what are your hobbies?

[AgadorSparticus]

I scrapbook with a passion. It has kept my so busy and helps fulfill my life. I love working on it as much as looking at the end result. Plus, I get to reminisce about events, places, and people. And everyone loves their gifts. My next project is a scrapbook of my dogs. Then onwards to my mountain of wedding pictures that need to be sorted. I am probably the only person to have her wedding pics still in their proof albums.

[DemExpat]

1. My children's pictures (of the past 20 years!) are still

loose and not organized in nice albums!

:spank:

:-)

My hobbies:
My Jack Russell terrier - long walks and fun together
Reading and searching for info
Moderating on DU
Sometimes drawing and painting
Sometimes studying (I am working on my B.A. after 30 years)
Cooking for family and friends on special occasions.

DemEx

[AgadorSparticus]

4. i t hink that is very COOL that you are working on your BA.

what is your major?

[DemExpat]

8. BSc in Social Science with Human Geography

although I am taking a slight side-track in February with my studies with "Perspectives on Complementary and Alternative Medicine".....:bounce:

It will count for my degree, just slightly off-topic.:D

I took a break last year - I find it stressful sometimes :silly: - but now ready to get back into the thick of it with a topic that I feel passionate about.

:hi:

DemEx

[AgadorSparticus]

9. oooh. that sounds like a very interesting class. you'll have to post

and let us know how this class progesses for you. i need to get back to focusing on some self nurturing too. i took a year off to focus on the election and it pissed me off so now it is time to refocus and refuel.

[supernova]

2. Several artisitic and creative ones

I took up painting while I was unemployed last year. So I experiment with that. I'm very analytical and painting kind of gets me out of my head for a little while. I want to get more abstract. I'm not any good, but it is fun to play with color. :D

I write in my journal. Since I don't talk much, journaling is a good mirror to hold up to myself and get all my feelings out. It's as good a s talking to a good friend.

I work, little by little, on my house. It's a 1950's ranch style and there's always something that could be redone, redecorated, repainted, and so on...

edit: This year I've decided to try entertaining here at home for the first time. I usually have had anyone over to my sactuary except for family. Just some small get togethers for a few friends. I do have my women's group at church coming over in April. That's about 10-15 people. That's about as large as I want to get.

[AgadorSparticus]

3. i used to write all the time. but i haven't in years and it is beginning

to show. i was just telling my husband that i need to get back to studying and journaling because i have noticed in the last year that it is getting more and more difficult for me to gather my thoughts and put it into words. i have never experienced this in my life and it is a little disconcerting. i just bought a nice journal too.

btw, i know a couple people that love to work on their homes too. i think it is becoming quite popular. do you watch all those home improvement shows on HGTV and TLC? my cousin LOVES them.

[supernova]

5. Yes, I watch whenever I can

all the redo and decorating shows. I don't have cable yet, so I'm mostly stuck with PBS. I find them very relaxing actually.

[LWolf]

6. Here ya go:

I read.
I garden.
I take care of my horses, and ride them into the hills to escape.
I wander the hills or woods with or without the horses; "wander" is a better description than "hike" for what I do!
I sit on rocks.
I meditate.
I think.
I soak up silence.
I listen to music, when I've filled up on enough silence.
I collect rocks. I don't know why; it's not organized. But I can't seem to "wander" without bringing a rock home. They are all over the place in my house, for no other reason than I felt I needed to listen to them.

Some other things I like to do, but not as regularly as the above (time constraints)

Play my guitar or didgeridoo or clay flute.
Make herbal teas, creams, salves, etc..
I "nature watch;" not just birds, but other critters and plants.

[AgadorSparticus]

10. sounds wonderful!

:)

[kaitykaity]

7. DU is one of my biggest hobbies.

I watch football, obsess about baseball starting up
again. Used to love pro basketball but soured on my
local team and so have no interest now.

I love playing Zuma, an online game from Yahoo. It
lets me shoot things and blow things up.

I read constantly -- everything from spy action thrillers
to mysteries to psychological thrillers. I don't read so
much nonfiction since the election since I'm still so mad
about everything I can't think about it much without boiling
over.

[AgadorSparticus]

11. I'm addicted to DU too. I spend far too much time here. My excuse

everyday is, "well, i need to go to LBN for the news". But I end up spending most of my time in all the other forums. I'm right there with you on the election. It's time for a little break to regroup and recharge.

[kaitykaity]

12. DU and talk radio are a large reason why

I chose to become an independent contractor and work
out of my home.

Of course it plays right into my loner tendencies.

:evilgrin:

[NJCher]

27. hahah

I used to have a job about five minutes from my house but I couldn't stand the office. Man I hate florescent lights. Also no windows.

So I would just leave and go home and work.


Cher

[Droopy]

13. Reading is about my only hobby

I read DU a lot and I like non-fiction books. Most of my free time is spent reading. I might go visit family members once every so often, but most of the time I'm right here at home on my computer or with my nose in a book.

[Piperay]

14. Reading, painting ceramics, sewing,

making miniature houses and watching TV.

[BiggJawn]

15. Cycling.

I spend all winter resurecting thrift-store bicycles from the dead, then i ride them all summer.

I ride alone. It has been suggested that I join the local clique..Uh, Club for some good times and new friends, but...

[onager]

16. Building intricate scale models...

...and dioramas. Mostly military vehicles and cars. I really enjoy building the cars as beat-up, rusted-out junkers.

It's amazing. Hours pass like minutes when you're trying to place 1/35 scale nuts and bolts, using tweezers, SuperGlue and very strained patience...

I also like reading and wasting time on the Internet. Home repairs and maintenance also take up a lot of time, but I think that qualifies as "pain in the butt" more than hobby.

[BiggJawn]

17. Oh, you don't enjoy the "Joys of Home Ownership"?

In my last marriage, I got REAL good at doing glass replacement and door jamb repair, thanks to my 4 rotten step-kids...I still do small things, like plumbing repairs and furnace filter replacement. I think that's why my landlord likes me, I never bother him...That, and the fact the cops have never been here.

You're right about it being a "pain in the butt". Norm Abrams doesn't live here, either....:-)

[Deja Q]

18. TV, gaming, fiddling with technology. Wishing I was normal.

[Hello_Kitty]

19. Reading, surfing the net, and the gym

I go at least 5 days a week. Working out makes me feel great and it's a way to be around others without interacting too much. I'm a huge people watcher and the gym absolutely fascinates me. I pop my headphones on, get a good sweat going, and imagine the lives of my fellow exercisers.

[applegrove]

20. Reading, non-fiction, reading politics, reading economics, sewing,

genealogy, blogging, thinking about family, planning a small business, volunteerism, working (soon), mothering my cats, sleeping, movies, TV, social justice, healing.

[MsConduct]

21. Since I'm prematurely retired,

I do a lot of things to keep myself occupied....
Surf the Web.
Make beaded jewelry.
Write short stories.
Work on 'true story' book about a haunted house I used to own.
Take care of my arthritic mother.
Keep in email and IM touch with my kids and friends.
Give haircuts to older folks.
House and pet sit for the neighbors.
And do a lot of home improvement stuff.
LOL no wonder I'm a 'loner'!

[mcscajun]

22. Just a bit off-topic -- I like that one: "prematurely retired"

I was calling myself "temporarily retired" when I took early retirement two years ago (I'm not quite 54). Now that I took a part-time job, I'm just plain ol' "semi-retired" -- but I still need more work, unfortunately. :(

But I do have lots of hobbies to keep me busy when I'm not doing the part-timer thing:

Reading, reading, reading
Catching up on movies I've never seen (and they go back decades)
DU, of course
I learned to swim in the last two years :woohoo:
Writing
Photography
Following my boundless curiousity wherever it leads me on the Web.

[MsConduct]

23. It's a bummer being prematurely retired, huh? Semi-retired is

better, I'm sure. I had to retire before I was 50, I just turned 56. I'm happy that you found a part-time work. I truly believe that work (not work alcoholism) is good for the soul.

Peace

[mcscajun]

24. It's remarkably good at keeping the wolf from the door, too.

I 'temporarily retired' (or 'prematurely retired') at 51. I need to keep body and soul together until 59½, when my IRA can start helping me out.

[MsConduct]

25. No pension? I know what you mean....

about keeping the wolf away....Damned wolf! LOL

[mcscajun]

26. "Portable pension" tied up in the same IRA

Ain't life grand?

:rofl:

[MsConduct]

29. I don't know what a 'portable pension' is? Remember the term

'Golden Years'? Mine are getting rusty! LOL

[mcscajun]

30. Many corporations that used to have "Defined benefit plans"

where you didn't contribute anything to the retirement plan and paid you a guaranteed amount monthly when you reached 65, converted them to Cash Value Retirement Accounts, that you can take in lump sum when you leave the company, and roll into an IRA. In come cases, you can leave the money with the corporations retirement plan for later distribution, or you can transfer it in lump sum to you new employers retirement plan, if they allow incoming transfers. You have to park it somewhere when you leave your employer, 'cause it's treated the same as an IRA, and Uncle Sam will rap you big time bucks for not parking it, charging you for a premature retirement distribution.

That's a 'portable pension'. Oh, and the formulas used to calculate the cash values can be pretty nasty, and there have been employee lawsuits in some cases.

[NJCher]

28. I cut down on hobbies but my list is still too large

I used to have a lot of hobbies but I've narrowed down in recent years.

For example, I used to do some sewing and fabric design with dyes and the like but I quit all that to devote myself more to gardening and Internet reading. And I actually used to "go" places--like concerts, movies, Broadway shows, show homes and the like. I never go anywhere anymore and I don't want to, either.

Mostly that's all I do now is read and garden (in addition to work, of course). I do a lot of digital photography and communicating with my garden friends.

I recently renovated a rental property and that was fun. I genuinely enjoyed refurbishing the doorknobs and the hardwood floors and redesigning the kitchen. I like to shop around for houses. I'm helping a friend sell hers and buy a new one now.

Oh, another thing I like to do is design structures for my cats. A year or two my husband and I designed a kitty condo where our two kit-cats can go through a cat door and into a fairly good-sized dog kennel which is suspended off the window. It is surrounded by trees so it can't be seen from the outside. The kitties love to sleep and hangout in there.

Another cat structure I designed is a suspended "cat walk" from the house to the fenced-in pool and garden. This isn't finished--probably will be this weekend, though.

Another one I put up was a window birdfeeder. The birds come over to dine but they can't see the kitties watching them because it's separated by a one-way mirror.

My cats love this stuff and I love designing it for them.


Cher

[NMMNG]

31. Online forums and reading are my two biggest

My bedroom looks like a small library with bookcases lining every wall. I have subscriptions to Mother Jones, The Week, The Nation, The Economist, Utne Reader, Prevention and Readers Digest.

I also enjoy walking, cross-stitch and sundry other arts & crafts (mostly from kits--I'm not artisticly inclined). I'm also going to begin bike riding soon, as a friend is loaning me a bicycle.