Learning the Hobby Ropes

Posted by Beverly Hill Mar 29, 2009

When I sit down and list out the number of hobbies that I've worked on, it simply amazes me at times. I attribute it to growing up as an only child in a largely rural community and needing to find ways to entertain myself. On the plus side, it not only keeps me from getting bored, but it really gives me a lot to write about.

I discovered woodburning when I was between the ages of 10-12. At that time all I had was a magnifying glass, and that is not the safest way to get into the hobby. You'd think that the transition to wood carving would have been a bit smoother, but having just started into wood carving, it's a lot harder than it looks. One thing's for certain, it's going to take me quite a bit more practice before I can claim to be good at it.

Rock collecting has always been one of my favorites. I'd plop down where ever I happened to be and just start looking for fascinating rocks. That's how I managed to find my necklace. In fact, it turned out to be an archeological find--an Indian trade bead. Trade beads where rocks drilled by the native Indians and used to make necklaces that they would trade for goods.

I still enjoy digging for rocks, only lately I've been ordering dirt straight from the mine and sifting through it in the backyard. Mining for gems by mail is what I call it, and I've found over 150 sapphires to date, some of which were good enough for faceting and setting. Faceting costs a bit, so now I've decided to get started in lapidary and work some of my own gems.

Geocaching is another fun hobby that I love. It takes the seeker to places they might never have considered and really gets the brain working out ways to solve the question of where might it be hidden?

Photography is a bit of a side hobby for me. I usually take pictures while I'm out hiking and don't plan to take specific pictures, unless I'm looking for a picture for my articles. The same can be said about model rockets. I've fired off a couple, but I don't seem to have the time to for them in my busy schedule. Too many hobbies perhaps? Maybe. I've only scratched the surface in this blog.

Well, I am off to research yet another new hobby. There's a pottery event downtown this weekend, and oddly enough the only thing I've ever done with pottery is paint it. Who knows, maybe I'll come back with a new hobby.

Until next time...