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Post by daylilydude on Dec 11, 2017 4:07:11 GMT -5
What are you doing when you are not working, eating or planning your garden?
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Post by spike on Dec 11, 2017 9:29:59 GMT -5
Cooking, my pups, hiking and swimming!
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Post by ladymarmalade on Dec 11, 2017 11:13:37 GMT -5
When I put my gardening tools away for the season I pull out my sewing machine, and that stays out until I can get back in the garden. I work a lot on dance costumes, but also other projects as they come up. This week I have to make DS a costume for a show on Saturday, so that's my top priority this week, but I also have materials on hand to make some new living room curtains asap as well. I also cook, bake, and I used to food blog a lot, but that's currently on mostly a hiatus. I have well over 100 cookbooks and I still get a few cooking magazines, even though most of that content is online these days. I'm definitely a foodie raising foodies. I love camping, but we only do that once a year right now. I also love to travel (by car, I love a good road trip), but at this stage of life we only travel when the kids need to go somewhere for dance competitions. I love to read fantasy novels, and I'm also a bit of a movie nut, but in this season of raising teenagers, neither of those happens as often as I would like. Someday!
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Post by paulf on Dec 11, 2017 11:37:59 GMT -5
My other interests are also a year round endeavor: reading (police procedurals, detective mysteries, historical fiction, science fiction and fantasy) and writing (a monthly gardening column and science fiction short stories...unpublished but still sending them in)
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Post by horsea on Dec 11, 2017 13:42:46 GMT -5
Crocheting again, after not doing so for 20 years. I first learned at age 19, I think. When I'm through yapping here, I hope to hunt through the pile & find some white crocheting yarn or thread and make some snowflake-type ornaments for the Christmas tree. My next project is a cardigan but not one of those voluminous, sloppy, shapeless, unfitted ones that seem to be so popular among crocheters in recent years. I mean a real cardigan. One fine day I just might complete this and post a photo here. I hope so, anyway. So far I've made a doily and a Christmas table runner. They don't look too bad... I hope all of you will post on this subject; I love to hear about what others are doing.
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Post by brownrexx on Dec 11, 2017 13:57:28 GMT -5
I like cooking from scratch and finding new ways to use the wonderful things that I grow during the gardening season.
I go horseback riding at least once a week all year.
Hubby and I have a log cabin in the woods of western PA and we visit at least 2 weekends per month. Lots of nature related activities, cutting firewood, etc
Birdwatching.
Swimming.
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Post by mgulfcoastguy on Dec 11, 2017 14:01:48 GMT -5
Big Green Egg ceramic grill, reading, exercise, and way too much time online.
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Post by Gianna on Dec 11, 2017 14:19:33 GMT -5
I enjoy petting kitties and watching videos, but not too violent. Drama/mystery along the lines of Inspector Morse, TinkerTailor (the original), George Gently, Foyle's War, Bosch, etc. I've done lots of artsy stuff over the years. Calligraphy, painting (oil, acrylic, watercolors), paper marbling, paper making - all things paper, glass mosaics. (Art and gardening are part of the same continuum.) And I play tennis about 3 times/wk. It's California after all.
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Post by meandtk on Dec 11, 2017 15:39:26 GMT -5
Cooking, my pups, hiking and swimming! I am surely grateful for one of those commas
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Post by meandtk on Dec 11, 2017 15:41:55 GMT -5
I am a voracious reader. During the day I read for educational purposes, and at night I devour fiction.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Dec 11, 2017 15:58:14 GMT -5
Woodworking. I have a workshop in which one of the best things I set up is a dust collection system, to suck up most of the dust from all those machines!
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aqua
Pro Member
Posts: 295
Zone:: 8b9a
Favorite Vegetable:: all of them
Joined: March 2012
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Post by aqua on Dec 11, 2017 17:02:51 GMT -5
I used to do DNA triangulation to help adoptees find their birthparents, but it became too obsessive. Besides my own, I found thirty other sets of birthparents. Cooking, eating, working about 50+ hours a week, beachcombing, bike-riding. meandtk, I missed that first comma on Spike's post, too! hahaha glad I wasn't the only one!
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Post by brownrexx on Dec 11, 2017 17:06:29 GMT -5
meandtk, I love your new avatar. Did you take that pic? I have a trail cam at our cabin and I get some cool wildlife pics. I guess that's another hobby of mine.
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Post by bluelacedredhead on Dec 11, 2017 17:15:12 GMT -5
Knitting, Reading, Grandkids, Car Camping (too old for sleeping on the ground). Recently, I attended 8 weeks of CrossStitch lessons. I managed to complete a tiny picture of a fox, but the next project frustrated me to no end, so I don't think cross stitch will become a permanent hobby for me. However, I have attended several types of craft classes in the last year and quite enjoy trying new ones. They have included make an Ugly Christmas Sweater, a Bird's Nest pendant and tomorrow's class to make a Lavender Bathtub Tea Bag.
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Post by bluelacedredhead on Dec 11, 2017 17:17:02 GMT -5
I used to do DNA triangulation to help adoptees find their birthparents, but it became too obsessive. Besides my own, I found thirty other sets of birthparents. aqua, May I commend you on giving of your time this way. I understand it's very consuming, but of course, as and adoptee you know how important this is to those of us searching. Huggz
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Post by horsea on Dec 11, 2017 18:02:05 GMT -5
I've done lots of artsy stuff over the years. Calligraphy, painting (oil, acrylic, watercolors), paper marbling, paper making - all things paper, glass mosaics.What calligraphic hands do you prefer? I still do this sporadically. My fave hand is Foundational, this being a sample I found on the internet and not my own work.
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Post by Gianna on Dec 11, 2017 19:03:24 GMT -5
What calligraphic hands do you prefer? I still do this sporadically. My fave hand is Foundational:
Very nice! I once took a workshop for that script. I enjoyed it, but never used it. It was good practice in control however. I've done uncials and old English, but mostly use Italics because I can go pretty fast. Uncials are my second favorite but I never got that good with them.
I used to write names on certificates part time. Totally enjoyed that because in essence I was being paid to practice. And I could watch videos at the same time. Then us calligraphers got replaced by the computer. Bummer.
I don't letter for money any more, but last summer I did about a hundred place cards for a wedding and got paid with a case of fine wine. I enjoyed lettering again, and the wine was good. Win-Wine.
edit: Good heavens horsea , I just noticed you are in zone 3! I didn't know green plants could survive there. You must have a very short growing season. No wonder you have the time for calligraphy.
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Post by bluelacedredhead on Dec 11, 2017 19:33:45 GMT -5
Wow! That's gorgeous stuff! Gianna , horsea , will be able top tell you more about Zone 3 than I (the coldest I've farmed was in Zone 4a, but he's a chart of plants considered hardy OR able to grow during the short season of Zone 3 by the Almanac. www.almanac.com/plants/hardiness/3
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Post by meandtk on Dec 11, 2017 21:19:56 GMT -5
meandtk , I love your new avatar. Did you take that pic? I have a trail cam at our cabin and I get some cool wildlife pics. I guess that's another hobby of mine. I can only wish. I have never seen a bear in my area. I hear the blac bear is coming back in LA & MS, though.
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Post by bestofour on Dec 12, 2017 0:19:24 GMT -5
I like to read, participate in a book club, play the piano, and lately I'm teaching myself to play the guitar. I also go to the gym.
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Post by horsea on Dec 12, 2017 1:43:19 GMT -5
Gianna. That sample of Foundational hand is not my own effort. I found it on Google search. I used my own variant of that hand to do approx 1,000 business cards (or more) for a family member. Tiny letters. What a trial. For no compensation. I must be crazy... Yes, I've done certificates, too - one large job, countless dozens of names. 50 cents for each name. Some Italic, some Foundational. That was an interesting trade - a case of wine for 100 place cards. Did you ever figure out what that amounted to for each card? Re gardening in Zone 3. Hours of sunshine in May-June-July-August-September is high. On the solstice, there's nearly 18 hours of daylight. This compensates for a relatively short growing season compared to Zones 10, 9, etc. We grow all sorts of things here including fruit trees, okra, roses, storage onions, etc. Tomatoes, storagae onions & peppers have to be started in the house. Fruit trees are grafted. Lots of successful gardening here! Tks for your interest. I see you are in So. California? Isn't that where there's fires now? Ghastly! We get grass & forest fires here aplenty when the summers are just too hot & dry. Is that your cat? Quite a beauty.
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Post by Gianna on Dec 12, 2017 21:20:49 GMT -5
That sample of Foundational hand is not my own effort. I found it on Google search. I used my own variant of that hand to do approx 1,000 business cards (or more) for a family member. Tiny letters. What a trial. For no compensation. I must be crazy... Good grief. Each one hand lettered? That must have taken forever. And working small.... That was an interesting trade - a case of wine for 100 place cards. Did you ever figure out what that amounted to for each card? They are friends. In the beginning I had volunteered, and the job didn't take that long. The wine was a gift and not really a payment per se. But it was good wine, so it was good rate. I was somewhat kidding about not being able to grow things in Zone 3. But I admire the timing you must have to be successful. The long days must be nice in many ways. Right now I can grow things outside, but the days are so short, and the sun angle so low, that things just creep along, even on nice sunny days. You're welcome. Its interesting how many different accommodations people have to make to garden where they live. Yes, I'm in SoCal, and the smoke from the fires is preventing me from doing anything outside. Of course those truly affected would think that a minor inconvenience. My cat is a beauty. He's sitting right next to me now. He looks like a purebred, but he is not. His mom was a tabby cat.
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Post by horsea on Dec 14, 2017 15:20:46 GMT -5
I want that cat...
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Dec 15, 2017 11:00:14 GMT -5
He really is a gorgeous cat. I could stare into those blue eyes all day. But cats don't like to be stared down, so that probably wouldn't end well...
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Post by Gianna on Dec 15, 2017 11:30:52 GMT -5
He really is a gorgeous cat. I could stare into those blue eyes all day. But cats don't like to be stared down, so that probably wouldn't end well...
I don't remember if I mentioned it above, but he was a rescue cat. When I got him he was a serious biter and scratcher at a year old. Put your hand near him and he would nail you. While I am very sorry whatever happened to him happened, if not for that, he never would have been put up for adoption, and I never would have innocently acquired him.
Now, after a few years of gentle treatment, in spite of his nick name (Devil Boy), he's developed into an extremely nice animal. I still have to be a little careful around him, but I know and heed his boundaries and we get along extremely well.
He is a smart, insistent, sweet, joyful cat. And he also has an extremely soft coat.
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Dec 15, 2017 12:10:30 GMT -5
It makes me happy to read about people rescuing animals and giving them another chance at a happy, healthy life. One of my cats, Lily, is not a rescue. But she was found wandering in a parking lot by some friends of ours. They tried to locate her owner, but couldn't. Since they already had plenty of animals, they offered her to us. She liked to be petted and get attention right from the beginning, but she wasn't fully trusting and she would easily get over-stimulated. If you made her nervous or accidentally got her riled up, she'd nail you. I think she drew blood from everyone in the family several times. We ended up getting a kitten a couple months later, and named her Luna. She was about three months old, and had been abandoned. Lily was *not* happy to share the house at first, but after several weeks of slow and careful introduction, she and Luna became great friends. Luna turned out to be DH's cat. She just loooooves him and tolerates everybody else. Though my 13 year old feeds the cats pretty often lately, so Luna is liking him more and more. As an added bonus, they fulfill each other's need to rough-house and cat-wrestle. So they don't need to play rough with people to get their ya-yas out. Since we've had Lily for almost two years now, she has totally settled in. She is a sweet, affectionate lap cat with the family, especially me. She even asks to be picked up sometimes! I never had a cat that *wanted* to be carried. I can tote her around in any position, even lying on her back like a baby, or rub her belly, or do almost anything and she's cool. If she gets annoyed with me, she puts her paws and teeth on me gently - it doesn't hurt at all - just to say, "Stop, please." If she ever nails me, you can be sure I deserve it! I now refer to Lily as my "preposterously pampered and spectacularly spoiled" cat. Though really I think that Lily owns me at this point. She also has one of those super-soft coats that is so wonderful to stroke.
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Post by Gianna on Dec 15, 2017 23:30:54 GMT -5
Aren't cats great? As an added bonus, they fulfill each other's need to rough-house and cat-wrestle. So they don't need to play rough with people to get their ya-yas out. I've been seriously considering getting another cat for Devil Boy to play with. He is a very active cat and I think he would love a friend. I have a second cat, a pretty Siamese, but she isn't very social with anyone. The two cats still growl at each other after a few years, and that's that. I refer to the Siamese as 'the cat that lives in the house'. It's a good place for her. She's a nice cat, but really is not very smart. I also had an old tabby(19) and he and Devil Boy got along well. DB wanted to play, but Old Tyrone just wasn't up for it any more. Many years ago I had two cats that had been litter mates. Oh my goodness. They were wonderfully fun to watch. Kitty rodeo when they weren't cuddled together. I would love to have a situation like that again. Something like that would wear out Devil Boy and lessen his insistence (whining) on going outside. Always a danger here with the rattlers and coyotes, and even bobcats.
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Dec 18, 2017 9:08:35 GMT -5
It's always hard to know whether cat introductions will work out. Sometimes you end up with situations like with DB and your Siamese and they never do accept each other. For a while I really worried that Lily would never accept Luna - it took several weeks - but she finally did. I can't tell you how happy I am that it finally worked out. Lily still wants to go outside, but she's spoiled to the comforts of indoor life. She goes out for a little while and chases the small critters, eats some grass, rolls in the dirt (Just like a dog! I've never had a cat do that before) and then in just a little while she is ready to come back inside. She knows she has it good.
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Post by Gianna on Jan 25, 2018 1:33:21 GMT -5
I found a couple of old photos of two glass mosaics I did a few years ago. The first is 12 inches across, the second is about 20 inches. Stained glass on Hardi backer board.
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Post by ahntjudy on Jan 25, 2018 9:30:52 GMT -5
All kinds of needlework...counted cross-stitch...knitting...quilting especially...and stained glass...
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