The City Mouse in the Country

      My girlfriend and I are trying to lose weight and she is succeeding at it at a much faster pace than I am.   That's okay, our health is NOT a competition.   We are both trying to cut down on sugars.  We are both trying to watch our portions of what we eat.     That's all good.   Were we differ, and it has lead to some conflict, is that I am trying; slowly but surely to move away from a strictly meat diet.   I've been trying to incorporate some more plant based dishes into my life.  I've been attempting to not eat any meat or dairy products at least one day a week, although I am not always successful at this task..   I do have some healthy substitutes in the fridge such as tofu and jackfruit even though I've no clue what to do with them.      I am even thinking how I could use paneer is a substitute for meat like it is in a lot of Indian dishes..  Plus it's a cheese I've not made in a bit.      Where the conflict starts is that even though she has a b

     In the last post I asked if I hated living in the country. I answered with a pretty subjective "No."  There are parts of it I am not fan of.  One of the reasons I agreed to move to the country is that I was hoping to make a change in my lifestyle.     I've never been afraid of hard work, I used to work 60 hour weeks right out of college when I worked for an engineering firm.  I've owned my own company in one form or another sine 2008, which has supplemented my main income and padded both my retirement savings and paid for vacations.  I have discovered however that hard work in the country is not the same of the hard work of a city mouse.   However, I'm tired and burned out.   I find myself wanting to retire more and more and enjoy my time here and now.  Full retirement for me is still twelve years away and age 70 would probably make more sense.      Given another year, both cars will be paid off in full as well as a personal loan.   Within two years, our

      I have every reason to put off this piece for another week or two, however later on this month – August 28 th in fact – it will be one year since Sue and I moved back to Pennsylvania.    Although I did not start my blog officially until over a month later as I tried to make sense of my “change in lifestyle .”   Plus, there were a lot of boxes to unpack and things to organize.      People that I know are asking me “Do I hate it here/there?” a lot.    I’m sort of surprised by how often it’s asked of me.    Am I that much of a “City Mouse?” A little advert for our realtor      Truthfully I don’t hate it here.    I don’t like things about living in the country.    For example, I don’t care that I live forty five minutes away from a decent Chinese Restaurant, shout out to the Fortune Star by the way.    There is simply a lack of variety out here.  Nor do I like that the nearest hospital is twenty minutes away.    I’m not happy about not being able to find a decent radio station –

                                        When I first decided to write about why I joined the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, I thought that one of the best ways to do it would be more me to tell you about my love of music.      I am not a musician myself, never having the patience to sit down and practice or put in the hard work.   However I grew up in a house where records and the radio were just part of everyday life.   As I was growing up I was surrounded by the sounds of Mel Tillis, Kenny Rogers and George Straight.   As I grew older I found myself drawn to bands like Genesis, Jethro Tull, Rush and Jazz music.      My friends however were all musicians, playing trumpets, guitars, drums and a whole range of instruments.   An old roommate often had band practice in the garage next to my car.   My first wife was a professional flutist and even though the marriage was unsuccessful, I still have a deep love and understanding for classical music.      Music has always intrigued