Family, Friendship, Grandparenthood, Home Exchange, Reflection

Postcards from October

Retirement Reflections

It’s been another busy month. Are you surprised? Let’s catch up!

October was filled with family, friends (including furry ones) and food.
Can you tell what I brought to Thanksgiving Dinner? Recipe here.
I couldn’t wait to turn 65. Free ferry (amongst other benefits) here I come!
I remain incredibly grateful for family time.
Son #4 will join in virtually and is coming home (IRL) for Christmas!! Hooray!
How has your month been so far?
Wishing you a great end to October…and a Happy Hallowe’en!

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Published by Retirement Reflections

Prior to retirement, I lived and worked in Beijing China for fourteen years (Middle School Principal/Deputy Director at The Western Academy of Beijing). Leaving international life behind, my husband and I retired to Vancouver Island in June 2015. To document both this transition and our new adventures, ‘Retirement Reflections’ was born. I hope that you enjoy reading these reflections, and will be willing to share your own.

101 thoughts on “Postcards from October”

  4. Happy 65th birthday Donna – it looks like you have had a wonderful October connecting with folks. I hadn’t realised that Canadian thanksgiving is in October – we learn something new every day!

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    1. Hi, Janine – Thank you so much for reading and commenting. Canadian Thanksgiving falls on the second Monday of October. When we lived in Beijing, we usually celebrated both Canadian and American Thanksgivings. I always looked forward to that! <D

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  7. Happy Birthday, Donna! 🎉 🎂 And thank you for sharing your month with us. (And thanks for letting me know the correct date for Philly – have my copy & am trying to ration my reading. 😇)

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  8. A wonderful time with friends and family, Donna, with more exciting and precious times to come! I hope Richard is healing well and I’m happy you get some free benefits now that you turned 65. Congratulations on this milestone of a birthday!! Xox

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    1. Hi, Liesbet – Thank you for asking about Richard. It is a much slower healing journey than he would like – but he is doing so much better and the physiotherapy is definitely helping. Baby steps!
      Thank you for the kind birthday wishes. It seems like just yesterday you and Mark were here for a previous birthday celebration!

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  9. Hi Donna – I loved your postcards and the fun and energy they contained. Happy birthday month and enjoy catching up with the family. I’m seeing ours in a week’s time and counting the days. Life is very good isn’t it? x

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  11. You’ve definitely had a busy month Donna. I hadn’t realised I missed your birthday. Happy belated birthday wishes. Looks like you had a fabulous time.

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  12. Jake was very happy to be part of your Retirement Reflections – he tells me that you have the best dog treats ever and that you were the best pet sitter ever!!

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  13. Love the format you used!! It’s awesome, and I could be tempted to “borrow” it! I am still working on a concept to use.
    I am also a big fan of cranberries, but the recipe I use has some heat to it, which I LOVE!
    Looks like an awesome birthday party. Belated happy 65th.

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    1. Hi, Bernie – You are very welcome to borrow the postcard idea. I simply looked up ‘postcard templates’ on canva.com and the rest was a breeze! Although Richard likes dried cranberries and cranberry juice, he doesn’t like the taste or texture of traditional cranberry sauce. The addition of apples and a few pulses in the food processor and the problem is solved! 😀

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    1. Thanks, Robbie – I think that I was equally excited about turning 65 as I was about turning 18. Both came with extra privileges. My husband is 11 years older than I am so I have had many years of having to either wait longer (vaccines, etc.) or pay more (ferries, any transportation in HK, movie passes, etc. etc.) 64 only got me the song! ❤

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  15. Sounds like a busy month Donna and happy birthday! Great photos! October has flown by, hard to believe November is almost here. You’ve got a fabulous family weekend lined up to round up October in true glorious fashion.

    I was away mid sept to mid oct with older son mike in Europe. Wonderful to be home after a month plus of wonderful travels. How is Richard’s ankle by the way? I hope healing well.

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    1. Hi, Susan – I look forward to hearing more about your travels with your son in Europe. No matter how awesome our travel experiences are, I can totally relate to the contentment of being home. After three different casts, and surgery, Richard’s arm is improving day by day. Not as quickly as he would like (i.e. he still can’t golf) but significantly better! ❤

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  16. Hi Donna – great to see that Richard is recovering – albeit slower than wanted, but at least getting better. October – sounds lots of fun and congratulations on your special birthday – it’s not bad hitting these landmarks. Loved the way you’ve presented October to us!! Cheers and all the best as November comes along …Hilary

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    1. Hi, HIlary – It is incredible how quickly October has speed by. I found this past September to be painstakingly slow. It is funny how the things we love slide by quickly and the things that we want done and over with seem to go on forever. Try as I may, I still do not get notifications of your posts. I am on my way to your site now to check out what I have missed. See you there!

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      1. Thanks Donna – things be / been happening and I never get round to organising things – eg the link up … I must make a note to email a couple of people who keep mentioning the lack of notifications – well not my fault per se – but my fault that I haven’t got round to sorting things out. I will now make a note for the Diaghilev post on Tuesday – and let you know/remind you! Cheers and enjoy the weekend … Hilary

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      2. Hi, Hilary – When I go into your site it does recognize me as a follower. It just doesn’t send me notifications like it did previously. I tried unsubscribing and then subscribing again but sadly that did not work. 😦

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  18. Family, friends, celebrations with food and furry pets – can’t think of a better way to spend time! Looks like you had a fun month.

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  21. 65 looks good on you! I forget my age sometimes & have to remind myself to cash in on the 65+ perks. Like you, I’m looking forward to a NOvember. There’s ~1 cord of wood left to stack of the 8 cords hauled in. I look forward to some good reads in front of the fire. The yard is put to bed for the winter. The last of the tomatoes were made into sauce the other day. 3 of 4 w/e saw me away from home – a ringuette tournament with my oldest granddaughter; a family wedding; tonight a concert with my cousin. I will return home to host the first of the Home Routes concerts. October has been full with fun & family & food.

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  24. Happy belated birthday, Donna. That’s a wonderful October! You’ve got the right kind of ‘busy” (family, friends, including furry ones and food). Thank you for sharing your month with us and hosting #WBOYC. I added my post to the linkup.

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  26. Hi Donna, Family, friends and food…the best kind of month. 💕 You look amazing for your special birthday, and all birthdays are special. I am happy to hear how Son #4 is coming home for Christmas IRL…the best present! I love how you captured the eventful month with postcards. Very creative! 💕 Erica

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  30. What a fun and clever way to share your month with us Donna. Birthdays, friends, family and food what could be better?? Enjoy your coming weekend and great news about Christmas news! Love hearing about all you get up to, you’re certainly living life to the full 🙂

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  31. You do have a fun-filled and busy October from dog-sitting, lunch at the theater, birthday, and Thanksgiving. Retirement is a wonderful time to be busy with fun things. Thank you for sharing, Donna.

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  33. Birthday, thanksgiving, family time – so much to love. And you have your son home for Christmas – that’s great news! Happy ferrying.

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  36. Happy belated birthday. Most of my family have or had birthdays in October. It was always a special month. Celebrate as long as you can, my friend. Mine is next month. I love birthdays. Your mom looks fabulous – well so do you. Your postcards are so cute!

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    1. Thanks, Marsha – It’s been a fun month filled with very touching birthday celebrations. Wishing you an awesome birthday coming up.
      In my last post (WOYBS) I included Yvette’s new book that you collaborated with. I greatly enjoyed it! Your piece was outstanding. ❤

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  37. October was such a fun and full month for you! After all that activity, I can understand why NOvember may be in the cards… but something tells me that you will find fun ways to fill that month up too. Funny how we used to be carded to make sure we were old enough to drink… now it’s to make sure we qualify for the perks of getting a “bit” older.

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    1. So true, Janis. Although I think that I was much more impatient in waiting to turn 65 than I was waiting to turn 18. 😀 What can I say? Having to wait as Richard got all the freebies, and the significantly earlier vaccines, began to wear me down. ❤

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  39. October was a busy month for you, Donna! Our birthday months always seem to bring on the busyness. Plus you celebrated Thanksgiving–love the shot of the charcuterie board and wine! Hubby and I are two months apart in age–we both hit 65 in 2024. Enjoy the freebies and benefits–you deserve it! Has Richard recovered well from the fall?

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  40. Looks like you had another fun month doing the things, having the smiles. I enjoy seeing what you’re up to. Not much going on here at the moment, just waiting to hand out candy to trick-or-treaters.

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