What do you do that is just for you?

I love to spend time in my greenhouse, pricking out, potting on and always with radio 4 playing. It gives me such pleasure.

Tillybelle I have sent you a message.

Yoga class. That’s my once a week treat.
Also meeting up with a good friend once a week for a good old natter and a moan.

I read a lot, newspapers, magazines, books.
I don’t like being disturbed whilst reading, so that’s quiet time for me.

I read, enjoy my collection of dolls and teddies, play with the cat and see friends.

I go swimming
I visit the Cinema
I lunch with my children
Bliss......

I joined a free online language group and i am now learning a new language...reading, writing and comprehension..its wonderful to use my brain again!

I watch a lot of youtube conspiracy stuff till the early hours and also binge watch programs like Say Yes to the Dress or Come Dine with Me, if I feel like doing nothing. If I have no commitments, I get up when I want and go to bed when I like and eat whatever I fancy. I also want to start going on expensive foreign holidays again once I've applied for my blue British passport, as I let it lapse a few years ago.

For many years all my time was taken up with raising five children and coping with a husband working erratic shifts.
My DH died four years ago, and the children have all flown the nest.
Now most of my activities are done just for me, and I’m loving it. I garden, read, knit, do jigsaws and watch a little tv at home. I sing in two choirs, do U3A activities, go to the gym and an exercise class and socialise with friends.
In between having fun I do a bit of housework!
With a bit of luck your time will come, too, and you will wonder how you ever found the time to go to work.

I volunteer for the national trust which means I go to a lovely place one day a week and find out about the family history and all the beautiful objects in the house. The best thing, though is working with like minded people and making lots of new friends. We meet up outside volunteering days and also have lots of social events at the property. You can do lots of different jobs not just standing in a room, such as tours, gardening, doing different activities with children. It's great.

I really love the idea of bike riding, yoga class, or maybe swimming? I also love ironing, you can watch TV while you do it and children weren't allowed near me for an hour or so lol x

I started going to an Art class a few years ago after being too busy teaching to carry on with my Art and now I’m retired I do lots of oil painting and even sell them from time to time.

Yennifer.....I can’t sing!
But you can sing along and kid yourself and the others I highly recommend finding a choir. It is very satisfying a definite feel good thing to do x

I took a free painting and decorating course at college. Now I love painting and can transform a bedroom. Very relaxing and creative and feels so good

Ride my bike alone

I felt the same a number of years ago. I felt overwhelmed with everyone and had no peace so decided to go walking. And to find the time and make myself go. The first time I went it poured out down when I got back to my car even my knickers were soaked. But it loved it and felt so much better in myself. I again don't have much time to walk as looking after 2 year old dgc on my day off. She will start nursery later on this year but I do when I can and the DH comes with me now. I'm a lot fitter for it too.

Almost everything I do is purely for me as I have very few calls on my time. I wish I still had someone in my life to consult and consider, but when you are widowed and living alone one can become quite self centred. I do volunteer locally and I look after my grandchildren regularly one day a week and when called upon, but I still have too many hours in the day when my time is completely my own. Don’t get me wrong, my hours are filled with meeting friends, sessions at the gym, dancing, quizzing, local walking group and theatre visits, but I’m not forced to do any of them. Be careful what you wish for, I would give anything to go back to the days of family commitments.

Line Dancing, making jewellery, painting, knitting, sewing, making cards - any crafts!

In my 50s I did the art degrees I have wanted to since a teenager. Since my 60s I have travelled to Holland, Spain, Venice, St. Petersburg, Moscow, trans Siberian express, Mongolia, China and Beijing. I frequently visit galleries in London (an hour by train for me). I always have fresh flowers and good wine.

I worked hard and went without all through our marriage and now it’s time to reap the benefit of putting that money aside ‘in case’.

I join U3A groups to study all sorts of interesting things, go to scrabble and whist and craft groups, but my greatest joy (just for me) is my creative writing group, and communing with the characters who live in my head - although if I could find an agent or a publisher to help me, I would be more than willing to share!

I close myself off to the world when I do my weekly shop. Only in a fairly large local supermarket - we don't have a high street or other shops in the vicinity.

I'll browse books, Re ords, clothes, household gadgets - keeps me happy for an hour a week.

Otherwise I'll be really contentious and say that I do the ironing. No one else wants it done, but the satisfaction of a neat pile of fragrant washing and an hour or two listening to my favourite radio programmes and podcasts is very rewarding.

I read (as often as I can) and meet a friend for lunch once a week - moments of calm in my busy life!

I make patchwork, play badminton, swim, go to shows with friends, read a lot, plus power walking along the seafront.

NotSpaghetti. Many Congratulations! That sounds wonderful! Good for you! I keep toiling with the idea of doing something like that which is just about something I like and not career related. Do you mind me asking, is it expensive? Also, how did you manage to make the time frame suit you and not have to keep within a rigid and imposed structure?

Yennifer What a good question! As I am the only human in this house which is run by Maisy, very small dog, and her gang of similar small dogs, it must seem to those on the outside as if everything I do is for myself. In fact I live to be the servant of the dogs and to send things to my children and DGC. I had to think really hard about what I do that is just for myself. I mean I make food but that is out of necessity. I have no motivation to cook just for myself and if there were a human food like the dog food that comes in a bag and is complete in everything I would happily live on it. So what do I do just for myself....?
Read!! I love reading!! I generally read in the loo. Old habit from childhood because my mother couldn't complain about my reading there as she didn't know.
I also love looking things up and finding things out. The internet is wonderful for me!
Talking about food, I have got it down to a fine art. I have an all in one cooker thingy. (In fact I'm on my third). I put everything in it and turn it on. Yesterday I put a whole bag of frozen casserole root veg and onions in, with a tin of cannelloni beans and a few handfuls of ginger, herbs de Provence and turmeric and some other stuff and cooked it then added a can of lentil soup. Usually I just use dry lentils. I thicken it with milk and cornflour. I use it on its own or add other things (often spinach and broccoli) or have it with anything else. It's the nearest I can get to my all-encompassing food, or human answer to dog food. Obviously I freeze it in one-meal sized bags.

Playing music with various groups of friends. One group is professionally tutored , so keeps the brain cells working !