hmmm.. I haven't bowled in 10 years.. but I really do enjoy it.. and as a matter of fact I was talking about our last time bowling to hubby just the other day... It' a great idea.. I wonder if there are any senior leagues around..
In high school, my buddy and I bowled afternoons sometimes 5 days a week. Today, not sure I could roll the ball adequately, shoulders hurting as they do! Try it! Nothing to lose! Frank
Well maybe your hobby will be playing on this Forum. And since you are recently retired it just might be enjoyable to do "nothing" until you feel like doing "something".
I love that cartoon!! It about sums it up. I think that I have been working so long that I never really had time to sit back and assess what I wanted to do. I need to take my time... and most of all relax... I think I have earned it.
When I was working that's all I thought about was what I wanted to do though not retired but not in the workforce due to being laid off. I couldn't wait until I had time to do some of the things I had been thinking about. Most of the time I would just listen to others talk about what they had planned which would get me thinking.
I've tried several "hobbies." Only one took. I tried bowling, joined a company bowling team for a while. I was in an archery club where our club competed with clubs in surrounding towns, shooting targets. It lasted a couple of years ad I abandoned the bow and arrows. Some years later I joined a camera club. Anyone with an interest could join but most members were advanced in the craft and several professional photographers were members. They held a monthly competition. While I knew little about the formal craft, I had one advantage. At age sixteen I had purchased a Tower Twins Lens Reflex camera, a cheaper version of the German Twin Lens Rolli. I had carried it everywhere including two tours in Korea. It was quite proficient in low light situations. I seldom used flash, only natural light. It took good photos and I knew how to use it. The club went on two or three photo excursion a year to New Mexico, or the Big Bend area of Texas, or to a State Park within driving distance. It was fun. I bought a decent 35mm camera to be in vogue. I was in the club about ten years and scored my share of top places in photo contests even competing against professionals. Then some darn fool invented the digital camera and film photography went downhill. I dropped the hobby but the desire to purchase a decent digital cameral has never left me although I'm probably too old to learn to use one proficiently. and on a fixed budget, a good digital camera is expensive. I do have a very small digital camera someone gave me but I doubt I can't a clear image with it. In fact I'd like to have a twin lens reflex digital camera. It would be perfect for what is now called 'street photography' but I don't think one id made. It was in my opinion a good hobby. But then, there are dozens of good hobbies. It all depends on your interest.
I agree @Bill Boggs , Many think of me as talented because I do so many different types of art work. The thing is they all started as hobbies or out of necessity. By the time I was 16 I was making clothing for my two sons and two step daughters, and then embroidery work came about to hide the holes the kids put in the clothes. When my family or I wanted something, off to the library I would go for instructional material. I think one of the first traits of any craftsman or artist is the desire to learn more. Those of you that like to study and learn more things are well on your way to finding your nitch in the hobby or art world. Learning in itself can be a hobby, that's why I went to college from the age of 35 to 54. Education became a hobby for me, and I learn so many things as well as my artistic endeavors. Good luck in your search, but enjoy the process as well.
There are lots of hobbies out there from scrapbooking to knitting to art. I don't need a hobby my days go by so fast I wouldn't have time for one. My husband liked guns, that was his hobby....I used to go target shooting sometimes with him, it's fun. Maybe you and your hubby can do that together. Isn't there a saying about the family that shoots together stays together? Or is that something else?
That's mine and o/h's shared hobby too...target shooting. We do a lot of that in the summer when we get time...I love it... Hobbies are not something most people do every single day, if I was retired I'd be looking to fill a couple of days as well...or a few hours a week perhaps volunteering somewhere...like a nursing home, or a care home, where they are always understaffed, and might need someone to help out in the kitchens, ..in fact there's thousands of volunteering opportunities out there..any one of them might lead to a new 'hobby''
That's very true, Holly....good idea! That's what lead Ina to her weaving I think. Volunteering at the Vets Hospital.
I am not sure that you can call volunteering a hobby; but it can be very fulfilling, if you enjoy doing that. When I was in Idaho, I volunteered at the local Sheriff Department. Mostly, I worked in the dispatch area, and I would help with the filing and things that needed done that dispatchers didn't always have time to get taken care of, especially when they had a busy night. Sometimes, I got to help with the actual dispatch, and I really enjoyed that part. When we had a local event, like the county fair, then the reserves were sent out as part of the security detail for the fair. I didn't wear a weapon; but I had my badge, uniform, and 2-way radio, and I could help people who needed information, or had lost a child or other family member. This was a great plan, because we could have more of a security patrol at the fair, and the regular deputies could still do their job of patroling on the road as well. Sometimes, we would ride along with the road deputy. I would go along when they were transporting a prisoner somewhere out of town (to another jail or a prison somewhere), and that helped the deputy out, and still only used up one of the regular deputies to do it. I think that there are all kinds of places that need volunteers, if a person is interested in doing that kind of thing. Churches and rescue missions who feed the homeless always are glad to have help with food preparation as well.
@Von Jones , Ok I waited all day for you to come back and tell us what things you dreamed of doing. So now my curiosity is up. What dreams have you fulfilled, and which ones are still out there waiting in line for you to discover? There are things I still wish to do, like getting over being a techie zombie, make a couple more programs for the VA residents, and I'd love to dance again. But, that last one will just have to remain a dream.
@Ina I. Wonder. Love it! The one thing that was #1 on things that I wanted to do was start flower beds in my backyard, which I have 4 now. There was a lot of preplanning to do with those. #2 was painting the inside of our carriage house and getting it organized so I could find stuff. I wanted to spend more time selling on Ebay which I finally gave up on just recently. Being able to visit my grandchildren that live miles away and in-laws in Arkansas. Lots of crafts which included quilting, sewing, crocheting and knitting and thought of cross stitching. These are just some of the things that I had thought about. After I was laid off I went through a big adjustment period. Ooh, ooh Deja vu.. I'm going to stop here.
@Von Jones , sounds like you know what you want to do and accomplish so go at it one thing at a time, and remember it is your time to enjoy life. When I retired I kept feeling quilty because I wasn't putting my efforts into trying to give my family a step up in the world. I would love to see some of your work. Do you have any representatives of some of your work?