Jessie: Looking forward to long walks on the beach in the coming weeks!
This is our last week chatting about anticipation. We talked about patience last week and that got me wondering about strategies for waiting with good humor. So, of course I thought of pastimes. Do you have any pastimes you love? Do your sleuths? And what about overlaps? Do your sleuths delight in the same things you do or is the fictional world a place for you to indulge in pastimes that you would not, or do not do in real life?
Sherry: Other than taking walks and reading I really don’t have a pastime. I used to do a lot of cross stitch but don’t anymore. Sarah and I share a love of garage sales and Chloe and I share a love of beaches (okay, and beach bars.) Chloe is very involved in water sports that I would never do!
Julie: I love to knit, and have picked it back up again lately. I found a particular scarf I love that is complicated enough to keep me interested, but simple enough to so. I suspect a lot of people will be receiving versions of it this year. I like to cook and bake, but living alone doesn’t give me a lot of opportunity to practice. In the Garden Squad series, Lilly gardens, of course. She also knits. You’ll learn that Ernie bakes when stressed, much to the benefit of all.
Edith/Maddie: I like to garden in the good weather and tend my houseplants indoors all year long. I also enjoy cooking, but that’s not really a pastime. Robbie Jordan bikes a lot, and Mac Almeida just got an adult coloring book. Rose Carroll Dodge knits – but we’ve never seen anything she finished!
Barb: I turned my pastime of writing into my profession, so I find myself without a hobby. I used to do a lot of scrapbooking and dabble (and I do mean dabble) in genealogy and family history. I spent quarantine quarancleaning, going through generations of photos and documents. I’d like to organize them some day. My kids won’t have a clue who these people are.
Jessie: Like Julie, and my sleuth Edwina, I love to knit. We also share a love of gardens and walking a dog. I have started to do a bit of painting, inspired by several characters I have been writing recently. Like Beryl, I drive a red motorcar and love to take it out on a nice day with the top down.
Readers, which pastimes do you enjoy in your own life?
Between 7,891 (and again growing) unread emails and 50+ past-due ARCs, knitting, crocheting, and quilting have been piling up untouched.
It sounds like you have a lot of pastimes!
Favorite pastimes?
Well, I used to be a coach but that’s been done for a decade now.
I like to read, listen to music, watch TV and movies. And I write reviews of books, CDs, concerts and comic conventions.
That’s quite a slate of pleasant leisure!
I wish I could be crafty and knit/crochet, but I’ve found i have no patience for it. I take daily walks, garden, love camping! I also tried genealogy, hit some dead ends (pun intended lol). And of course, I love to read!
One of my aunts loved genealogy and gifted her research to me. I am so grateful for her pastime!
Reading first and foremost is my favorite pastime, but also gardening and writing letters. Knowing my interests, my SIL this last birthday gave me a six month subscription to Arts In Letters which is a subscription service that sends out weekly letters (and some background information) from historical figures. The letters are from people who were scientist, writers, artists and musicians.The one last week was a letter from Alfred Nobel to Berthe von Suttner, 1893. So obviously some person or group found a niche for making money out of writing letters. Now why didn’t I think of it? 😉
What a fantastic gift! I am going to check it out! Thanks for mentioning your pastime!
I love to bake and share the bounty of the my kitchen, but you can only do so much of that or you won’t be able to waddle through the door. Hubby and I both love photography. Since moving the the Ozark Mountains we have lots of opportunities to photograph critters – even from our front porch. These include things from deer, bobcats and chipmunks to the wide array of birds. This time of year is amazing with all the colorful birds that are migrating through and all those that stay year round as well.
2clowns at arkansas dot net
I would love to see your photographs! I love watching the birds in my own yard!
Quilting which I hope to get back to and reading.
The photos you post on social media of your quilts are so beautiful!
Sherry, I just pulled my old bag of counted cross-stitch materials out of the closet this past weekend. I need new needles and maybe a hoop, but I have a couple of projects that are *this close* to being done and I just might pick them up again.
In 2017 I challenged myself to complete 17 knitting projects. Most of them were on the needles yet unfinished. It was so satisfying to go from *this close* to complete! I hope you get the chance with your own projects!
Obviously reading is a big and enjoyable past time for me, but I also love to bake and garden. I used to sew a lot and still do, but not as often.
I used to sew more than I do now too. Maybe it is a stages of life thing! I did whip up a painting smock a couple of weeks ago and found it very satisfying!
I made my grandkids pyjamas for Christmas and I made a bunch of masks, but haven’t done anything since then. I do feel a sense of accomplishment when I finish something though.
I know just what you mean about feeling accomplished upon completion!
I love going on walks every day, gardening, reading, watching movies and just sitting on our backyard patio swing and watching and listening to the birds singing or seeing the butterflies on the flowers. Have a great rest of the week and stay safe.
I adore a backyard swing! And butterflies! I can just picture you out there with a great mystery in your hands as the birds tweet from the surrounding trees and shrubs!
I love crafting, these days mostly knitting. Sewing, embroidery, needlepoint, counted cross stitch, scrapbooking and beading are all things I enjoy but haven’t been doing lately. I also love shopping garage sales, thrift & antique stores. Travel has been on hold due to the pandemic, but I’m about to visit my son, dil & grandson for the first time in 1-1/2 years & am planning a short vacation with a friend in the late summer or early fall.
I hope you have a wonderful visit with your family and another with your friend!
I am not an artsy-craftsy person at all. Nor am I a gardener. Trust me, you do NOT want me caring for any of your plants, flowers, or veggies! I love reading, yes. I love writing and have just picked up a partial manuscript at the prodding of my dear cousin. I guess I just don’t have the confidence yet, but a published author that I adore has helped me to be willing to try again. I have looked into some writing workshops, etc. I’m editing what I’ve written so far. Aside from that, I love my music- 60s to 80s is my great love. I go from Doo-wop and Motown to AC/DC. I’ve quite a range, yes. LOL. I don’t play an instrument, nor do you want to be near me if I’m singing along to whatever is playing! I love (and worship!) my dachshund, Daisy. AKA- Her Royal Highness (HRH) That’s how I pass my days. I’m good with that. 🙂
Good luck with your writing project! It takes a lot of courage to give it a go, but it is worth the risk!
Reading is my favorite pastime. And the one that I keep going back to. I might dabble in something else, but I quickly lose interest and go back to reading.
All the Wickeds are glad you do!
Over the years, I have done lots of different kinds of needlework (tho’ knitting was a disaster and I’ve lost interest in the other things), photography (developing and printing my own was the best, but with digital, I can’t compete), travel is still up there at the top (and I have plans for this summer). Mostly tho’, as I’ve gotten older, I enjoy jigsaw and crossword puzzles (as I always have), and reading. I love working in my yard (tho’ that, too, has to be done more and more by professionals, 🙁 ) I’m just happy that I can still do as many things as I do. And, I make a point of enjoying them as much as possible.
That is the key, isn’t it, enjoying whatever it is that you choose to do!