“My religion would be a gentle faith that believed in the sacredness of leisure. Napping as a form of prayer.” — Garrison Keillor
What do you like to do in your leisure time?
13 thoughts on “Reader Friday: Leisure”
Spare time? When there are so many novels and short stories demanding to be written, not to mention meals to cook, dishes to wash, house to clean and maintain, lawn to mow, snow to shovel (I know, JSB, you’re spared that task), groceries to buy, choir rehearsal to attend, WaPo, nyt and KZB to read, and all those Harry Bosch novels to finish? And I don’t even have a day job.
Which KIND of leisure time? I think I have two kinds: one is when I’m relaxed, have time to read, listen to music, watch baseball or football on television, and spend time corresponding with friends; another one is when I’m stressed out, looking to complete a writing project, time to research a writing project, or otherwise learn something different.
My favorite is the first kind. The second kind–well, let me just say that, I sometimes hate my leisure time.
Woodworking, reading, and cooking—real cooking, not the “gotta feed the family in 30 minutes” kind. Those are my go to leisure activities. There’s nothing like the smell of sawdust or freshly carved oak. Love those aromas.
Wood working is on my list of to do’s once I have the set up for it. Just like the smell of fresh wood, I love leather working for the same reasons–love the smell of unfinished leather.
My leisure time used to be spend doing needlepoint. I ran out of room on my walls, so I took up writing. 🙂
There is very little leisure time each day (which to me I define as mindless activity with no goal in mind). What little of that there is I like to spend idly scrolling through FB to keep up with family & friends and checking out all the gorgeous Labrador retriever pics and videos. 😎
Besides reading, I love to watch football, true crime, and nature documentaries. There’s a good one on Netflix now, entitled Night on Earth, where they use new technology that to view nocturnal animals, sea creatures, and plant life after dark. Mind-blowing.
I like to socialize, especially by having people over for brunch, tea, or dinner. It’s a nice counterpoint to my solitary activities of writing, reading, and baking.
Read. Read. Read.
And then read some more.
And speaking of reading…I just made some time to read “The Bat Lady”. Masterful, JSB! What a great story. I especially loved the voice…that 1940’s era movie-hyped vernacular, supported by the hardened cop jargon.
What frosted the cake for me was that I attended Biola in my younger years, after the campus moved from downtown L.A. out to the burbs in La Mirada. What a stroll down Memory Lane. (And we could, even in the mid-70s, take a class on how to be a street preacher!) You got that detail just right.
Loved it.
Thanks for that, Deb. I love LA history, especially downtown. That Biola building and the Church of the Ooen Door were pretty impressive.
I like to read, and go for a walk at sunset along the boat docks near my home. I find watched the water restful, and the walks help me work out plots.
I like to craft: jewelry, lampshades, wreathes
Cooking is always fun. Now seriously getting into baking.
Gardening – creating little pockets of interest in my garden
But my favorite pastime is a hot peaceful bubble bath. Lean back, close my eyes and pretend nothing exist outside my bubble of tranquility.
“My religion would be a gentle faith that believed in the sacredness of leisure. Napping as a form of prayer.” — Garrison Keillor
Spare time? When there are so many novels and short stories demanding to be written, not to mention meals to cook, dishes to wash, house to clean and maintain, lawn to mow, snow to shovel (I know, JSB, you’re spared that task), groceries to buy, choir rehearsal to attend, WaPo, nyt and KZB to read, and all those Harry Bosch novels to finish? And I don’t even have a day job.
Which KIND of leisure time? I think I have two kinds: one is when I’m relaxed, have time to read, listen to music, watch baseball or football on television, and spend time corresponding with friends; another one is when I’m stressed out, looking to complete a writing project, time to research a writing project, or otherwise learn something different.
My favorite is the first kind. The second kind–well, let me just say that, I sometimes hate my leisure time.
Woodworking, reading, and cooking—real cooking, not the “gotta feed the family in 30 minutes” kind. Those are my go to leisure activities. There’s nothing like the smell of sawdust or freshly carved oak. Love those aromas.
Wood working is on my list of to do’s once I have the set up for it. Just like the smell of fresh wood, I love leather working for the same reasons–love the smell of unfinished leather.
My leisure time used to be spend doing needlepoint. I ran out of room on my walls, so I took up writing. 🙂
There is very little leisure time each day (which to me I define as mindless activity with no goal in mind). What little of that there is I like to spend idly scrolling through FB to keep up with family & friends and checking out all the gorgeous Labrador retriever pics and videos. 😎
Besides reading, I love to watch football, true crime, and nature documentaries. There’s a good one on Netflix now, entitled Night on Earth, where they use new technology that to view nocturnal animals, sea creatures, and plant life after dark. Mind-blowing.
I like to socialize, especially by having people over for brunch, tea, or dinner. It’s a nice counterpoint to my solitary activities of writing, reading, and baking.
Read. Read. Read.
And then read some more.
And speaking of reading…I just made some time to read “The Bat Lady”. Masterful, JSB! What a great story. I especially loved the voice…that 1940’s era movie-hyped vernacular, supported by the hardened cop jargon.
What frosted the cake for me was that I attended Biola in my younger years, after the campus moved from downtown L.A. out to the burbs in La Mirada. What a stroll down Memory Lane. (And we could, even in the mid-70s, take a class on how to be a street preacher!) You got that detail just right.
Loved it.
Thanks for that, Deb. I love LA history, especially downtown. That Biola building and the Church of the Ooen Door were pretty impressive.
I like to read, and go for a walk at sunset along the boat docks near my home. I find watched the water restful, and the walks help me work out plots.
I like to craft: jewelry, lampshades, wreathes
Cooking is always fun. Now seriously getting into baking.
Gardening – creating little pockets of interest in my garden
But my favorite pastime is a hot peaceful bubble bath. Lean back, close my eyes and pretend nothing exist outside my bubble of tranquility.