on your own. How do you occupy yourselves

I am now alone (but not lonely), and try to have something planned for every day. Monday yoga, Tuesday and Wednesday health walks if the weather is OK, also book club once a month, Thursday ballet class, Friday weekly trip to M&S Food and Sainsbury's. Saturday rugby if we have a home match. If not then a trip into town. If there's a film I want to watch I will try and go on a Sunday.

The cats wake me up at about 6ish, get up, have tea and mess around on my tablet, Gransnet, emails etc. Do any jobs that need doing. Go out for any activities or gardening. Read the daily paper and do the puzzle page. Read a lot on my Kindle while the local radio is on in the background. Never watch TV during the day. (except for rugby). Think about what to have for dinner and cook.

Switch TV on at 6pm to watch Eggheads whilst imbibing a glass of sherry (late DH and I always did this). Have dinner and watch TV or on Internet till bedtime. How did I find the time to go to work?

That’s such a positive post BlueSapphire. I’m sorry for your loss, how long have you been widowed? I’m alone too but working and yet I can feel very lonely and low. Reading your post has helped me see some of the good things about living alone. Do you tend to see people based on activities or just socially?

Been widowed since February last year. Socialising is a mix between friends I have known for years, friends from activities, neighbours and family. One friend I have known since 1972 I go out for lunch with every 3 or 4 weeks. I also go to a monthly ladies wine club which I joined nearly 30 years ago. Also have my DGD after school on Fridays. My late DH would be heartbroken if he thought I was indoors moping.

Blue, you’re doing your DH proud. I love the sound of your monthly wine club!

As soon as I have been to the bathroom I review my state of energy and plan accordingly. There is always something to do.

I treasure my afternoons between 2 and 4 as i other half always has a lie down, he has COPD and gets very tired. He hardly eer goes out so i seldom have the house to myself apart from those two hours. It is heaven, i go on PC, watch TV and knit, cook or garden. Most days i go out in the morning to attend something or meet friends for coffee, so he has his space in the mornings and the two hours in the afternoon are mine. I am never bored always something to do.

Big thanks to most posters, many great ideas on here. I wanted to start socialising slowly. have been utterly whacked out after packing my other house and downsizing to a new area, by myself. Did the garden from a builders site, fixed up my workshop and now the loose end has coincided with autumn grey. It would be a mistake for me to join too much at once, I know that. Harder to leave a group than to join so am treading carefully for now

I have a natural tendency to hibernate in winter and am fighting that too. All day crafting locally tomorrow, babysitting sunday and again next week. Crafting and a show next week and I have just realised that there is a park walk alongside a river, just a bus ride away, we have no parks here, only a small market town.

Walk my dog, teach her something new, collect my daughter's dog and walk them both, sort out things for charity shop donation, clean something, take a nap, browse GN, MN, FB, eBay, Amazon, play Wordscapes, read, purge my emails or photos and delete those not needed, attack my mending pile, shred or file paperwork, research better deals for broadband or whatever, I've never, ever been bored!

I would strongly recommend volunteering for any of your local charities. You will meet people in a similar situation and enjoy the company and being occupied. I do some fund raising as well and campaigning- this is the link to my current campaign to save NHS funds.
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Crafty, did you move to be nearer family? (you mention babysitting). I think you’re right, take things at your own pace and sounds like you have plenty to do at home.

In the mornings I do house and garden jobs, ironing and cooking and make them as physical as possible as part of my fitness regime.

I also fit in a long walk and then another shorter one after lunch so I do five miles a day.

In the afternoon I read voraciously, do the Telegraph ‘easy’ crossword and have afternoon tea with home made cake. I cook a simple evening meal (though I make something more complicated at the weekends) and the DH and I watch an hour’s worth of drama on the TV before retiring to more reading and internet browsing.