Ot: HObbies

illuminatus99 · Post by **illuminatus99** » Fri Dec 12, 2003 4:26 am

msheldon wrote:My hobbies tend to become jobs...

I do leatherwork as a part-time business, primarily collars for sighthounds (greyhounds and such).

I also work for greyhound adoption/rescue groups, primarily by promoting adoption at renaissance faires.

we've got a couple here in WA that do that too, they usually have anywhere from two to ten greyhounds with them any given weekend

ScottStewart · Post by **ScottStewart** » Fri Dec 12, 2003 5:46 am

This year I've started doing some real lutherie work. Before that it was just tinkering with minor repairs. Now I'm working with raw wood and blueprints and making lots of sawdust.

cowtime · Post by **cowtime** » Fri Dec 12, 2003 6:31 am

Hobbies- geneology,regional/local Appalachian history, sewing( mideval costumes are the most fun),building(as in construction), researching the Arts& Crafts/Craftsman period ANYTHING, and once in a great while purchasing something for either the house/winery, playing in a GHB band.

Obsessions- Skye Terriers(frequented the show rings for 25 yrs but am in a non-competitive fancier now), art (particularly pen&ink and oils) ,
MUSIC- this takes up most of my free time I admit- playing whatever I can get my hands on and get a sound out of, although whistles, Scottish Tenor Drum, shuttlepipes and piano/organ are played most.

A great deal of my spare time is taken up by church since I'm the organist.

cj · Post by cj » Fri Dec 12, 2003 7:23 am

Wow, y'all are some multitalented folks--I'm impressed!! Some of you must not sleep much.

My few other hobbies are mostly musical--guitar, piano, a bit of mandolin. I also like to read, do crosswords, and see the occasional movie when I get a bit of free time. Don't have a lot of time for hobbies as I have a job and a son. Hobbies can also get expensive, so that's another reason I don't have very many!

mamakash · Post by **mamakash** » Fri Dec 12, 2003 8:07 am

I'm finding I have less and less time for pursuing hobbies. There's the art . . . but I actually went to school for that . . . I enjoy fiddling around with a few instruments. End up spending more time on the net that watching TV, but there's nothing good on TV.

On the other hand, I have taken up home coffee roasting(in all thing, a hot air popper) and enjoy tossing hot beans and wildly trying to de-smoke the garage. I haven't bought the pre-roasted kind in a while. Home roasting is a cool thing.

peeplj · Post by **peeplj** » Fri Dec 12, 2003 8:26 am

My non-musical hobbies include computers and Linux (although both of these overlap into the music these days), reading--my latest favorite book was Dan Brown's "Da Vinci Code"--, writing odd little poems and stories, and playing with our two ferrets, ChitterBug and Chewbacca the Munchie, better known as Ch'Bug and Chewie.

I have also done painting and drawing, but it has been years ago and feels like a whole other lifetime now. My wife Shannon is the artist in the family now.

Here's one of my odd little poems, from the years before I met Shannon:

"The Edge"

I stand alone in a dark room with a stranger
In her small hands she holds a flower or a razor--
I can't tell which--
To learn the answer
I bare my throat and close my eyes
And try to feel the hope and not the danger.

--James

susnfx · Post by **susnfx** » Fri Dec 12, 2003 8:35 am

My hobbies tend to become obsessions which I'll dive into for months or years at a time, then drop. I'm now in my second go-round of watercolor obsession - first taken up several years ago, then dropped when I discovered the whistle and ITM. I'm painting more than whistling these days, but haven't dropped the ITM altogether.

(For those into greyhounds, have any of you been to the Greyhound Gathering in southern Utah? People bring their greyhounds from all over the U.S. for this annual event in my little hometown of Kanab, Utah
http://www.kanabguide.com/greyhoundgathering.html )

Susan

MacEachain · Post by **MacEachain** » Fri Dec 12, 2003 8:54 am

susnfx wrote:My hobbies tend to become obsessions which I'll dive into for months or years at a time, then drop. Susan

Hi, I could have wrote that,

I tend to rotate my hobbies, I'm back to MTB'ing at present, before that it was motorcycling (after an 8 year break), before that Road Cycling (Club level racing), converting a Land-Rover into a camper type thing, rebuilt an old car (RS2000), done some Hiking/Hill walking, XC Sking/off track, canoeing (Canadian), tried rock climbing, collected various stuff, Motorcycle Badges/Pins, slot cars, Mountaineering Books, that kind of thing. I think I like the research aspect of a new hobby almost as much as the actual hobby, the internet's great for information, it used to me a fortune on books.

Cheers, Mac

markv · Post by **markv** » Fri Dec 12, 2003 8:54 am

Many many major and minor obsessions.

Major ones are the two bands I play in, Andean folk and Contra dance. Also instrument building, flutes, whistles, thumb pianos, percussion, experimental strings.

Minors. Blacksmithing, flytying (and fishing), papermaking, kites, bookbinding, wood and corian carving, flintknapping and other "primative" technologies, Atlatl, catapult building (onagers and trebuchets), making clocks and sculpture from obsolete computer components, reading, cooking...

Good thing I don't sleep much and tend to use hand tools more than power tools since they don't wake up the kids when I'm puttering in the garage\shop.

The good news is many of them are self supporting. I make enough money with the bands to support the hobbies that don't bring in any income. Otherwise my wife would probably shoot me! Others share a symbiotic relationship. What do you do with the paper you made? Make kites and books. What do you do with those flint tips? Try making atlatls. Atlatls are cool but how do you get a bowling ball into the cornfield across the street? Trebuchet!

The kids like the results of many of them as well. Not many things cooler than flying a kite that you and your daughter have made from scratch from recyled junk mail and a few dowels.

Mark V.

IDAwHOa · Post by **IDAwHOa** » Fri Dec 12, 2003 9:00 am

cj wrote: Hobbies can also get expensive, so that's another reason I don't have very many!

Tell me about it. I have determined that the typical adult hobby costs around $500 to get started. Sure, you can get into most for less, but to REALLY get started it normally takes about that much.

Except for Whistling. Heck $5-20 can get you in pretty good.....

Wait a minute.....

1... 2... 3.... 8... 9... 10... 3-4 more on the way.....

Nevermind, oh WhOA is me, $500 for whistling too.

bullet08 · Post by **bullet08** » Fri Dec 12, 2003 9:01 am

playing with my kid, martial art (when i get in the mood to kick some..), brewing ale (when my wife lets me..), reading, watching movies and collecting dvd, orchid, terrarium, occational hockey games...

aderyn_du · Post by **aderyn_du** » Fri Dec 12, 2003 9:03 am

mamakash wrote: On the other hand, I have taken up home coffee roasting(in all thing, a hot air popper) and enjoy tossing hot beans and wildly trying to de-smoke the garage. I haven't bought the pre-roasted kind in a while. Home roasting is a cool thing.

What an awesome hobby!! How did you get started in this? My name is Andrea and I'm a coffee-a-holic.

For my own hobbies, I read like a fiend (love fantasy fiction and ancient history), and do a little cross-stitch when I can find the time. I'm trying to teach myself how to knit but haven't gotten very far.... and I make gemstone elixirs but it's not quite a 'hobby', as it's slowly turning into more of a business. I also do a lot with herbal healing. All the rest of my hobbies are music-related... singing, writing chants, and such.

This is really neat to see what everyone else likes to do... we do indeed have some very talented folk and creative among us (not surprisingly)!!

Best,
Andrea

mat · Post by **mat** » Fri Dec 12, 2003 9:39 am

rbm wrote:Bees,

Just out of curiosity have you tried making mead?

mat · Post by **mat** » Fri Dec 12, 2003 9:42 am

NorCalMusician wrote:I have determined that the typical adult hobby costs around $500 to get started.

mmm....adult hobbies eh? Do you really think you should be sharing this with the board?

MarkB · Post by **MarkB** » Fri Dec 12, 2003 9:44 am

My hobbies are more a passion for: sailing, kayaking, roller blading; painting and print making, part time landscape designer specializing in stone and water, my two cats; but most of all the friends that I play Irish music with.

MarkB