Energy or lack of it !

Yes she was...but made me feel even more guilty!

Nankate (In response to your post at 20:50:07) The photos of 'supposed OAPs in magazines' that really make me cringe are the ones where there's a seated, smug, smirking male with a droopy, vacant-looking woman standing behind him bending over him with her arms draped around his neck... Arrrrrgh!!! I seem to see them all the time... (but perhaps I'm the one with the problem, maybe I need to get a life and stop reading magazines )

living alone and without any family near-my son and family live abroad- retirement was and still is a very unreal life.
Without the structure of work I have realised that it wasn't lack of time that prevented me doing things I promised myself I would do, I just lack the motivation.
My horse's stable is cleaned more often than the house.

I have to admit that there is a lot of the slob in me and a good book or walk with the dogs is preferable to housework.

Lack of energy or just lazy?

I agree jenn - it's an unreal life. What a good way of putting it!

It's whether there is any point to doing things that makes the difference in my case. I've just come back from a short holiday and I was quite happy to be on my feet, walking around for miles, for most of the day. Thought nothing of it. However, tomorrow I've no doubt it will take all of my will power just to walk to the shops.

Welcome back anyway, jingl, you've been missed!

Thanks Ana.

jenn It seems much more sensible to enjoy yourself reading a book or walking the dogs - you're not lazy, you've got your priorities right.

JoyB I too am suitably cringed (if there is such a word) at those unreal photos. The pictures look a bit like 'The Stepford Wives' for oldies.

I only do housework before people visit i.e. Dusting and hoovering. The rest of the time I keep the place tidy and the kitchen shipshape. Housework makes me depressed reading my book perks me up - well that's my story and I am sticking to it.

That just about sums up my approach too NanKate. The kitchen and bathroom are the priorities most of the time, but the rest can be left, unless we're about to have visitors and then the two of us are a frenzy of activity. And I can't honestly say, like you, that I 'keep the place tidy' because the dining room table always has my sewing and craft stuff strewn across it. If I put it away I only have to get it all out again. And in the living room there is always the current knitting project next to me on the sofa...
As for OAPs in adverts, I was so cross a while back at a link in the sidebar on Facebook, something to do with pensions - and quite frankly if the woman illustrating it was drawing a pension then I'd like to know how. Slim, glamorous, obviously straight out of the hairdressers, not a grey hair in sight and quite clearly not a day over 45.
And at the other end of the advertising spectrum are the TV ads which use the over 65's for comedic effect as frumpy, doddering imbeciles. SO patronising I could scream.

Thank you gransnet!After confessing to being a slob last night I have been hard at it since getting up!Even the unused rooms have been vacced and polished.Dogs' beds are on the line,bags ready for the charity shop,floors steamed,plants watered,taps gleaming, now to groom the dogs before I head off to the stables.

I think I'll have to have a little lie-down after reading all that, jenn...

Well done Jenn for your burst of energy.

On the rare occasion I have a burst of energy, I 'm so thrilled but sadly I can't repeat it for months.

teatime try and relax before bedtime, be sure you are doing things during the day to make you tired at night, I stopped drinking tea and coffee and now sleep much better.

Try and make sure the your bedroom is at a good temperature all through the night.

Sometimes not going to bed and sleeping on the couch can work, you just fall asleep watching TV

Quite is the enemy for me, there must be some background noise otherwise I can not sleep so I sometimes have the TV on in the bedroom

Hope some of that has helped.