<p>I am totally suited to not turning on the television and getting my news from twitter & reading the newspaper on my phone.
I watch television shows through Hulu,Netflix, amazon prime & iTunes.
My daughter is also always sending me youtube links to things she thinks are inspirational or something she has seen for a class & wants to discuss.</p>
<p>I love it, we don’t deal with a cable company, and I don’t have to schedule my life around the latest episode of Justified to keep up.</p>
<p>i used to deride my mother for being addicted to the television.:o ( at least in my head)
But she had health problems & a big television!
I feel bad about judging her now ( although I did have to repeatedly ask her to turn down the tv when I would visit), because I am also addicted to a few shows.
But mostly just Justified.
I had never even heard of it before my older daughter started watching it, but I have caught up through itunes ( & the first three seasons are also on Amazon prime) & it fills my entertainment needs as nothing else has since I was 9 & hooked on The Monkees.:)</p>
<p>It came in handy during the past year when I was practically bedridden from osteoarthritis pain ( I am much better) & not really of the temprament to knit. Each episode is complex enough that when I had seen all of them, I went back to the beginning to pick up what Id missed.</p>
<p>I can’t wait until I am in good enough shape to work in my yard for hours a day, but Im curious what you do when you have a couple hours to kill or want to mentally take a break?</p>
<p>Some ideas:</p>
<p>birdwatching
photography
jewelry making
painting
miniatures
drawing
ceramics
guitar
sewing
piano
needlepoint
woodworking
writing
quilting
gardening
spinning
crochet
astronomy
reading
collage
scrapbooking
party planning
soap making
juggling
knitting
darts
model building
cooking
stamp collecting
stained glass
puzzles
learning a new language
billiards
handwriting analysis
origami
MOOC classes</p>
<p>Things I do in downtime ( I do work 5 days a week), evenings/weekends:</p>
<p>Visit local parks/paths and walk/run
Take the dog to different nice neighborhoods to walk and house gaze.
Garden/cut grass
Read outside on the chaise lounge
Refinish furniture
Pick a room to organize/dejunk
Take in one of the local farmers markets</p>
<p>Those are things I do with a short period of free time. On my list to learn is glass mosaic.</p>
<p>Well, recently it’s been spending too much time on the CC forum! I’ve become addicted. I enjoy relaxing in the evening with my H watching TV or a movie or reading a book.</p>
<p>I hope that you will be well enough to get outside in your yard very soon, emeraldkity4. I have a good friend with rheumatoid arthritis. She’s in her early 60’s and it’s becoming much more painful. Her true joy is making jewelry, but her hands are getting quite stiff. I can’t imagine what she will do if she has to give that up.</p>
<p>I really like crossword puzzles. Not exactly productive, but enjoyable and a little brain exercise.</p>
<p>H and I really like our TV shows. We both train intensely in our sports, so while that helps us mentally, it isn’t really what I would call downtime! Our downtime is propping up pillows on the bed, gathering the dog and cats and watching recorded TV shows. I also spend a lot of time online catching up with friends on facebook and Twitter. H and I also get a lot of enjoyment out of college sports- especially basketball- and have season tickets to the Vanderbilt games- but that isn’t downtime either, I guess, since it can be stressful. :)</p>
<p>Emerald,</p>
<p>I’m glad you are feeling better. I like to garden and visit nursuries. I love walking in the Japanese gardens and in the Everglades parks. </p>
<p>A few hours at home? I bake a lot, and cook a few times a week, enough for a few meals or to freeze. Sudoku and puzzles relax me, with TV on.</p>
<p>I wish I organized more. I cleaned and sorted my pantry last weekend, and will attack the freezer. I could lose half of my clothes.</p>
<p>Reading is relaxing, when I can find the time. I have a few favorite TV shows. Its rare I sit still to watch a movie at home.</p>
<p>Always happy to find a few hours to read. In the daytime, if the weather isn’t dreadful (whcih never seems the case anymore :(), i love to get out for a walk.</p>
<p>On weekend I take a nap. I think of it as really deep yoga ;)</p>