Favorite Pastimes

[alexj86]

The skies are stuck on grey, daylight is short, and its cold out.  With winter set in, what are you doing to keep yourself out of trouble outside of work?  Better yet, what has you yearning for the warmer days and nights of spring?

 

While I run pretty much everyday of the year, its a lot easier to lace up when the roads aren't ice covered.  Loving photography, cabin fever weather gives me more time to pay attention to detail when post-processing, finding your mistakes makes it easier to make a better composition next time.  

 

When warm weather rolls around I'll definitely be in the fields and woods more often.  Scouting crops and hiking have a way of unraveling a lot of daily stress.  Being back on the water in canoe or kayak is at the top of the list of anticipated activities though.

 

 

Alex

Edited January 9, 2013 by alexj86

[Revel]

Luckily for me my favourite pastime, swimming, is largely unhindered by the weather.  Sure, swimming at the beach or that over-sized outdoor salt water pool are preferable, but indoor pools aren't so bad.  Still, I have to admit being anxious for warm weather to start up again so I can go gliding.

[Yettie One]

Music, hunting for new stuff, listening to obscure music and going and seeing live bands in action. 

 

But its also in my line of work so it is a big part of my life. 

 

If it is true escapism then its films. And I love to read.

[layla]

I love movies, i winter i'll catch up on many that i've missed. Cooking too i'll do a bunch of in winter, as well as reading and writing. i still hike and take pictures in winter, that's a year round thing for me, as is Martial Arts and music. I play guitar and piano/keyboard.

 

Spring brings gardening, summer brings canning, crafts is another year round thing as is swimming, we have a great indoor pool in town.

Camping is big for me in spring, summer and fall. I love to visit museums and historical places too. Fishing is another big thing in spring/summer/fall, though I have been meaning to get back into ice fishing in winter. Hunting in fall/winter is another thing I love to spend time doing.

[Andy78]

I'm a big reader; love 19th century stuff - Dickens, Verne, Twain (no romance stuff though, unless it's strictly M/M )

 

I also bake a lot; have done since I was about six or seven.  I always used to make Mum and me fresh scones every morning for breakfast - none of that Frosties, Coco Pops, Sugar Puffs rubbish.

[joann414]

Reading would be at the top of my list with cooking following a close second.  i usually listen to music when I cook.  When I am bored and unsettled, I like to sit on the deck and just listen to the leaves rustle in the wind or the squirrels barking.

 

During the summer, I fish or just sit on the pier and think.

[TetRefine]

I love to ski. Its my all time favorite sport, and its something to do during the long and cold winter months. Obviously reading is also something. I love SciFi like S.M. Sterling, alternate history like Harry Turtledove, and military thrillers like Tom Clancy, Larry Bond, and Harold Coyle. The gym is also another favorite pastime. I love working out. 

[Cia]

Reading, photography, writing, creating graphics, baking... but large portions of my day are taken up with being a mom and housewife, along with site work and special projects. I almost always have things to do that I fail to get done in favor of curling up with a great story though.

[rustle]

Since the fire, about all I've done with my spare time is shopping. Now that the house is furnished, I find myself looking for a hobby. All my toys were lost, and since I had so many interests over the years, I'm having trouble picking one of the old hobbies or deciding on a new one.

[Menace]

Walking around and listening to music at the same time. It gives a really chilly feeling to me.

[Ramon]

I play chess either over the board or online. My grandfather taught me how to play and it has stuck with me. Baking and reading are also things I like to do. I've also just recently started learning how to ski so hopefully that sort of becomes something I do regularly once I learn how to ski properly.

[Maximoff]

I do geocaching on occasion. But I haven't done that for a while... 

 

Otherwise I usually just end up reading books or reading GA. Or play video games.  

[Andrea]

I love to read. I also love to browse the library and thrift shops, I'm a sucker for cheap books. Photography is also another hobby I enjoy, I'm not very good at it but I still like it.

 

I hope to buy a bicycle soon and take up riding when summer rolls around, I need to sweat off some of this extra weight I'm carrying around. I love nature, so camping and hiking are things I love doing during the summer.

[Bill W]

Alex, have you thought about trying cross-country skiing or going to the gym to play basketball, jog or just workout?  If not, you may consider some of those things. 

[Ashi]

I also do a lot of photography and hiking.  Though my photography isn't just something that's light weight and purely for fun anymore.  There are plenty of analyzing and scouting and reshooting and learning from mistakes that I do, a lot of times I find myself seeing a place, not as a fun place to to visit, but as a study....

 

Each season has its own character, so use them wisely, Alex.  I find Summer to be the most boring season to shoot photos though, at least in California (well, except for beaches).  Winter and Spring give the most opportunity.

 

When I was a kid, I spent most of my idle time reflecting.  Thinking about something in life and mistakes that can be done better.  Now that idea has come back, though I have a different interpretation.  When one is way too busy, because of house chore or work, one no longer thinks.  Take some time off, reflect, recharge, and let many concepts that came across during work to sink in a little, so we can have time to process them, not at their face value but the deeper implication.  It's not too different from doing photography, or any creative process....  The more you try to squeeze it, the less creative juice will come out.