Alternative Hobbies

[abecedarian]

I can't do crossword puzzles at all. Even really simple clues throw me, unless it is something specific like "The author of Lolita (8, 7)" then I have a teeny chance, other than that I'm stuffed.

Me too, my two remaining brain cells do the "deer in the headlights" thing and I have to move on to double klondike solitaire, so my ego gets a boost

 

[mehastings]

What about you guys?

These days, my life is VERY routine, to the point that the grocery store is big time excitement. I'm looking forward to spring when I can re-"take up" ( like that non-word there?) all the hobbies that I do outside of reading, like running, playing soccer, working in my yard, gardening, etc.

My latest deal is composting. It is very exciting as I've wanted a compost bin since we bought the house two years ago. Right now I'm making a big list of composting YESs and NOs for "he who probably wouldn't even recycle if it weren't for me". After that, I'm headed out to buy a bucket of cookies so I'll have a bucket with a lid on it for temporary storage in the house. I'm tempted to go to the bookstore and buy a composting book. Even though I already know how, I could probably learn more about the process from a nice book.

Soon I'll want to trade baking recipes here!

I would. You can PM me any time if you are interested. I've got some winners. I can even do amazing things with a box mix of cake or brownies...

 

[Ronny]

Last spring I went to a Dirt Works (local gardening project) presentation on worms and compost. Interesting stuff, I'm from a family of avid gardeners and we all enjoyed it, my son loved the worms

 

[Ronny]

I'd like to hear what you do with with cake mix & brownies, I've tried a few things with them some really good and a few not so good.

 

[novella]

direstraits, I'm very sympathetic to this urge. When I'm not writing, I'm a professional dilettante.

Some of the stuff I do now:
--freeform crocheting bits of clothing, i.e., without a pattern. There are a lot of very good wool farms near me, so it's too tempting.

--I'm in the middle of an oil painting, a portrait of my dad and his brother, circa 1937, standing in a marsh on the East End of Long Island. (They're little kids, and I'm working from an old sepia photo, introducing my own idea of the colors.)

--I do the London Times cryptic crossword, sent to me by snail mail by a friend. Regular US crosswords have more in common with Trivial Pursuit than with a real puzzle, so I find them really boring.

--collecting clematis for my garden. I tried roses for while but they don't survive well in my climate.

--sitting on the local planning board. I've been asked and am considering it. I used to write a column on land use, so my name came up. Catching up on what's going on with various parcels in my town (mostly farms) so I know what I'm getting into before I meet with them.

--teaching Dog to talk. Long-term project.

Stuff I did in the past, in a dilettante fashion:

--Build websites for friends and local nonprofits.

--Line drawings of historic buildings.

--Buying fabric, putting it through the sewing machine, and regretting it.

--Collecting thrift shop clothes. Not a pretty habit over time, unless you own a storage facility. Giving clothes back to thrift shops.

--B&W chemistry for film photography. Had a darkroom in my previous house. Had a lot of fun. Unfortunately, this is such a specialized area of art since digital photography (which I detest, though it is convenient sometimes), that it is somewhat 'precious' now. I do love the result, though.

--Cooking: Indian phase, French phase, Japanese phase, Greek moment. I don't do as much these days. Sort of lost interest.

 

[mrkgnao]

I took up playing the guitar, never having played a musical instrument before... but what started as a routine-breaking new hobby will, I foresee, become a passion

*mrkgnao*

 

[Ronny]

BTW novella it's good to see you back around

 

[mehastings]

--freeform crocheting bits of clothing, i.e., without a pattern. There are a lot of very good wool farms near me, so it's too tempting.

This, I would love to see. I've done some pattern adapting, but I don't know that I'm daring enough to just wing it. I'd be afraid to end up with a sweater with two arms of different lengths!

Ronny--I'll get together some ideas for you and PM you in the next couple weeks.

 

[novella]

This, I would love to see. I've done some pattern adapting, but I don't know that I'm daring enough to just wing it. I'd be afraid to end up with a sweater with two arms of different lengths!

Ronny--I'll get together some ideas for you and PM you in the next couple weeks.

Dang, meh, I figure I've got the body it's going to go on right here, so I just hold it up once in a while. Though I have made some funny boo boos. Once I made a lavender short-sleeved top that was crocheted so tightly it stood up on its own, like a suit of armor. haha. Still, it looked nice. Very couture.

 

[novella]

I took up playing the guitar, never having played a musical instrument before... but what started as a routine-breaking new hobby will, I foresee, become a passion

*mrkgnao*

I tried to take up piano again (dropped when I was 14), but my son who can really play won't let me near it. I've been banned!

 

[Poppy1]

What the sheep owners do, is keep one llama that lives with their flock. Two or more llamas would only care about eachother, but the single thinks of the sheep flock as 'family'.

What do the sheep need protecting from? In NZ the only problem we have is wandering dogs who will sometimes worry and attack sheep.

Some of the stuff I do now:
--freeform crocheting bits of clothing, i.e., without a pattern. There are a lot of very good wool farms near me, so it's too tempting.

I've always admired people who can knit or crochet without patterns. I always use a pattern but like using different colours randomly. You can get a neat stained-glass effect if you break the different colours up with black.

 

[abecedarian]

What do the sheep need protecting from? In NZ the only problem we have is wandering dogs who will sometimes worry and attack sheep.

In the plains states, the main worry is coyotes and stray dogs. Other areas have mountain lions and bears.

 

[novella]

I always use a pattern but like using different colours randomly. You can get a neat stained-glass effect if you break the different colours up with black.

I meant to reply to your earlier post about spinning. Never tried that. Around me there are some specialty merino and alpaca farms that I buy from. Very good colors they have. But the idea of 'bunny-to-bootie' (what they call it at the county fair when you shear, spin, and knit) has always seemed very pioneerish and cool.

 

[mehastings]

I've always admired people who can knit or crochet without patterns. I always use a pattern but like using different colours randomly. You can get a neat stained-glass effect if you break the different colours up with black.

You would love the "ugly afghan" I just finished. It's made up of about fifty colors and yarn types in different size stripes, starting and ending in random places. People used to tell me how ugly it was, so I call it my ugly afghan, but I think it is really pretty great.

One of my co-workers has a llama herd. If his wife ever learns how to spin well I'm going to dye the yarn using natural sources and have a field day with it. **Note, I've been waiting two years now, so I may need to get my own spinning wheel and take up a new hobby at this rate.

 

[Poppy1]

Your afghan sounds beautiful, aren't some people rude! Multi-colour knitting is so much more fun than using just one colour. If you have time, spinning is a very relaxing hobby(once you get the hang of it , at first it's really frustrating). I think I must be quite a frugal soul as I get a lot of satisfaction out of making something for free.

PS Have just read the link on your page, and taking up another hobby right now is probably a bit much. Hope everything goes well.

 

[Poppy1]

I meant to reply to your earlier post about spinning. Never tried that. Around me there are some specialty merino and alpaca farms that I buy from. Very good colors they have. But the idea of 'bunny-to-bootie' (what they call it at the county fair when you shear, spin, and knit) has always seemed very pioneerish and cool.

Novella I have to confess we got someone else to shear the sheep. Wise really because when I was a kid my parents inherited a pet sheep with the property they bought. Dad rounded us all up (5 kids) and armed with one set of hand shears and the rest with kitchen scissors we proceeded to shear this poor sheep. Whether it ever got over the trauma of looking like a bedraggled, moth-eaten, whispy shadow of it's former self, it was hard to know. I bet the local farmers had a good old chuckle every time they went past though. Could just hear them saying "Bloody Townies"

 

[Poppy1]

[
In the plains states, the main worry is coyotes and stray dogs. Other areas have mountain lions and bears.

It must be so different having animals round that are truly dangerous. We,fortunately, don't even have snakes.

Just changing the subject here a little, ABC, I get the impression you are a very musical family (I think I read that your daughter played the violin and you certainly know a lot about music) Do the rest of your family play musical instuments and do you have jam sessions together?

 

[abecedarian]

It must be so different having animals round that are truly dangerous. We,fortunately, don't even have snakes.

Just changing the subject here a little, ABC, I get the impression you are a very musical family (I think I read that your daughter played the violin and you certainly know a lot about music) Do the rest of your family play musical instuments and do you have jam sessions together?

My dh plays piano/keyboard, guitar, and dulcimer(some). He also played trumpet when he was in school, and he sings a little. Dds Anna sings beautifully and used to sing at church. Rachel sings and plays piano, Katie sing and plays guitar, Emily sings(all the time!) and plays violin and guitar, Ben sings like a goat, but plays fiddle, mandolin, and piano. Daniel can sing pretty good, but doesn't play an instrument. The rest, Becca,Abby, Ethan, and Elijah love to sing too, but so far, play no instruments..although some are starting to talk like maybe they'd like to.
I play no instruments and couldn't carry a tune if it had handles..but I've always loved music and was raised listening to a wide variety of musical styles.

 

[direstraits]

I know enough in my experience never to say never, but I seriously don't think I'll knit ever. With or without live sheep.



ds

 

[Poppy1]

With all this talk about goats, it's probably wise to keep away from the live sheep as well, at present

You didn't answer my question - did you name yourself after the band ?(an excellent choice if I may say so)