Radically Retired

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  • Friday Freestyling … Rare and Beautiful Souls

    Friday Freestyling … Rare and Beautiful Souls

    A week ago yesterday, when my morning power walk took me through our city campgrounds, I saw a young couple, a small tent, and two bicycles at one of the campsites.

    I walked past but my mind kept nagging me to go back and say hi.

    I finally gave in and am so happy I did.

    I greeted them and then asked to take a few photos of them, their tent, their bikes, and their post-breakfast picnic table. I explained that I’d like their permission to share the photos on my blog.

    They agreed without hesitation and, as I was taking the photos, we conversed about their trip.

    They were from Quebec (a province in eastern Canada), and although they had French accents, their English was excellent. When I complimented them on their English, they explained that they had to not only study English in high school, but their courses required them to practice the language with fluent English-speaking Canadians. This approach was definitely far superior to my own requirement to study French in high school, where it was classroom only. Canada is a bilingual country, thus the “other official language” requirement for school students.

    Marilou and Leo graciously gave me permission to use their first names in my post.

    There had been rain in the morning, but they said they were dry and cozy in their tent

    When I first arrived, Leo was doing breakfast dishes at their picnic table.

    Basic meal gear when biking

    My cover photo is of their bicycles.

    They told me they had started their ride in Vancouver, Canada (our far west coast) and were cycling back home to Sherbrooke, Quebec (near Montreal). Depending on their route, this is a minimal distance of approximately 5069 km (3150 miles), and goes through the Canadian Rockies. Our city park isn’t even the half way point for them.

    I wished this friendly young couple good weather, safety, and enjoyment for the rest of their trip.

    This type of tenacity, commitment, and friendliness to complete strangers is found in rare and beautiful souls. My life is richer for having met them.

  • Read My Sign … Little Hands with a Big Message

    Read My Sign … Little Hands with a Big Message

    At one of our city parks that’s adjacent to the newest elementary school here.

  • Happiness Is … A “Book” Cover

    Happiness Is … A “Book” Cover

    The case/cover for my new Kindle Paperwhite arrived a few weeks ago.

    This lightweight cloth case makes the reading experience feel more like a regular book.

    A nice feature is that the technology in it puts the screen to rest when you close it.

    When you open it, the screen awakens, so no need to use the on/off button and this feature makes the experience even more “real” book-like.

  • Friday Freestyling: Goose on the Loose

    Friday Freestyling: Goose on the Loose

    Earlier this spring, my blogging friend Betty, over at chambersontheroad.com, created a post about the porch goose fad that had caught on in her neighbourhood in Missouri.

    At that time, I hadn’t seen any sign of this new outdoor decor fad catching on here … until recently.

    Now, they’re everywhere!

    The one in my feature photo is in front of a downtown art studio. Lady Honksworth is chained up because her predecessor was kidnapped.

    A few weeks ago, her ladyship was sporting a cap and gown in celebration of 2026 high school graduation.

    Around the same time, I went upstairs in our condo building to visit an owner who had just returned home from hip replacement surgery. Guess what was greeting me at her door.

    This gal never dresses for the day 😂

    Canadian Tire is a huge and much-loved department store chain focused on home maintenance, sporting goods, and automotive parts and repairs. You can also find kitchenware, small appliances, electrical needs, tools, and there’s a big outdoor section that now includes … you guessed it:

    Out of stock at our CT location

    I wonder if “Goose on the Loose” (my own term) will become as popular and enduring as “Elf on the Shelf”.

    Have any relatives of Lady Honksworth taken up residency in your neighbourhood?

  • Read My Sign … Lower Your Standards

    Read My Sign … Lower Your Standards

    In the “Red Dog Saloon” Juneau, Alaska

  • Happiness Is – A New Phone at a Great Price!

    Happiness Is – A New Phone at a Great Price!

    Towards the end of last month, I traded in my iPhone 15 pro for the current newest in the line, a 17 pro.

    There were several June promos happening at my dealer’s store, so I jumped on.

    After my trade-in and all of the perks, I was out of pocket only $10.59 CDN ($7.45 USD) for a $1650 CDN ($1160 USD) phone, and this included a high-end case and an installed tempered glass screen protector!

    The deal required me to maintain a 2-year contract with my provider, at the same price point as the previous year. I’ve been doing this with my provider for as long as I’ve had a mobile phone, and am very happy with the service.

    I upgrade my phones according to the new technology in the cameras. This time, I liked the 48mp capability because this allows for large prints. I’ve always wanted to print some of my best shots on large canvas. Now, I can.

    My greatest excitement is the optic-quality 8x zoom native lens. It’s not a true optical zoom because it combines zoom and cropping to achieve the outcome. I’m OK with that.

    Red Winged Blackbird

    The above image was my first attempt with the 8x zoom. With shooting practice to ensure stability, and more experience with post processing to fix focus, I’m sure I’ll get satisfactory clarity.

    There are many other excellent upgrades to the iPhone camera in this model. I’m learning as I go.

    So far – zero regrets on the upgrade.

  • Happy Birthday, Friends and Neighbours!

    Happy Birthday, Friends and Neighbours!

    We’re currently spending half of our lives living in the USA, where we’ve made many very good friends over the years.

    Through WordPress, I’ve also been blessed with many cyber friends who live in the USA.

    Have a Safe and Happy 250th Birthday! 🇺🇸 🎂

  • Friday Freestyling: Muffinality Tests

    Friday Freestyling: Muffinality Tests

    As I was cutting my freshly-baked muffin for sampling (I sample everything I bake), I wondered if the way I cut and eat my muffin says anything about my personality.

    I was greatly amused in my research because other bloggers and instagrammers have already broached this subject – no doubt tik-tokkers have too, but I don’t use that platform. There are also many muffin personality tests that come up with Google research on the subject.

    Who knew that how you cut and eat your muffin, as well as your preferred kind of muffin says so much about who you are?

    My all-time favourite is the wheat bran muffin, and this one isn’t even listed in the type of muffin/personality list. I wonder what that means? Wheat bran is unheard of where we winter in south Texas, so I take a winter’s supply of it along each fall.

    Apparently (according to one blogger), the way I cut and eat my muffin indicates that I’m a realist and am getting things done. That post also says, that as a 50-50 person, I don’t care much about food except that it’s for fuel. Hmmm. And I thought I cut it that way because it’s more aesthetically pleasing on my plate.

    What’s your favourite muffin and how do you cut/eat it?

  • Happy 159th Birthday, Canada!!

    Happy 159th Birthday, Canada!!

    We’re still a very young country by global standards, yet in our short lifetime, we’ve made many important contributions to the world:

    Medicine and Health

    • Insulin: Discovered in 1921 by Frederick Banting and Charles Best at the University of Toronto, this breakthrough turned diabetes from a fatal diagnosis into a manageable condition, saving millions of lives globally. 
    • Stem Cell Research: Biologists James Till and Ernest McCulloch discovered stem cells at the University of Toronto in 1961, which revolutionized regenerative medicine. 
    • Cardiac Pacemaker: John A. Hopps, a National Research Council engineer, invented the first artificial cardiac pacemaker in 1950. National Research Council Canada
    • Breast Cancer Genetics: In 1989, researchers at the University of Toronto discovered the gene responsible for a hereditary form of breast cancer (BRCA1).

    🌌 Science and Technology

    • Canadarm: Developed by SPAR Aerospace, the robotic arm debuted on the Space Shuttle in 1981 and became a staple of NASA missions, inspiring the Canadarm2 currently used on the International Space Station. 
    • BlackBerry: The pioneering smartphone with a full QWERTY keyboard and secure push email changed the trajectory of mobile enterprise communications.
    • Standard Time Zones: Sir Sandford Fleming, a Canadian railway engineer, proposed the system of worldwide standard time zones in 1876, which was formally adopted globally.
    • Electron Microscope: James Hillier, a Canadian-born scientist, co-invented the first high-resolution commercial electron microscope in 1938.
    • IMAX: Invented by Graeme Ferguson, Roman Kroitor, and Robert Kerr, this immersive high-resolution film format revolutionized the cinema experience worldwide.

    🏀 Sports and Culture

    • Basketball: Invented in 1891 by Canadian physical education instructor James Naismith in Springfield, Massachusetts.
    • Ice Hockey: Canada codified modern ice hockey in the 19th century and exported it globally.
    • The Goalie Mask: Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jacques Plante invented and first wore the modern fiberglass goalie mask in 1960. 

    🌍 Global Leadership and Peacekeeping

    • The Concept of Peacekeeping: Former Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson is widely credited with inventing the modern concept of UN Peacekeeping during the 1956 Suez Crisis, for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
    • Landmines Ban: Canada led the 1997 Ottawa Treaty, an international agreement to prohibit the use, stockpiling, production, and transfer of anti-personnel mines. 

    🚜 Agriculture and Everyday Inventions

    • Canola: Scientists Keith Downey and Baldur Stefansson developed canola at the University of Manitoba in the 1970s, creating one of the world’s healthiest and most widely used cooking oils.
    • The Pager & Walkie-Talkie: Alfred J. Gross, a Canadian-American inventor, pioneered early wireless communication technology, including the walkie-talkie used in WWII.
    • Plexiglass: Chemist William Chalmers developed a method for producing transparent acrylic plastics (plexiglass) at McGill University in 1931.  (source: professor Google)

    OH CANADA ❤️ 🇨🇦 ❤️

  • Happiness Is … Giving

    Happiness Is … Giving

    Community Living is an organization in our province that collects gently used clothing and small household items that are re-sold in Value Village thrift stores. Proceeds go to support those in the community with intellectual disabilities.

    The Yellow Bin website explains:

    The clothing and small household items you donate go directly towards helping people with intellectual disabilities. We take the money raised by your donations and use it to help fund the programs offered by Inclusion Saskatchewan. Thanks to your donations, people with intellectual disabilities are provided the support they need to pay rent, buy food, find employment, and be included and valued members of society.  

    Whenever we hold a garage sale, we contact Community Living when the sale is over. They send someone to pick up everything that’s left. Besides not having leftover items go to the landfill, it’s a convenient service and an easy way to donate.