For those retired....what do you enjoy most?

[JDgreen227]

There are times when I feel like a bird==light down here and scratch a bit, then flutter over to another spot and scratch a bit there. Never finishing the original project.

OP here...you describe me so well it's painful....when you are employed you HAVE to finish projects but when you are retired it's so easy to do as little as possible. :laughing: I have four snowblowers in the various stages of repairing on my workbench in the garage, the gutters are only half cleaned, have a drywall project half done, am in the latter stages of numerous things here and there.....

 

[brin]

OP here...you describe me so well it's painful....when you are employed you HAVE to finish projects but when you are retired it's so easy to do as little as possible. :laughing: I have four snowblowers in the various stages of repairing on my workbench in the garage, the gutters are only half cleaned, have a drywall project half done, am in the latter stages of numerous things here and there.....

I'm the same way....piddle a little here, a little there and a little everywhere...LOL...freedom, ya gotta love it...

 

[newbury]

I'm a piddler, too. Start something, see some other thing, have to move something to get to it and it needs attention...

There are times when I feel like a bird==light down here and scratch a bit, then flutter over to another spot and scratch a bit there. Never finishing the original project.

OP here...you describe me so well it's painful....when you are employed you HAVE to finish projects but when you are retired it's so easy to do as little as possible. :laughing: I have four snowblowers in the various stages of repairing on my workbench in the garage, the gutters are only half cleaned, have a drywall project half done, am in the latter stages of numerous things here and there.....

I'm the same way....piddle a little here, a little there and a little everywhere...LOL...freedom, ya gotta love it...

I've the same mode of operation. When I was fully employed and traveling 2 weeks each month I had to severely limit my projects. Often some piddling in the summer would be frozen all winter and take up valuable space. Projects requiring me to paint or varnish items had to be done outside for example.

Luckily when I retired I also bought 5,000 sq ft of workshops in Mississippi where it rarely freezes. Consequently I've been leaving piddles all over the place, I'll start something, work till I hit a minor roadblock, move onto something else. At any one time between there and Virginia I've probably a dozen "projects" going. For example painting a room, ran out of paint. Moved on, several months later I finished it off. With plenty of workspace my inside projects can easily be put on hold until I get the optimum mix of time, materials and effort.

 

[JDgreen227]

newbury....I define "piddle" as something a puppy does....:laughing: how many of us would use that term to describe our half-done projects....NOT ME !!! I am a PUTTERER !!!!

 

[downsizingnow48]

My dad used both words. For him, "piddling around" was being busy without accomplishing much. It was not a good thing. "Puttering around" was what you did on Saturday morning in the shop. Also not accomplishing much but it was OK.

 

[lakngulf]

My dad used both words. For him, "piddling around" was being busy without accomplishing much. It was not a good thing. "Puttering around" was what you did on Saturday morning in the shop. Also not accomplishing much but it was OK.

Never knew there was a difference in piddling and puttering. I will have to watch what I am doing!

 

[Big Barn]

Never knew there was a difference in piddling and puttering. I will have to watch what I am doing!

No reason you can't do both. Maybe at the same time..?

Terry

 

[KiotiKowboy]

Been retired 2 years this month. Loving it.

I worked in IBM big-iron mainframes and then network management - so I was keyboarding, installing network gear and fixing computers for about 38 years. Retired, left the city and picked up 110 acres - along with all the requisite cool toys

I find myself doing things I never thought would be a part of my life. A big change from my career, and it's added great satisfaction for me. There's just nothing like wrestling trees around with a grapple - lol. I also take great pride in having worked to restore the condition of my acreage and now have 88 of those acres producing hay. Looking forward to building a new home on the place soon.

Retirement, in short, has brought a new life, new challenges and the pleasure of seeing the work of my hands making a difference. My wife also insisted that I buy a new "retirement" truck So just picked up a new Silverado 2500 with all the goodies and she added some really trick Krank wheels. This is just for riding up to the local Sonic and getting a cold drink, so I kept my old F150 for the nasty stuff.

 

[Rod in Forfar]

What do I enjoy the most?

Driving my tractor around. Sometimes I start it up, take it for a spin without a clue what I'm going to do with it. I always find something to push or move or destroy.

I'll make it back to the shed, put my feet up in the easy chair, listen to a little Rush, then wonder what's for lunch.

You do that too?

Any slack time in summer I devote to mowing around my 25,000 little trees. No real mental activity is required.

Taking the dog for a run is a major source of pleasure in our household: it involves the dog rounding up my wife and loading both onto the seat of the Ranger. Then we tour the property. Only occasionally does the spaniel decide she actually wants to run. She'd rather ride.

I'm coming up 10 years retired. My wife's coming up 4.

 

[newbury]

newbury....I define "piddle" as something a puppy does....:laughing: how many of us would use that term to describe our half-done projects....NOT ME !!! I am a PUTTERER !!!!

That's why I used the term others had used and mentioned it freezing over.

piddle around
Fig. to waste time doing little or nothing.

putter around and putter about
to do little things of little consequence; to do small tasks as found around the house.

from thefreedictionary.com

I always viewed piddling around as a precursor to puttering around.
Last month I piddled around designing and researching building low sides for my Hudson trailer.
Last week I puttered around making a side.
Next week I should have it finished.

Never knew there was a difference in piddling and puttering. I will have to watch what I am doing!

Often piddling just ends up dripping down the drain. Puttering involve more solid things.