Retirement blog about the big project or rather the small ones

There may be great benefit in looking forward to a better time. Which leads to the big question, when we look back from this ‘better’ time what will we want to remember of how we behaved now? I have written elsewhere that I wanted to look back on these times and feel proud. That’s what I’m trying to do – things that will make me feel proud. Well, some things anyway.

I realised the other day when walking our dogs (as we’re allowed to do) that it would be nice to look back and think of this period as – that was when I …. What? I’d like to describe my life in terms of some big project that I used this time to accomplish. Yes, I’ve gone back to my goal-setting persona of yesteryear.

Not quite sure exactly what ‘big’ actually means in this context. It would not only be big but discrete and describable. I’ve only got as far as – write a book, build a proper shed, set up website, go back to work. That sort of big. Progress however has been slow to non-existent in the ‘big’ project department. Of those four the outcomes have been, in order – can’t be arsed, can’t get to the vineyard to build it, hate technology at this present moment, haven’t been asked.

So I’ve been forced to consider this period of difficulty in terms of a number of small projects rather than one big one. It’s not going to look so good on the CV. 2020 – worked on a number of small projects. It’s hardly heroic but it might have to do. Never say never and all that, but to repeat myself, it might have to do.

Thinking small is a totally sensible psychological principle and if one were writing a book on happiness in times of crisis (which I’ve already said I can’t be arsed to do) then the small steps principle would be right up there. That excellent branch of therapy – Solutions Focused Therapy (SFT) would ask the client to rate where they were on a scale of one to ten and then consider what it would take to move forward just one (or even less) point from that rating. By the by if I am ever lined up to do some Skype based counselling, SFT will form a significant basis of my ‘practice’.

Our modest list of small projects looks something like this. Perhaps the biggest of the small is the recovering of our very old Chesterfield. This deserves, and will no doubt get at some later stage, a retirement blog all of its own. For now let me say Mrs Summerhouse has done most of the work and, given the smallness of the budget, hasn’t turned out too badly at all. see end of blog for finished article.

The dogs certainly seem to like it – see above. Apologies for repetition but it just shows what an exciting life we’re leading at the mo.

My modest contribution to the project list is, buying a case of wine from Western Australia in an effort to support some old friends who are struggling economically as are so many people. But it’s on its way at an extraordinary cost.

My, to date, biggest failure and source of huge irritation project-wise has been trying to send two yoga videos of Mrs SH to her class. I thought this would be both interesting and a new skill for me to acquire. Wrong on both counts. I’ve ended up putting the sessions on a memory stick and sending it, through the post, to an expert who’s married to one of the class members. This (putting in the post) is neither interesting nor a new skill.

And while we’re on the technology side of new projects I’ve been taking part in something the whole world seems to be into these days, namely Zooming. In this case it’s not a meeting but rather a musical rehearsal of the Folk Fiddle Group.

The jazz class is threatening to do something similar but not quite the same. I will wait and see how the jazz one turns out but I have to say that the fiddle version was weird verging on frustrating. You can only hear one person at a time (usually the group leader) and they can’t hear you at all unless you have your microphone on. And this is forbidden unless you’re directly answering a question. Not impressed so far and its potential for, even a small project is, I have to say, not massive.

I have entered a competition. Rarely can there have been a finer example of ‘too much time on hands’. I’ve sent in a ghost story what I have written (Ernie Wise). I don’t think I would win a competition if I were the only person in it. But these are different times, so maybe this is my moment.

It’s called the King Lear writing competition, or something similar, if you want to compete with me, just don’t send in a ghost story. Revising my 12 ghost stories from my Ebook (That Which Lies Beneath) might actually work as a big project that’s at the same time, achievable. Remind me to tell you about the NAF rating as a criteria for good ideas, but not right now.

So no vineyard project or DIY or music which leaves me with, this retirement blog, The Summerhouse Years. You will have noticed that I have been slightly ramping up my output. This, with help from Mrs SH and her excellent art work, but I’m writing more as well.

So a bit like when children used to ask their (usually) father, ‘what did you do in the war, daddy?’ when asked, at some better future time, what did you do when you were stuck at home in lock-down, thus far my response will definitely not be in the ‘heroic’ category. But we’ve a way to go yet, so who knows what might happen.

PS. While we’re on the mini project theme, can you get any more mini than ordering on-line from Morrisons. I mentioned it a while ago. The delivery came on Sunday. Not a total success. For example I seemed to have ordered 24 croissants, 3 packs of Hot Cross buns and one small tin of beans. Perfect balanced diet especially for the diabetic person. No, I think I won’t be looking back on this with pride.