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! |
