tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4312736954468978064.post2936220394745272513..comments2024-03-28T01:51:22.367-03:00Comments on Not Buying Anything: 2021 Was A Year Of OpportunityGregg Koephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349453216733070775noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4312736954468978064.post-88081802566430037472022-01-03T06:47:43.587-04:002022-01-03T06:47:43.587-04:00I thank you both very very much for being here in ...I thank you both very very much for being here in this blog for us. I wich a great 2022 for all of us.Maria Zinomhttp://daybydaylovinglife.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4312736954468978064.post-28318771438036598032022-01-01T18:16:16.606-04:002022-01-01T18:16:16.606-04:00Peace and contentment to us all as we enter this n...Peace and contentment to us all as we enter this new year. I am sure it will have its challenges, but we have the power to choose our perspectives - that makes all the difference! It will be a wonderful year. -ErinAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4312736954468978064.post-51343360891930261482022-01-01T17:00:00.599-04:002022-01-01T17:00:00.599-04:00I love to read about how well your garden is doing...I love to read about how well your garden is doing Gregg, and how you and Linda are enjoying the bounty from it. Nearly 4 years into our new home and my garden is also finally really producing a good amount, and the fruit trees now tower over me! This last year has been stressful even here where we have not suffered as much as other countries. Both myself and my husband lost our mothers very suddenly within the last year, and that has been very difficult to come to terms with. We were both essential workers during lockdowns and trying to mange that with the children came with it's on set of issues. This year I am committed to a No Buy/Low Buy year again- not that I spend much anyway, but I am REALLY knuckling down as my dream of having our own small self sufficient block is calling me hard these days. I am home with the children again and despite our reduced income, am feeling positive we can achieve our goals...if not this year, within the next few years. We don't borrow money, so we're doing it the hard way! I hope you and Linda have a fruitful year full of happiness and health :)Karennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4312736954468978064.post-2064707317847896652022-01-01T15:12:51.464-04:002022-01-01T15:12:51.464-04:00What a tumultuous time to retire. But good timing,...What a tumultuous time to retire. But good timing, it seems to me. <br /><br />True contentment is an honourable goal. It can be done anywhere by anyone.<br /><br />Linda and I wish you a happy New Year. Gregg Koephttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09349453216733070775noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4312736954468978064.post-55700573692210840012022-01-01T15:08:23.720-04:002022-01-01T15:08:23.720-04:00Upward and onward! So many good things that are so...Upward and onward! So many good things that are so nice to hear. Wishing you a happy and prosperous 2022.Gregg Koephttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09349453216733070775noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4312736954468978064.post-23954664397475567592022-01-01T14:04:01.154-04:002022-01-01T14:04:01.154-04:00Retiring in a pandemic year had me rethinking a lo...Retiring in a pandemic year had me rethinking a lot of things I thought I wanted to do when I got here. Travel? As memory recalls, it really is exhausting - is that really how I want to spend the last third of my life? Besides, there is much of this beautiful country I live in that I haven't seen or experienced to date (perhaps one of these days my backpack and I shall show up on your doorstep at tea time). One of the encouraging things I am beginning to see around me is enforced contentment evolving into true contentment. My personal new year comes with the first shoots of green and the swelling of the buds on the trees. Thank you for your continued writing and encouragement - always a cornucopia of food for thought. May 2022 bring only good things for yourself and LindaMélahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18436009255211727852noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4312736954468978064.post-26657289756715651142022-01-01T13:11:52.478-04:002022-01-01T13:11:52.478-04:00Although I'd been aware of it, I finally took ...Although I'd been aware of it, I finally took the step and requested a plot at a community garden about a mile from my home. And I got a plot! So along with my small garden plot at home, I'll have much more space for growing food, plus the benefit of being part of a gardening community. Also, even though this does mean some waste on our part, we replaced our dead refrigerator (which was just a refrigerator, no freezer) with a new model that is more energy efficient and has a freezer. So along with our small chest freezer I now have more freezer space for preserving some of the food I grow this year. Learning about all forms of food preservation is one of my goals for 2022. Lastly, and probably most important, I learned over that last two years how nice my home, yard, and neighborhood are. Sure it's in the suburbs, so not next to a beautiful forest like you have Gregg and Linda, but there are many gorgeous trees in our area as well as many nice parks. And my own backyard is nice with lots of plants, trees, birds, squirrels, a few raccoon, a skunk that comes by now and again (such a cute animal), occasionally a rabbit, and not often, but sometimes we find a lovely salamander under the wood pile. This year I plan on improving my backyard for the birds and pollinators. I feel very grateful.<br /><br />I wish you the best of luck this year, and fingers crossed that one of the leads you have on a new home turns into something wonderful.<br /><br />- MaryAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com