on your own. How do you occupy yourselves

Dog walking, library volunteer, reading, TV, word games, GN, the list goes on. Always housework, one of our dogs is 14 now and has a bit of a continence problem so extra work there.

We've done our turn of rushing around multitasking and being a bona fide busy focussed person, Now we can be unfocussed, and stand still with a tea-towel in our hands watching a bee collect nectar from the flowers to take back to the hive. The dishes will drip-dry. We can spend our time as we want, not as we must spend it for someone else's convenience - except for those of us who are still doing childcare another time around.

Your turn will come * Bbbface*, don't grudge us that ours is now.

"LEISURE"

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.

No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.

A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

By Wm. Henry Davies.
(Wm. Henry Davies (1871-1940)

Living on my own now after DH passed away ten months ago. Kept myself pretty busy at first with a lot of "sorting out stuff" but have found Gransnet a boon when I'm thinking about things and wondering how other widows cope. Luckily I don't have to move house as we had already down-sized and I have lived in the same area for all my life (73yrs). I have 3 friends from way back whose DHs have all passed away and we get together for a coffee or lunch quite often but I actually quite like my own company - think this comes from being an only child - and read a lot, newspapers and books. I love my garden, mainly for sitting out in, but don't mind being stuck in house if weather is bad as I feel DH is still with me there. Like many others above, if I haven't anything arranged, I make sure I go out mainly walking but also use local transport and have met many sociable people and I find myself being sociable back which is new for me. I am lucky to see my DGS regularly and he talks about his adored/adoring DG a lot and I find that lifts my spirits which can take a dip sometimes. I also find that my day seems to pass very quick but I do admit that it is definitely because I take life at a more leisurely pace!!

I try to go out at least once a day and this leads to various encounters with interesting people. I'm fortunate enough to do a good regular lunches with different companions. I'm a member of a couple of different organisations which offer various social gatherings and I do a little volunteering with a university. If the weather is just too awful I get on with my house renovation stuff. Just one public room left to do and a horrid cupboard and cloakroom then house completed from top to toe (3 years). I'm also fortunate enough to have family and friends coming to stay/visit. I think if I didn't keep myself active I could easily become very lazy. Having said this, I am eternally grateful for my reasonable health. It makes such a difference. I fully understand that.

I've spent the first four days of this week manning a stall at the local museum's open house week for schoolchildren on holiday.

It has poured every day, necessitating a lot of rainwear when cycling forward and back.

After catching up on Gransnet, cleaning the house, walking around the garden, working in said garden, reading and knitting, I often turn on the TV and watch British gardening shows! We have very few gardening shows in the US. Actually, I can't even think of one. I'm thankful for your love of gardening! It brightens my day.

Blood Brothers is fantastic!
I'm not a fan of musicals at all, but I really enjoyed it.

Mischief - you are the only person who has mentioned adult colouring. I have been doing it for about 3 years since my DIL bought a book for me one Christmas. I love it, it's so relaxing. I look at all the pictures people post on Pinterest, and try to copy them. Have you seen the beautiful books by Tomislav Tomic, Klara Markova and Eleri Fowler? You can see 'flip throughs' of them on YouTube. Some are available from Amazon, which is where I buy my books from now, as most seem to have disappeared from the shops.
Apart from that, I swim 3 times a week, read, gardening, crossword puzzles, research family history.
Housework comes very low on the list of priorities!
We occasionally go to the theatre, we saw Joe Brown last week as my husband is a fan. We are going to see Blood Brothers in a few weeks time.
There just aren't enough hours in the day.

Mischief, I love colouring in with my grandchild. Find it relaxing in a strange way.

I’m 77 and don’t do anything at breakneck speed. I care for a 5 year old from 6.50am. School is half an hour walk away downhill, 45 minutes back uphill. I have a vegetable garden that never gets enough attention, washing to do, meals to make, food shopping, sometimes a swim at the gym. All to soon I am off back to school and the walk home is slow as he and I are tired by then. Perhaps 10 minutes at the playground which is unfortunately on the route home.
More of the same, mostly in the garden when he has had his snack. Digging potatoes is just his favourite thing. He may still be eating tea when mum arrives about 6pm and sets me free. I go online from time to time to admin a health group, read emails, peruse Gransnet and so on. I watch TV while I eat, do a crossword puzzle perhaps, then lots of sorting with a view to downsizing. I am also involved in the school Christmas fair - there are never enough helpers. Then it’s tidying up the kitchen, sorting my medication etc and usually I am in bed just before midnight.

Not what I expected when I retired but that’s the way the cookie crumbled.

When I retired 4 years ago, my daughter bought me an adult colouring book and pencils. I couldn't understand why adults would want to colour but I gave it a go and I have been grateful to her ever since. I am not particularly arty but I love colouring and have really improved. It is relaxing and the time goes so quickly. I have the radio on in the background or the tv on my laptop.
I also read, watch tv dramas at 9pm, do family history on laptop, go for coffee with friends and sit on my patio in the sun watching the birds and reading or colouring. Great life.

Health problems mean I can’t leave the house, I live alone.

Spend all day and evening on the internet, GransNet,killer Suduko, crosswords, scrabble and I research family trees for people, have just been asked to do 2 more trees.

I miss contact with people though

Re down-sizing/moving house. Start as soon as possible,once you have decided that is what you want to do. My mother dithered for fifteen years, then had to move near me due to ill health at eighty-three. I had to do everything for her.

I myself am now eighty-four, moved twelve years ago from a big Victorian terrace house with three lots of stairs, six steps to the front door and twelve foot ceilings, to a beautiful modern bungalow. I was able to get everything needed on my own, patio instead of garden, covered access to garage, wet-room, extra doorways for easy access....

Start looking while you are still fit and energetic.

Fortnite, yes! It's rather fun. Pretty little villages and you get to ride speedboats and swim now they've had an update.

We were always into gaming. Back in the 80s with Space Invaders, Pacman, then we had Nintendo Donkey Kong and Crash Bandicoot etc.

We've had all the consoles.

Fortnite was being discussed about a year ago so I set it up on the Switch and the rest is history.

Of course you have to shoot people but it's all very mild. No blood or anything, And on Rumble you return to fight again in the same game!

And yes, GG, my grandsons are most pleased with me playing because when they come round they can have a turn or two ;-)

Enough of that nonsense

Grans, You ought to be writing your memoir. How many times have you wished you'd asked your parents or grandparents about themselves? When they've gone it's too late, and your descendants will feel the same about you if you don't memorialise your life in written form. Some good books available on the internet to get you started.

pinkquartz

I am annoyingly inconsistent. If I have a busy day (which I do sometimes have) I spend it wishing I had a day to myself. Then when I do have a day to myself I feel awful that I have nothing planned to do. I know its stupid.
Reading the paper from cover to cover and doing the crossword, Internet forums, writing if I have a story or article on the go, reading ++, but mostly TV. Lovely TV!! ? takes up my time on days off.

I go out!

Stagger, (early morning back pain) into BR for a shower,then downstairs kettle on and while tea brewing check mail from family across the world. Only when I see the Hi mum can I relax and get on with my cuppa and rest of the day.

I live alone and due to health reasons there is not much activity I can do anymore. Sadly my baking days are gone.

My main thing is still reading. Then the internet. Then watching the birds eating the food I buy for them.

I am going to start knitting again and I do at least one suduko per day.
But there are also phone calls to answer
Phone calls to make
Shopping to make online
plans to tidy up
parcels to take in
neighbours to wave at

it is amazing how quick time flies.
It is true that as you get older time goes by faster...it really does.

Chestnut I know what you mean, I started doing my family history and had to leave it for a while while I caught up on all the other things I wanted to do. You think to yourself I'll just spend a couple of hours looking for this or that, and you get so waylaid with other discoveries that before you know it the whole day has gone. I keep saying I will spend the long winter evenings catching up, but I said that last year and the year before so maybe not. Trouble is I do cross stitching which is also addictive and try to juggle the two.

The only time I am ever ‘home alone’ is on match Saturdays when I have half a day to:
Play my piano;
Do a bit more to my rag rug;
Tie a few fishing flies to replace the ones I leave in various trees (slippery customers, tree trout!);
Answer emails;
Read a book;
Catch up on films I’ve recorded that DH doesn’t want to watch;
Bake.
Any but not all of the above!

I don't usually go to bed 'til late then have a read, so consequently don't get up before 9 most days. I then usually spend a couple of hours with the tv doing my cross stitching before I get showered and dressed. After that it's either housework, sewing, shopping etc, whatever needs to be done. I also like doing jigsaws in the evening. It is fatal if, as now I go on the computer before getting in the shower because that makes it even later getting a ready. Hey ho, there's only me to please.

Well, I live alone so always have to occupy myself! I love being able to chose what I do everyday.

I still work a bit-flexible hours, see the family when I want to or they need help, see friends, do gardening and decorating, swim, attend quizzes and political meetings, go shopping particularly around teatime when lots of stuff is being reduced, waste time on the internet, order stuff online, read books or the news online, do housework, talk to neighbours, watch a bit of tv, plan future events, nap! There's not enough hours in the day.

There you are. Twice.