A Hobby Too Far

I've got loads of hobbies, far too many hobbies for a woman with my schedule some might say. but I just can't help myself.

Reading: This is my first and foremost passion. I will read everything and anything. When I was little I wanted to be a librarian because I just thought I could read all day and never run out of reading material. Then I realised they don't make any money - ever a capitalist....or greedy. I read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance when I was about 12. Not sure I understood it then (or now for that matter). The stacks of books either unread or half read or 3/4 read next to my side of the bed threaten to fall over every time I get up in the morning. I finish 2-3 books/month and it would be more if I didn't have to work. Blasted greed thing again!

Cooking: I read more cookbooks than I cook (an odd habit picked up from my grandmother). But I do love cooking. My husband has caught this disease and we both love to whip up a great meal, for friends, for family, for each other, for fun. In addition to my world famous Tuna Noodle Casserole (which is simply wicked - unless you are my son's mate, Jamie, who doesn't hold it in very high esteem) I make a wicked Chili con Carne which will sweat just about any cold right out of you. And baking.....desserts used to scare the daylights out of me. I took a pie making course last year (seriously) and loved it. I now feel comfortable doing pies, cookies, cakes! Marc makes the best creme brulee I've ever had! I love desserts.

Quilting: This was a hobby I picked up between having my 2 children. I lost a baby when Sebastian wasn't quite 2 years old and I felt the walls of my world crashing down around me. I would spend entire morning crying before going to work, days at the office hiding in the ladies room trying to stem the flow of tears, and evening sobbing uncontrollably on the sofa. Marc suggested I try quilting after seeing my admiration of his Aunt Mary's quilts. So I contacted Green Mountain Quilts near our home and signed up for a class. I was the youngest in the group of 4 women (by about 10 years - or more) and the class was dedicated to hand piecing which is very time intensive. I stopped crying and I've never looked back. I love quilting and always have one on the go, sitting on the side of the sofa, ready to be picked up when I get bored with whatever Marc is watching on the television (usually a program about airplanes crashing).

Blogging: Writing this blog helps me satisfy my deep seeded desire to be a writer. I used to keep journals. I kept a diary from the age of 10 until the day after my son was born. After that I struggled to fit it all in. Then I became the Newsletter Editor for the Thames Valley American Women's Club for about 18 months. But I was dependent on lots of other people doing their part. And it just simply took far too much time (more than I was willing to give). Then I started Blogging. This seems to meet my inner needs to write down everything and anything that happens to me and those around me. Strange dysfunction that! And I can fit it in around everything else I do. Not only does writing a blog count as a hobby but so does reading blogs. I love reading what others are doing and I have some favourites that I must visit everyday.

Gardening: OK, not so much gardening as vegetabling (I know that is not a word but....). I love growing my own vegetables. I love the experience it gives my children. They love watching the seeds they bury under the dirt break through. They love seeing the veg grow. They love eating the veg. It's a great way to get them eat their 5/day. It's a great way for them to appreciate that food is grown not just magically appears in a supermarket. I save money and I get a real sense of accomplishment when I can put something on the dinner table and know precisely where it came from. I do not like weeding the garden and wish it could water itself but the end result of a carefully nutured vegetable plot is well worth the investment.

Knitting: OK, not exactly a hobby yet insomuch as I don't know how to do it. I have all the stuff and I pull it out occasionally to try try again. I am a pitiful failure but I sure like trying.

Sailing: Marc was a sailor when I met him and one of the reasons I agreed to a second date was so that he could teach me how to sail. He did and I loved it from day one! Not bad for a girl from Colorado - a land locked state! It was one of the few things I've done in my life that allowed my brain to go blank and focus solely on the task at hand. I couldn't think about 100 things at once (like I normally do). If I did, we got wet. But if I focused and Marc focused we sailed rather well and we had loads of fun! We sailed Catamarans - Dart 18s - every weekend until we had children. It is not exactly a child friendly hobby. We know people who continued to sail post-children but they have family close by and dropped them off for the weekend which isn't exactly my idea of family life. So we gave up sailing....at least until the children got older. Now they are that much older and we have managed 1 sailing trip with the children which was great fun. More are planned for the future and I expect this hobby to rise to the top of the pile.

Running: Hard to believe by looking at me but I really love running. It allows me some quiet time to mentally take stock. I can run to music and really get the heart rate going or I can run to the thoughts in my head and well....really get the heart rate going. I just wish I had more time for this hobby. This hobby always ends up at the bottom of the pile because I have leave the house to do it and without on demand childcare, I find this extremely difficult.

What are your hobbies?