Carey Mitchell

At the behest of a couple of LJ friends, I moved over here. 

I finally retired 10 years ago at 70 (read, traded for a cheaper model), and started a little consulting company the next day. After college, majors in chemistry and business, and a few years with uncle sam's army, I worked in the carpet and flooring manufacturing industry for 45 years in technical management functions. I recently wrote a technical book on the industry, and am working on another book. 

Eight years into retirement, I'm finally getting the hang of it.   Not having to be at work earlier than everyone else; no coat and tie; no watch; no pen in my pocket.   Jeans or shorts every day ! A beer while working.  No meetings to rush to, go only to those I like.  Spend time only with people I like.  Lean back and close my eyes anytime.  Only answer calls from friends.  Only take on projects I think are interesting, or ordered by the lady upstairs............ but I still miss my staff in our technical center, as well as all the others that I worked with for all those years, many already passed away.  I also miss being able to walk in and say something like "I'm wondering what's in this stuff, fire up the LC/MS and tell me."  Or, "wonder what this looks like at 1,000X, crank up the electron microscope and let's play."   

One piece of my business is a small federal contract where I audit laboratories, 2-3 times per year; this keeps my fingers in the industry.  I also do some expert witness work, and am currently consulting in 4 major lawsuits.  Nothing I love better than kicking the ass of a smartassed lawyer who failed science 101.   All this brings in enough $ to keep all my hobbies flowing nicely, without the lady upstairs questioning everything.  I still sit on 3 boards.  I must have left some impressions, as I recently received 2 awards, almost 10 years after retirement.

My time now is divided between woodworking, my little consulting business, volunteer work, fly fishing and the grandchildren, who we don't see much since they grew up. A Trout Unlimited member for over 40 years. Last year, I joined with a group, VeteransFlyfishing.org, that offers a free day of flyfishing on trophy managed water, to any military veteran.  We furnish all equipment, tutorials, a free lunch and a personal certified guide for each vet; I am one of the certified guides. I haven't seen anyone leave without a smile yet, and I have seen tears of happiness more than once.   I still get together with a dozen high school buddies for lunch most months - 65 years and we're still tight. 

In 2018, we moved from Dalton, GA to a new house in a retirement community (AKA; the Wrinkle Ranch), in Canton, Ga. I now have a full basement which houses the new shop; plus a large bedroom, a 24x34 "something" room, which contains my desk, a large entertainment center with a TV (which I don't watch), large bookcase with about 500 books, couch, daybed for the grandson, and my recliner - I can spend the entire day down here and out of the way of the lady upstairs.  And a patio outside the door, where I sit and read in the evenings with something from the little frige.  The shop is much larger than its predecessor.  Unlike the previous shop, I have heat and AC, plus a bathroom. And a utility sink in the shop to support the coffee pot! And a small refrigerator.

I'm doing more with hand tools and using antiques as much as possible. Some inherited from my great grandfather. I do some repairs on the antiques in a historic site which dates to 1804.  My goals are to push my abilities as far as possible, learning all the time.   My current interest is 18th century furniture.

Whew!  What a load of BS !