Gardens and allotments are a full time occupation but all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. What do you do in your 'spare time'?
Here's a couple of hints from me.
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Recover!
ACE Do you ever get people who are frightened of Morris Men? We had
them at our first Summer Fayre and they were absolutely brilliant but when
I told someone afterwards she said that they scared the s**t out of her!
I think it might be like some people have a phobia about clowns.
When I'm not toiling the soil I am usually doing allotment admin or
checking emails, or looking at facebook etc. Quite boring I suppose.
Forgot to say..... lavishing time and care on my Micra. :tongue3:
Bake cakes and experiment with other recipes for meals. The family love it all.
Anne
i do the same as ACE
take pictures of hairy blokes and other people's motor-cycles
Brew chutney, pickle and preserves, and (very unfortunately) a full time job at a large supermarket!
im rebuilding a 1979 seires 3 Landrover in-between work and the plot.
Ballroom dancing, salsa and line dancing, dog walking, sewing, cooking, baking. Used to do horse riding but dodgy back put paid to that.
I read Victorian/Edwardian novels and do cryptic crosswords. And spend far too much time on the internet.
Restore (preferably) Merry Tillers. Got to know them well and the engines are very reliable. Engine parts are easily obtainable.
I also play Scrabble on facebook.
Is that the wife with the stripy socks brandishing a stick at you Ace!? :violent1:
I have taken up writing e-books about things I have learned from experience and my mentors.
I see it as placing stuff that I have learned, particularly about gardening,down for posterity so that future generations don't have to go to all the troubles I had in pre-internet days in trying to find out when and what to do in the garden and on the allotments.
Playing the recorder with the U3A and volunteering with the national trust. I do love table tennis but my partner has given up. Need to find a new one.
I also do bits of DIY and do up old furniture for use in the house or garden but I'd really like to learn to weld so I can make my own iron obelisks and plant supports.
Any handy people out there who can tell me what I need to have a go or do I need classes?
I sing in three choirs, knit, crochet, make mixed-media art jewellery mostly in polymer clay and resin, cook/bake play roleplaying games (Dungeons and Dragons and the like), and play lots of modern board games. I also make my own board games.
Quote from: Obbelix on May 26, 2014, 00:25:37
I also do bits of DIY and do up old furniture for use in the house or garden but I'd really like to learn to weld so I can make my own iron obelisks and plant supports.
Any handy people out there who can tell me what I need to have a go or do I need classes?
Arc welders are cheap to buy and cheap to run, but for fine work like plant supports you really should use a mig welder which will not burn your metal away so easily. These cost a bit more to run as they need a bottle of CO2 gas, unless you buy really expensive flux core welding wire.
All these are dangerous to use and one false move can burn out the retina in your eyes. Go to the local tec college and get a few classes, it's not rocket science, but they will at least teach you the safety bit first.
Spin, knit, crochet, starting to learn to weave. Finishing the quilt I made as a present 3 years ago and still needs quilting. Bake, make wine, like Squash allotment stuff.
Looking after the rabbits (taking one of them to the vets every bank holiday!!) would like to say cycling and walking in the wonderful Derbyshire countryside but not had time much for them. Now I am only a pillion on the old Beemer (used to be mine but gave it to OH as too heavy for me!)
Oh and work ..............but not for much longer ..........4 more shifts to go :icon_cheers:
by the looks of our activities how do we find time to garden :wave:
I like this thread...love to get to know what you all are up to. Even 'soil stuff' is nice to do...one cannot spend entire life nose in it.
As for me, well...once the necessary 'evils' are out of way...housework and paid work, then there is beekeeping, dog keeping,chicken keeping and husband keeping... :toothy10:
What ever time is left after that I like to do some woodcarving(mainly simple things into kitchen..spatulas, butter knifes etc), woolly 'stuff' (knitting, spinning, washing sheep fleeces..etc.) or what ever takes my fancy...I get my fingers on all manner of craft things.
Recently I've done spot of beadwork, bought old Finnish spinning wheel and I'm just middle of restoring that to working order, been carving shawl pins...sewing...
"tinker of all trades but never true master of anything..." = that's me :drunken_smilie:
Here is some things that I'm 'tinkering' with...
Quote from: pumpkinlover on May 26, 2014, 07:50:34
Oh and work ..............but not for much longer ..........4 more shifts to go :icon_cheers:
Is that finishing for good? we will not call you a pensioner :tongue3: But if you think you had time to do things before, you wait until you retire, still not enough hours in the day.
I like going away in the caravan. Hubby and I have recently taken up shore/pier fishing but haven't caught anything yet.
I also spend far too much time on the Internet and play MultiPopword. Several years ago, someone on here put up a link to the site and I have cursed them ever since! It does keep the mind active though.
Aside from working as a busy IT manager for a large independent school and doing the garden/plot (which doesn't leave that much time!) I love cycling - both watching it on the telly and riding my nice new carbon framed bike. Did challenge a couple of weekends ago to climb 2.5 km upwards which was difficult as there are many decent climbs nearby. Also walking - SE London isn't far from the green bits and we walk either in or out of town every couple of weeks.
Naturally I spend a lot of time on a PC - still love playing games but spend more time on news and tech sites these days. Reading - since my near sight has started to go I have read less and less but trying to remember to take my glasses with me and changing the font size on my ebook I have started to get back into that - lots of science fiction and popular science stuff plus I read New Scientist most weeks.
Just getting into yoga which I have found to be great - thought it would be accompanied by a load of woo woo nonsense but it is a great way to keep fit/flexible and to learn to concentrate/focus. Other than that Rugby in the winter and cricket in the summer. Went to Cardiff on Saturday to see Sarcens V Toulon and generally try to get to the oval or Lords to see a game once or twice a season.
Making bread, cooking, jams and chutney making, photography all feature throughout the year. Have given up the wine making due to access consumption!
My wife was just telling me to get some indoor hobbies for the winter as I get a bit grumpy when I can't get outside! Any suggestions??
Thanks Ace. I'll have to have a look around as there are no such classes in my local town. Looks like I'll have to try Geoff Hamilton's recipe for wooden ones to keep me going till next year.
Quote from: Squash64 on May 25, 2014, 12:38:09
ACE Do you ever get people who are frightened of Morris Men?
Some people can be frightened of things that cannot possibly hurt them. Nothing that a good kick up the backside won't cure. Although I do get a bit nervous of Nissan Micra(spit) drivers :toothy10:
Load of people seem to be doing lots of stuff, seems gardening might just be a sideline to some of them. I am also a member of a celihd band, run a monthly folk club, sea fishing, caravanning, bird watching, writing a book (doesn't everyone) and I drive the missus crazy by trying to learn a new musical instrument every year, crumhorn this year.
I do have a yearning to try hang gliding, but her foot has been firmly put down on that one.
Apart from working full time, I also do a lot of cooking and bread baking, reading. I also sing (just taking lessons but my teacher might do a choir next year and I am quite game for that) and play piano (badly) and have taken up jogging, which I try to do a couple of times a week.
We are an interesting lot!! Love your utensils GL!!
I sing in two choirs and we have a campervan so get away in that when we can. And work full time :(
Anything craft related. Making candle holders for the garden with glass jars and beads and wire at present.
Now learning the ukulele but need to practise a lot more to keep up!
Bridge.
Quote from: pumpkinlover on May 26, 2014, 20:22:29
We are an interesting lot!! Love your utensils GL!!
Utensils? ..shawl pins they are...though supposed they would do chop stick job.. :tongue3: :icon_cheers:
Here is some of the proper 'utensils'..
Hey Pumpkinlover, you're really close to me! I live in Upper Newbold. :)
Quote from: goodlife on May 26, 2014, 23:21:03
Quote from: pumpkinlover on May 26, 2014, 20:22:29
We are an interesting lot!! Love your utensils GL!!
Utensils? ..shawl pins they are...though supposed they would do chop stick job.. :tongue3: :icon_cheers:
Here is some of the proper 'utensils'..
Duh..........!
Hi Silverleaf, I'm on Brockwell allotments maybe you would like to visit sometime (when it stops raining and I have tidied it up!!!)
Quote from: pumpkinlover on May 27, 2014, 07:33:04
Hi Silverleaf, I'm on Brockwell allotments maybe you would like to visit sometime (when it stops raining and I have tidied it up!!!)
Ooh, that sounds lovely, I can definitely do that. :)