Oh boy, thanks everyone!! So many good ideas here. Also you’ve made me realize I am not hobby-less (@garland, I think we do and enjoy exactly the same things!) It’s made me reconsider what constitutes a hobby. I think I can answer next time someone asks!
As to your suggestions, yes to tennis! I don’t “get” doubles (little experience) but can play singles pretty well.) We actually just quit our club this summer. We didn’t use it enough. But I think I could see joining a winter indoor club, or maybe squash, which I enjoyed once. Maybe bridge, always intrigued (not sure husband would want the social obligation) Singing - forever self-conscious about my voice since childhood, but could probably handle and enjoy a choir. Drawing - yes, leaning that way. We have terrific classes only 2 blocks away. I definitely think I need a right brain thing. Tennis – yes! Kayaking, check that. We have a funky Hobie pedal kayak with a sail that we strap a beach chair to. We get lots of questions and comments! “Forest bathing” (what the Japanese call getting out in nature) - check! We have lots of nice trails nearby and I use them year-round whether on foot, bike, or cross country skis. Volunteering? Maybe later. I have done a lifetime’s worth of volunteering already, and now with working full time, don’t need more work. Travel - have done a lot and will continue to. Vacation time limits me. I hope to do more weekend trips. Pokemon Go – YES! I play with my kids, and my work colleague and I also did a little collecting today. So, I think I get out and about enough. I also run a little. Reading, book club - check! Writing, hmm, I did always think I might want to write a novel. Again, I think I seek a right-brain creative thing. I have been ignoring my right brain too long. I have a very left-brain job, though it does require some creativity. It is not a sedentary job, but I am at computers enough that I’d like a break, I think.
@abasket asks “So OP, give us 5 things you enjoy - tinkering in the yard? Going to the library? Jazz? A certain form of exercise? Visiting bakeries? Learning about history?”
tinkering in the yard – I have a lot of hostas I need to rearrange
Wilco!!! Wilco is a band I am rather obsessed with. In almost a Deadhead sort of way. But there are only so many shows nearby. SoildSound anyone? I also like going to concerts (other bands besides Wilco )
cross country skiing – it gets me through the winter (also like downhill, but have been spoiled by the West where I don’t live)
graphic art/photography
using paint and spackling. I find that soothing. After I paint a room, I go in may days after to sniff the drying paint. Love the feeling of accomplishment, but could not do it day in, day out.
I kind of like cars
learning about personal finance but it can also stress me out, so nix that
I think more social activities would be good, but this discussion has helped remind me I seek a creative thing. Thank you!!
@LBowie Just one quick comment about bridge. I took lessons at the Adult School in town with a friend and we play duplicate one day a week together – husbands need not be involved.
If you play a musical instrument, there are often ways to make that as solitary or social as you might want. Some instruments, like guitar have umpteen tutorials on FB. With others, find someone to play duets with, if even at an elementary level.
In case the purchase of a new lens would inspire you, this one is inexpensive and might take you to a new type of photography. It does not zoom, so you have to move your body. It is super tiny and light, so much so that I feel my camera is unbalanced after removing its usual zoom lens. Allows you to shoot in low light w/o flash.
It does not have a motor so you need a camera that is probably no more than perhaps seven or eight years old. This used to sell for $99 but seems to have crept up a bit.
Knitting is the newest indoor sport lol. Seriously, i tend to obsess too and knitting fills my mind with tranquility. I become engaged and the hours go by quickly when I’m engaged in a project. There’s also something very humbling about giving something away you created yourself.
Since you like drawing and nature, I’d suggest starting a small watercolor sketch journal, using watercolors and pen and ink, and taking with you on hikes or nature walks or picnics in nature. You can get pocket-sized watercolor kits. I started doing this many years ago and it is so much fun.
An easy and fun way to get started is to use the journal to keep a taxonomy of interesting plants, wildflowers, seed pods etc. that you come across on your walks, or, if at the beach, shells, pebbles, etc. You don’t need very advanced drawing skills to be able to sketch a flower or shape of leaves.
It is quite addicting and it makes it really fun to picnic at beautiful places, etc. I was in Sonoma a couple of weekends ago, and one of my favorite things to do is to sit in a beautiful winery with a glass of wine and my sketchbook and little watercolor kit.
I just get small sketchbooks. They take a while to fill and don’t take up much space if you keep them. I hate to admit it, but I don’t even keep the sketchbooks when I’m done unless there’s something I particularly like that I’ve done. I keep them for a while maybe, but eventually throw them away. I consider it more a form of refined doodling. But rewarding and fun!
@CT1417 haha, I have that lens already! Actually I have the F1.4 version. Very good for portraits and low light. I took both kids’ senior pictures with it.
H and I are playing Pokemon Go as a way to connect with D, since it was something she found very engaging. H and I have found that it gets us to enjoy walking more than we normally would and adds some interest and destinations to our walks.
We like that it’s free and encourages motion and especially walking. It’s something we enjoy doing together. H is currently recovering from rotator cuff surgery, but we can and do still enjoy playing this game together and walking together. D is delighted and talks and texts us about it.
Yes! I was playing for a while with my kids, but haven’t touched it for the last week or two. One son is boycotting it because they took away he distance clues and the other has become obsessed with snapchat and drumming up business for his and a friend’s money-making venture. They are so fickle!
Sorry, but an hoping Pokemon go goes away soon. People are already too glued to their phones that they walk into poles and fountains. I went to dinner this weekend. The restaurant was in a shopping center that was PACKED and I mean PACKED with people sitting on lawn chairs, walking around in the middle of the street and blocking the sidewalk, cars all over also stopped in the middle of the street. It was a zoo. Took us 10 min to get into the shopping center and park the car. We thought at first there was a concert or something going on. Nope- you guessed it- a Pokemon go hotspot. The hundreds of people were not interacting with each other… Their noses were in their phones oblivious to others. And the ones DRIVING while trying to catch the figures. DANGEROUS. I hope the fad dies quickly and people start to interact with each other in a more meaningful way.
You don’t pick a hobby. You try things that you think might be fun, and if one of them sticks, it becomes your hobby. Also, it’s okay to be boring to others.
Letterboxing is essentially a combination of mild puzzle solving and hiking. Clues found on an internet site, the most extensive of which is linked above, lead you to a box hidden somewhere, usually out in the woods. (Click on one of the “most recommended clues” links to see a good example.) In the box you’ll find a small notepad and a stamp and (usually) ink pad. You’ll have brought the same with you. You log in to the pad with a trail name and stamp your stamp on the pad, then use the box’s stamp on your notebook and note the name and date of the box.
Some of the things I like about letter boxing:
You can do as much or little as you want, and on your own time. Some boxes are a 5 minute detour off the road, others involve a 5 hour hike up a mountain. Some involve extensive brain work, others are absolutely straightforward (“Look under the left side of the front step of the Lutheran church at 12 Elm St.”) You choose your level of challenge.
Letterboxers tend to plant their boxes in places they love, so it’s a great way to discover fun hikes.
They’re great to do with kids or while walking the dog. When my kids were little we kept them entertained by asking them to “look for the big rock” or “see if you can spot the little bridge”. They lost interest as they got older but I still have their books with colorful stamps from all over.
Some people hand carve really beautiful, elaborate stamps representing their trail name or their letterbox, but you don’t need to do this. Buy a cheap stamp at the local pharmacy, or even just use your thumbprint to stamp in until you decide if it’s something you want to do more of.
As an added bonus you could take a camera or sketch pad just in case something catches your eye without the pressure of feeling you must go out and create art.
Well, on the plus side, Pokemon go has gotten H and me to walk 2-5 miles/day. For us, that’s much more walking than we were doing.
You are right that some folks are irresponsible about it and it is causing some traffic snarl ups. It is also helping some places stay in business. It has caused us to chat with some folks we normally may not have.
When we drive, H has my phone and uses both phones. For now, H and I are having fun.
Haha, yes I have done Duolingo, before a trip abroad. But I stopped upon returning. I should keep it up! I have also done my first language which I rarely use these days. Thanks for the reminder!
I also like going to concerts (other bands besides Wilco