We retired to the Lowcountry as many have from up north. Between two mandatory evacuations, one as soon as we arrived in 1999 and the last in October 2016, we did what we thought retired people do: We found more things to do than there was time to do them.

Hubby got to work building Habitat houses. I did Sun City stuff. I had always wanted to do pottery, so I did. Having done stained glass in the past and with Sun City struggling to get that program off the ground, I got it going with the help of the Woodworkers Guild.

As members of the Woodworkers, we had a space to work and – so no one would think it was a stained glass club – I called us the GlassCrafters. After a few years, we split off in our new location, but the name stuck.

Hubby got his fill of building houses and got a job. Many people that have worked all their lives just can’t stop. He also put his energies into our church.

He learned to make coffee for everyone, cooked bacon for the men’s group and became the outside greeter for the congregation. Not bad for a man who had just a nodding acquaintance with the congregation of our New Jersey church.

A new voting district opened up and I was asked to run for Beaufort County Council. And I won! Having been in office in the past, I found it an easy fit.

My regret was that I was never able to convince the Council that written resolutions, which have been run by the Legal and Financial Departments for scrutiny before being voted on, worked better than motions placed in the minutes. After one term, I learned there is life after politics.

My Mondays got filled with a great bunch of gals at the Habitat ReSale Store. The rest of my time was taken up by keeping the church kitchen organized and supplied. It was financed by my sewing and mending.

After a few years, it was turned over to others to maintain and now funding is part of the church budget. One of the things I learned is that others will always fill your shoes; the secret is make it easy for them to do so.

Another thing we learned in retirement is you have to keep moving on. With Hubby having retired again, we are moving on. Our daughter Cathy and her husband Brad have worked feverishly getting a little house on their property in Alabama ready for us.

Over the years, we have met a bunch of wonderful people who would never have come into our lives had we not had all this time in the Lowcountry. We will miss them all so very much. I hope they will miss us also.

My fun part of the Christmas holidays was giving out my Snow Ball Cookies. So, to make the transition a little easier on everyone, I am leaving you the recipe.

Griffin Snow Ball Cookies

½ lb. butter (1 lb. to double)

5 heaping tbsp. powdered sugar (1½ cups)

1 ½ tbsp. vanilla (3 tbsp.)

2 cups flour (4 cups)

1 cups chopped pecans (2 cups)

1 cup powdered sugar for coating

Cream butter in mixer. Add vanilla and sugar a little at a time. Add flour. After well mixed, add pecans. By hand, roll the dough into little balls and place on cookie sheet.

Bake for 30 minutes at 270 degrees. (Don’t let them brown.) Let them cool.

In a large zipper lock bag, place about a cup of powdered sugar to coat the cookies. Fill the bag with as many cookies will fit. The cookies can also be stored in the bag. (If cookies are still warm they will get sticky – this is the voice of experience speaking.)

Margaret Griffin has lived in Sun City Hilton Head for 17 years. We will miss her.