perhaps we can discuss things that can of other interest. Now that summer is coming to an end and soon fall weather begins, what other interests or hobbies do you participate in? Are you retired or working like I am? Do you like exploring places or indulging in home crafts? If you had to make a list of things you wish to do, what would that list contain?

Ianna

I would like to travel as much as I can but because of my aging parents who live with me, I only get to travel for short periods. So this year, I managed to explore Manhattan. I love it and will certainly try to go back to do more.

I like to do antiquing or reusing old things in new ways. I like going to thrift shops too to see what I can use for interior decorating. In winter, I like to do quilting or other crafts I can do at home. In fact it's a habit both my daughter and I enjoy.

With winter around the corner I'll be getting the wool out, knitting fancy scarfs for the girls for christmas, probably crochet another afghan although with a new kitten that might be challenging.
I've collected a few books to read, admittedly mostly garden related but I do like swashbuckler and period types along with mysteries.

I'm also a fan of the old noir black and white films and have started quite a collection, these I don't mind watching over and over as they actually have a fair amount of dialog and are entertaining at least to me. Also they leave some things to the imagination rather then.... grunts/groans, non stop gunfire and the F word, which I find quite irritating also boring.
Some of the latest DVD's I've bought have been about cottage gardening, english gardens and the victorian garden series shown on TV in the 80's. I find myself drawn to the english tv series like Doc Martin, A touch of Frost, Heartbeat, Midsumner Murders, I find them much more appealing then some of the crap on TV produced over here.

I love to go antiquing (DH says watch her she'll head for the most expensive thing in the place LOL) but I also go with my neighbor to thrift stores and garage sales a few times a year where I have picked up some really neat stuff.

I'm also a collector of colored glass, I have a lovely piece of Glass DS1 picked up in Venice for our 50th, Anniversary, a few pieces of Fenton and I love green depression glass. Dh just picked up a pair of salt and pepper shakers on ebay for me.
I also love the small vases and other pieces of glass I've picked up for 50 cents or less at flea markets.

We've just installed ceramic tile through most of the house, I've got the bathroom painted and as soon as I've put the garden to bed I have more rooms to paint.

Making wine is also something I've started doing again although not at home but at one of the shops, a heck of a lot easier, no mess or cleanup. Right now a friend and I have an ice wine and a cream sherry on.

The top thing on my list to do at the moment is purge the house, numerous things are waiting to be picked up to go to the salvation army thrift shop. Being a golden oldie I'm pretty much a stay at home kind of gal now, besides visiting my favorite garden web forums ( I only discovered the internet a couple of years ago) I like to put my feet up in front of the fireplace read, knit, crochet, nap :o), or watch old movies in between redecorating whims (can you feel my DH shuddering) or maybe you'll find me in the kitchen cookin up a storm.

In my younger years I liked going on hikes, the odd bottle dig, salmon fishing and a lot more. I used to raise rabbits for show, we had Netherland Dwarfs, Holland Lops, Tans and Belgian Hares, won quite a few best in shows with all of them.

So that's the kind of person I am, thanks Ianna for starting this thread I'm looking forward to getting to know all of you. I'd love to see this side of the forum pick up, it could be a lot of fun.

Annette

Thanks for sharing. Let's see I did mention I love to quilt. I'm relatively young in my mid forties but ever since I can remember, I love to craft. I learned to crochet when I was about 8. Learned to propagate plants at a very early age. I've always been engaged visually so I've dabbled with painting, I enjoyed making Bonsai. I love to create stuff despite the lack of craft materials. I simply made do with anything from scratch which was more fascinating for me. I also love to design so it comes natural for me to also design my garden. I no longer crochet because I have found it boring and it doesn't reflect my tastes. I too love antiquing and going to thrift shops. My purpose however is to repurpose any found items. I learned to rewire my own lamp out of a base I discovered at a thrift shop for $3. I like to collect milkglass just to redecorate my area. I do however collect a lot of Asian wall carvings. Much of my furniture and cabinetry are Asian antiques to remind me of home. My arsenal of tools include saws, wire cutters and a staple gun. I can repaint an old chair and do simple upholstery. It's fun. My current hobby is to quilt. I have a large stash of materials still waiting to be put together. My challenge is to handquilt (entirely) a blanket. I have done smaller jobs but this is a queen sized one that I've been working on. Hopefully this year it will be done. With my daughter, I enjoy baking and ohter forms of cooking. We have enjoyed creating stepping stones with mosaic. I have fish and a cat for pets. That's about it. Being that I'm obsessed with garden design, my fishtank contains aquatic plants which I fashioned after the underwater gardenscape artist, Takashi Amano. Except for gardening and quilting, I never really stick to any single hobby. For example I love to swim and I have skin dived and have scuba dived. Love to get back to scuba diving when my daughter is older. I simply change my hobbies to suit my interest.