Looking Back at 2012 and on to 2013

It is now very nearly a full year since I was made redundant and went into early retirement.

Most of the plans made before the event, happened and life continued pretty much as expected. Obviously there have been ups and downs notably with wallpaper and waistline, but on the whole the year has proved that retirement is a dam sight better than working, {no sh*t Sherlock} except you get less money and no bank holidays off.

They said, that the best thing about retiring was that by not having to go through the daily grind of going to work you have so much more time to do all the things you want to do, walking, photography, reading, catching up on old films, weekends away, holidays.  Needless to say that proved to be Total B*~~*#&$. Last summer, on several, several days, I worked harder and longer at home than I ever had at work.

However I must admit that since retirement, jobs do seem to expand to fill the time available, so that something which would have been completed in 10 minutes on a weekend, while employed, easily expands to half an hour or more now I’m retired. Of course I am now able to take far more care over the preparation, the execution of the job and the clearing up. {All said with a straight face}.

As a result of this phenomenon I have, through the summer and autumn months, spent much time gardening and decorating and generally giving the garden and house the time, effort and care they deserve. All this along with laundry, sweeping and washing floors, car, caravan etc. and the dog has not had so many walks or such long ones. {Whoops I can feel the Halo slipping}.

New Fence, Pond & Beds

However, January, February and March have not been as much fun, and I have to admit to missing being in the office these past few months as despite everything else, they were so lovely and warm. However, I have not succumbed to the lure of day time television yet, not very much, well once or twice. Heir Hunters, Sheriffs and Homes Under the Hammer are very educational!!!!!!.

What’s all this bunkum got to do with walking? Well it’s simply a long winded explanation, of sorts and an apology for the reduced number of routes posted in 2012 and for the long gaps between posts. While I regret both of these conditions, it is the long gaps that I dislike the most as I know that when the sites I follow stop for a while it is difficult to know if that’s the “Last Post” or if they are just resting.

Autumn Sunset

Over the past couple of months the dog walks have been getting longer and we are slowly building the miles up, mainly on local footpaths and fields, definitely not worthy of writing about. Andy and I have also been discussing possible walks for this year, which may include the South Downs Way.

In the event of gaps between posts about walks, I may slip in some of my photographs, they are most definitely not anywhere near as good as Nick Liveseys (see links on my blog list), but I like them and hope you do.

If you liked the look our Mallorca Walk and are thinking of giving it a try have a look at Rafael's website at Walk Picos

Looking to Alcudia Bay

On a final Note: it can quite difficult to write a blog such as this without the help of those unnamed others. But what I really need is feedback from you the readers, because without that feedback I have no feel for how you feel about the walks, the maps, the photos or the rubbish I write. I have been writing for three years now and have received only a handful of comments. PLEASE PLEASE send me more COMMENTS - DON'T BE SHY - TELL IT AS IT IS.

Katie