Storm of Thoughts

The Joy of Hobbies

“Today is life - the only life you are sure of. Make the most of today. Get interested in something. Shake yourself awake. Develop a hobby. Let the winds of enthusiasm sweep through you. Live today with gusto.” Dale Carnegie - American lecturer

Hobbies are a wonderful thing. Even though sometimes you think you don’t have enough time to devote to them, they are always there waiting for you to come back to. I’ve decided you can have too many hobbies, and also, you can have too few. My beloved father-in-law, who passed away in January, (see Chrissy’s posts dated Jan. 6 and Jan. 9) really only had one, fishing. Now, fishing is a GREAT hobby, both relaxing and social. (More on fishing on another day) But, you’re dependent on many factors beyond your control. It could be one of your hobbies, but not your only one.

Photography is a great hobby, one that so many people have gotten into with the whole digital camera revolution. I love photography, and you would be hard pressed to find me without my camera wherever I go. My cousin Irene knits. Our moms taught us both how to knit and crochet when we were kids, and even though we both had the basics, it just didn’t call to us when we were young. But a couple of years ago, Irene decided to get back into it. she makes the most beautiful and intricate sweaters! She made me a pair of socks for Christmas that are so comfortable and she made me this gorgeous handbag! Chrissy and I have tried talking her into selling them, but she doesn’t want to make the same thing all the time. And then too, you know what will happen, it will no longer be a hobby, it’ll be a JOB.

Cooking and baking are great hobbies. Of course, there could be some difference of opinion here. You HAVE to eat, so is it actually a hobby?

Reading is really one of the most wonderful hobbies. It is probably my favorite. You can pick it up or put it down easily, you can take it with you wherever you go and it can take you many places, or teach you whatever you want to learn.

Another hobby I enjoy is glasswork. I used to do stained glass. However, over the years I have developed a little dexterity problem, and now instead of stained glass, I do mosaics. I’m working on a fish mosaic to hang in our just being built guest cabin in Maryland. I was having a tough time deciding on a background because I didn’t want to take away from the fish itself, as I had done once before using sea glass. While I was searching around and looking at the talented mosaic artists out there, I came upon Berta Sergeant and her gorgeous tempered glass mosaics. I was ecstatic! It was just the solution I needed. I wrote to her, and she generously offered me instructions on how to use it, and where to get it. (It wasn’t as easy to get as I thought!) If you’d like to check out Berta’s work, look her up at either www.northwestmosaics.com or www.flickr.com/photos/mosaickid I will forever be grateful.

Here is what I’ve been working on. I figure I’ll be finished with it around the same time as the cabin, in May!

I’m sure you will all miss Chrissy this week, as will I. I will let you know when she and Pete arrive in Turks and Caicos, so you won’t have to worry……… I mean wonder.

Till next time……. Luci

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