I was thinking this morning about how hobbies are so good for us and important. They are a great way to relax and just get lost in our interest(s). So, I thought it would be fun to see what everyone's hobbies are.

Mine -

I love to read, when my brain allows it. When I'm a little slow with my comprehension or my focus/concentration is giving me trouble, I will read magazines online (usually decorating/design magazines like BHG). I like all sorts of books. I just went through my historical fiction phase and am back to mysteries. I going to start reading a book titled "Chasing The Night" bu Iris Johansen. I'm only on page 1. I had to put it down due to company coming yesterday.

I also paint and do artwork. I find that I can get lost in painting and it relaxes me so much. I also like doing detailed designs as I can get lost in those and believe it or not, when I focus so much I forget about the pain for a while - until it screams at me to change positions IMMEDIATELY!

I'm starting to learn about paper crafts. Not scrapbooking but designing and creating things with just paper. On the BHG site they have something called paper piecing where you cut designed paper and make things such as flowers with it. Pretty cool and a great indoor summer activity.

I read, and I also crochet and knit. I've been crocheting longer than I've been knitting. Learned to crochet when I was 5 or 6yrs old and it's been my favorite hobby ever since. I only learned to knit in 2006, the weekend that my MS made itself known to me with some optic neuritis.

Wasnt going to do anything with the knitting at first, but the day after I learned, I woke up with a giant blind spot in my eye. Was freaked out and to keep myself calm, I had my dad stop at the yarn store on my way to the eye doctor and I bought myself some circular needles (2 needles held together with a plastic cable) and some really ugly yarn. I didnt have my color vision at the time so I didnt know just how ugly the yarn was. Knitted a scarf over the next several months as I got diagnosed. My dad claimed the Ugly Scarf and uses it every winter now. Says it's the warmest scarf he's ever had.

Other hobbies that I have are sewing. I have a machine and a huge stash of fabric, but I havent sewn anything for awhile. I cant make clothes, but I can do some really basic quilting. I need to get my machine out and play with it some more.

I want to learn another hobby. Japanese braiding that's called "Kumihimo". You use a loom, either a plastic disk you hold in your hand, or a wooded one that stands on the floor. I want to get the wooden loom, called a "marudai", and learn it that way. I'm going to make my own loom. Going to go to a garage sale and see if I can get a wooden stool for cheap. Then I'm going to drill a hole in the seat to make the loom. I'll have to sand that down so the wood isnt rough.

Hope that I can find a wooden stool soon. My dad said he'd drill the hole for me, as long as I'm the one who sands it.

Since I purchased my new Kindle, Reading 99c Mystery Novels is my New/old hobby.

I have been through the hobby field pretty thoroughly and find reading takes me away and makes me happy. The other hobbies are too much work, since I've become lazier..

Thanks Trish.

Two things I love to do are read and cook. I do alot of each! I guess eating goes along with cooking so I try my best to only cook healthy things.

Apparently, taking care of cats is also one of my strong points. We have three more babies in the back yard today. Please, oh please, let these be the last ones. I'm gonna go broke trying to feed all these sweet little things.

Erin - That's cool! I hope you find a stool soon too. When you do, post some pics of it done and the braiding that you do. I would love to see them.

Sally - Reading is a great hobby. I used to breeze through a book a weekend. I don't have a reader and am not sure I could read things on a screen as it bothers my eyes too much (I tried it on the gutenberg project site). Plus, if my cog problems are acting up, I have to flip back pages all the time. It's a pain on a reader. My mom has one and was showing me it and we talked about that.

Kelly - Every time I see or hear Paula Deen, I think of you. I know, I've told you that before. She always seems to cook such amazing things, albeit probably high in fat. I used to love to watch her show. She appears so down to earth in her kitchen. Maybe you can write a cookbook with all your awesome recipes, which I have tried. And, being a cat "rescuer" is an ok hobby as it brings the satisfaction that you saved their little lives and took care of them. You are a real sweetie!!!

tkrik - I also have a Kindle, and it doesnt hurt the eyes at all. It's just like reading a real book, except that it's not heavy like some books I've read. (I'd love to reread the Harry Potter books, but even the paperbacks are heavier than my Kindle)

The Kindle isnt backlit like a computer screen, so it's easier on the eyes. Just like a real book.

Flipping back a few pages is easy too. Just push the Page buttons and you can flip back. I read more now with my Kindle than I had been since getting diagnosed because the Kindle is lighter, and I can carry tons of reading material and not worry about the weight of all those books.

What reader does your mom have???

I always had in mind a hobby being something like knitting or stamp collecting, and didn't think I had any. But by definition, a hobby is any activity or interest undertaken for enjoyment during your leisure time.

So I would have to say a few of my hobbies are reading, playing the piano badly, Red Sox baseball, maps, perennial gardening, writing, sitting in a lawn chair in the shade watching the chickens...

I like restoring old photos back to their new looking state. Since my vision has gone sideways I simply cant read anymore. I was in tears in church today because I couldnt read the words in the hymnal. my vision is going, and that makes me mad. it has taken away many of my hobbies like video games, or reading, knitting, crochet, and so on. I guess I will have to find new hobbies.

#1 is art . . . but taking a break due to worsening carpal tunnel symptoms. After that is bird watching in my backyard, film (independent film and foreign flicks especially), cooking/baking, and I dabble in a debate forum in one of my favorite web forums. I dream of hiking in the mountains and forests again someday . . . so dreaming is another hobby of mine!

I forgot bird-watching! Thanks for reminding me!