My Bucket List: Turning 60 Tour

 It's still hard for me to believe I'll turn 60 later this year! Yowza! To help me make the birthday something

to look forward to, I decided to create a bucket list, and have dubbed it my Turning 60 Tour. It's still a work in progress, but I've already started working on some of the things on my list. Items on my list include a trip to Asheville, North Carolina, to stay at the Grove Park Inn, having lunch with five different friends, and attending home games of each of North Carolina's professional sports teams (Carolina Hurricanes, Carolina Panthers, and Charlotte Hornets). I'm excited about the adventures ahead!

Summer 2022

 Summer 2022 is coming to a close, and I want to record some of the events here to help me remember the fun, busy summer! 

In late June, George and I traveled to Easley, South Carolina, for  a Looper Family Reunion. Pam, a Looper cousin, and I had just two months to plan and pull it off, but we did it! We had a lunch-time reunion at a local church where many Loopers have attended, and the church cemetery is one evidence of that! We had about 25-30 people in attendance. We'd hoped for more, but were pleased with the turnout and really appreciated all who attended, especially given the short notice!

 In mid-July, I attended another reunion, one for the descendants of Eng and Chang Bunker. I'm not a Bunker descendant, but am related to their wives,

sisters Sarah and Adelaide Yates, so the Bunker descendants are my cousins. This was another lunch reunion, this time in Mount Airy, North Carolina. It was a really interesting and well-run reunion, about 80 attendees strong. In addition to the Bunker descendants, I met some Yates cousins, as well--fun!

In late July, George and flew/drove to Lake Tahoe, Nevada, for my oldest niece's wedding. We got caught up in this summer's air travel drama on the way, spending an unexpected night in Salt Lake City, but we made it in time for all the festivities, and had a wonderful time! We were pretty exhausted by the time we returned home, but it was a wonderful time with family in a fantastic location!

Reunions

This past weekend, I attended a couple of events for my high school reunion, and had a really fun time! I hadn't seen some of these former classmates since the last reunion I attended, 20 years ago. Others I hadn't seen since HS graduation! I almost didn't go, you know, the usual excuses. But I'm so glad I did!

In other reunion news, a cousin and I are planning a Looper Reunion for next month. This cousin and I just recently "met" on Facebook, and we're the reunion organizers by default--no one else wanted to do it. Although we just recently started planning for the late June reunion, we hope it'll be a success, and the start of a new family tradition!

Following College Sports

 This week, I have college sports on the brain. 

The big thing going on right now is the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. I filled out an online bracket, and I'm doing pretty well so far. My team plays their first tourney game tomorrow evening, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Anything can happen, but my team is favored to win tomorrow. Here's hoping!

In different sports news, I placed my order for my team's season football tickets today! It's a reorder, as I've has season tickets for a few years now. I haven't been to a home football game in a couple of years due to Covid-19 precautions, though, so I'm excited at the prospect of being back in the stadium! Also, we have a new football coach, hired after the last season ended. I'm looking forward to seeing the new coaching staff in action.

Thinking About Retirement

 A colleague is retiring tomorrow after 45 years here, and it has me thinking about my own retirement. I'd planned to work another 10 years, but now I'm mulling over whether or not early retirement would work for me. It's both fun and scary to think about, you know?!

I've started a pre-retirement bucket list--why wait, right? Most of the things on this pre-retirement list  are health-related goals. I didn't plan that, it's just worked out that way so far. I want to be well enough to enjoy retirement (whenever that is) for many years!

New Year's Resolutions

 As usual, I made some New Year's Resolutions recently. I gave them some thought ahead of time, and so far, things are going pretty well.

One of my main goals is to work on improving my health. For years, I've worked on this, with varying results. Staying healthy has been a struggle during the Covid-19 pandemic, but I've been fortunate not to get Covid-19 yet. I signed up for an eight-week nutrition class, which meets twice weekly on Zoom, and I've started tracking on the Lose It! app. 

For years now, I've been wanting to learn a new musical instrument. Growing up, I took piano and violin lessons, but want to learn something different. I have an alto recorder, but haven't been inspired to work with it yet. I read an article recently about different instruments, and reasons for learning them. The writer suggested learning the guitar if you like bringing people together! Wow! So, I've been researching acoustic guitars, and they aren't terribly expensive for a beginner like me. I'd like to buy one in the next few months and start taking lessons by the end of the year.

Another goal involves reading, one of my favorite hobbies. In addition to my regular bookshelves, I have an Amazon Kindle. I've added a ton of Kindle books over the years, and quite a few of them have slipped through the cracks. I forget to start them, or start them and don't finish, as other books catch my interest. So, I'm going through my Kindle and playing catch-up. It's been nice to pick some books back up, or to give myself permission to delete them if I'm not interested anymore.

House Hunting

 This past week has been a big one for me! I got pre-approved for a mortgage AND met with a real estate broker! I feel so grown up, buying my first home, except that I AM grown up! I'm both excited and nervous, which I hear is natural. I hope to find a home that I can retire in, though I'm still about 10 years away from retirement. 

I've been looking on realtor.com mostly so far, and a house came on the market a couple of days ago that I really like. It's an older house (built in 1958) that's had some good cosmetic upgrades, but my brother-in-law suggests I find out more about the pipes and the wiring, if this house continues to stay atop the list (and doesn't get snatched up too soon!).