And they aren't "have you put on some weight?" 

It's the dreaded post retirement question:

 "What do you do all day?"

It's delivered as a "wow, lucky you, wish I could do that. It would be great to have ALL that FREE time."

I hear that statement and think they are really asking, "how does it feel to be a slug?"

I found that saying "seeing friends, seeing movies, going to museums, playing, hopping, skipping and jumping" is met with a wan smile, a nod and not much more than that.

So I switched to saying "I am sculpting."  Now this, it appears, elicits nods of encouragement, wistful statements about this being their fantasy. "Precisely what I'd do with my time," they say.  Why, I actually think I see some admiration in their eyes. Whether I am working in clay, marble or playdoh, doesn't come up.  I, sensibly, don't see the percentages in offering up any specifics. 

I might switch, sometime soon, from saying I am sculpting to I'm painting or perhaps pursuing photography. Same cachet, I think. 

Making art seems to be the arbiter of being interesting. Looking at it doesn't.