In discussing "retirement" a friend recently said, "I'm not sure how I ever had the time to go to work there is so much to do in retirement." I know what he means. Every day, I have two or three chores planned. And then, of course, some things come up that are not planned. Here is just a sampling of what we've been up to this week:

We bought some herbs (and flowers) along with pots and soil and now have a nice "garden" of fresh herbs. Most are on the front porch now.

I painted the birdhouses my dad has made while at the VA home.

And, hung a couple of them hoping to attract Mountain Bluebirds.

I fixed the torn screen on the front porch. It only took two tries!

We had a loose and wobbly post and handrail on the front steps. I planted a 2x4 in concrete and lag bolted it to the post. It is now solid as a rock and should last a while. Just needs paint.

Lynne treated our swing which we've moved from the protection of the porch to the outside. It should be okay in the weather now.

One of the plumbing vents on the roof did not hold up to my fix from last year. So, I redid that, doubling up on the strapping. The snow tends to rip these guys right off the roof.

I've cleared space to build a wood shed and done some minor repairs to the existing shed, which I now need to paint.

And, of course there was the unplanned chore of replacing the garbage disposal, which required two trips into town and some creative plumbing.

It is not all work. We've taken some nice walks, rides in the Ranger, and fishing will start soon!