Retirement and the Start of Living
Retirement is certainly the start of living. There is no school to attend. There is no university to struggle through. There is no constant change in the business world causing wondering about the future. There is, finally, the chance to spend, one hopes, many years watching one’s children grow and succeed in their enterprises, produce grandchildren and, most important, spend the hours and days with one’s chosen mate.
When, in 1999, Jacalin graduated from Westminster College in Pennsylvania, as a teacher, she could not find a job as teacher in her home state, but was offered opportunities in Katy, TX, somewhere in western South Carolina and in Pasco County, near Tampa in Florida. She found a nice apartment off Bruce B. Downs Boulevard in Tampa and we started to visit her and see Floridian life from a resident’s point of view. Meanwhile, her elder sister, Nancy, who had a very good job in Pittsburgh decided that she needed a job in Florida. Being a determined sort of person she found a job as a sales representative for Pfizer. Later she found a nice lawyer who became her husband and the father of her children. We visited Nancy and Jacalin as often as we could together, but Zdenka visited many more times, with her mother and friends and relatives from the Czech Republic.
It’s a sixteen hour drive from Pittsburgh to Tampa in good weather and, having seen the benefits of Florida living, and not fancying Pittsburgh winters nor the sixteen hour drive to see our children, in March 2003 we plonked down a deposit on a house which would not be finished until June the next year. This coincided with the end of my full-time contract with SMS and, we hoped, would be soon enough for us to move in to the new home, get settled as quickly as possible and fly over to care for Babicka in Czech Land during her declining weeks or days.
The above plan was implemented and we arrived in Doubravice in mid-August 2004, just tasting the pleasures of a Florida Summer. Babicka lasted until September 25th, but was very happy to move on in peace. Our old car needed to be replaced and so we attended the joyful celebration of Babicka’s passing with our new car. Today, at the beginning of its eleventh year, it has travelled with us about 72,000 kms and seems happy to travel three times that if we let it and are still around!
Thus we settled into our routine of leaving the USA in mid-April and returning in mid-October from Europe. In 2005 we decided to install a swimming pool in Doubravice, which was an amazing feat of installation, highly destructive to our landscaping and the elimination of too many trees. This project led to the finishing of the central floor of the barn so that we could walk from the house to the pool without walking on the grass.
The finishing of the barn floor had many important consequences. The first was that Nancy could plan her September 2006 wedding ceremonies to Bryan with Doubravice 38 as a center for a party and a deer goulash lunch before the wedding. This was a great event, but getting through the Czech red tape needed for a Canadian born American, resident in Florida to be married to an American was not for the faint at heart, nor those whose mastery of the Czech language was less than perfect. But it was done and much enjoyed by all.
Jacalin had just a ‘simple beach wedding’ to Philip in 2013, which required every bit as much planning as Nancy’s and led to new business ventures in wedding and event planning to be established as a sideline.
Back in Doubravice the gardener in the family planned the conversion of the barren wasteland left after the installation of the pool into an amazing arrangement of plants, shrubs, trees and artifacts. The process continues each and every year.
We decided that our patio outside the kitchen was in sad need of upgrading and a bit of remodeling. The lad in charge of this project was and still is a perfectionist. During the previous year, the concrete posts supporting our upper gate had started to decline and Radek was chosen to build new gate posts. The existing gates had to be fitted on to the new hinges leaving a 1/8” gap between so the padlock would work. Years after this work was completed and several cold winter cycles have passed, the gap between the gates is precisely 1/8”.
The patio project needed transport, which Radek didn’t have. This and an extra pair of hands was provided by Bimbo, who would have been described in the writings of yesteryear as a ne’er do well. Punctuality was never one of Bimbo’s failings. Mondays were never Bimbo’s best days. Smoking incessantly, drinking beer all day were among the distractions affecting Bimbo. Despite Bimbo and some lousy weather at the wrong time of the project, foundations sufficient for a ten storey building were installed and scrupulously finished by Radek. The chosen ceramic tiles were impeccably laid and grouted in. The finished project was completely acceptable to us and we made sure that Radek’s proportion of the cost was appropriate to Bimbo’s effort. Some time later, our neighbor undertook major reconstruction of his house and somehow managed to acquire Bimbo’s services. We had warned him, but to no avail. At many times during his construction it sounded as if a continuous party was in progress rather than a critical effort to get his roof covered.
Our last encounter with Radek was to replace the lower gate columns which seemed to be crumbling. It turned out that the crumbling was external only and affected only the security of the gate hinges. Demolishing the core of the original pillars was a nightmare as Grandpa Pavel had put more rebar into the concrete than is used in bridge foundations spanning major rivers. At any rate the new gate posts were built to same accuracy as the upper gates and have not budged in the intervening years.
The final major capital expenditure was undertaken in 2011 with the installation of a motorized awning over the patio. This has been very much appreciated since its installation. It blocks the sun from the patio and works well in moderate rain being completely water proof. Due to its size, about 6.2 meters by 4.2 meters, a sharp gust of wind might well take it and part of the roof away so we are very careful to monitor wind speed while it is open.
While the gardener gardens, the long suppressed woodworker had been building his collection of tools and jigs. The result is that my abilities to do what I need or want to do in Czechland are far superior to what I have in Florida. The central part of the barn having been paved at the same time as the pool provides an excellent, spacious workshop for major projects. Despite not having a massive workbench as I do in Florida, I can still manage well most of the time. As the tools and jigs that I have have improved, so have my abilities to produce nice outside furniture without the use of metal fasteners except where absolutely unavoidable. I prefer nice tight mortise and tenon joints wherever possible.
On two occasions we have traveled to Europe courtesy of Volvo, with whose vehicles we are well pleased. We save money and we have enjoyed our brief transits through Denmark and Sweden to and from Gothenburg.
Thanks to Zdenka growing up in the village she is well accepted by the natives and I am well tolerated although, I would be much happier if my Czech was far better than it is. The villagers are good people and it is another fortunate coincidence that the only pub in the village is located almost all of 30 meters from our gate. The pub is a very convivial place–not too ornate but the point is not to sit in luxury but to chat with one’s friends. The draft beer is excellent. The white wine is often warm; the red wine is sometimes chilled, but the camaraderie is splendid.
In Florida there is not so much for us to do. The gardener gardens both outside and inside the lanai. I have constructed as many tables and chaises as can be accommodated and now seem to be in the fixing up business for Jacalin’s new venture. Some significant assignments appear on their way to which I look forward.
Strangely our few friends in the Florida are those who were our neighbors in Pittsburgh, some who have subsequently moved away from Florida and some who, just like us, commute in and out of Florida. Most important is that our girls are close and we can see them much more frequently than had we stayed in Pittsburgh. Florida life is easy.
And that’s my story.
When, in 1999, Jacalin graduated from Westminster College in Pennsylvania, as a teacher, she could not find a job as teacher in her home state, but was offered opportunities in Katy, TX, somewhere in western South Carolina and in Pasco County, near Tampa in Florida. She found a nice apartment off Bruce B. Downs Boulevard in Tampa and we started to visit her and see Floridian life from a resident’s point of view. Meanwhile, her elder sister, Nancy, who had a very good job in Pittsburgh decided that she needed a job in Florida. Being a determined sort of person she found a job as a sales representative for Pfizer. Later she found a nice lawyer who became her husband and the father of her children. We visited Nancy and Jacalin as often as we could together, but Zdenka visited many more times, with her mother and friends and relatives from the Czech Republic.
It’s a sixteen hour drive from Pittsburgh to Tampa in good weather and, having seen the benefits of Florida living, and not fancying Pittsburgh winters nor the sixteen hour drive to see our children, in March 2003 we plonked down a deposit on a house which would not be finished until June the next year. This coincided with the end of my full-time contract with SMS and, we hoped, would be soon enough for us to move in to the new home, get settled as quickly as possible and fly over to care for Babicka in Czech Land during her declining weeks or days.
The above plan was implemented and we arrived in Doubravice in mid-August 2004, just tasting the pleasures of a Florida Summer. Babicka lasted until September 25th, but was very happy to move on in peace. Our old car needed to be replaced and so we attended the joyful celebration of Babicka’s passing with our new car. Today, at the beginning of its eleventh year, it has travelled with us about 72,000 kms and seems happy to travel three times that if we let it and are still around!
Thus we settled into our routine of leaving the USA in mid-April and returning in mid-October from Europe. In 2005 we decided to install a swimming pool in Doubravice, which was an amazing feat of installation, highly destructive to our landscaping and the elimination of too many trees. This project led to the finishing of the central floor of the barn so that we could walk from the house to the pool without walking on the grass.
The finishing of the barn floor had many important consequences. The first was that Nancy could plan her September 2006 wedding ceremonies to Bryan with Doubravice 38 as a center for a party and a deer goulash lunch before the wedding. This was a great event, but getting through the Czech red tape needed for a Canadian born American, resident in Florida to be married to an American was not for the faint at heart, nor those whose mastery of the Czech language was less than perfect. But it was done and much enjoyed by all.
Jacalin had just a ‘simple beach wedding’ to Philip in 2013, which required every bit as much planning as Nancy’s and led to new business ventures in wedding and event planning to be established as a sideline.
Back in Doubravice the gardener in the family planned the conversion of the barren wasteland left after the installation of the pool into an amazing arrangement of plants, shrubs, trees and artifacts. The process continues each and every year.
We decided that our patio outside the kitchen was in sad need of upgrading and a bit of remodeling. The lad in charge of this project was and still is a perfectionist. During the previous year, the concrete posts supporting our upper gate had started to decline and Radek was chosen to build new gate posts. The existing gates had to be fitted on to the new hinges leaving a 1/8” gap between so the padlock would work. Years after this work was completed and several cold winter cycles have passed, the gap between the gates is precisely 1/8”.
The patio project needed transport, which Radek didn’t have. This and an extra pair of hands was provided by Bimbo, who would have been described in the writings of yesteryear as a ne’er do well. Punctuality was never one of Bimbo’s failings. Mondays were never Bimbo’s best days. Smoking incessantly, drinking beer all day were among the distractions affecting Bimbo. Despite Bimbo and some lousy weather at the wrong time of the project, foundations sufficient for a ten storey building were installed and scrupulously finished by Radek. The chosen ceramic tiles were impeccably laid and grouted in. The finished project was completely acceptable to us and we made sure that Radek’s proportion of the cost was appropriate to Bimbo’s effort. Some time later, our neighbor undertook major reconstruction of his house and somehow managed to acquire Bimbo’s services. We had warned him, but to no avail. At many times during his construction it sounded as if a continuous party was in progress rather than a critical effort to get his roof covered.
Our last encounter with Radek was to replace the lower gate columns which seemed to be crumbling. It turned out that the crumbling was external only and affected only the security of the gate hinges. Demolishing the core of the original pillars was a nightmare as Grandpa Pavel had put more rebar into the concrete than is used in bridge foundations spanning major rivers. At any rate the new gate posts were built to same accuracy as the upper gates and have not budged in the intervening years.
The final major capital expenditure was undertaken in 2011 with the installation of a motorized awning over the patio. This has been very much appreciated since its installation. It blocks the sun from the patio and works well in moderate rain being completely water proof. Due to its size, about 6.2 meters by 4.2 meters, a sharp gust of wind might well take it and part of the roof away so we are very careful to monitor wind speed while it is open.
While the gardener gardens, the long suppressed woodworker had been building his collection of tools and jigs. The result is that my abilities to do what I need or want to do in Czechland are far superior to what I have in Florida. The central part of the barn having been paved at the same time as the pool provides an excellent, spacious workshop for major projects. Despite not having a massive workbench as I do in Florida, I can still manage well most of the time. As the tools and jigs that I have have improved, so have my abilities to produce nice outside furniture without the use of metal fasteners except where absolutely unavoidable. I prefer nice tight mortise and tenon joints wherever possible.
On two occasions we have traveled to Europe courtesy of Volvo, with whose vehicles we are well pleased. We save money and we have enjoyed our brief transits through Denmark and Sweden to and from Gothenburg.
Thanks to Zdenka growing up in the village she is well accepted by the natives and I am well tolerated although, I would be much happier if my Czech was far better than it is. The villagers are good people and it is another fortunate coincidence that the only pub in the village is located almost all of 30 meters from our gate. The pub is a very convivial place–not too ornate but the point is not to sit in luxury but to chat with one’s friends. The draft beer is excellent. The white wine is often warm; the red wine is sometimes chilled, but the camaraderie is splendid.
In Florida there is not so much for us to do. The gardener gardens both outside and inside the lanai. I have constructed as many tables and chaises as can be accommodated and now seem to be in the fixing up business for Jacalin’s new venture. Some significant assignments appear on their way to which I look forward.
Strangely our few friends in the Florida are those who were our neighbors in Pittsburgh, some who have subsequently moved away from Florida and some who, just like us, commute in and out of Florida. Most important is that our girls are close and we can see them much more frequently than had we stayed in Pittsburgh. Florida life is easy.
And that’s my story.