Hobbies

[Yocheved]

I used to be an interior designer and theater costume maker. When I fell ill I channeled all of my energy into creating my own line of jewelry, and did extremely well with it for several years. The past few years my hands have started shaking too much to do a lot of production work, so now I mainly do custom orders when I feel like I can take them on. I still have a faithful following that contacts me from time to time for special items.

I sell a lot of my old jewelry supplies on Etsy, so that brings in a bit of money. I've been contacting art galleries and boutiques to try and get some of my older collections shown on consignment so I don't have to fuss with packing and shipping.

I really miss being so creative and productive! Making pretty things has always been my passion.

http://www.Rivkasmom.com
http://www.etsy.com/shop/RivkasmomVintage
http://www.etsy.com/shop/Parnossa

 

[_June]

If you're capable of learning (I'm not, I lost the ability to learn), check Udacity, OpenCourseWare, KhanAcademy, and learn some new skills. Those places offer free video lessons. It's exciting to learn new things, and who knows, maybe you can put those skills to good use!

Do some volunteer work over the internet for non-profits. (Search google for "online volunteer work")

Or download Bejewels game ... it's so addictive If you have a tablet or smartphone you can download it there instead of on the computer. Using tablet/smartphone is much easier than a mouse/keyboard if you have joint pain.

Edit:
Download SecondLife (virtual world) and attend classes there. You can learn foreign languages, go to art galleries (or make your own), participate in discussion groups, etc. There is voice chat if typing is difficult for you. If you're part of some group/club/organization but stopped going to meetings because you're too tired, chances are there's a group on SecondLife you can join, so you can still attend meetings without leaving your house.

Tutor children/teenagers online (Skype?)

 

[Gavman]

When I'm able I do yoga at the park or teach a couple of mates how to fight boxing/Kickboxing/wrestling. Very hard to do without strength or adrenaline.

 

[Moxie]

Another photography enthusiast here. I even had a profitable side business for a couple of years. I had to give up weddings first, now I'm turning away portraits, too. I should just take the page down, but I can't quite stand to yet. And I still get a couple of orders trickling in here and there from old events, so I leave it up. I mentioned in another thread that I blog my dog's adventures when I'm able. This latest crash has made my arms a bit useless, so I haven't been lifting my camera lately at all..therefore no recent blogging. So far, I still work at my "real" job a couple of days a week, and am holding onto that with everything I've got. I hope to get to keep it.

It seems my current hobby is bouncing around from doctor to doctor and test to test, but at least achieving a diagnosis should slow that down.

Right now I spend a lot of time online trying to learn about causation theories and treatments so I can be an educated patient and self-advocate. I also read a lot offline.

Now that it's warmer, I'm spending more time outdoors. Sitting or strolling depending on the day. I love watching the woods change and the behavior of the local fauna. I just pulled another tick off myself 2 days ago, though, so I'm not sure how smart that is. I garden when I'm able.

I go down to the basement and stare at my road bike and dust her off now and then just so she knows I haven't forgotten her.

 

[LaurieL]

I have a thing for plants. Succulents, hostas, shade lovers. I am building some vertical walls, and making my own cement/perlite planters. I have a slew of succulents on the way. The girls at work are getting interested since I am so passionate about this updo for my apartment patio. I like crafty projects.

 

[Moxie]

LaurieL, I would love to see photos of the walls and planters if you wouldn't mind sharing. That sounds very cool.

 

[Misfit Toy]

I love to read. I read 2 books a month and tons of magazines.
I rent movies from Netflix. Right now I am into "Homeland." True Blood last season is next.
I love the show, "River Monsters."
I love to journal.
Love music.
The summer is nice because I like to lounge by the pool when up to it. I enjoy nature and grass.
I make jewelry for hobby and as my main job.
I love eating out. This is a hobby. I love trying new foods.
When I feel better, I love to shop!
I like to write.
I took 4 years of photography and am super skilled in capturing people and getting natural shots.

 

[Sean]

- Tying knots.

(Is that a double bowline, with a Yosemite finish, that you have in your hand there, Mr S?
Why yes, I do believe it is. )

- Picking sweet lemons off my very productive tree.

- Watching/listening to lots of stuff online (mainly docos, but a fair bit of comedy and the occasional movie).

Very grateful to live in the internet age when I can do so much online, including ordering my grocery shopping and getting it home delivered.

 

[LaurieL]

Moxie,

I have no way of taking pictures and uploading them to my computer. I have had breakdowns of each, and I am running my computer and phone on bare threads. I actually dropped the drive on my good computer. I am running an old 95 right now. Another project for when it is too hot, to do anything outside.

Right now I am jones-ing for plants. One of my fav things to do when it cools down at night in the summer is to listen to the locusts, and admire everyones lawn fauna. I like to study out there, chat with my neighbors,and sometimes, when my molybdemum levels are good, I like a good strong margarita with a heavily salted rim. I do have links to pictures I found on the net for my ideas. Will post links soon. This will keep me busy for a few weeks. Its gonna be soooo satisfying and to do it yourself is soooo cheap. Cheap is good too.

LaurieL

 

[LaurieL]

I will also be planting caladiums, blue lobellia, cascading falls, a couple of ferns, and an asparagus fern. I will be doing the caladiums in another vertical wall, and the rest in planters. I would like to make a beehive perlite basket for one of them, and a round one for another. I want to do a medium broken pot with succulents spilling into a flat basket under it as well. I am a sucker for color and texture, en masse. I will loose the annuals at the end of the season, but our seasons are usually quite long, until about november most years. The vertical walls can be hung indoors, and some of these are cold hardy with a little care. I grow the annuals from seed, so its a cheap option. The pots wont be too big, so these can be brought indoors as well. I have a jade I have been growing since christmas. It was an inch or two when I got ahold of it. It is now about a foot, and with four branches. I already have the hostas. Those have been potted for a couple of years. They have doubled in size since last season. The only thing I am missing is blue hostas. My fave hosta.

This makes me giddy. Like opening christmas presents when I was a kid!!

LaurieL

 

[Little Bluestem]

Have you seen the pictures made from succulents? I would like to do one of those some day. I bought a succulent several years ago and it has been proliferating like crazy.

You could get a Dragon Tree if your patio is big enough.

 

[LaurieL]

@bluestem,

Alas, my patio will be filled......I have a pink/white dogwood. I did get a hold of a rare red pagoda succulent. Its coming over from Australia. I won an auction on EBay. I got a hold of some biggies, the aloes are from australia as well. I know!!! Proliferation I like!!! Arent they gorgeous? Its the texture and colors that get me and there are so many things you can do with these things. And they are soooooo.......natural. And there are so many kinds. This will be something I can hone over years worth of time, and if I move, they can go with me, and since they proliferate, I can leave some behind for others to enjoy. Thanks everyone for letting me gush over this!!

LaurieL

 

[Moxie]

Those are beautiful - thank you! I love pretty much anything that grows. I had a pretty stonecrop with yellow flowers that had taken over all available room in one of my beds at my old house. That's the only succulent I've ever had. I liked it because it proliferated well without choking anything else out. And it was so shallowly rooted that I could move it around easily without killing it. I'm now wishing I'd grabbed a bit to bring with me.

I'm inspired to play with more now - thanks!

 

[LaurieL]

Just got these via parcel post yesterday. I ordered three and they look like this....

They are called "Ghost Plants". These are greener, mine are more silver. I am hoping they will look something like these in the next couple of years...

I would like to do this...

And they look like this as they age, if you don't mix them with another succulent...

when mixed...

Of which, eventually after propagation I would like something like this...

or this...

 

[snowathlete]

Lovely pictures - thanks for sharing. I used to love gardening and could manage the small garden early on but it's too much now. Still have some gorgeous azaleas and Rhodes out in bloom at the moment so that's nice. Low maintenance.

I miss swimming a lot.

I enjoy reading so do a lot of that. Fiction but also blogs and research papers etc. I watch a lot of movies but not much TV. Occasional genealogy but I'm pretty much just sitting back and waiting for new DNA results to come in from people with the same name.

Most I enjoy writing and I do a bit of that, but not often I am we'll enough to write my fiction work sadly.

 

[Little Bluestem]

I wonder how old that ghost plant in the cement planter is. That is really impressive.

 

[LaurieL]

I would be clearly guessing but I did join the forum where that photo is featured, and asked the age and growth rate of the grapt ghosts. I have encountered info in which the growth rate is ambigous, stated from slow to average to fast. I would think, as with all succulents, it would depend on soil, sun, and water. The colors also change with these factors. You could grow these enmasse as a ground cover, and depending on the sun, your ground cover color would vary due to exposure times. I am guessing that container would be at least 5 years old, depending on whether grown in a longer seasonal zone.

These also propagate from the center sending out aerial shoots that grow another, and then the older leaves will drop, propagate new plants, and leave you with the ropes you see in the pictures. If the ropes get too long, you can snap it off, and propagate it as well. Its a proliferic propagator, as it is a brittle delicate plant, because that is what it does. Breaking apart easily allows it to propagate faster. Its a great cascading plant or ground cover plant. Looks good alone or when planted with others. I let you know how mine does at the end of the summer.

The waiting makes me feel like a kid waiting to open christmas presents. I look forward to see what I get!! I think its a wise time investment for me!!

 

[Arise]

I've recently gotten intto growing plants and herbs, the thing I like about it is that it doen't require much energy or time to enjoy .

 

[Arise]

If you're capable of learning (I'm not, I lost the ability to learn), check Udacity, OpenCourseWare, KhanAcademy, and learn some new skills. Those places offer free video lessons. It's exciting to learn new things, and who knows, maybe you can put those skills to good use!

Do some volunteer work over the internet for non-profits. (Search google for "online volunteer work")

Or download Bejewels game ... it's so addictive If you have a tablet or smartphone you can download it there instead of on the computer. Using tablet/smartphone is much easier than a mouse/keyboard if you have joint pain.

Edit:
Download SecondLife (virtual world) and attend classes there. You can learn foreign languages, go to art galleries (or make your own), participate in discussion groups, etc. There is voice chat if typing is difficult for you. If you're part of some group/club/organization but stopped going to meetings because you're too tired, chances are there's a group on SecondLife you can join, so you can still attend meetings without leaving your house.

Tutor children/teenagers online (Skype?)

The thing I miss the most is this being able to learn. When you have so much free time but no energy it can be frustating, I'd love to learn about computer programming, a new langauge, music instrument and somekind of art. But with so little mental energy its not possible. And if and when you do have energy you have to be careful on what to use it on because it becomes a precious luxury.