I recommend puttering.
Not “putting”–i.e. short golf shots.
Puttering–random small household repairs/improvements, that need only 1 person, & can be done in a afternoon or 2.
Fix that drippy pipe. The guy at the hardware store will be happy to tell you how.
Install a funky new light fixture–hardware store guy again.
Touch up the paint on your railings or bannisters.
Any small but worthwhile thing, that will make your home a teensy bit nicer to live in.
One of my father’s favorite hobbies is making small name badges out of copper wire - You know the ones you see at craft fairs and artsy booths.
Basically, you need some 18 gage copper wire, a smooth pair of needle-nosed pliers, and a small file. You then write down a person’s name in cursive writing, and replicate it in the copper wire. You put a swoosh at the end, which becomes the backing pin. You file the pin down into a point, and voila! Work of art.
Its small, portable, and quite a conversation starter. Most people notice you bending the wire, and then ask you what you are doing. You can then ask them their name, its spelling, and have a brief chat with them. It takes about 10 minutes once you start, and its a bright spot in people’s day. My father has done this on dozens of trips, and its always a fun little activity. Plus, on airplanes, he hands them out to stewardessess, and gets some nifty first-class gifts out of it :-).
I would take up whittling and chewing tobacco. That seems to work for folks around here.
They let him take his pliers on the airplane these days?
He’s been quite lucky with this. He keeps them in a camera bag, and they just get passed through. He’s flown with them for YEARS, and wasn’t ever bothered about them until about a month ago. It was a trainee at the line screening :).
Its been quite a source of joy for him. Especially when the flight attendants remember him, and proudly show off the nametags he’s made years before. He gets nothing but compliments, and gets to chat with people - both are all-time favorites of his. 