The Next Chapter in Retirement-ville

And now for the great American garage renovation...



Two years after I built my home I added an unattached garage, which has saved my poor car from the ravages of the prairie weather-- wind, sand, rain, snow as well as the deleterious effects of the sun. It has also provided me with a wonderful space to do some crafty projects like refinishing chairs and tables and building "stuff". I also designed it with a six-foot veranda which I enclosed so that I could barbecue or sit out and enjoy the day without being in direct sunlight or wind. I like my garage-a lot.



Over the years it has also been the repository-of-last-resort for things that have been discarded from the house-- well, we all know where that's going. So a few months ago I enlisted the aid of my *industrious ranch foreman* to help me Decludicate some space for myself.

In a manner of hours (which I somehow believed would take years). She single-handedly rearranged my craft room into a very workable space. The next task was the garage, and almost miraculously, and in a very short amount of time. She filled a pickup truck full of recycling and hauled it away. Thus inspired, I began a rigorous ditch'n'pitch.

The end result was a much more organized garage. I could now envision the new use for all of the extra space I gained.

Let me digress and confess. I-hate-to-exercise.

I used to enjoy it. There were times past (way past) that I walked every morning (several miles)before work. In fact I even played golf before work! Before I moved to New Mexico I was actually very fond of bicycling 10 to 20 miles a day. I swam in the lake, I swam at the YMCA- six days a week, I even had a very brief -but satisfying affair with a rowing machine. However, since my relocation to the high desert I have done very little; and since I've retired -even less.

I do walk my dogs daily and had a few months visiting Curves (enjoyable but too far away). I have investigated other resources in the area which are very limited and have finally admitted, to myself anyway, that there is really nothing out there that will inspire me to get in the car and that there is very little that I actually enjoy enough to participate in the regular pursuit of with the singular exception of swimming. I do indulge myself, but a week a year in Belize-while wonderful-is less than therapuetic.

For several years I have been enchanted by the ads touting the notion of swimming at home and at the same time, appalled by the expense. Twice, I have sent away for information and rejected it as an impossibility.

So now I must own my truth -I'm faced with the reality that:
1. I REALLY like being at home
2. It is unlikely that I would ever leave for any amount of time just to exercise
3. Unless I develop some kind of healthy habit, it is unlikely, I will actually be able to leave my house.

So, in the spirit of yet another new adventure, I have decided to create my ultimate dream of swimming at home.

Stay tuned.