Hobbies

We've had some discussions lately about the idea and concept of hobbies.  Everybody probably has at least one hobby.  Most people have more than one.  Lots people have too many hobbies and SOME people have WAY too many minutes.  We fall into the last category.  We have WAY too many hobbies.  The trouble is that we love them all and can't eliminate any of them from the list.  Here they all are with a little explanation under each one:

1.  Volunteering
Is this a hobby or a retirement career?  We like to think it's a hobby.  You be the judge.

2.  Day Hiking
Even though we haven't been indulging this hobby lately, it clearly deserves to be near the top of the list.  If there's one thing we wish we were doing a lot more of--it's day hiking. 

3.  Camping
This is kind of a "duh" sort of hobby.  Camping is a lot like breathing and I don't suppose anyone would call breathing a hobby.  Breathing is life for everyone and camping (while breathing) is life for us.

4.  Outdoor cooking
Outdoor cooking is part & parcel of camping but it's also something of a hobby when we are living in a real house (straw or otherwise).  Outdoor cooking a a great hobby and we'd recommend to anyone.  Most people know it as "grilling" but it's so much more than a simple grill.

5.  Suzuki Samurai's
Hobby or addiction?  There's a fine line between the two.  When we are really indulging this hobby as we did this winter, it just "seems" like an addiction.  LBRs will note we've had very little to say about Samurais lately.  That's because we've been focusing on other of our hobbies.  The nice thing about having a lot of hobbies is you never get bored.

6.  Driving Back Country Roads
We did get in a few trips this winter but nowhere near enough to satisfy this hobby.  This summer (depending on gas prices, of course) we plan to indulge this hobby far more frequently.

7.  River running
This was once a lifestyle but it's infrequent enough now to call it a simple hobby.  Luckily, we've had some patrons and benefactors who've helped us with the expenses involved in this hobby.  River running ain't cheap!

8.  Flat water Canoeing
We put this one in as a separate hobby from river running because the two are distinctly different.  Floating around on a lake or a pool above a river dam is totally different than river running.  It is a unique hobby in its own right.  Think "On Golden Pond."

9.  Golf
This is a newfound hobby as of late last summer.  The adoption of this arcane activity elicited many groans from LRBs but it has proven to be quite fun and also quite cheap in the pantheon of hobbies.  We sure wish all our other hobbies were as cheap to indulge as golf!

10. Pistol Target Shooting
This is a really fun hobby but it looks like it's going to be a winter time hobby.  We've found no good place to go shooting here in Idaho Falls.  The closest range is 7 miles west of Rexburg and costs $5, plus about $10 in gas round trip, plus the ammo.  We're talking a pricey hobby, folks, so pistol target shooting is going to the back burner until next November.

11. Bicycling
We are definitely looking forward to ramping up our bicycling once the weather clears here in Idaho Falls.  We have "all the right stuff" and it's maintained and ready to roll.  It's a great hobby anyone can adopt.

12. Thrift Store Shopping
We are actively trying to keep this compulsive hobby in remission.  We are avoiding t-stores and doing our dangest not to buy anything when we set foot inside one.  We're trying to adopt a "window shopping" aspect of this dangerous hobby.  We do not recommend anyone take up this hobby, it's far too dangerous for the regular public.

13. Blogging
Once again the question is: "Hobby or addiction?"  Let's go with Hobby--it sounds so much more friendly.

14. Croquet
We didn't get in anywhere near enough croquet games this winter and we are in a croquet deficit.  We hope to make up for the lack of croquet games SOON.  This is a great hobby and essentially free once you buy the set of thingies you need to play the game.  Anybody can play and nobody really cares who wins.

15. Cribbage
Susun and I go way back with cribbage.  We're looking forward to playing it again.  Maybe we should start today, eh?

16. Chess
It's great to be back where I can indulge this hobby.  I love chess--always have, always will.  What a great game and what a great hobby.

17. Digital Photography
Goatherder says we have a camera grafted to our anatomy.  He's right.  We never saw a picture we didn't want to take.  The more the merrier.  Most of the time, the hobby is simply the act of taking the photo.  Once in a while, though, we actually USE the photos.

18. Producing online videos
It is debatable if this should be on the list as a hobby since we do it so seldom.  let's say this one is on probation as a hobby.  It's probably going to get eliminated.

19. HAM Radio
The focus of all of our obsessive energy for any given hobby is laser-beamed right now at HAM radio.  We've put in ridiculously HUGE amounts of time on HAM since March 13 when we began studying for our exam.  We can feel the compulsive pull beginning to slack off now and expect this hobby to recede into the background soon.  It's likely there will be occasional outbreaks of our HAM obsession now and then but, hopefully, it will modulate itself and become just one of the "regular" hobbies.  The key word here is "hopefully."

20. Happy Hour
We saved the best hobby for last.  Ah, Happy Hour, let me count the ways I love thee!

Many Cheers Today! jp 

Opps, almost forgot--COLLECTING!  Every old retired guy has to have a collection.  We wanted something to collect that met all these criteria: A) Something we could actually USE; B)Extremely low costs; C)Zero theft or insurance worries; D)Colorful, esoteric and arcane; E)Takes up minimal space; F)lightweight and easy to transport; G) Easy to display to other geezers, and H)Easy to find anywhere.

And the answer is......GOLF HATS!!!!!  (Cue wild laughter in Blog Reader Land.) Click here for My Golf Hat blog.


PS--writing this post has been a fun way to procrastinate today.  I just rented a 154 pound power rake--easily one of the most monstrous lawn power tools I've ever used.  After wrassling that thing around the yard, I need a break in which I discussed NOTHING about lawns, power rakes, thatch, aeration, fertilizer, grass seed or dandelion herbicides.  Writing about these hobbies has been very therapeutic.  Now it's back to mano-y-mano out in the yard.

PPS (Added hours later)--The more I have reflected on this topic, the more intriguing it becomes.  Naturally, whenever something reached critical mass of "intriguing," it gets its own blog.  Click here for the one born a few minutes ago. (It's brand new but it's gonna get a LOT of work on it in the next few days.)