I am delighted to appear as a Guest Host on Smart Living 365. Sustainable, Meaningful, Aware, Responsible and Thankful, Kathy Gottberg’s website is truly all of those things. Here is a snippet from my post:
When cleaning out a box of old letters and memorabilia recently, I came across a few of my old school report cards. I smiled at the recurring comment, “Donna spends much time chatting with others.” This behavior was definitely in the “things that could be improved” category. What my teachers failed to add was “If Donna continues this behaviour…it could lengthen her life!”
Please drop by Smart Living 365 to read more and to say hello. Kathy and I look forward to seeing you there!
Retirement Reflections 
Hi Donna
After I recently retired, I was well aware of the need to have social interactions. This was something I was a bit worried about because I live the country with only a few neighbours nearby and because I had been out of the area for over 17 years a lot of my former Canadian colleagues had gone on with their lives. The friendships we had formed during our travels were scattered all over the world and they were sort of difficult to meet up with for dinner! However, serendipity played a significant role in helping me reconnect with those old Canadian friends. As well, more importantly, for me, I joined an active group of people bent on keeping in shape physically and was able to make new acquaintances. I now have become involved in curling – an activity I used to do while still working in Canada. I also go to pottery classes and have developed a new passion there. The artist’s community is opening up for me and the discussions around pottery are amazing. It is working for me.
Thanks for communicating the research and the importance of being socially connected!
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Hi, Fran – I am glad that you have been able to reconnect with your Canadian friends during your second retirement. It’s interesting that you mention curling. Although neither Richard or I had curled previously, it is one of the first activities that we signed up for when we returned home from overseas. We had a blast and met some great new people. Unfortunately, our curling did not continue because we were not free on Tuesday evenings when the schedule changed…but some important friendships have remained to this day!
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Thoughtful post, Donna! Thanks! ~ Lynn
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Hi, Lynn – Thanks for stopping by and for the kind words. It is great to be able to share our research and readings, and to get into discussion with like-minded individuals on topics that we are passionate about!
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I thoroughly enjoyed your post Donna and think I left a comment over on Smart Living 365 blog. You have so much to offer and I love that you share it with us 🙂
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Hi, Debbie – Thank you for commenting on this post both here and on Kathy’s site. You really should get extra ‘blogger points’ for that! Greatly appreciated!
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Slowly catching up on a super full inbox after a week of hard and uninterrupted work… Great post on Kathy’s blog, Donna. Very fitting, researched and informative.
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Hi, Liesbet – Thanks so much for commenting on this post. I know how much you have going on right now. Good luck with your work. Keep us posted!
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Oh, this is the kind of work you don’t want to know about, Donna. A full week of translating, even through the weekend! So, no book progress this last week, but… money in the bank! 🙂
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Oh, man – I was cheering because I thought you had a week of uninterrupted work on your memoir! I agree – the extra money never hurts. Hope you will find more writing time ahead! 🙂
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