Yes, Happy New Year to all, and best of luck on all the audio projects commencing in the new year.

Today is the first official day of retirement from my job, so getting the soldering iron warmed up in celebration!

David

Just before I retired, a friend gave me some excellent advice which I have tried to follow. I am sure most of you already know this, but why not repeat it.

1 - do not become a couch potato. I set myself a goal of walking across the Grand Canyon and I trained for it by walking a three-mile path around our community that included a steep hill. All the training does not let you walk faster, but it does allow you to recover quicker.

2 - by the time you reach 70, there is a good chance that either you or your partner will have some illness that limits your ability to travel. Do it now. I had my heart surgery at age 68, but all the walking allowed me to get back to traveling sooner.

3 - as you get older, some of your faculties will diminish, sight, hearing, memory etc. Add additional strings to your bow by developing different hobbies. When I developed the disease that affected my muscles, I could not hold a soldering iron steady. Fortunately, I recovered.

The following are additional suggestions I have found work for me.

4 - Do a blog of your travels / happenings since your memory will diminish. Here is my first entry on my first day of retirement. I do a reflective entry each anniversary.
http://ratbagp.blogspot.com/2010/01/first-morning-of-retirement.html

5 - Give your spouse plenty of space. Each year I would do a long trip by myself. When I met strangers during my trip, they would ask me why my wife was not with me and I would reply that my wife really enjoyed having the time alone, being able to do whatever she wanted to do, whenever she wanted to do it. Every time, the female stranger developed a certain look in her eyes that said 'WOW".

6 - My wife and I cook on alternate days. See 2 and 3 for the reasons. I find I do better if I decide by breakfast what I am going to cook in the evening so that I can plan accordingly. Ingredients are very fresh in our area of Oz and I tend to type their names into a search engine and see what pops up. I will be cooking the following tomorrow night. It's delicious and healthy.
https://www.nigella.com/recipes/smoked-cod-and-cannellini-beans

7 - Have fun. You deserve it.

ray