Still trying to get the hang of not having to go to work every morning. I've worked since I was about 15 so retirement is great, and disconcerting somehow all mixed together. I know I have to fill my days with things to keep me engaged to enjoy retirement so I've taken up painting more seriously now. In fact, my wife got me into a prestigious gallery. I couldn't even get in the front door to talk to the owners or managers. She took her skills as a former talent agent and put them to work for me. The gallery has already sold one of my paintings.

When we were looking at where to retire, we had already decided on Arizona after a few years of decision making. Our list was full of places from Costa Rica, Belize, Mexico (what were we thinking!) to the cheaper parts of California, Arizona, Utah, Idaho and Texas. We weighed all the pros and cons and kept coming back to the Phoenix area. Our Realtor suggested Sun City to my wife when she was out looking for our new home. As soon as I heard about all the facilities they have for hobbies and activities I was sold.

I'm the kind of person that gets bored quickly so I have a multitude of hobbies I'm involved in now. I make jewelry from the saphires we found last summer while staying at the cabin near Yellowstone (we had a blast finding them) and other stones we've found on walks in the mountains and deserts together.We've purchased semi-precious stones at rock shops in Quartzite too. 

My wife's a good sport. She even joined the rock hound club with me, but it was short lived. I make wooden bowls and pens at the woodshop too. I kind of run hot and cold on these hobbies. When I get bored with one I go to another, but it's great to have all of the facilities available to me here.

Photography is the one that my wife and I do together. She joined the Camera Guild with me, mostly to have more things to do together and talk about but now she's getting more involved too. We took a short trip to Jerome and Sedona a couple of weeks ago and got a few interesting shots we're entering into the competitiion this week. Took first place with my entry last month. It was the first time we entered. My wife got an honorable mention. It was great fun. Out of all the states and countrys we considered as best places to live for our retirement, we made the best choice for us.

Retirement is a great thing after working hard for all those years. But you have to be engaged in your community, find or get involved again in hobbies and activities. There are a lot of hours in a day. Don't waste them.