I'm bored, what to do?

I would have gone for a bicycle ride (I 'm not given to just trolling round the countryside on one of my two motorbikes unless I am going shopping) but it is windy and starting to rain.
So I'm going to sit in my Nuevo and read MMM and think of the Good Times.
I've made a loaf of bread, put insulation round the water pipes in the Nuevo washroom to stop the rattle, rewired my solar panels to make them work better - and the only other thing I can think of to do to the Nuevo is to get underneath and check the angle of mounting of the gas tank. It should be mounted when looking along its length, at either the 'twenty past' or 'twenty to' angle in order to fill it fully and get an accurate reading on the dashboard gauge.
If I could find a radio aerial that would fit nicely on the windscreen pillar I would get one and fit it.

You could do the same as me!

We just laid gravel over the front lawn (or to be more accurate, the front moss!  ) but it looks a bit dull so I think I'll start polishing it tomorrow. Should keep me busy until we are turned loose again.   

There are so many things that you could do, start a new hobby etc. learn to do something you have never tried before, there are hundreds of things out there.

I am delving into different crafting techniques that I haven`t tried before, and enjoying the change.a friend is totally fed up, says he will never retire as he would be bored stiff. I find that sad., it is a chance to do things you never had time to do before, it is a blessing that we are retired to do other things some people never have the chance to because they didn`t live to see retirement.

Be thankful and count everyday as your last and enjoy every minute.
Best regards,
Margaret

Gromit, lovely job you have done there.
Did you ever get that last bag of gravel you were trying to source?

That's brilliant Gromit. And Daisy mae, I am doing something new: cycling. After I posted my last missive the sun came out and I went for an hour's bike ride. Now I am cream crackered. Yesterday I went for a longer one, and I am not at all a fit cyclist - I am constantly overtaken by lycra clad people on expensive bikes. As a result I am still suffering from yesterdays ride so I went for a shorter one today.
That looks nice Gromit, I trust you counted the pebbles as you put them down so that you know how long it will take to polish them. Depending on the shine required you may get through 50 a day but the trouble is that before you have finished the last one, the earlier ones will be growing moss - which is when you will need to get some more pebbles to cover the mossy ones.

Gassy, it’s absolutely brilliant that you have taken up Cycling as your new ‘hobby’ 
Please don’t be put off by lycra clad people on expensive bikes whizzing past.

I own a reasonably expensive mountain bike and road bike, I also wear lycra for the sole reason that it it works so much better compared to cotton.
I love chatting to other cyclists however novice they may be.

Club cyclists that shoot around 2 abreast thinking they own the road get on my txxx.
Don’t dismiss Lycra 

gassygassy wrote:and the only other thing I can think of to do to the Nuevo is to get underneath and check the angle of mounting of the gas tank. It should be mounted when looking along its length, at either the 'twenty past' or 'twenty to' angle in order to fill it fully and get an accurate reading on the dashboard gauge.

Do that and report back please, so when its warmer I can do mine, and then GREEN GREEN GREEN GREEN won't mean Full and RED mean nearly Full.

daisy mae wrote:There are so many things that you could do, start a new hobby etc. learn to do something you have never tried before, there are hundreds of things out there.

I am delving into different crafting techniques that I haven`t tried before, and enjoying the change.a friend is totally fed up, says he will never retire as he would be bored stiff. I find that sad., it is a chance to do things you never had time to do before, it is a blessing that we are retired to do other things some people never have the chance to because they didn`t live to see retirement.

Be thankful and count everyday as your last and enjoy every minute.
Best regards,
Margaret

Absolutely!   I can never understand why folk who have worked all their lives and have been forward thinking regarding pensions, then spend retirement not doing anything particular. I bet it is a short answer if a friend asks " so what you been up to"!!   This is an enforced opportunity for Mr L and I to practice retirement....working so far with our different interests and skills. He would drive me potty [and vice veras] if one of us did nothing but read a book or sit in front of a screen!  Did I say potty?...meant murder! 

dbvwt: I may have some lycra. I have a cycling trouser which is stretchy nylon, made by MuddyFox. I got it from Halfords I seem to remember. It has a padded bottom and it is a close fit all over. It doesn't say 'lycra' anywhere though.
Hmm. What if two cyclists who own the road encounter a BMW which also owns the road?
marconi: I think it was on this forum somewhere that I read of someone who took their camper back to A/S complaining about the gauge giving false readings. The cure was to fit it as it should have been in the first place, with a purpose made mounting bracket as per the GasIt web site. This video explains it. Partly.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_QHCejl89w

Dbvwt wrote:Gromit, lovely job you have done there.
Did you ever get that last bag of gravel you were trying to source?

Thanks.

Yes we did. And it was the last bag they had at the yard. Like lots of other things, people had been panic buying gravel.

I do not jest either! 

Gromit wrote:

Dbvwt wrote:Gromit, lovely job you have done there.
Did you ever get that last bag of gravel you were trying to source?

Thanks.

Yes we did. And it was the last bag they had at the yard. Like lots of other things, people had been panic buying gravel.

I do not jest either! 

Glad you got that bag, I’m a sane person (I think) but having a space in the gravel for the rest of the summer would have wound me up!

On a serious note, I genuinely believe mental sanity could well become an issue for many if isolation continues. 
What can those in charge do though??

Like Daisy Mae I have plenty of material and wool I can utilise plus piles of books waiting to be read.    Then there are the jobs that I want to do, like gardening, and the jobs that need doing such as painting the kitchen.    We have a large garden and it doesn't matter when we go away my husband always complains that it is the wrong time - the raspberries are ripe or the beans are ready.   This year we should have an abundance as they have never had so much attention.   We have a his & hers garden - we could never agree!   His grows fruit and veg plus a collection of boating paraphernalia, electronic gear and, in his several sheds, various bits and pieces that might come in useful while I maintain the rest with flowers and shrubs and generally feed the spirit.

We are all lucky Bettee that most of us have large gardens and our biggest problem is whether to pick the raspberries or beans (I’m genuinely not having a dig by the way, just considering myself so so lucky at this time).
My concern is for those stuck, for example, in a flat in one of our cities with not even a patch of garden and nowhere to go. 
What is their mental state going to be like in a month’s time?

Sorting the garden is high on my list, by the way, good job there Dave. But when the weather is rubbish I need an inside project.
I've been a collector of air pistols for many years, but not really a shooter, So I've now set up a 10m target range in the garage, purchased several thousand pellets, and over the coming weeks intend to hone my accuracy.
Who knows, this might be a life skill if civilisation as we know it goes down the pan...
Al

Gromit wrote:
. . . it was the last bag they had at the yard. Like lots of other things, people had been panic buying gravel.

Yes I know the feeling. I missed out getting the last left handed grommeltwizzler. The bloke next to me pushed in front and grabbed it just as I was about to load it into my trailer.

Ah, so you were the dozy old git who stood there waiting for Christmas! 

Dbvwt wrote:. . .
My concern is for those stuck, for example, in a flat in one of our cities with not even a patch of garden and nowhere to go. 
What is their mental state going to be like in a month’s time?

Yes, and think about the fact that in order to get out to go shopping they will have to get in a lift. So if there is someone else in it, they will have to wait till the lift opens its doors and is empty. Then what if several of their neighbours also want to use the lift at the same time? They can't. What if the lift stops half way down and the doors open and someone else wants to use the lift and they refuse to wait till it comes around again?

And what about the Americans with no health insurance and no way of paying for it? A TV program tonight from New York showed people living under a bridge. They have no running water - where do they get any water at all?, no sanitation, no health access. At least our homeless are being rounded up and put into empty hotels, and will get into hospital if they get sick. It made me want to write to my MP and ask for tax rises to increase NHS spending, although a percentage of it is always wasted. One of my daughters is a NHS nurse and she says all they have for PPI are some inadequate face masks, and they are expected to treat Covid patients. What happened to that Major Army chap who was supposed to be organising mass distribution of essential supplies?

Sorry you are bored Gassy. I have a massive list of jobs that I want or need to do and somehow I never seem to find the time to start. Nd I'm not just idling on the forum - that is generally in bed just before I turn out the light.
Today went mainly in replacement of a central heating valve actuator that decided to conk out first thing this morning.
Never a dull moment. If the slower day ever comes I will probably have left this earth.
But I wouldn't have it any other way - bored? Never!

Agree with above, time seems to go so quick these days , not enough hours in the day for me to get done what I would like to get done, I have a long list of things I would like to get done before it is too late. not being gloomy just realistic.I am finding it hard to switch off at night sometimes, as I am planning or designing this that or the other, but bored never.

One of my Daughters said to me you will never be bored Mum you have so many interests.hopefully it may keep my mind sharp as well. who knows?.

Start a blog. Blogger is an easy one. Start with the last holiday you had in the van and put the best of your stored photos in on a day by day or week by week basis.  Write what you can remember from when you took them. Add maps and route charts, reviews of campsites and aires and other features as you like.

Work backwards over your holidays year by year.

You can make this blog public if you like ( ie accessible for anyone who put the right keywords into a search engine) or, like my blog, accessible only to a limited number of people by your invitation. You can make it completely private so only you can see it.

I’ve been doing a blog since 2007, for family only, and it gives me a great deal of pleasure to look back on past holidays. I’m enjoying adding trips back to 2004 using my photos and emails sent to family while we were away then.

Thanks for the replies. I would in reality put myself in the same category as daisy mae. In reality I do have lots of things to do, but when I started the thread I had just finished rewiring the solar charging system on the Nuevo thanks to helpful information on this site. I have a garage to sort out. I am not sure if I have more volume taken up with cardboard boxes ready to put ebay sales into, or items I want to put on ebay. Trouble is, their commissions - posting, sales, and paypal all add up to so much that it hardly seems worth the effort. I have bought a vintage sewing machine to give to wifey on her birthday soon, so I think my next job is to take it apart and give it a good service. I suspect the oil and grease will have hardened. Then there is the automatic oiler for my motorbike chain I have started, I need to get the drip rate just right before fitting it. There is always gardening of course and I suppose if the weather is over 10 degrees I could service the car - the camper doesn't need doing. Bored is the wrong word really, it is more like I have so many things to do but none of them is particularly pressing more than any other.
As for blogging, I do have about 4000 photos on my laptop (yes I was surprised too) - some of which are videos so I could sit myself down and learn how to edit several short takes into one decent length one. I have recently made a 60 page photo album of a london -Sydney cruise we did but when you get to our age you can't remember where all the places were.
Anyway, enough waffle, I've got things to do, places to go, people to see. Not many but I have to get some shopping, my least favourite thing to do nowadays.

gassygassy wrote:........ Bored is the wrong word really, it is more like I have so many things to do but none of them is particularly pressing more than any other.........

I was reading an article on this the other day. The author suggested we are not bored but lethargic. Sums me up neatly. I have a thousand things to do, many of which I’d enjoy doing, but can’t get the oomph together to start. Easier to spend the day reading.

Quilter wrote:

gassygassy wrote:........ Bored is the wrong word really, it is more like I have so many things to do but none of them is particularly pressing more than any other.........

I was reading an article on this the other day. The author suggested we are not bored but lethargic. Sums me up neatly. I have a thousand things to do, many of which I’d enjoy doing, but can’t get the oomph together to start. Easier to spend the day reading.

That's me totally (except I don't read books).

Well I’m thankful that both the wife and both have hobbies, in the case of the good lady wife she is a keen organic gardener having had a allotment for the last 10 years plus.

Last year on reaching 70 we decided to convert half the garden into a mini allotment, and we  couldn’t have timed it better with present situation, that together with being a avid reader and the occasional jigsaw fills in the time.

Me, well my hobby is model railways, with my local club closed and all the exhibitions cancelled I’ll not be exhibiting any of my layouts soon (both York & Derby Exhibitions Cancelled) last time out being Model Rail Scotland in February 

Luckily plenty of maintenance work to be done on the stock and layouts and building a yet “another” small layout for future enjoyment and exhibitions.

Hopefully the above pastimes should keep us sane over the coming weeks or even months until we can unleash the motorhome for getting out and about especially meeting our AS friends at the many rallies.

All for now 

Terry

I retired 21 years ago at the ripe old age of 50 and still wonder how I ever had time to work!
In a funny sort of way it is quite nice not having a time restriction on doing things, I don't have to do all the pressure washing before xxx visit or we go to xxx. Takes me about a week solid to pressure wash round everywhere, but, now I have forever to do it and wont suffer the backache of doing it all at once.
Nearly finished detailing the van, cleaning everything under the hood with a mini steam cleaner and toothbrush included, difficult and time consuming but at the end the van should look like new!
So loads to do but now able to pace myself!
Only sad part for us is we came back over from Canada in February and now of course can't return so missing all our family there, not likely to be able to go back for some time.