Hobbies…how mine have evolved over the years! Drawing, painting, pottery, macramé, basket weaving (a 70’s thing and damn I turned out some ‘interesting’ pet beds, Ali Baba laundry depositories and log baskets), preserves (an organic moment), bread baking (the rolls always light as air because they were actually full of air – a great big hole – something to do with the proofing), photography, jigsaw puzzles, French cookery, dancing, sewing, knitting, Tunisian crochet (yup, crochet!)…and then came the ‘Big Boys’…

Diving – 70 meter visibility, sunny, calm and no nasties please? Sailing – minimal tacking, no gunnels in the water, ice must not fall out of the Gin & Tonic tumbler, another served at anchor in return for minimal whining please? Camping – plug for my hair drier, Doona and feather pillow, hot shower and a G&T at sunset pretty please? Note the conditions, each resulting from a gigantic effort to participate in my husband’s hobbies. But there was one constant throughout…a deep passion for books.

Thrillers, bios, action, adventure, supernatural, self help, futuristic, journals, newspapers, cooking, interior decorating, fashion mags; I voraciously devoured them all, every page, cover to cover. And then I discovered Blogging. My beloved books and magazines languished as I built my baby, born with the initial intent of sharing recent travels with family and friends, later blossoming into a pleasurable pastime, a guilty pleasure, possibly narcissistic, definitely addictive. A place to share the ‘snipped’ fruits of my reading labors, my thinking; a narration in lieu of verbal chit chat. I had found my new bliss. Interestingly, I had never considered my blog an actual hobby until I happened across Richard Branson’s own take on blogging.

In his words…

“Over the past few years blogging has become one of the most enjoyable and frequent activities in my life. It is a fantastic way of sharing news, opinions and having fun with people all over the globe. Bloggers are becoming increasingly influential, and can use their presence to positively impact issues they care about. They are able to share not just their own views, but reflect the sentiments of wider communities and make a real difference to the world.” (Blogging: good for your health? – Richard Branson – Feb 18, 2013)

Oh joy! Justification! Not sure mine’s at the influential, eloquent stage yet but having fun, being creative and stimulating the verbal and visual senses of us both…we’ll it’s just an amalgamation of hobbies isn’t it?

Do join me for the ride and weigh in with your own thoughts, starting with your most passionate hobbies…