I refinish and refunction antiques and sometimes just plain old junk. I love bringing life back to something that has history and it's fun to repurpose the pieces that are just too far gone for their original use. I turn on some good music and let the creative juices flow. I was raised in the high Sierra's so when I really need a recharge, I go sit by a lake, watch the sparkle of the sun on the water and listen to the wind in the pine trees--perfect

One of my top three leisure loves is green; I love gardening. It is meditative, teaches me to pay attention to little details, has vicariously taught me much about insects, fungal diseases, and plant biology. I have grown roses since age 10, 40 years ago. Where I live, many of the modern varieties will bloom nearly year-round. And I am not much for competitive showing or flower arranging, but I do like to snap pics of standout blooms...for a permanent record.

I like to cook because it is a challenge to create new dishes that are delicious, healthy, economical, & something people would like to eat again. I like showing the people in my life how much i care for them & food is a way for me to do that.

I also crochet, knit, & sew. It keeps my hands busy when other tasks are done & I create things that are useful. (It feels lazy to sit & just watch tv)

Floating down the river. Quiet, unhurried and zen-like for me. Twenty miles of Class I-III water with friends is as close to Heaven as I'll ever come to it.

I used to do more of this (before kids, when I could hang around at bars more), but trivia contests, partially due to the curiosity of collecting random knowledge, partially becuase I played quizbowl in high school and college.

poker

Outdoors: traveling, camping, hiking, boating. Indoors: computers, music. All are enjoyable and something to look forward too.

I like to play the piano. I also enjoy “garden zen” time in the summer.

I love anything water-related, like swimming or snorkeling or scuba. There is something very peaceful about it for me. It's one of the few times my brain shuts up and I just live in the moment. It's why I tend to take beach trips when I vacation. Even if I don't get in the water, if I'm just near water, I find relaxing much easier.

I also like to learn something new. There are very few limits to that for me.

I have done photography for 40+ years. In those olden days, I knew every shot would cost me about $.70, whether it was good or not.

I am a stitcher. I sew, crochet, knit, cross stitch, and I've done many other projects involving needle and thread. I always have a project or twenty in progress. I finish some from time to time, although since finding Agnostic.com my productivity is diminishing.

I produce music, and operate front of house sound for musical theatre. I like to work with arts engagement companies and schools and colleges to put underprivileged kids in productions.

I like to rhyme a word boquet, because it keeps the blues away.

I also love taking my camera out and photographing nature. I don't have a lot of luck taking pictures of animals, but I live in an area of dramatic scenery. I was out in the desert this afternoon.

KARAOKE!

Geocaching!

painting used to be my thing - because i'm good at it due to a father who never hesitated to add another creative hobby to the 4 dozen he had already pursued. i got tired of it when my living space became smaller & smaller with all the canvasses that needed a place.

last year i found a great choir in the area, & the guy who leads it offered a workshop 'power in the voice' as well. so i got into that, & i have to say, it really satisfies me to experience the development of my voice = my expression into the world.

i also love being in nature, always have, watching the animals, studying the plants, hiking & simply being at peace.

I love to make music with other people. Mostly I sing in various choruses. It's good for my brain, good for my mood, and I've made some wonderful friends doing it.

Play table top games. So originally I got into them for my ex, because he was interested, but over time they became an obsession for me all their own. I like the role-playing aspects and built in stories, most of which vary from session to session. It's a fun way to meet others too, as I once belonged to a meetup group for table top gamers and met some rather unique people that way. Sadly, the group shut down after the host found himself in failing health, but I miss that small community.

For me it is hiking so pretty close to yours. I could just spend the rest of my life in the woods enjoying if I didn't have to come back to civilization.

I began a butterfly garden and made an unused parrot cage into my "caterpillar house" where I bring in caterpillars on the plants they eat and keep them until they transform into pupas and then turn into butterflies, at which time they are realesed to fly free. I have raised very many Monarchs, some gulf frittalaries, black swallowtails, zebra longwings and sulphurs.

Am a live theater (especially small companies) fan and book nerd.

Love me some fishing even if I’m not a great fisherman.

I love photography of natural settings, wildlife (especially birds and insects) or architecture. I go places I wouldn't ordinarily go and have learned to really see things. I love manmade structures as well as natural ones. And in the hunt for something novel to take pictures of, I often appreciate taking alternate routes and so I get to discover things I never knew existed. I also steal candid shots of people taking wedding photographs. One of my all time favorites was one of this woman in a peacock blue wedding gown with black lace that was standing in the middle of the wildflowers of Lurie garden waiting for her photographer to set up the shot. She was turned away, gazing off at something and never knew I was watching. I really don't like taking pictures of people unless I catch them unawares.

Oh yeah, there's one exception, I never tire of taking pictures of my partner when he's telling stories or in a play. He is a master storyteller and tells stories to children and adults and it's super amazing cool. I've photographed a few of his plays during dress rehearsal - The Drowsy Chaperone, A Christmas Carol, Little Shop of Horrors.

I love mixed media art journaling because I get to explore colors and textures and materials and my inner kindergartner gets to come out and play.

Writing, because sometimes I have a lot to say.

Specifically poetry at times, when I'm in the mood which isn't often these days but that takes a lot more mental work. I used to write 1500 word blog posts, and I got tired of taking so long to say something so then I would be really fond of writing short prose poems instead. It was a nice challenge to conserve words yet still make my point.