Tag Archives: retired life

Grandma Can Vlog

Posted on by
2

Riza has a perfect face for vlogging. Through her YouTube videos, Life of Riza, she documents her life in her twenties. She aims for cinematic quality in her stories. These biographical vignettes look simple but when you analyse the sequences you realise how clever she is with her camera work, lighting, video-editing, and finished vlog. Kudos to her and thank you Riza for your efforts.

Is Casey Neistat the Master of the Art of Vlogging? Or have I missed an earlier influencer in this field? He published a vlog every day, and after 800 days got that out of his system. But he still offers informative, action-packed, and authentic vlogs about his life in New York city. I love the way he carelessly throws down his boosted skateboard when he comes into his workspace.

I discovered these vloggers this way:

Previously I have been intrigued with the Aussie caravan travelers, although there are so many that I favour just a couple. My current favourite is the delightful couple of Brad and Hayley of Our Australia Trip. Having travelled Australia in recent years it is nice to revisit (through their experiences) the many places we went and know. I appreciate the movie making work that goes into making the videos for YouTube.

I then discovered belatedly Nick and Mathilde of Next Meridien Expedition. Now these two young French travelers are REAL adventurers, having embarked on a worldwide trip with their Land Rover Albo. They were already two years into their adventure when I stumbled across their YouTube channel. Now in Australia I really admire their positive attitude despite repeated major setbacks, such as needing to install a new engine in Geraldton Western Australia. And they did much of this hard work themselves!

Some others I favour for their quiet simple peaceful videos are The Cottage Fairy and Valerie Lin. The Cottage Fairy lives a quiet rural life but has recently had a baby and is understandably taking a break from her vlogging. Valerie Lin is a young artist, and her paintings are exceptionally beautiful. Her careful videos show her lovely creative process and techniques. She sells her prints online and this helps to sustain this lifestyle.

So as someone with a creative urge that persists into my senior years, I decided to have a go at creating a vlog. And I learnt a lot from going through the process:

  • Firstly, there is the idea in the minds eye. So, do you story-board it like Riza, or just dive in like Casey?
  • Then the action to record the moment. This might take one or many shots. What gets in the way; unexpected movements; sounds of traffic, or birds, TVs, or people; weather, something else?
  • Then there is the expected quality of the image. Do you need formal photography lessons to understand this better? Or will you just wing it? I did take photography lessons before we travelled Australia, but I’m not sure much sank in.
  • Cameras! Which camera to use? Smart phone? Proper DSLR? Special video camera with extra lenses? GoPro? Underwater camera? Drone? This all gets daunting and expensive. Then there are the sticks, props, tripods, clamps, etc.
  • Once you have taken the shots you need, then you must save, store, transfer, consider, delete, name, organise, and manage these files. Well as someone with a Masters Degree in Information Management and a solid knowledge of digital preservation, this little exercise is the easy part for me. You’ll need some kind of hard drive and connection for storage and transfer of the files.
  • Then you load the video clips into the editing software. But which software? There are so many available. The editing process is complex and takes a lot of time. But I suppose the more you do it the faster you become.
  • You’ll need some music to give atmosphere to the vlogs. Will you need to pay for downloads, royalties, permission, subscriptions? Probably, but there are still some free databases out there. Remember to always cite the creator and source.

So, I plunged in. As it was an experiment, I was not going to spend money on anything. I used my iphone, handheld, didn’t use music tracks, and used iMovie on my iPad to edit it. I uploaded the video to YouTube and shared it with some friends and family.

Grandma’s Winter Vlog 2024

Then I wondered why I had done this. ‘Why?’ is probably the first thing you should consider. Afterall who wants to see some old bird going about her boring daily life? It’s not something I feel I can expand on, so the one vlog might be it.

It was good to go through the process and learn about how this is done. These young vloggers and digital natives make it look so easy.

Being retired from paid employment means I have a lot of time to spend doing these things. I am a strong believer in the Self-initiated Lifelong Learning experience, and being SiLLé, a concept I labelled back in 2015, and it is a remedy for aging well. I am in constant need of a new project to get my mind into. When I was working, I had no time to spare and making vlogs was far from my busy mind.

Anyway, I will continue to enjoy the vlogs of others, liking, sharing, and subscribing to help sustain them in their chosen lifestyles.

A Walk in London

Posted on by
2

My daily walk looks like this:

Rosebud Pier, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia, Winter 2024

My virtual walk took me to the other side of the world, to London. We had visited London in 2008 and visited the well-known tourist spots such as Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, the Tate Modern, Tower Bridge, and other places.

Mick and Sues in London 2008

So today I aim to wander, virtually, in another part of the city. I begin at Old Street Station north of the city.

Southwards down City Road I come to Bunhill Fields which is an old burial site. Therein lie the graves of William Blake who wrote Robinson Crusoe and died in 1827. Also, Daniel Defoe who wrote Pilgrim’s Progress and he died in 1731. It no longer serves as a cemetery and is now a public green space, and home to grey squirrels.

Cutting through the pathway of Bunhill Fields I head north to the City Road Basin in order to pick up the canals. The paths beside the canals are popular and wide and once were the pathways for horses that drew the barges along the canals ferrying goods to and from London. Joolz points out the evidence of this in his entertaining trip along the canals that he has published on his YouTube channel.

Nowadays many barges line the canals as living quarters and a lifestyle choice. No permanent mooring is allowed, so every two weeks the barges must move to another spot – a never-ending game of musical moorings.

I continue to follow the Grand Union Canal enjoying the city sights all the way to Camden Market. Here I spend hours looking at the diverse variety of goods for sale. I buy some local fare for lunch.

I hop on the tube at Camden Town and make the short trip to Kings Cross Station. Here I take in all the activity of the Coal Drops Yard, before admiring the stunning architecture of the new structure sitting alongside the old building. The new structure is over ten years old now and this informative video explains design and building process of the architecture.

Locating the site for the fictional Platform 9 ¾ I pass by the long queue of Harry Potter fans. What is there to see after all, but a brick wall with a sign on it?

Outside I walk next door to St Pancras Station This heritage building has been preserved, the highlight being the huge metal arches that form the structure for the station. I watch the interesting presentation with Tim Dunn speaking with Josie Murray about the history and architecture of the building.

Next along Euston Road I visit the British Library, a must for any authentic Librarian of course. By comparison, the modern brutalist external façade pales beside its railway neighbours.  It is a relatively new red brick building opened in 1998 and houses many collections of National importance. Beyond the open courtyard, the multilevel interior space is light inviting exploration and browsing. Of course, most of their collected items are stored in a robot-controlled warehouse in another part of England. If you want one of these items you need to give 48 hours’ notice, then you can read it in one of the Reading Rooms of the British Library.

Ancient texts and rare illustrations are on display, providing insight into how some of these precious ideas were created.

Further south I visit the British Museum that once housed the library collections. We had visited this place back in 2008.

Me at the British Museum, London 2008

This museum opened in 1759 welcoming visitors from around the world. “The Museum is driven by an insatiable curiosity for the world”, and the collections and displays support our vast human history.

Inside the Great Court of the museum is light filled atrium that surrounds a central circular domed Reading Room that was built from 1854 – 1857. Unfortunately, this room is now closed to the public.

Exploring some of the many galleries, the Egyptian history exhibition never disappoints. A virtual tour provided by Google Arts & Culture takes me back to my visit in 2008 and is a fantastic experience for the Armchair Traveller.

Screenshot of the Egyptian Collection at the British Museum from Google Arts & Culture experience

With a head full, stimulated by visual and mental images and information I complete this virtual wander through part of London. In researching this virtual wander, I enjoyed being taken along with Joolz and A Lady in London. Hopefully this virtual walk will become a reality soon.

Visiting Le Louvre

Posted on by
Reply

I visited the Musée Du Louvre today. It didn’t cost me $35.72 Australian Dollars entry fee because I did a virtual tour from my home in Australia. (Although perhaps the same amount in Internet access?)

Back in 2008 I did visit in person and loved the fleeting visit that was provided by the Trafalgar Tour.

Me standing beside the inverted pyramid at Le Louvre July 2008

We bunched to see the famous Mona Lisa painting of 1503 to 1506 by Leonardo Da Vinci.

Crowd admiring the Mona Lisa painting at Le Louvre July 2008 (photo by me 2008)

But I was enthralled by the large painting on the opposite wall, The Wedding Feast at Cana by Paolo Caliari 1562 – 1563. The detail on this epic painting stopped me in my tracks.

I think my favourite piece though is The Winged Victory of Samothrace, the Greek Goddess Nike. She commands her place and guards the Art.

The Winged Victory of Samothrace (photo by me 2008)

As a lifelong student of art, design, and architecture, I admire The Pyramid of Ieoh Ming Pei that was completed in 1989. Not only does it sit perfectly in the courtyard amidst the old buildings, the underground structure is genius. Standing beside the inverted pyramid below street level I paid homage to the architecture while also being excited to recall the fictional movie of The Da Vinci Code.

Pyramid structure at Le Louvre by Ieoh Ming Pei completed in 1989 (my photo 2008)

Via Google Earth I descend to the courtyard and view the 360-degree images of others.

Musee Du Louvre image screenshot from Google Earth 2024

I follow one of the Visitor Trails provided on the Musée Du Louvre website. I’m happy to choose Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s Louvre Highlights from their music video of 2018. This music video has always captivated me. I love the music, the soundscape, and the juxtaposition of new performance art beside old masterpieces. So, I watched their music video again from my favourites list on YouTube. And of course I followed the Art Trail reading about each artwork.

I delve deeper into artworks via the official website, absorbing more. On the Musée du Louvre YouTube channel, I find more information about the restoration of artworks and the Arc Du Carrousel in the courtyard. I look at the images on their Instagram site.

Musee Du Louvre on InstaGram

Then I stumble upon a magical piece of work featuring Le Louvre in 2020 through the eyes of Flo. I join him as he walks alone through the Louvre. He whispers impressions in French that float on a quiet backdrop of imagined sounds. It is poetic, and art appreciation at its finest.

It’s been a great way to spend a cold winters day at home. I wonder where I will go next on my Armchair Travel adventures.

Beautiful Slow Life

Posted on by
Reply

The half light of morning is my favourite time of day. I sit at the desk in my study looking out at the dawn, watching the colours appear, listening to the birds calling, and the distant traffic building.

Morning pages

I write in my journal. Not Morning Pages anymore as that habit is unnecessary now. This practice steered me through the difficult times. It helped me to sort through the things that irritated me or upset my sensitive equilibrium. With retired life, this need has lessened significantly.

I realise we are all subject to jumping into the “rat race” to be involved in this life. So, we push ourselves to achieve and acquire for decades. We rush and learn and train and work. For how many years did I wake to the alarm clock in order to rush through the day meeting all of the deadlines? It is exhausting.

Now though I love this slow life. And I have discovered some kindred spirits via the online world. Slow living is something wonderful and enriching. The Cottage Fairy offers videos on YouTube that shows her beautiful, natural, and considered life in a beautiful rural environment. The Artist Valerie Lin paints and sells her beautiful artworks online. Her videos too are pretty, precise, and mindful. These two young women offer an alternative approach about how to live in this world and not get drawn into this daily grind. I wish them well with their endeavours.

Inspired by their gentle and authentic reminders I returned to my own art. While my own “style” differs to theirs, I managed to complete an oil painting of a sunset with reflections on water on a large canvas. This topic differs greatly from my usual subjects. I often use variations of green for foliage and not the bright orange, yellow, and reds that I have used here. Of course, this scene reminds me of the many sunsets we saw when we travelled around Australia during the pandemic years.

Finished oil painting of Sunset Reflections by me.

Recently we spent a week bush-camping on the banks of a river with some other people. It was nice to get away from the traffic, signs, restrictions, tourists, and the daily news. While the others fished, I was content to sit beside the river and watch the water flow, the trees rustle, and the birds fly about. It is a treat to see Kingfishers and I came face to face with one wayward flier. A few snakes swam across the river making us careful while tramping around in the thick crunchy leaf matter.

Australian river scene

At night we gathered around a campfire, talking, laughing, and trying to identify satellites, stars, and planets in the clear night sky.

And while I soaked up the quiet and gentle sounds of the natural environment, these colours of the typical Australian bush do not inspire me. The olive-green river, and a million shades of brown and grey did not give me cause to pick up a coloured pencil or paintbrush.

Now another pause between projects. What will I paint next? I do have an unfinished painting on my easel that I want to complete. I recall the encouraging words of Valerie Lin and know that this is my work, and I can do whatever I choose. I must remind myself to NOT watch the News. Especially when there are so many inspiring and positive things in the online media world. Rich Roll, Simon Hill, Rip Esselstyn, and many others.

Grandma Life

Posted on by
Reply

It was in May last year that I last wrote in this blog. I’ve had thoughts, but apart from irregular journal writing, I’ve mainly been adjusting to and assessing this “retired life”.

It has been almost five years since I retired from fulltime paid employment in my chosen career. And while I felt useful in my work, serving the community in a positive way, I am relieved to be away from the relentless and soul-sucking power plays of office politics.

In these past five years I have done things I have wanted to do: travelled Australia; “finished” and printed our family history; organised the family photos; wrote a short story of fiction; and walked in some beautiful places.

So many life goals and achievements are behind me now: getting married (still married for 41 years now); enjoying 20 years nurturing three children into adulthood; achieving two degrees and one Masters; designed four houses we built and lived in; travelled Australia; visited London, Paris, as well as other gorgeous parts of western Europe; competed in many events swimming, cycling, and running; trekked many mountains in Australia and the Overland Track in Tasmania; and fed my creative urges through writing, drawing, painting, photography, and playing the piano.

Now my hip is sore, and I feel my age. But I value this Grandma Life – #grandmalife. I cherish the memories I hold of my own grandparents, especially the women. I loved being in their company, soaking up the warmth, endless cups of tea, stories, and love.

It seems to me that era of basic warm circles of women is undervalued in today’s society. Who even makes tea in a pot anymore? Well, me, but … Apart from the tea-making, I hope I show my own two little granddaughters the value of this warm, quiet, cherishing, in the same way I experienced.

Still life sketch with teapot by SuesBent 2023

These days with most of my life behind me, I gladly put the “GO-GO-GO” lifestyle aside. I try to live in the beauty of a slow life – #beautifulslowlife. I enjoy the YouTube videos of The Cottage Fairy and try to soak up her slow rhythm and appreciation of small pleasures. (Although her life is about to change in a profound way with a baby on the way). I still listen to Rich Roll and enjoy his considered and in-depth conversations, although the testosterone levels can be a bit much at times.

I love regular dips in the clear green waters of Port Phillip Bay and this visceral experience always reminds me of the dips I have loved in this bay since first learning to swim as a child.

Cooking is always something I’ve loved and it’s great to have time to spend in the kitchen making healthy and nourishing meals for my husband and me.

I continue to feed my creativity with writing, painting, and piano playing. I walk and I will return to daily yoga when my hip feels better. I may have strained it doing pigeon pose with Adriene recently. Or perhaps when I trekked up to the top of Genoa Peak recently.

I read and log my journey on GoodReads. I reached my target of 50 books last year for the first time in the past eleven years. This year though I will relax and let my reading journey unravel as it will. So far, I have loved Wifedom by Anna Funder, Question 7 by Richard Flanagan, and A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles.

I continue to study things that interest me, so I will see what is available on Future Learn. I do lessons in the French language every day. I am also working through the daily lessons of A Course in Miracles, as well as watching some discussion online about this text. Many years ago, I attended a presentation in Melbourne where Marianne Williamson talked about A Course in Miracles. It was intense and spellbinding. Now she is a candidate for President of the US. Now there is someone who has never slowed down.

Learner’s Mind

Posted on by
Reply

Some time ago I wrote about a concept I described and labelled SiLLé. It is an acronym that stands for Self-initiated Lifelong Learning experience. It is a behaviour that is grounded in my love of and experience with libraries. It is a habit that fulfills my love of learning, discovery, curiosity, research, and writing.

Yes, I am retired now from paid employment and easily and happily fill my days with listening to podcasts, knitting, walking, cooking, sudoku, crosswords, piano playing, French language lessons, yoga, reading, writing, and art.

But there is space in my ever-curious mind for further expansion. Having “finished” researching and writing the family history, a small work of fiction, and my autobiography, I have floundered for awhile between projects, wondering what would be my next path of enquiry.

I love Future Learn which is a MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses). Many courses are offered for a fee, but others are free. Previously I have completed through this MOOC:

  • Mindfulness and Wellbeing for Peak Performance – Monash University
  • Genealogy: Researching Your Family Tree – University of Strathclyde
  • Start Writing Fiction – Open University
  • Management and Leadership – Open University
  • And now I have just completed studying The Book of Kells – Trinity College Dublin

These explorations feed my brain, lead to further enquiry, and expand my knowledge about this world. I note that if/when I ever visit Ireland I will be sure to go to the exhibition about The Book of Kells at the Trinity College in Dublin. In the meantime I can see this unique and exquisite historical artefact here.

I feel no need to embark on further formal study. I have my Master’s in Information and Library Studies. I am not inspired by the U3A courses available locally. I am content to form my own curriculum; my own SiLLé. What rabbit hole will I disappear down next?

Reading as a writer

Posted on by
Reply

So far this year I have not been writing anything of significance. I am in a lull between projects – and ideas. However I have been doing a lot more reading than I have done in the past, and I find I am reading like a writer.

Inspired by Benjamin McEvoy I wanted to expand and enrich my reading, and after watching his videos and taking notes I felt daunted by the prospect of a year’s worth of reading The Classics.

So, I looked at the award winners at the Booker Prize, the Miles Franklin Award, and others. I noted some of these titles on my “want to read” list. On closer inspection, some of these stories I find uninspiring and not what I want to read at all. Sometimes I will push through. I read the award winning Honeybee by Craig Silvey and gave it three stars, but I don’t think I am the target audience for that story.

Goodreads is a great tool for managing your own reading journey and since 2013 I have challenged myself with a target of reading 50 books each year. So far, I have failed every year. Of course I only include books that I have read from start to finish. I don’t list books I do not finish, or books I just skim. (In the past I used Library Thing).

This year though I have started well as I certainly have more time in this retired life, but also I am reading in an attempt to see how these books are crafted. I read on a more analytical level, noticing how the story arc is told, how the characters come to life, conversations, what the story is actually about, and how it evokes feeling and imagery.

So far I have finished 12 books this year. The last story I read was Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin. I loved it and gave it 5 stars on Goodreads. I am currently reading The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill and this book is a great example to would-be writers. While the story unfolds, we are shown three levels of how this story is being created. First from the main character and her friends, then in correspondence between the fictional author and a trusted friend and fellow writer, and then as the actual creator of the story. It is thoroughly engaging especially for other writers.

I have just added a page of contents to my blog Sues Bent, because with 15 years of blog posts I wanted to make it more accessible.

It is no surprise that when I look at my tag cloud I see that the main topics I write about are: books, reading, creativity, writing, libraries, learning, technology and lifestyle.

I have looked back through these posts knowing that I have written about ‘reading’ from different perspectives over these years, especially in my work as a librarian. The ones that stand out to me are these:

Meanwhile this retired life allows me the time to do all of those things I struggled to find time to do when I was working. I can write, read, practice French, play my piano, knit, play with my granddaughters, sketch, paint, walk, listen to music and podcasts, swim regularly, do yoga each morning, cycle occasionally, try new cooking recipes, archive the old family photos, and catch up with friends. It is amazing how quickly the day passes, and I find I still haven’t done all of the things I planned for that day.

Review of 2022

Posted on by
Reply

It is good to look back upon the year that was. This retired life is often free from milestones, goals, and ambition, and we often forget all that we have done.

  • This year I committed to weekly swimming at the local pool YAWA, and I stayed true to that, swimming about 1600 metres each time.
  • I walked regularly and did yoga at home in the mornings.
  • I continued to listen to the Rich Roll podcast, sometimes listening as I walked, and also often tuning in to the YouTube version. He has been consistently providing these interesting interviews for ten years now and I have listened to every episode. While I used to tune in during my commutes to and from work, now I have to make time in order to listen.
  • I have been practicing the French language using the Duolingo language app.
  • I joined the Peninsula Writers Club and while I have not attended many meetings, I did enjoy the workshops that I went to.
  • I wrote a work of historical fiction, and my autobiography to the present year. These were both great exercises for me to complete and my writing apprenticeship has broadened.
  • I read 32 books of the 50 book Reading Challenge I set for myself on Goodreads. My favourite piece of fiction was Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. My favourite piece of non-fiction was A Place in the World: Finding the Meaning of Home by Frances Mayes.
  • Time spent with my granddaughters was a lot of fun. Together we swam, cycled, drew, painted, cooked, played games, and enjoyed watching Bluey.
  • My husband and I had our DNA tests completed with Ancestry, and this confirmed my research into our family history.
  • The coronavirus pandemic is still circulating unseen.
  • I didn’t practice my piano lessons as often as I planned and hope to do more in 2023.
  • We didn’t go on any trips this year staying close to home.
  • We sold the caravan.
  • We are planning an itinerary for an overseas trip in 2023.
  • As of now I am hopping off social media. I deleted my Twitter account after subscribing in 2007. Instagram annoys me so much now that I can’t bear to be on there for more than a minute. I am not interested in TikTok. Facebook seems to be a necessary evil, but I will try not to post anything. I deleted my Strava account. Of course, I will keep Google and YouTube as these are actually helpful platforms.
Fun with my granddaughters 2022

Retired Life

Posted on by
1

So what have I been doing since I left Library Land?

It is amazing how fast each day goes by and I fill the days with things I love to do. Such as writing, cycling, walking, knitting, sketching, playing my piano, reading, listening to music and podcasts, taking photographs, yoga, making healthy plant-based meals, and more. #retiredlife

retired_life_activities