So, What Does Inside Cat Do for Fun?

Since I kind of committed, let's talk about hobbies. You know how you can fascinate a baby by jingling keys in front of his/her face? I never got over that. I get drawn into just about anything - I reach for any shiny thing that comes along. My mother used to scold me, “Jack of all trades, master of none,” and tried hard to get me to focus on one thing. She didn’t care what one thing, just one, instead of wanting to know everything about everything. It didn't help her cause that I grew up in California smack dab in the center of hippy-hippie everything. I remember taking summer classes on tie-dying, Japanese paper making, basket weaving and macrame. I had long-haired art teachers who encouraged experimentation, so I made things in clay, learned stained glass, metal casting (specifically, making jewelry), a little wood carving. I love it all. I can’t help myself. Reaching for those dangling keys, I still want to know everything about everything. I've tried to stick to things that are affordable and don't take a lot of space so my family still loves me. So regretfully, I don't have a glass blowing studio, stained glass equipment, kiln and potting wheel, a shop full of woodworking tools, a loom, spinning wheel (though I desperately want one), sheep (for spinning, you know), bee hives, a printing press and all the other things necessary to turn me into a one-woman village. This actually does make me a little sad. Let's explore some of my more recent interests, just for fun:

When we were moving to Alaska, I decided I needed to give up my freshwater fish tanks. I loved the fish and frogs and the plants I had growing in each tank and I enjoyed learning about them, but I did not want to figure out how to transport the tanks. Also, I looked around online and could not find any information on stores selling fish in Alaska. I was wrong, there are several tropical fish stores in Anchorage. So now you know. But I gave up having my arm wet to the elbow and my fish went to a very deserving young man. I still miss them, even though that 50 gallon tank took up a lot of real estate in our little house.

My new hobby in Alaska was houseplants. I figured I'd need the green during the long dark winter (which actually was lovely, white and brown with pink sky, but I digress). So I bought a no-nonsense plant stand and lights and started collecting African violets and orchids and various other pretty leafy things. Anyone who saw my tiny jungle office in Portland knows I loved plants already. When we moved from Alaska back to Oregon, I gave away my lovely healthy houseplants and decided I would focus on gardening in the yard in Oregon. Which I did.

Now I am grounded, incarcerated, a big fat couch potato. I need a new hobby to drain off some of my fascination with everything. No problem. I grabbed a crochet hook from my knitting daughter, begged some yarn off her and started crocheting. I can do that easy even with my left foot propped higher than my heart. I ordered a big box of the Right Colors from the Internets for my Broken Ankle Memorial Blanket and got going. I may even have other projects on the hook (OK, I do...).

I have not abandoned the garden. My husband has kindly agreed (with only one little -suppressed- sigh of long suffering) to keep the garden alive. He loves me that much. My daughter helps me with the herbs I brought inside for the winter. I sit at the table with my brick of a foot propped up and she brings the plants and we both fertilize and water and deadhead and all that. It's nice. I am very grateful for the assistance, so the plants get to live.

I tat; I've tatted for years now. In case you are blinking at me like this, 0_o tatting looks like this. It's a kind of lace. You can scroll through the pics, if you are interested, to get an idea of some of the variety available. There's more to it, but it's my hobby, not yours, so I won't bore you. I mostly make jewelry (earrings, necklaces), beaded purses, ornaments and garlands. I've also been noodling with making wedding lace as a potential side business. All my tatting stuff is packed up in the shed at the moment. The thing that's really cool about tatting is people are just in the past couple of years developing new techniques, so it is an evolving craft.

Last Easter-ish I made the Ukrainian Eggs in the fuzzy picture above. You do it with eggs (I used brown eggs), beeswax and aniline dyes. I buy the specialized copper and birch tools I need from Powell's book store, or sometimes online. It's a Russian thing, though lately I've run into Russians who never heard of it, so I am guessing it is a Western Russian thing, as the Ukrainian in the name indicates. Russia's a giant country and I suppose it is not surprising that people at one end of the country don't know what people on the other end are doing. Getting to make the eggs in the picture was the incentive I gave myself to finish our tax forms last year. By the way, my brother-in-law made the cool wooden bowl they are sitting in.

Another sort-of-hobby all my life has been "get in shape." Except that it's more of a wish. I've never stuck with an exercise regimen for long. I've never been particularly fit, but I could generally get through a day without huffing or puffing. I realize that at the moment I am slowly deteriorating into a sack of flab. One day I will be tortured by some otherwise nice person who happens to be a physical therapist. At that point, I have already resolved that I will make peace with the Wii Fit and start using it. I will not stop until I am able to walk or even jog a 5K run. I know, my dreams are overwhelmingly big. Maybe you and I could work on it together, what do you think? Let me know. You have plenty of time to decide. No need to rush.

My new hobby/skills include brushing my teeth at the couch using a cup and a bowl, digesting while prone, learning to use crutches, um, what else? Not much. Just hanging out, surfing the 'net, watching cable tv, napping. I am becoming a world class napper. Good for healing.

What do you like to do?

love,

inside cat