After Dinner and Before Bed...

[Kook]

When the days are longer and warmer, I/we would go for a long walk or work in the yard....something outside.

Now, with the colder and shorter days, I find myself bored. We watch Jeopardy but I am not much of a TV guy. I like to read and would be perfectly happy on the couch with a book, but my wife does not. I could go back out in the shop and tool around a bit (pun intended), but again, I would like to do something with my wife.

I know some of you lucky folks live in warmer areas, and although TN isn't terrible, it is definitely not CA or FL.

So...kind of a silly post, I guess, but just curious what some of you folks do after dinner and before bed.....

 

[HawkeyeNFO]

Sex

 

[Chuckanut]

I am much more a morning person than a night person. I do my best work early in the day.

I reserve evenings for things like making another batch of cookies (It's nice to use the oven on cold winter nights) and catching up on all some of the TV shows others in the group have praised. I am watching Injustice at the moment along with Wheel of Time. This time of year I often catch up on one of those silly Christmas movies about all sorts of wondrous Christmas events that change grouchy people into wonderful human beings. The plots are so simple and predictable that I can browse this sight, read email, shop on Amazon and do it all while watching the movie, and not lose the plot.

 

[VanWinkle]

Sex

^^^^This

 

[Car-Guy]

Sex

^^^^This

It's too bad you guys aren't married or have girlfriends.

 

[Aerides]

I would like to do something with my wife.

Have you asked her for ideas or is she already occupied?

 

[Kook]

Sex

My new hero!
7 days a week, 3 to 4 hours a day - IMPRESSIVE!

 

[pacergal]

Read, watch TV, go for a drive and talk, sit and have a cup of coffee/tea and talk, if not raining, sit on the deck around the propane fire pit or go for a walk, go pick up groceries.
We spend time together and apart doing our own thing both during the day and in the evening. Thats the nice part about retirement, you have both day and night to choose how you both spend time apart and together, not just the rushed evenings when you were working.

 

[HawkeyeNFO]

My new hero!
7 days a week, 3 to 4 hours a day - IMPRESSIVE!

It ain't easy but it sure is fun!

 

[Sojourner]

So...kind of a silly post, I guess, but just curious what some of you folks do after dinner and before bed.....

On nights when we don't feel like watching TV, we sometimes play board games or card games. There is a tremendous variety of really entertaining, interesting, challenging games to choose from these days. Some of our favorites are:

Viticulture
Ticket To Ride
Monopoly Deal
7 Wonders Duel
Forbidden Island

 

[Kook]

Have you asked her for ideas or is she already occupied?

Yes and no. I occasionally ask her what she wants to do but its always a shrug. She is perfectly content watching the game show network, etc.

 

[pacergal]

Can you read while she is watching tv? Be in the same room, same couch, etc. You are still present together but not doing the same thing.
I find it easy to tune out the TV while DH watches and read a book that I like. We talk during commercials.

 

[VanWinkle]

It's too bad you guys aren't married or have girlfriends.

You nailed it in my case- Just got engaged!!!

VW

 

[Kook]

Pacergal - we do have a fire pit....that's a great idea.

Sojourner - I may take a look at some of those games. We used to play backgammon but it got old. Thinking of learning to play chess.


I am gearing down for retirement and where I used to be on the road traveling for 2-3 days per week, now I am staying home. It is just these shorter and colder days that have me bored, I guess.

 

[RetiredHappy]

I don't like to watch television and prefer to read general stuff on the computer. My husband plays computer games, reads eBooks and watches more television than me. Most evenings, we watch an episode of a series which we both enjoy - lighter stuff, no violence, blood and gore. We watch mostly British, Australian and Canadian shows on Amazon Prime and Acorn, and Discovery Plus - HGTV and Food Network. American shows are generally terrible in our books - too much violence and/or corny jokes.

 

[Kook]

Can you read while she is watching tv? Be in the same room, same couch, etc. You are still present together but not doing the same thing.
I find it easy to tune out the TV while DH watches and read a book that I like. We talk during commercials.

I have a hard time tuning out background noises when I read....but I do have noise cancelling headphones! hmmm....

 

[Kook]

I am not much of a TV guy but we have talked about cutting the cable cord and watching some of those new Netflix type shows that are so popular now....


I am also planning to convert our basement area into a hobby area to accommodate both of our (several) hobbies.

 

[Luvtoride]

So...kind of a silly post, I guess, but just curious what some of you folks do after dinner and before bed.....

Yes, as the responses indicate, kind of a silly post! You asked for it. LOL
Surprised you didn't get "move to a warmer climate" as a response.

 

[W2R]

[...] just curious what some of you folks do after dinner and before bed.....

We don't always do the exact same thing every evening. But more often than not, he goes over to his house (next door) to use his ham radios, and I stay at my house and play my video game.

Sometimes he ends up coming over with a snack that he picked up for me at Walgreens or Dunkin Donuts.

Sometimes we watch Netflix documentaries at my house. Usually historical stuff on topics like WW2, the JFK assassination, or Prohibition.

Sometimes we watch real estate videos on Youtube together at my house, say snarky things to each other about the over-priced, crummy houses or apartments on the videos, and laugh.

I'd say do stuff that is fun and enjoy life!

 

[1242Vintage]

After dinner and dishes head out to the shop, turn up the heat and put on some music. Then repair or clean up a bicycle. Rained this last weekend and both bikes got thrashed in a muddy race. Tear ‘em down, clean and build back up for the next weekend.

And a good bourbon is usually involved in the process.

 

[Letj]

Dance Argentine Tango 3 nights a week, play the piano, read, make love, watch documentaries, listen to music, watch FB and YouTube videos, go out to dinner, do light bookkeeping for rental business.

 

[jollystomper]

Yeah, what HawkeyeNFO said .


Of course, not just that. Various board and card games. Watching some TV show/movie/documentary together (I have been educating DW on the history of various rock/r&b/funk/jazz artists, and there are a lot of good documentaries out there for us to watch and discuss. Throw on some music and dance. Start a fire in the fire pit outside, which will sometimes draw over a few neighbors and chat.

We also tend to do more socializing during these times, so many times text messages will go out among our social group along the lines of "hey, we are watching this movie or going to this event, or have extra food/dessert, anybody want to join?".

We also each have hobbies that the other does not share, which is a good balance. DW may spend an evening on the piano/organ playing or composing something, while I build/take apart/connect stuff in the home computing lab. We might be doing different things, but it is still a nice shared experience.

 

[freedomatlast]

Unless it is extremely cold and windy, we bundle up and go for a walk anyway, and I live significantly farther north than OP does. Sometimes it feels a little cold for the first few minutes, but once the blood gets pumping, I warm up quickly. I tell her I'm going for a walk, would you like to join me? If she goes, great, if not, that's ok too, at least I ask and offer.

We recently moved to a neighborhood with well kept sidewalks and streetlights so there really isn't any good reason not to get exercise when the days are shorter and the nights are longer.

 

[kgtest]

Pacergal - we do have a fire pit....that's a great idea.

Sojourner - I may take a look at some of those games. We used to play backgammon but it got old. Thinking of learning to play chess.


I am gearing down for retirement and where I used to be on the road traveling for 2-3 days per week, now I am staying home. It is just these shorter and colder days that have me bored, I guess.

You could try learning Cribbage. I would gear it towards trying new things neither of you experienced as that likely will give you the most joy.

That way you are both experiencing new things together. Museums, Libraries, Shows out on the town (plays, theater), Batting Cage, VR. Sometimes Groupon or Facebook have events pages that suggest upcoming events near you or in your town.

Or just go for a drive around town in neighborhoods you have never been to. If you see something interesting or new, just stop and check it out.

Ice cream. Chocolate shops. Antique stores. Heck even a pawn shop. You might find something interesting and they are always willing to barter.

We have 3 little kids so our nights are filled catering to them for now. Our therapist reminds us however that their will be a time that the nest is empty again and we will need to find something to do. I can browse the internet for hours.

You could buy a Nintendo Wii, or Xbox or something and start gaming lol. I have a buddy who games with his significant other. The key is to find a game you both find interesting.

Sometimes it just takes a little effort. My mom and dad who are retired rarely do things together anymore besides attending family functions. They are near each other a lot of the time, just doing their own things. She is either smoking in the garage, drinking diet coke, or crafting, and he is binge watching Sci-Fi, or working on small house projects.

 

[steelyman]

Unless it is extremely cold and windy, we bundle up and go for a walk anyway, and I live significantly farther north than OP does. Sometimes it feels a little cold for the first few minutes, but once the blood gets pumping, I warm up quickly. I tell her I'm going for a walk, would you like to join me? If she goes, great, if not, that's ok too, at least I ask and offer.

We recently moved to a neighborhood with well kept sidewalks and streetlights so there really isn't any good reason not to get exercise when the days are shorter and the nights are longer.

That’s a really good one. You can also talk while walking and come up with ideas. With days getting shorter the night’s still young!