Other hobbies besides crafts

[sheiskanen]

We live in the South of Finland next to the sea - in Summer we like to sail in the Finnish archipelago, https://www.google.com/search?q=suom...h=748&biw=1528 where there are the most islands in the world, so vigilant navigation is really important.

One of the good things about sailing is that it's a "home away from home" - we pack the boat in the spring and then just travel from place to place without having to haul luggage. Sailing is great - it's a silent way of moving in nature and waking up in a new beautiful harbor every morning

It would be cool to hear what others do when they are not engaged in their craft - or is there already a thread for this topic?

[FreedomLover]

There is a group here called Travel Talk that you might enjoy. Your sailing trips sound wonderful, it must be lovely discovering so many new places in such an easy going way.

[sheiskanen]

thank you, FreedomLover, for pointing me to the right direction

[Char]

sheiskanen - I am drooling over your sailboat. You are welcome to post here, too, as I don't think that group is very active. We have several that were started, but sometimes they are hard to find. Here on the home page things are quite visible!

[Char]

sheiskanen - I'm trying to figure out if I have other non-crafty hobbies. I love camping, but part of that is because I can go outside, curl up with my knitting and coffee and listen to the birds.

[sheiskanen]

Char - you painted a beautiful picture! <3

[sheiskanen]

Char - I'm very visual and like to look at other people's photos - here some of mine - a clip and pics from our sailing trips

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1Q...RRU0lPYnZYeWtn

[Woolfan]

Beautiful photos, and what an interesting, peaceful way to spend summer days! Nothing like nature to ground the spirit, give perspective, and reawaken one's sense of wonder. Thank you for sharing this. 🙂

[KnitSwag]

My husband and I like to go glamping; we have an RV. Before COVID, I used to visit boatyards frequently, as for my work I create owners manuals for custom yachts. But my boatyard trips are on hold these days.

I also enjoy running,
spinning, dyeing yarn and serving with my local pregnancy center.

[Lemming13]

Wow, I wish I could go sailing or glamping. Still, I do have a few non-craft hobbies - I read voraciously; I love music and movies; I enjoy wildlife and have made a wildlife friendly garden that draws in hedgehogs, birds and insects of many species including woodpeckers and dragonflies, as well as voles, squirrels, bats, and the odd fox; I also grow my own fruit and this year am prepping to make a large amount of plum jam, sauce and chutney from my glut of plums. Of course, even as I type I am scoffing juicy golden plums - nothing like fresh from the tree!

[pinesprairie]

Ohhh, chutney! That is one of my favorite things! It is interesting to read that you have hedgehogs in the wild and that you can get them to come to your garden. Here, they are only kept as pets. They are cute little things. What do yours look like?

[Lemming13]

Like this (the small and prickly chap, that is, not the big fluffy boy who takes advantage of the odd bit of cat food I offer the hedgies). Actually this is a small one, there are some twice the size in my garden but they tend to only come out at dusk.

[qfknit]

Lemming13 - the big fluffy boy in your photo looks a lot like one of our cats!

[Lemming13]

qfknit, how lovely! He is only a visitor to us, of course, we don't even know his real name but we call him Sweep because he likes to sweep my patio with his floofy tail. I hope your fur baby is a bit less messy!

[qfknit]

Lemming13 - our fur babies like to accompany us when we go outside to our patio. Fortunately they also like a nice brushing, and this removes all the souvenirs of our garden from their fur so they stay soft and silky.

[EllenDeKnitter]

Knitting is less a hobby than a lifestyle, don't you think? LOL!

I share your love of sailing sheiskanen , but COVID has put a damper on sailing this year. My parents lived aboard for 5 years then settled in the Chesapeake Bay area in Virginia. The boat and a couple of sailing dinghies are at my Dad's house and we can't safely visit him because of the virus.

I am an avid alpine skier and teach in the winter - I don't make enough money teaching to break even with the expenses involved but it's great fun. I also work with the Challenged Athletes of West Virginia and help get adults and children with challenges, who might otherwise be excluded, out on the slopes. We have a wild time, I'm sure the instructors have as much fun as the students!

Reading is a lifelong hobby for me too Lemming13 . I'll read anything. Well, almost anything... History, Tolstoy, spy novels, Philosophy, biology, biography, you name it! I often have as many books in progress as I have WPIs.

On warm summer evenings I love to take a paddle in a kayak on one of the small lakes in my area. One has delightful golden trout. My daughter and I will occasionally take a paddle down a river nearby - flat water only, no rapids for us!

Cooking is fun, but I have gotten so fat lately that it's best I not think about food right now!

I'm excited to hear about what everyone does when the needles and hooks are still.

[EllenDeKnitter]

sheiskanen I'm glad you are in an area that doesn't lose power for long blocks of time!

You know how you get an idea of what a place you have never visited might be like? My idea of Finland must be entirely informed by travel brochures - I think of it as spectacularly beautiful and very wild. Now I have to add "buried electrical lines" into that imaginary landscape in my head, lol. I'm glad for the opportunity to "meet" you so I can form a more realistic idea of your home.

Isn't it great that knitting crosses so many boundaries?

[Char]

EllenDeKnitter it really is!!

Another addition I learned from sheiskanen is there are a lot of saunas where she is. So you can add that as well. Sounds like nearly every home has them.

[sheiskanen]

EllenDeKnitter, Char - there are still hanging powerlines in rural areas where, at worst, they can be without electricity for days - I'm not sure what they do with there freezer/fridge when the power goes out - in the winter it's easy, you just take it outdoors

when you envision yourselves in the sauna - the perfect temperature is 175-200 degrees F - some fanatics warm the sauna up to 250 degrees F - personally, I'm happiest at 175

Finland is kind of wild in the sense that there is space - Central Europeans are very envious when they come to visit and find that you can drive for hours and see hardly any houses

Finding this warm and welcoming group is great - it's so true that common interests bring us closer

[EllenDeKnitter]

Saunas you say? I so neeeeeeeed to go there! Char

[DJM]

Count me in on the sauna!!

[sheiskanen]

how do you ladies feel about 175-250 degrees F temperatures?

[pinesprairie]

I'm in. When are we going?

[Hellokitten]

Other hobbies you'll find me in: Gardening. Baking. Geneology. Used to play golf. Organizing everything.

[crosstitchlinda]

Other hobbies, are reading, gardening, jigsaw puzzles and the grandchildren.

I'd say walking, but that's been taking a backseat to sewing and it's been so hot until this week. Hopefully I'll get back into it after I get the skirt I'm working on finished.