I’m having so much fun being retired that I’ve decided only to blog once a week from now on unless there’s some actual breaking news in my life that can’t wait a week to share.
I’m loving walking 8000 to 12,000 steps per day, reclining in my back yard part of every afternoon, and slowly, slowly preparing myself for Pura Vida when I arrive in Costa Rica in September. Tranquilo is what I want to be able to take with me, so that I fit right in when I get down there. (I’m doing my darndest to adopt the “manana” lifestyle so I will arrive in CR looking less like a frantic newbie when I get there than I otherwise would.)
After a lifetime of performing as a deadlines-driven, arrive-on-time, breakneck human doing, I aim to become a laid back human being.
It’s time. I’ve earned it, and I’ll be able to afford my leisure down there for as long as I live.
I’m starting to think and speak in Spanish months ahead of actually needing to
I try to translate every utterance into Spanish, even in the back yard when talking to the hens and cats. For example, I will ask, “Que es su problemo, pollo?!” (“What is your problem, chicken?”) when a hen cackles like a maniac for no apparent reason. “Salta, Charli!” when calling my cat onto the recliner to be with me.
In June, I need to start the paperwork process again
I will need to order my birth certificate, my FBI background check and my Social Security benefits statement in June again. Only one of those will require a trip. I have to have my fingerprints taken again in Olympia for the background check. And I have to have these documents apostiled before I fly to Costa Rica. They all have to be issued within six months of when I actually apply for pensionado status, so in September I will have three months in CR to submit them and everything else I will need to apply. My immigration coach Margaret Aliff will coach me through, step by step, so I don’t miss a beat or a deadline. I’m grateful for that. I hope to have four or more of the eight steps finished before I even fly down there, if that’s doable. I know three of them will be (the above three documents), for sure. Those are required before I get there.
June 11th is my Kings Books appearance here in Tacoma
This is most likely my final live public appearance EVER anywhere, so if you’ve ever wanted to attend one, now is the time!
Update: Jeff Richardson is working on finding a way to livestream this event so that my followers farther afield can tune in virtually.
Direct Links to my Books
PLEASE PASS ALONG TO THE BOOKLOVERS IN YOUR ORBIT. THANK YOU!
DeForest Kelley Up Close and Personal:
A Harvest of Memories from the Fan Who Knew Him Best
Kindle Edition (Full color inside) https://amzn.to/2PWE1ck
Paperback: DeForest Kelley Up Close and Personal (B&W) https://amzn.to/2wzflii
Paperback: DeForest Kelley Up Close and Personal (Color): https://amzn.to/2MHVwiL
Kelley Phone Tag Volume One
Paperback: https://amzn.to/2wdIaAd
Kindle: https://amzn.to/2HtlHFv
Kelley Phone Tag Volume Two
Paperback: https://amzn.to/2EoVcza
Kindle: https://amzn.to/30J4z6y
Kelley Phone Tag Volume Three
Paperback: https://amzn.to/2wfuJ2s
Kindle: https://amzn.to/2Htq83o
Kelley Phone Tag Volume Four
Paperback: https://amzn.to/2L7dacc
Kindle: https://amzn.to/2KT5OKh
Kelley Phone Tag Volume Five
Paperback: https://amzn.to/2o6mdm3
Kindle: https://amzn.to/2P5xcr2
Kelley Phone Tag Volume Six
Paperback: https://amzn.to/2PfEt7A
Kindle: https://amzn.to/2J97fTI
Enduring Legacy of DeForest Kelley: Actor, Healer, Friend
Paperback: https://amzn.to/2VQGyvk
Kindle: https://amzn.to/30Asd4X
Serval Son: Spots and Stripes Forever
Softcover (black and white images inside) https://amzn.to/2RA76v5
Kindle (full color inside): https://amzn.to/2E4q22o
Womb Man: How I Survived Growing Up in a Booby-Trapped World
Kindle (full color inside): https://amzn.to/2LOzpSq
Paperback (black and white images inside): https://amzn.to/2orwsOy
Floating Around Hollywood
Kindle: https://amzn.to/2EiWVZk
Paperback: https://amzn.to/2yeBnHM
Settle for Best: Satisfy the Winner You Were Born to Be
Kindle (full color inside): https://amzn.to/2Ca7hK4
Paperback (black and white inside) : https://amzn.to/2MGwMaO
Become Shamelessly, Fearlessly YOU: How to Stop Hiding in Plain Sight
Kindle (full color inside): https://amzn.to/2C9pXtr
Paperback (black and white images inside): https://amzn.to/2ovp2tJ
Yay-Sayers: the Good Guides:
Paperback: https://amzn.to/2VRDNtW
Kindle: https://amzn.to/2M3xIWG
Trailblazer: A Guide for Magnificent Misfits
Paperback: https://amzn.to/3TtVZFG
Kindle: https://amzn.to/3XuRyf1
Let No Day Dawn that the Animals Cannot Share (Extended Edition):
Softcover Edition: https://amzn.to/3ZpQj3f
Kindle Edition: https://amzn.to/3XJtI0p
So Freaking Fortunate: A Gratitude Journal Like No Other
Softcover ONLY https://amzn.to/3Qhpx7f
I’m going to call Kings Books tomorrow to see if they’d like me to bring in a McCoy standee and the books ahead of time (like this week) and build a little display in advance of the date so visitors to the store are made aware of the event and so they can buy my books in advance and read them if they want to.
Jeff Richardson is going to moderate the event which will start at 6 pm sharp and last from 90 minutes to two hours. Usually I do all of that, but I’m going to let him lead the way this time. It’s less for me to do and think about ahead of time, and again, I’m trying on “tranquilo” and trusting others more to lead the charge…
My Cousin Patty Foxen-Brubacher Will Be here from Colorado for the event and to visit for a while before and after
Patty and I have always lived in different states (California and Washington; she now lives in Colorado), but that never kept us from getting together and building fond bonds. We’re pretty tight, for two people who have never lived super close to each other.
Patty on Stormy, me on Charlie in Cle Elum about 1964
Patty and me on Orting Trail, about 1999
Umbilical Hernia Surgery
Sometime in June, I suspect, I will be having hernia surgery. The consultation should take place sometime this month and I’ll want to wait until the Kings Books appearance and the June 14th national protest are over before I go under the knife. I suspect it will be a quick, easy outpatient procedure and that I will be home the same day.
Garage Sales
In July (maybe June, depending on how the hernia healing goes) I will re-start the garage sales (semi-monthly, six hours on every other Saturday) to re-home what’s left of the stuff I won’t be taking to Costa Rica with me. I’ve found homes for my goats and 55-gallon aquarium. I can probably give some of the cabinets to the same person.
Goats
Mr.Tumnus and Tillie will be going to their new home in the near future, probably within two weeks. I am donating six of their fence panels, both calf enclosures, the water containers, hoof trimmers, and everything else I have that’s goat related to the same person. And yes, I have seen the immense property they’ll be moving to and the person adopting them will do right by them. She’s amazing, with an amazing five-year-old son. Plus I have visitation rights any time I want until I leave. I will stay with them for several hours while they settle in to be sure they feel okay about the place before I go. I’m sure they’ll love it.
What else?
I guess that’s about it for this time. If I think of anything else, I’ll add it below!
