lois Lane and former prison guard, you can safely say that I am not afraid of confrontation. What the Internet lacks is total communication. People are pretty much anonymous whenever they want to be, and since you can’t see the eyes, the body language or hear the tone of voice, there is a lot missing. And when you do business online, you don’t know who you are dealing with. Then you have the cowards who throw darts at you because they can. I don’t answer to rudeness, so I leave the trolls alone. I won’t make time for them and feed their misery.

The WordPress.com Experience is a Keeper

I got away from content writing and returned to my blog. I wanted a fresh start, so I switched to WordPress.com after a food blogger suggested it. Okay, so I admit I still struggle with tech. I push all kinds of buttons, and suffer later. While trying to make a photo gallery, I erased numerous photographs to earlier blogs. Whoops! I fixed some of them, but most of them are missing. I keep telling myself that I would fix the rest on a day that I wasn’t doing anything. Of course, I was only lying to myself. If you finally get retirement right, there are not enough hours in the day to do what you want to do. I’ve finally come to that point.

In retirement, SheRetired is part of my life. WordPress.com allows me to express myself, and I try to post at least twice a week. At first, this blog was all about recording my retirement through my words and photographs, but it’s become much more than that. The discipline it takes to meet my blogging deadlines has encouraged me to work on my novel. I follow many bloggers for entertainment as well as inspiration because every writer, food blogger and photographer has their own POV and so much to offer. I also have a few followers, and I treasure the comments.

I still have a lot to learn when it comes improving my blog, but the process is a very slow one. All I want to do is write and take photographs.

And She Finally Retired

Writing and photography are lifelong passions of mine, and they are part of my retirement. I don’t go anywhere without my writer’s journal and my camera. I love traveling with Mister Jack. Going places and meeting people. Picking brains. At the same time, I love being at home. I do a lot of cooking and gardening. I go for long walks with our dog. I am healing from my kidney transplant surgery, and I’m looking at December to return to 100%. Since I’ve been given a second chance at life, I am eager to give back when I’m through with recovery. I don’t feel alive unless I have my causes to support. Dealing with illness can be a blessing. I am fascinated with the subject of health and nutrition, and I take advantage of finding bloggers who cover the subject. I am also a recipe junkie, and the food bloggers that I follow keep my printer going. I know they are very busy with their posts, but they do give me tips and answer my comments. I’m grateful for that.

Retirement is not a cookie-cutter deal where everyone works for decades at the same job and retires with benefits and pensions. I’m sure you’ve got the picture that everyone is different because we all have different paths, and no two people experience the same thing. Retirement is like everything else in life. It’s a crapshoot. Can you actually plan for it? I never did. Yet, I must say that I’m very happy because I now have the ability to deal with changes.

Retirement gives you time to get to know yourself. It’s the wisdom that puts life in perspective. I’ve found that for me, very little is needed for a happy life. I am finally content with my own retirement because I have time to play instead of work. Instead of chasing the money and buying stuff, I’m chasing my dreams. I’ve come to terms with the past, and I very seldom visit Memory Lane. I’ve connected with my spiritual side. I want life experiences instead of material things that hang around our home and collect dust. I’m getting rid of things that I don’t want or need. Someone else can enjoy them.

So I continue to write and take photographs. I wake up in the morning, and the day is mine. I no longer answer to an alarm clock or The Boss. I avoid toxic people. Instead, I surround myself with family and friends. I chase my interests and my dreams. I have causes that I support. I make time because my retirement is all about me.

My advice? You have to write your own retirement because it is yours. You earned it–now enjoy it!

A special thanks to WordPress.com, my followers and the bloggers.

Repotting a Sword Fern

Posted on October 10, 2013 by Arlene Poma

Three years ago, I rescued two small sword ferns from a charity event. The ferns were used as part of a fall display, and when the event was over, the plants were scheduled for deposit in the nearest dumpster.

I now have several sword ferns because of these original plants. Each year, I have split the ferns or placed them in larger pots. Sword ferns can be grown indoors or outdoors, but I don’t like constantly picking up after an indoor fern. I was told to occasionally fertilize sword ferns with fish emulsion, but in the years I’ve had these ferns, I don’t even bother.

Signs of a Healthy Sword Fern

Last year, an unexpected frost seemed to kill all of my ferns. Instead of throwing them out, I continued to water them. To my surprise, new growth quickly replaced what had died. Another sign of a healthy sword fern is the presence of firm bulbs in the soil.

The Ideal Place for a Fern is Directly in the Ground

Because of the valley heat in the summertime, I try to put most of my plants, shrubs and trees directly into the ground. Otherwise, I’d be spending all of my time going from pot to pot with a garden hose. Unfortunately, most of my suburban soil is comprised of clay. Although there is plenty of shade for ferns in my front yard, I prefer to keep them in large pots. One day, I’ll truck in fertile soil and sink my ferns into it.

Easy Repotting

I simply turned over the pot, and the fern and its soil came out in one piece. After placing some soil in the larger pot, I threw in a handful of started fertilizer before planting the fern. Once there was enough soil to hold the fern in place, I soaked the soil. Then I moved the sword fern to its new spot in the yard. Next fall, I will probably split the plant and create more ferns for my landscaping.

Freezing Pomegranates for Jelly

Posted on October 9, 2013 by Arlene Poma

Over two weeks ago, we harvested our pomegranates and forgot about them. Since then, the fall activities have taken over, but we still have a box of pomegranates on our kitchen table. Although I decided to make pomegranate jelly at a later date, I still needed to freeze the pomegranate seeds. I noticed that some of the fruit was already beginning to rot, so I had to move on getting this task done.

Allowing the pomegranates to sit in a box also resulted in hard outer shells. Taking six pomegranates at a time, I soaked them in a bowl of water for several hours or overnight. Then I cut the pomegranates in half, returned them to the water, and picked the seeds away from the pith. It’s a time-consuming process, but there’s no other way to remove pomegranate seeds quickly and easily.

I’m lucky to have dark, crimson stains on kitchen towels instead of my clothes. I’ve already stained the wood on a chopping board and dripped pomegranate “blood” on my kitchen tile. When you place pomegranates in water, at least you have the chance of getting the seeds piled in one place. It’s the seeds that I want to freeze. The rest goes into my compost pile.

It takes about five or six pomegranates to produce two cups of seeds. After draining the water and taking out most of the pith, I placed the seeds in freezer bags. In two or three weeks, I’ll defrost the seeds and use them in a pomegranate jelly recipe.

When it comes to canning my own tomato sauce and making my own jams and jellies, I found out that need to be in the mood to stand over a steaming canner. Making pomegranate jelly should be quite an experience. I like the idea of using our own pomegranates, but I know that I have a lot of work ahead of me. After defrosting the frozen pomegranate seeds, I still need to run them briefly through the blender. Then crank the mixture through a hand-held food mill. It’s extracting the pomegranate juice that will take most of my time.

The secret is out. It takes a lot of pomegranate seeds to make jelly. Which is probably why pomegranate juice is so expensive. I’ve seen grandmas advertise on Craigslist or Freecycle for pomegranates in the fall–in exchange for a couple of jars of homemade pomegranate jelly. I don’t know how mine will turn out, but I want to say that I at least tried. If I don’t get a thrill out of making my own pomegranate jelly, I could always find a jar or two at the farmers market in the future.

Pruning Paul’s Himalayan Musk

Posted on October 2, 2013 by Arlene Poma

I will always make room for roses in my garden, but Paul’s Himalayan Musk is a favorite. It is a rambler that blooms in late April, and if I’m lucky, I’ll have blush-pink blooms until my birthday in late May.

I find this rose so special because when I first moved into my home in 2002, I wasn’t too selective about my roses. I bought roses from big box stores and local nurseries. I planted roses that were given to me. I propagated.

Paul’s Himalayan Musk was purchased from a rose nursery on the Internet. I started with a 5-inch slip that quickly took over the tree in my front yard. That is what ramblers do. They are meant to take over–fence, tree or house. Nothing gets in the way of their growth.

I am told that you prune a rambler after it blooms. Recently, I read in a local publication that fall was the time to prune ramblers.

When Paul’s Himalayan Musk hangs from a tree, you can guide it back into the tree. When allowed to hang from the tree and into the yard, I don’t want to walk into its thorns. This is a rose that likes its freedom, but you can still cut it back to suit you and your landscaping. Then you can sit back and wait for its blooms in the spring.

Harvesting Pomegranates

Posted on September 23, 2013 by Arlene Poma

Pomegranates do well in Sacramento. I grew up in the Sacramento River Delta, and we had a pomegranate tree that never disappointed us when it came to bearing fruit.

In my opinion, the color of ripe pomegranates is the color of lipstick that I should be wearing. Simply stunning. At our home, we planted “His and Her” pomegranate trees. Mister Jack has the six-year-old bush in the backyard, and I have the two-year-old tree in the front yard. In the right climate, pomegranates are so easy to grow. Depending on how you prune them, you can either have a bush or a tree.

Varmints in Suburbia

I live in what it supposed to be “tame suburbia”. Last year, I snapped out of denial when the birds, squirrels, voles, rats, and possum stripped our bush of every pomegranate. I blame all of these creatures because I could not catch any of them in the act. To make things worse, they started with a good, healthy bite of each pomegranate, then came back to finish the job.

I’ve talked with other suburban home gardeners since then. I feel a lot better that I am not alone when it comes to suburban varmints.

Harvesting Tips

This year, the last thing I wanted to do was look out my kitchen window and see our pomegranate bush–violently stripped of its gorgeous fruit. Strangely enough, my tree in the front yard gave me one pomegranate this year. Usually, you need to wait three or more years before you get fruit. Squirrels come into the front yard all the time, and I know they want my only pomegranate. So I “baggged” it with a mesh bag once used to hold lemons. The varmints have left it alone.

How long can I fool them?

Somehow, I cannot imagine bagging each pomegranate with recycled kitchen mesh. On the Internet, I’ve actually seen little “cages” made of wire mesh. Like the plastic mesh bags, I would need to make at least 40 of those in different sizes.

Here are some pomegranate harvesting tips that I have ignored:

Tap the fruit. If it sounds like hollow metal, it’s ready for harvest. I don’t even thump melons.
The fruit should be two to five inches in length. Those are awfully small pomegranates!
Wait for the pomegranate to split before harvesting. Don’t wait that long. The seeds are exposed, so they lose their flavor. Split fruit will also tempt the varmints to come over and share the harvest.

Harvesting after the First Rain

All day Saturday, Sacramento experienced its first rain and thunder. Which was rare when you consider that fall had not officially started. On Sunday, we were admiring the rich, reddish color of our pomegranates as we stood in the clean, crisp air that only comes after a storm. We also noticed that something had stripped the fruit off our cactus.

Were our pomegranates next?

This was no time to get sentimental. Last year’s harvest by the varmints still haunted us. Now that I had some canning experience, I was determined to make pomegranate jelly this year. Of course, I was going to use our pomegranates from our bush.

Without any encouragement (or nagging), Mister Jack sampled one small pomegranate, then harvested the remaining pomegranates in record time. After placing a box of pomegranates in the kitchen, he returned to his football game.

Potting Aloe Vera

Posted on September 9, 2013 by Arlene Poma

When my mother moved from the family home in the suburbs, I did find time to save a few plants. The most important plants to save were two of my father’s roses. One was too big to transplant, so I did some propagating under pressure. After 24 tries, I finally had a living rose to remember my father. The other rose was a miniature. It was already in a pot, and I already had a place for it in my front yard.

I don’t know why I took home three Aloe Vera plants from my mom’s backyard. I wasn’t attracted to them when I lived with my mom, but I noticed that they produced some interesting flowers.

Forgive me. I have been gardening all of my life, but the one thing I very seldom do is call a plant, shrub or tree by its scientific name. I am calling this plant an Aloe Vera–only because that’s what my mom called it. I have not bothered to formally identify it.

So I took home three plants. Three babies. And I planted them at the base of a cactus. When they multiplied, I scattered them in my front yard. I put some in pots.

Over the years, I realized that I wasn’t interested in Aloe Vera like I was interested in roses. In fact, I ignored those plants as they continued to multiply. If Mister Jack watered the cactus, he was watering the Aloe Vera at the same time. The rest of the plants only got watered with it rained.

Earlier this year, I cleared a small area in the front yard and found some Aloe Vera in the dirt. You barely noticed they were there because weeds and other plants seemed to crowd them out. I didn’t know what to do with the Aloe Vera, so I pulled them out of the ground and put them on my picnic table. After several months, I moved them to a pile of dirt. I didn’t plant them. I didn’t water them.

Although my gardens look best in the spring, fall is the best time for gardening chores because of the mild weather. This is the time to take stock. For me, I have bulbs to split and plant. After the harvest, I still need to plan my winter garden.

I finally decided to save the Aloe Vera by trimming the dead. Then I planted each of them in a clay pot. When I finished watering them, I found a place for them in the front yard. They would have full sun, and I was giving them the chance to thrive. And since they are located near my roses, they will get watered.

Sometimes, the best plants are the ones that don’t require any effort at all. I have potted these in individual pots, and I have no doubt that they will fill out and multiply. They require very little care, so I consider these to be the perfect gift for the beginning gardener.

Lunch with Friends

Posted on September 6, 2013 by Arlene Poma

When it comes to retirement, I’ve finally got it all figured:

I travel only if I can pay for the trip in cold, hard cash
I enjoy getting out and sharing a good meal with family and friends
I don’t spend my time buying “stuff”
I am donating, giving away or throwing out stuff that I don’t want or need
All my bills are paid by the 15th of every month

Maybe I’m not asking much, but this is why I don’t listen to the hype. I don’t need a million dollars to stay retired.

Earlier this year, my friends introduced me to nearby Fair Oaks Village. It’s a charming area with restaurants, shops and an old town feel. Chickens run free.

This week, we all agreed on having some Mexican food. Who turns down Mexican food? Not when you happen to live in California.

Carmelita’s is one of those places where you can enjoy a leisurely meal–complete with Mexican music in the background. We found a table on the patio, ordered some wonderful dishes and enjoyed ourselves. This is the place to relax with friends and play catch up. There is no need to hurry.

I’m not picky. You might say that I’m in a permanent rut because I will always order cheese enchiladas whenever I’m at a Mexican restaurant. The waitress brought separate bowls of beans and rice. I was told that you could have all the beans and rice you want, but I found the servings quite generous.

To be a success in retirement means that you keep busy. I am lucky to keep up with my friends. Most of them travel, work part-time and take care of their families. Somehow, we do find time to get together whenever our schedules mesh.

I spend a lot of my time at home, so anytime I have a chance to get out of the house and meet with friends, I’ll take it.

Since I always have my camera with me, I took photographs of the art that surrounded the restaurant’s entrance. There was plenty of tile in and around the restaurant. But by the time I left, I was fascinated with what a person can do with welding skills. There were plenty of statues on display, and each one was different. If I think about it long enough, I’ll be tempted to take a welding class at the local community college and create my own statues.

Inspiration is everywhere.

Dehydrating Tomatoes

Posted on August 27, 2013 by Arlene Poma

After purchasing a food dehydrator this summer, I have come to know it as my best friend for extending my garden crops. I have dehydrated many vegetables from my garden, and I have already frozen them for future use in soups, stews and other recipes.

Compared to the dehydrators we once owned, the new dehydrators come equipped with thermometers and motors. The extra bonus? You don’t have to keep moving the trays around.

Dehydrating Tomatoes

Ingredients

firm, ripe paste tomatoes (Roma tomatoes)

Equipment

plastic storage freezer containers, vacuum packaging and home canning jars–your choice

Instructions

Wash tomatoes.
Dip in boiling water for 30 seconds, then dip in ice or cold water. Remove skins.
Cut tomatoes in slices that are 1/4-inch thick. Place on racks, leaving space between each tomato.
Dry (until crisp) at 145 degrees for approximately 8 hours or more.
Place tomatoes in a freezer bag and freeze for 48 hours. This will “pasteurize” the tomatoes and kill any larvae (eggs).
After pasteurizing, store in sealed bags or jars. Store where you have the room–in a cool, dark place (freezer or shelf).
Shake bags or jars several times per week to distribute moisture.

If you don’t mind tomato skins, you can omit Step #2.

Use dehydrated tomatoes as:

a low-calorie substitute for chips when dipped in ranch or honey mustard dressing
sun-dried tomatoes mixed with dried basil, oregano and garlic, then boiled in oil and simmered for five minutes. Store in refrigerator. Do not can.
tomato spice when mixed with thyme, allspice, peppercorn, etc.
bits or powder
part of a recipe, when softened with a little water before use

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