I Need Some New Hobbies, What Are Yours?

Interesting thread....

My hobbies:

Paintball - Don't get to do it too often, but it's fun to shoot people and have the adrenaline rush of being shot, without the risk of death.

Horses - We own three of them, and I feel in touch with my ancient forefathers while riding.

Cake Decorating - My mother does this professionally, so I learned by osmosis. My wife and I both enjoy making them for friends and family.

Murals - We love to paint, and make ordinary house walls something special.

Prepping - A fun hobby, that may even prove life-saving. Even if no SHTF event ever happens, I've benefited from prepping many times, such as stretching the grocery bill, living better during a power outage, etc.

Karaoke - Just good fun

Learning Everything - Around the ranch, I've had to improve my skills at carpentry, plumbing, electrical, and fencing, as well as just general mechanical aptitude. I love saving money doing it myself, and the satisfaction of pointing to a new fence and saying, "Yeah, I made that happen"....

My Animals - When I get home from work, I sit in my chair, watch some TV, and usually have a parrot (cockatoo) on my shoulder, a small dog in my lap, a larger dog at my feet, and probably a cat on my chest. It's like some weird Looney Tunes cartoon.

Researching UFOs, Advanced Physics, and Ancient Civilizations - All of these subjects really fascinate me.

Reading - I love to read, whether actual books, or audio books during my commute. Usually, I like adventure books (like the DaVinci Code, or Jack Reacher) or Star Wars books, Game of Thrones novels, True Blood novels, etc.

Originally posted by Druscilla
reply to post by Domo1

 

If you don't have a telescope, I recommend getting one. You can lose yourself for hours, plus, if you have a camera and get an adapter for the telescope you can also suppliment your new astronomy hobby with astrophotography where's there's groups online and sometimes even local meetups for amateur astronomers.

Ii second that

reply to post by ga-`tv-gi


My stepdaughter just moved in with us. She's 19, and had never lived in the country. We're pretty rural, so the first clear night, I took her in the backyard with her eyes closed, then had her look up. She'd never seen so many stars, ever. She was absolutely amazed....was cool to see that look on her face.

I'm new here!

My hobbies include:
Fishing
Irish dance (used to compete, now just do it to stay in shape)
Gardening
Cooking
Antique shopping

reply to post by Domo1
Don't forget to marinate them overnight; wouldn't want to leave any nasty bacteria!

I went to the Pacific NW two summers ago, I didn't look for Sasquatch though- I was too busy eating seafood and drinking wine! I really liked it there, and if it weren't for having to be around for the old parents we'd move there as hubby got offered a few really sweet jobs up there.

I found a go-cart racing track in Tukwila, WA that was awesome! Indoor slick track!

BEFORE I got chronically ill .... I would volunteer. I helped at the church; I taught Sunday School; taught swimming; and I was getting ready to tutor city kids for free (but then I got sick and now am stuck at home). Perhaps you might enjoy volunteering. The YMCA is always looking for volunteers. You could pass along what you know to hungry young minds. Or volunteer with hospice. Help families who are getting ready to say 'goodbye' .. help people who are getting ready to 'move on' to the next world.

Just a thought.

Get to know your native plants and general botany. You live close to the rain forest, yes? Get a few field guides for plants and fungi and start collecting edibles with those fish you plan on catching. Take up hiking, or camping. When I started to look at the plants around me, I see a whole other world. That one vine that most think are a nuisance, are a bounty of information and possibly food.

Calligraphy is another one. Feeling a dip pen between your fingers, drawing the words on parchment is satisfying to me. Of course if you are creating art for someone and you mess up, then you may have to start over, but the end product is nice.

Gardening, even if it is just herbs can be great for the meal. I have a few containers of onion, basil, oregano, that I pick anytime to spice up a meal. Very rewarding, herbs are, they add a whole new level to your food, much more so then dried herbs.

I'm sure inspiration will hit ya, and a solution will present itself.

Fishing has been my all time favorite hobby.
You can feed yourself, get into some nature, almost like a form of meditation, and who knows what you might see. Take a camera with too for some photos of things you might get to see while out in the wild.
And cooking what you catch is fun too.
All around healthy hobby for the soul.

The other hobby I love is painting and drawing although that is something people can either do, or not do, depending on their attitude towards their artistic abilities. I find a lot of people say all they can do is stick figures, but honestly, an artist isn't born in a day, you gotta start someplace. And stick figures can even be cool, like these ones:

So even stick figures have a place!

Painting takes practice, but not a lot really if you find you have a talent for it.
Especially if you can draw, it makes painting a lot easier.

A painting I did. This is only the third painting since I picked up a brush again. I used to paint in high school many years ago, but found it is still not all that hard, however, I have years of doodles and drawings.

With the painting hobby, you can pretty much do whatever you want, and it is cheap to start out. A 20 buck kit from wal mart has lasted me a while.

I figure skate competitively in my spare time. It's a hoot, jumping and spinning, as well as great exercise and an excuse to travel. I also recently discovered pedal kayaking, which gives me something to do on the water while my boyfriend is fly fishing. Other than that, I like to garden, write novels, hike, belly dance, cook and snorkel. 'Haven't tried stand-up paddle boarding yet, but it's next on my list.

Prospecting - cheap, simple, and fun. get some exercise and once you find some "color" you get the "bug"... you can also pan/dig and prospect for precious stones if you have them in your area...

Here is a hobby for you...it is fun,exciting and you don't have to fly as good as Alan can in this video. I started with a couple mini fixed pitch helis and worked my way up to the Collective pitch helis.

Stained glass.
Building a cnc router machine from scratch(next spring)
I bought 3 old radios from garage sales. 2 fom the 1930's and I am learning about vacuum tubes. They will work after the worldwide EMP strike so I will know when the zombie hordes are on tour.

That's a good name for a band, "The Zombie Hordes"


Scuba.
I'm studying solar power systems so I can build my own.
Remodeling to sell my house.
Bought a 3d pen from kickstart that I should get in November so I will be drawing 3d sculptures this fall.
Should be good for making ornaments.

Was thinking about using one of my superhetrodynes and an antique glass display case to make a retro/steampunk type radio receiver with a randomized frequency setting. Lots of moving parts and polished metal.
Sort of a electric sculpture type ghost box.

Inventing an automatic catapult to launch my cat out the bathroom window everytime he craps next to the freshly cleaned litter box.

I guess I really haven't given it much thought.

reply to post by badgerprints


SCUBA is a great idea and something I've considered. The classes aren't that pricey and I love the water. Good call. How hard is doing stained glass? Would I need a ton of space? I think I could get into that.

reply to post by Darkblade71


Beautiful painting!

reply to post by littled16


Go Kart idea reminded me that I want to start doing some autocross with my car. Just found a place called Dirtfish that teaches rally racing. It's a stones throw away from me too. When I was getting some upgrades on the baby today I was chatting with a guy about local tracks, sounds like fun. Vroom.

reply to post by Gazrok

Horses - We own three of them, and I feel in touch with my ancient forefathers while riding.

Grew up with horses. Have owned two, loved it, miss it.


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Keep 'em coming guys, and thank you to everyone who's posted! I really need to learn how to quote multiple people, been here long enough.

Container gardening is a lot of fun, and easy to do in a condo. There are so many great things you can plant that will add a whole new level to your enjoyment of cooking...

1. Herbs

Rosemary, basil, thyme, mint are some good ones

2. Edible Flowers

pansies, violas, nasturtium....beautiful

3. Small Fruit trees

Citrus, Pomegranates, cherries, avocados will all grow in containers, can be protected from frost easily ( ones that need it ) and can move with you to be planted permanently someday

4. Berries

5. Veggies

Lots of fun......

reply to post by Domo1
Awesome! I rode with a friend of mine who does that- scared the bejeezes out of me, but it sure was fun! Make sure your suspension is tip top before you get started, the turns are crazy!

reply to post by Domo1


This is a great thread, I really enjoyed everyone's hobbies.

As far as looking to meet new people and get some socialization, you can search for free things to do in (your city). If you dig around you will find all sorts of things to do which cost nothing. This leads to socialization, the chance to meet new people, and might lead to a new interest or hobby. As an example, I have been to multiple museums, manufacturing plants like a large scale bakery and an ice cream maker, symphonies, and other random local things. I'm sure you can find at least 12 things so you can do one per month for a year.

As far as a personal hobby. I am a geocacher and that provides excitement, exercise, exploration, and it's free outside the initial investment in a GPS unit.

I practice minimalism, which means I am constantly on the look out for unnecessary things in my home. When I find them, they go to a designated box which I will then list on eBay. That's great it means I get rid of a useless item and make money.

Another thing (if you own your condo) is small home improvements. Tiny things which don't cost much, like upgrading your door knobs one at a time can be hugely rewarding. First, you learn something if you haven't done it before, second, you improve the value of you home, and third, you're getting some physical activity. There is also the benefit of increasing your enjoyment of every day life by upgrading your surroundings.

What I would really like, would be to learn to throw knives better. I think that would be an excellent skill to have.

Have you ever thought about learning the guitar? My social life changed dramaticaly once i started carrying that thing around.

It's not as hard as some think, you can get by on a few basic chords, and if you have somebody who is learning with you, all the better. So many YouTube vids on the basics too.

I play guitar, banjo, uke, love tinkering around with wood and yesterday i had my first wood carving lesson.

CX.