http://www.one.org Dixie Peach: That Which Amuses

Cooler than the other side of the pillow.

Saturday, November 18, 2006

That Which Amuses

Today has found me engaged in two of my favorite hobbies - watching classic films (today it was Shadow of a Doubt and Rear Window - it's a Hitchcock sort of day) and knitting.

Some of y'all like to good-naturedly tease me about my near constant talk of knitting and I'll admit that I do tend to go on and on about it. But knitting is pretty much the only hobby I've had where I felt not just entertained but really fulfilled by it. I have other hobbies and interests but instead of it being something passive like watching films or reading - two of my other hobbies - this hobby is active. It's something that I get better at the more I do it. It's something that challenges me and I need the challenge. Too often I get a little too comfortable with being content. I forget to push myself to do something that's not going to be easy for me right away. I need that nudge once in a while to set a goal - something currently beyond my reach - and then attempt to accomplish it. While not everything I knit is a challenge, knitting gives me the opportunity to try a new skill or attempt to make something that I'm not certain will turn out but will at least be a learning experience.

I think any of us who have active hobbies - knitting or cooking or photography or painting or writing - have one added bonus that passive hobbies don't usually give. We have the opportunity to see a garment or a meal or a picture or poem and say "I made this. This exsists because of me.".

6Comments:

Blogger ninjapoodles said...

I love those movies!! Hitchcock and hobbying of whatever kind sounds like a dreamy day to me! Hope you enjoyed.

3:15 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Reading's passive? No way! I consider reading to be a very active hobby, espeically this year, having set my little 25-finished-books reading goal. Always looking for the book challenge.

Knitting is definitely more tangibly challenging, though. So says the girl who finally mastered the Fetching thumb this afternoon.

6:16 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This is exxactly how I feel about scrapbooking! I tell people that "it's my __________" (fill in the blank with the activity that fulfills and relaxes you... gardening, jogging, etc.)

Carol

7:55 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

dix, i have bad news for you. please visit the link below. do not cry.

http://kitchen.apartmenttherapy.com/food/news/brown-bag-thursday-hellmanns-vs-homemade-mayonnaise-014814

11:14 PM  
Blogger Dixie said...

The only difference I've noticed in Hellmann's is that the Hellmann's in a squeeze bottle tastes slightly different than Hellmann's from a jar but maybe it's just me.

All I know is I still love it and need it. German mayonnaise is for salads - potato and macaroni and the like - and not for sandwiches as Germans tend to eat butter on sandwiches.

11:36 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Does
searching for UFOs
count as an active hobby? I think so anyway.

Good luck,
Donna

1:24 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Home