New goal for 2018 - NOT diet/fitness related!

I started an Open University course when I retired. It obviously won't help with a career, but I've always wanted to have a degree.

Well done both of you - I've always thought it must be wonderful to be able to play a musical instrument - keep going witzend.
I love the OU grandmoira I'm sure you will find all the courses absorbing. When I did mine with them someone of 94 graduated so never too late.
For me I am going to be Lady Vice Captain of the golf club a role I never aspired to being a mediocre golfer at best but I was asked and I thought well this will be a challenge and a half as next year I am Lady Captain.

Do hope you're enjoying the OU, GrandmaMoira. Having dropped out of uni way back, and always regretted it, I did an OU degree some yrs ago. It was hard work, esp. at level 3, but some fascinating subjects. I did a mix, so an 'Open' BA, but both level 3s were Eng. Lit. What subjects are you taking?
Congrats on your Lady Captainhood, Teetime!

DH bought me a keyboard for Christmas so I have some signed up for an online tutoring course. I always wanted to play the piano when I was young. Now I am trying; it’s difficult getting the coordination but I’m really enjoying it.

I've enjoyed my first three years of OU - first the Access course (Humanities) and then two level 1 Humanities modules. I'm now doing English Lit. but struggling a bit this year. I am also planning to do History next year.

Yes 3 goals.
1. Finish the bits of knitting and sewing lying around.
2. Started a new weekly art class. Goal is to paint something worthy of wall space!
3.Write up my diary daily.

Visit more gardens this year. I suppose I should write a list . The Chelsea Physic and then Audley End spring to mind. Which others would you people recommend?

Go for it, Witzend, and good luck! I gave up at grade 5, on the premise that I had plateaued and would not get any better. In truth I now realise that my lessons were just getting stale - I should have found another teacher, not given up on the lessons. I love my piano.
As for me, this is going to be the year I either catch more fish - last season was dire - or give up fishing altogether.

Hope you all achieve your goals! Interesting to read such varied ones.
NonnaW, so nice to hear you're enjoying it. When I went back to the piano - or rather a very old keyboard then - it had been so long I virtually had to start again from scratch. I used the Carol Barratt adult beginners' course for classical piano and found it very good but on the advice on my piano tuner also bought quite a bit of easy music 2nd hand from Amazon, to help with my sight reading, which was hopeless.

After about a year I joined a group LEA class locally, and went for about 4 years - had to drop it lately because of so much time away from home. There were always quite a lot of adults in the complete beginners' classes, and one lady I met shortly before leaving had just passed her grade 3, having never touched a piano or keyboard before the classes. Most don't bother with exams, so I really admired her - what an achievement!

I've started to learn Spanish with the U3A. Just conversational but something I wanted to do.
A number of years ago I learnt to bell ring (church) but had to give up after a few years due to tendonitis in my arm and at age 50 I learnt to scuba dive!

I need a goal for 2018. In 2017 it was to get the Licentiate of the Royal Photographic Society

Just been to first class of 10 french intermediate course at City Lit. which I promised myself on retirement with target to enjoy better conversations this summer. lovely that there are only 4 of us with exactly same goals...of "a certain age" and standard.

Having reached the age I am today I would not push my luck .My policy now is if you really want to achieve something go for it. Don't leave it for tomorrow as there might not be a tomorrow.

I set myself a challenge at New Year, back in 2000, to get away on my roller blades. My children were keen help me. I achieved stumping across the front grass to the lamp post outside our house and clinging on for dear life. That's my progress so far but I'm still working on it. I just need to find the boots (somewhere in the garage) and clean eighteen years worth of cobwebs off them. Maybe my new challenge should be to clear out my hell hole of a garage. Hang on though....hasn't that one been going longer than the roller blades...hmm...maybe I should set myself a target to set myself achievable targets!

After having successfully redecorated and refurbished my house from top to bottom for the past eighteen months I have to deal with the residue and really difficult parts some of which I cannot do myself e.g.the kitchen. The time estimates and comments I've had from various suppliers beggar belief in variation. As a result I've back burnered it but it's very frustrating. The other chore which I can do myself is to get rid of all the extra stuff I have 'tidied' from my improvements and I now have one room which is a virtual warehouse. Much of this is far too good to bin but it's definitely a self inflicted nightmare which I have to deal with. Ugh! I know I need to wait for the better weather to give me the essential get up and go but I sincerely hope when we're airing this topic next year I'll have ticked both boxes. Wonder what will be on the hit list then?!!

To learn to say no, politely but firmly. My tendency to say yes to everything gets me into all sorts of things which I don't really want to do!

My goal for 2018 is to get all the information and notes ready, so that my daughter will not need to go looking for papers and certificates when she needs to arrange my funeral. She did give me a book called Dead as a Dodo.? Now what? I hope to have done it by the end of this year.

I have started a Pilates Class, a challenge for me as I have various health problems but I'm enjoying it & hope to continue as I feel it is doing me good.

I have set a goal of going to Portuguese lessons, and we have started from scratch, eg irregular vowels, consonants etc OMG what have I done? My teacher seems to think I'm doing well but I know I'm struggling.
But as I live in Portugal I feel it is only polite to try to speak the language.
The other day my friend and I went for lunch at our favourite cafe and I tried to order our food in Portuguese, were upon the waiter said in English " I haven't got time for this I'm too busy" That was me shoot down in flames then. O well upwards and onwards.?

Yes to ride a bike which I never learnt to do when I was younger. I made a rather wobbly start last year then gave up but determined to try again in the spring. Anyone else learnt to cycle as an adult?

My challenge to myself this year is to say 'yes' to new experiences. I aim to do one new thing per week for the whole year, so 50 or so new activities. It could be going to a new destination, cooking a new recipe, trying a new food, a new sport, game etc. So far I have joined a new yoga class and a stretch class, I have booked to go to Singapore. I don't have a list of things, I just intend to embrace and seek out new things as I go along.

Yes I did the piano thing 2 years ago and continue to teach myself...playing isn’t great but the pleasure of being able to sight read musical notes is the just the best! On December 27 2017 I had my last cigarette. I planned the date in advance and I am pleased to say it is now 4 weeks and feel no desire to smoke after 51 years! It is my goal not to go back to being a slave to nicotine... ever!

To Happilyretired123 and anyone else thinking about cycling in 2018 - would really recommend you look up Breeze bike rides supported by British Cycling and sponsored by HSBC. Sorry, only know about Breeze rides which are for women only but there are plenty of mixed group rides on the British Cycling website. Breeze leaders near me in W London organise sessions for new and less confident riders that start in the park and move out to roads as your confidence grows. I did one of those sessions ( I could ride but wobbly and unsure) and now join in longer rides. The Breeze leaders ( known as champions) are always supportive, friendly and helpful and so are the other women who go on Breeze rides - Ibreakky enjoy them.

6 months ago I started learning to play the ukulele. I have always wanted to play a musical instrument but my parents did not feel it was worthwhile and I never thought about it after mt teens. I can’t read music but you don’t need to to play a uke. I am also trying to learn to paint via YouTube