Husband's Hobby

My husband doesn't but I do. My ex SiL does too. It's very relaxing and I'm usually surprised where the time has gone once engrossed.
You can find good patterns to download for free on line.

Glad he's found something to keep him occupied. My husband has no hobbies at all and I worry what he'll do when he finally finishes work in a couple of years time!

U3A is brilliant!

I've just joined u3a . Now I'm dreading the first meeting! I fancy the book club.

U3A is finw if you like joining things - but not everybody does.

I think he needs something a bit more challenging than that (OP) Surely it can't be only about keeping occupied. Is there nothing from his more youthful days that he could take up again? Perhaps he could try model aeroplane building and flying. Or building model railways. Even better if a club could be involved.

Our local U3A is full of old people!

Is there anything that he has enjoyed over the years that he could get involved with now he has time. Maybe you could go to/join in/visit together, both of you just initially until he finds 'his feet'. Sometimes it is very hard to go along and join something on your own.

U3A is certainly a good organisation to look at, loads of interests covered.

Katy, I quite enjoy talking to old people.....wisdom, sense of humour etc. I am one myself.

AS Jing says, look back and see what he use to be interested in and see if that interest could be re-kindled.

U3As in urban situations possibly are a different matter to those in rural. The one here is basically just a social organisation, which is fine if that's what you want but I was hoping for a bit more of the increasing my knowledge part. For example, I'm interested in history and joined the history group which was very popular - but basically was very popular because we met at one of the members houses and she put on a lovely spread of cakes every time. As for the history, we had a topic every year and volunteers put together a short talk each session - and as soon as it was over the coffee cups came out and there was no opportunity for discussion as a group because social chitchat was going on around. Another group I joined was a nature group and we had some nice walks - but none of us knew anything much about birds or flowers so we really learnt nothing.

A friend of ours in is an urban U3A, it is one of the most active i know, an amazing variety of interest groups. The rural groups i belong to have some 60 or so interest groups, with new ones starting up regularly.

OK, own up, who has stolen my shift key ?

Shift keys are alien artifacts that inhabit a parallel universe and only manifest themselves in our universe in order to spy on us. The same is true of wifi-printers.

On a serious note, I have struggled to think of something positive to offer the OP but my own experience is so different that I don't think it will help. I retired 8 years ago, and I have so many hobbies that my wife complains that she sees less of me now than she did when I was working.

I could recommend:
geocaching
photography
website building
travel
hiking

but none of this will help unless it is what he wants to do.

This is completely true lefthanded. My DH still hasn't settled after 5 years of full retirement. The problem was that he thoroughly enjoyed his work and his free time was taken up with associated aspects. I did point out that he was going to have a problem after he retired - but what can you do. Unfortunately since he worked in nuclear reactor safety there's not a lot of ways he can build that into a hobby . He does some amateur radio, he likes hiking, he's never been a reader, he doesn't really like joining groups. What he has recently started which he very much enjoys is the local First Responders. I do worry about him though.

Your previous work life doesn't need to limit choices, I haave many hobbies and interests, none of them related to work or people I knew there.

Message deleted by Gransnet. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

My husband does the same as the OP only in his iPad. No intellectual challenge whatever. He does it to try to stay awake whilst watching a Tv but it doesn’t work!!
(He does have other interest though)

I have been very fortunate, working at the career that i wanted, from youth (not always with untold joy all the time) But it was satisfying. When it wan't I moved onto something that was. Before retirement, (17 years ago) became involved in a hobby that was really a practical extension of my working life.
Other hobbies, Photography and Model Railways were superseded.
Joined U3A for similar interests, frustrated by losing them because of Covid.
You must keep mentally and physically active Now reduced to doing the quick crossword (but not in my case!)
So find him hobbies that exercises brain and body.
If you can enjoy the activity together, then so much the better for both of you.

A hobby can be useful, in many ways.
A few days ago, helping OH to water newly seeded grass, one plastic wheel on the hosereel collapsed, and the other was not long for this world..
The rest was all OK, so used my machines to make a repair. Bored out the wheels, jigsaw to cut some thick Aluminium. Turned that into two discs as new wheel centres.
Today, fitted the centres to what remained of the wheels.
And now we are back in business.
If my time had been charged it would have been cheaper to buy a new reel, but it was good mental exercise to work out
a repair, and kept me occupied, with a sense of satisfaction (and brownie points ) when completed.
Now I can get back to the other three projects that are work in slow progress!