Reader Friday-The Hobby Horse

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In honor of Good Friday, please share a hobby/activity you enjoy.

The only rule is this: it must have nothing to do with publishing or writing. Not to say your hobby/activity doesn’t feed your storytelling brain cells, but if you have one unrelated to writing, this is the day and the space to share it.

And . . . go!

Oh! Me first? You got it!

Target shooting’s my game–if it fires a bullet, I’ll try it.

 

Okay–your turn, TKZers. What do you do when you’re not writing/reading/editing/marketing?

 

 

 

 

This entry was posted in #ReaderFriday, #writerslife, Writing and tagged , by Deb Gorman. Bookmark the permalink.

About Deb Gorman

Deb Gorman is an author, blogger, and speaker who escaped from a 9-5 job in the medical field to pursue what she really loves—words, words, and more words. A lifelong resident of the Pacific Northwest, she writes fiction and non-fiction in between long walks through orchard country with her husband, Alan, and playing with Kimber, their German Shepherd/Malinois mix. You can catch up with Deb on her website, debggorman.com, and email her at debster145@gmail.com

38 thoughts on “Reader Friday-The Hobby Horse”

  1. Paint in watercolor – something I learned in architecture school when projects had to be “rendered” in it on 30×42 inch boards (or perfectly in another medium)… I carry a small kit with me when I go fly fishing (another hobby) – if the fish ain’t biting, I’ll put the rod aside and pull out the small paper, pencil, palette and brushes and let the frustration of fishing (not called catching for a reason), ease downstream… sometimes from the bank, sometimes from the middle of the creek…

    • Nice! A friend is a professional illustrator. His work is mostly done on a Wacol tablet with extreme rendering software. He had his tablet mounted to his old school illustrator table with the backlight and outline for what the final work needs to fit.

      Next to the screens are his pens and pencils. Some million-dollar animations start with pencil and then ink on paper.

    • Hi George!

      “Catching” . . . I like that! My Dad loved to fish, and he would’ve laughed at that one.

      There seems to be several artists amongst our TKZers. I don’t know for sure (because I don’t have that gene), but I wonder if painting or drawing the last stroke is kinda like typing (or reading) “The End” on a novel. Could be…

      Thanks for sharing this morning, and have a great weekend!

  2. Traveling is my favorite thing, but when I can’t, gardening (in season), and drawing/painting/crafting. Like you, Deb, I love target shooting but the nearest target range is pretty far away, not like when we lived in a rural area and had farmer friends who set up their own ranges.

    • Hi Becky…

      Ha! Traveling is my least favorite thing. If we could perfect that beaming tech, then I wouldn’t mind seeing the world, but it’s the getting there I don’t like. Sigh.

      We live near and belong to a local range, so we can go practice as much as we want. 🙂

      Thanks for dropping in this morning and have a great weekend.

    • Hi Brenda.

      As I mentioned, my mom was the artist in the family. I have a great appreciation of visual arts, but have absolutely no talent for creating it. Sometimes I wish I’d inherited that from her, but didn’t happen. I did gain a love of literature and reading from her, though. So there’s that.

      Thanks for stopping by this Good Friday morn!

  4. Fortunately, I live 2 miles from the beach, so I spend a great deal of time there ‘decompressing’. There’s something about the view of the Atlantic Ocean from my beach chair, the openness, the lack of boundaries, no distractions, the breeze, the sun, the soothing sound of the waves. It sure does relax me. I often watch the waves roll up the beach, then imagine tossing a problem to the edge of the water and letting the receding wave take it away, far, far away, never to be seen or heard from again. Occasionally, when I’m feeling silly, I’ll wave at the problem as it washes away. See what I did there? Wave and wave?

    • Hi Henry!

      I love, love, love your image of problems rolling away on a wave (and you waving goodbye at it 🙂 ). I wonder if I could come up with a similar image, on my hilltop surrounded by fruit orchards. Hmm…we have coyotes wandering by sometimes. Maybe they would shoulder my burdens and lope off down the hill with them. I’ll get back to ya on that.

      Thanks for sharing your view of the Atlantic with us this morning!

    • Hi Patricia…

      You’d have gotten along with my mom over the clay. She was a great painter, and dabbled in clay also. I have several of her paintings, but none of her clay projects. Alas!

      Have a great weekend!

    • Hi Terry…it seems like many authors are “into” photography.

      I take lots of pics with my phone, but they’re nothing to brag about. Mostly of the demon dog, who loves a good photo shoot!

      Thanks for dropping in this morning.

    • Good morning, Dale.

      What a fun hobby! Do you show your photos at art events?

      Have a good one, and thanks for the link and for stopping by. 🙂

    • I took three Astronomy elective courses at USC when working on my BS in Chemical Engineering: Planetary Astronomy, Determinations of Orbits, and Astrophysics. I also was secretary for the Astronomy Department for one semester, the best job I ever had.

    • Hi Alan…you and my bro would get along over your die cast car collection. Years ago when we were tadpoles, he had several.

      The pens sound interesting, too. Hmm…Legos. I have some friends whose son had lots of Legos. He’s in his 20’s now, but his parents still have fun with the Legos. She made a nativity scene out of them one year.

      Thanks for dropping by this morning!

    • As a kid I loved playing with Legos. And every once in a while as an adult I’m tempted to buy and play with them again but then I talk myself out of it because it’s one more thing to have to make space for. LOL!

  9. Since 2019, I’ve been making junk journals (they can go all the way from the truly junky to beautiful art). Secondary to that, there’s all the collecting of items that one can put into a journal. Lately, I’ve been toying with the idea of doing bonsai.

    • Hi Michelle…thanks for dropping in this morning.

      I’ve never heard the term “junk journals”. And “bonsai”…never heard of that either.

      Care to elaborate?

      • Junk Journal – a journal made from scrap papers, old letters, receipts, envelopes, fabric, lace, and anything else you can find. They usually have interactive elements such as secret pockets and tuck spots for hidden journaling.

        I use mine as gratitude journals. Some people use them for keeping photos, or as small scrapbooks. Others make or buy them just because they’re pretty. If you look them up on the web, you’ll find all kinds of examples, especially on Etsy.

        For bonsai, I’m referring to the little trees.

        • Thanks for explaining, Michelle!

          The journals sound fun…and the bonsai project sounds fun also. I love growing things–but I’m not always sure they love me. 🙂

  10. I took my first blacksmithing class in 2004 and have been doing it as a hobby ever since. There is a local chapter of the national artistic blacksmith organization that maintains a shop/school close by and I have been teaching and demonstrating there for many years, as well as setting up my own small shop at home.

    • Good morning, Robert!

      Blacksmithing…I’ve truly never appreciated it as art.

      If anyone else is interested, I found this website: abana.org

      And it’s not just about horseshoeing!

      Thanks a lot for sharing your interest in this form of art, Robert. I learned something! 🙂

  11. Walking. I live by Hollywood Beach and I go for long walks. The ocean air is invigorating and the water gives me a sense of peace. Plus, the beach is a good place for people watching.

    • I’m with you on walking, Elaine.

      Only, substitute apple & cherry trees for your ocean view, and birds, frogs, and wind machines for the sound of waves.

      And once I get my new knee next month, and after rehab, I’ll be able to walk even more…wahoo!

      Have a good day. 🥳

  12. Years ago, I took a bookbinding class and I was hooked. I have loved repairing books and Bibles. I am retiring from book repair soon. Now I have more time to write!

    • Good morning Tawn!

      My gramma worked for our local library for several decades, back when I was a kiddo. She had a work space in the basement. My siblings and I would visit her often & watch her work, surrounded by stacked-up books and the tools of her trade.

      Thanks for the memory and have a wonderful Easter weekend!

  13. Crochet. It gives my brain something to think about other than writing. Although during the mindless rote work I sometimes think about my WIP.

    • Hi Joe…Good Friday afternoon.

      Somehow, I’ve never associated crocheting with you…😉

      I used to crochet a lot when my kiddos were wees, but now I have the dreaded arthur in my hands, and it’s all I can do to keyboard.

      But I know what you mean about freeing your mind to think about other things. For me, throwing or kicking a ball for our dog does that very nicely.

      Thanks for dropping by!

  14. I lived along the west side of the Persian Gulf for almost 20 years and learned to SCUBA dive there. I loved diving and one of my favorite parts was simply laying on the bottom and letting the sea life become used to me and returning to their usual activities. I don’t know what the new rules are for diving but back then at 30-35 feet I could spend most of an hour just watching. Long time ago in a much different world.

    • Fascinating, Marshall, how diverse we all are in our various leisure pursuits, and how much we can learn from each other.

      And, as a bonus for us, how those pursuits wander down the path into our writing, informing our characters.

      Thanks! Have a great weekend.

  15. I’ve worked with wood for a long time, mostly making bookcases and tables, stools and cupboard risers. I also carved little (3″ x 3″) wood plaques with Celtic knots. I once carved a chess set with my radial arm saw, whilst standing on a bowling ball. I made some 3D wood puzzles, too. I’m thinking of carving a larger plaque, maybe 5.5″ x 8.5″, with lettering, etc., on it, and stained appropriately. When done, I’ll make a photocopy and attach it to the top of stacks of paper with text on them.

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