When I started this blog I listed activities I planned for retirement. This is how it has panned out:
Visiting (people and places) - This is definitely one of my favourite activities.
We had a lovely visit to St. Ives in October for a birthday treat.
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| View from our hotel bedroom |
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| We saw some very interesting abstract art at Tate St. Ives. |
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| More of this later |
A week in Spain in November.
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| We visited Carmen and David in Marbella |
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| And enjoyed eating out in the warm November sunshine! |
A weekend in Porthcawl in December.
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| Paul played bridge at the hotel while I explored the town and beach |
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| I started a good sea glass ollection |
Art and Craft (inc. macramé, sketching, papermaking) - Well I'm not doing much macramé and haven't made any paper but I have been working on my sketching. I am also attending evening classes experimenting with abstract art. I didn't really think this was what I wanted to do but I am really enjoying the sessions and it inspires me to do lots of painting at home.
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| Here's one of my first little paintings |
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| My abstract art Christmas Cards were inspired by the paintings at Tate St. Ives but were not fully appreciated by the recipients..... |
I have also done quite a lot of knitting and crochet.
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| Someone's Christmas present..... |
Bridge (playing) - I continue to play bridge regularly and go to a class on Monday afternoons. I mainly do it for the social life - we have made so many friends in Devon thanks to bridge.
Cooking - I haven't done any especially exciting cooking lately but Paul and I both enjoy cooking for family and other visitors. Looking forward to preparing Christmas Eve buffet and Christmas dinner!
Gardening - goes on. The garden hasn't been very inviting for the last two months due to excessive rain but I have been making plans. Yesterday we had a 7 hour power cut but the sun was shining so I was tempted out into the garden. I did a bit of digging and clearing up and then enjoyed sitting in the sun.
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| A Sunny Day in December!!! |
Walking - I have spent less time walking with Paul as most of his outdoor activity is concentrated on the garden. However, I regularly walk with Carol who knows all the best local places. (Actually, this month we went Christmas shopping in Exeter rather than country walking.)
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| That was quite a quick dip! |
Holidays - We've started planning a few holidays, e.g. Canada and China but haven't got beyond the planning stage, although I did buy a guidebook for China...
Eating out - there is not so much choice for eating out locally as when we lived in Shrewsbury but we have explored a few places. We have a new favourite Indian restaurant and I have found quite a few nice places for lunch.
Computer - my computer (and my phone) remain essential to my daily life. Playing games (bridge, Pokémon Go), reading mail, storing photos, finding out about this and that - it would be hard to live without them.
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| I have reached Level 30 but am not as keen as I was... |
Reading - I don't read a lot. I started reading 'The Brothers Karamatsov' by Dostsoevsky - I enjoyed it to start with but seem to have ignored it for a while - will probably get back to it after Christmas.
Kokeshi - My kokeshi doll collection increased in number after my birthday.
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| Two cute Nodders from Belinda and Jamie and a traditional egg shaped Kokeshi from Sam |
So it seems I was mainly right about the activities I imagined I would enjoy during retirement.
One of my resolutions for 2018 is to do even more of all of them!
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| Happy Christmas! |
That two years has passed quickly! I'm glad some of your hobbies are creative so we receive interesting items in the post from you!
ReplyDeleteVery interesting to read Carolyn. What you might call The Good Life.
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