Retirees, What Did You See and Do This Year? (weather, community, state)

[LauraC]

I see too many "aimless" threads giving people who haven't retired yet a skewed impression of retirement life. Let's hear from the other side. What have you done, seen, visited or accomplished December 1, 2007 - today? Nothing is too small.

If, for example, you participated in the watermelon eating/pie baking contest at the town festival or you just went to the county fair and saw a tractor pull/air show/fireworks, read 10 books, grew huge tomatoes/flowers, got your best golf/tennis/bowling score or just increased your frequency of golfing/tennis/bowling, learned how to tie a fly, took a class on Lewis and Clark or finally got the hang of e-mail, camped out, visited another state, went to some tourist spot, joined a club or went to your first comedy club, saw your first bald eagle/whale/mime/monument/re-enactment/play, attended the opera/an art/concert/crafts/horse/car show, and/or had the grandkids for a week's visit, let's hear about it. If you had a booth at the flea market or just went to a lot of garage sales, got a new pet, saw one of the Presidential candidates, visited someone in another state or increased how far/often/fast you can walk/run/remodeled the kitchen or just finally cleaned out the garage/attic, volunteered for something, etc., let's hear all of that along with the moves, trips, cruises, etc. that some people have probably done this past year.

Think of it like a Christmas letter beginning - "Dear City-Data Future Retirees, this is what I saw and did this past year. Last winter I..."

I bet you might be surprised at how much you actually experienced/accomplished over a 1 year period and soon-to-be retirees might see retirement differently.

[Retired Law 08]

I will be retired a year nov.17th 2007 ....lets see this is what I have been
up to....

#1 took up golf
#2 went fishing
#3 participated in a community garden
#4 been to mohegan sun casinos
#5 started making my own wine...red..reisling..
#4 run 3-5 miles a day...go to gym
#5 play video games..playstatin..Xbox 360
#6 play online fantasy games..baseball..football..hockey
#7 went on bus tours of wineries
#8 went to local festivals...harvest fest...wine festivals..craft fairs..flea mkts
#9 read more..books..magazines...
#10 watched more movies on T.V
#11 caught up on recent movies..worked on house up dating..bathroom and basement
#12 more time together with family and friends
#13 long walks appreciating life and scenic views...
#14 just taking it easy,enjoying life...life is short,if you get a chance to retire
go for it and enjoy..."life moves pretty fast,if you don't stop and look
around once in a while you might miss it...

[normie]

I got involved in the presidential campaign. And it became a real passion for me. At first I thought I'd volunteer 1-2days a month, but soon I became a regular. By the end of the democratic primaries I became intrigued by the meeting in DC to decide what to do about the MI and FL votes. So I drove up to Virginia to visit the kids and check it out--and that was the beginning of a real adventure. I had so much fun on that trip that I decided to go to the convention.

So in June my big adventure began. I drove out to Denver to attend the convention, stopping along the way to stay with friends. It was a two month trip, lots of side trips and I spent a long time visiting my family in Colorado. The convention was incredible--I'd never been to one before, always was too busy working. I got the opportunity to do some interesting volunteer jobs and meet fun people.

I fell ill in Colorado and a friend I met at the convention drove home with me. It took us a long time, since I was sick and we were driving to Georgia. We made a lot of stops--and it was fun because she got me into a new habit, registering voters at almost every place we stopped. What a hoot! I enjoyed that so much that after I got home I stayed there about a week and then went up to Virginia to have another long visit with my kids. Of course, I had an ulterior motive, too--to register voters in Virginia, a swing state.

What a fun time, and getting involved in a political campaign is not an expensive hobby. You give your time but not all that much money. My biggest expense was gasoline to drive across the country.

Now my hobby is writing about the whole experience. I might publish a book--who knows--or maybe I'll just have something to give the grandkids. Either way, I'm enjoying the writing project.

[Aylalou]

Been retired only seven months but have taken a trip,
gone on a Community Education tour
attended a potluck playreading
became a member of a group that has numerous activities
babysat for my granddaughter
take it very, very easy and pace my time according to my needs
take daily walks
visit with friends
always sleep as late as I want to
nap on some days
read more
eat out a little more than I should
had several repairs done to my house so now it's ship-shape

[Ellwood]

Moved to another state
Added a new member of the family, a golden retriever puppy
Trained our puppy, especially to run alongside us when we ride our bicycles
Distributed two truckloads of dirt around the property
Planted 10 trees
Installed sod after construction of an addition to the house
Installed a fence (45 posts)
Babysat the grandchildren and enjoyed their company
Attended several local playhouse shows
Went to several country fairs and local festivals
Worked on my genealogy records
Try to walk 2 miles a day
Quit smoking
Read a lot of books
Took several trips
Made new friends
Had a workshop built and I am in the process of completing the interior.

[Retired Law 08]

Oh...I forgot to mention I moved from NY to PA to retire...

[Tesaje]

What a great thread! Keep em coming. This is how I envision my upcoming retirement.

[knoxgarden]

Took a class in Stained Glass in January and have spent most of my free time doing that. Learned a lot of new skills: cutting glass, soldering, grinding. Do mostly my own designs. It's something I truly enjoy.
Helped organize two plant swaps. Set up an online forum for them and scout out sites for them.
Remodeled a bathroom. Stripped off the ugly wallpaper, installed a new toilet. Still have a lot to do.
Went to several auctions and scored some great deals.
My sister came for a visit and we went to Fall Homecoming at the Museum of Appalachia.
Assembled a new computer.
Did a lot of reading. My knees need to rest in between being active.
I do have a parttime job that takes me about an hour every day and I do a newsletter for a friend.

[deckdoc]

Lessee~ went on a trip to yellowstone~ black hills~ grand canyon

went on three excursion trains

Went on several tractor rides through Iowa

spent winter months in Arizona~ where the weather is wonderfull in the winter~ to thanksgiving dinner and christmas dinner in short sleaves

Play a variety of cards~ bridge,euchre,whist,canasta.500,pinochle.

do jigsaw puzzles~ read a lot~ watch tv occasionally.

get on this computer to keep up with freinds occasionally~ and to do things like post this!

do a little driving on the side to use my CDL
only about 25000 miles this year!

do a little model railroading on the side

try to walk a couple miles a day and use the excersize equipment available to me

Do most of the cooking cause I found out I like it

And donate blood

probably more but you get the idea

[Padgett2]

With six grandchildren interested in sports, we saw basketball games, football games, baseball games, and volley ball games. The Husband played golf. We both spent a lot of time working in the yard, and playing mind boggling computer games. Took naps whenever we pleased.

We spent a lot of days eating fast food instead of cooking. I can tell you all about Arby's, Taco Bell, and all the places at the food court at the Mall. Spent a lot of time browsing the shelves at the Library.

All in all, we did nothing. It was grand!