New Hobbies! – Part 1

I have always enjoyed having hobbies, although some people do not seem to have an interest in pursuing a hobby. I just don’t understand them. In fact, I’ve had so many different hobbies over the years and just not enough time for them. That was back when I was working 50-60 hours a week. My plan was to really get into the hobbies after retirement.

How is that working? I am spending much more time on them. The trouble is that I have picked up some new ones. Like traveling the USA in our RV. Is that a hobby or rather a new lifestyle? More lifestyle I would think. Plus, I’m spending a few hours a week at the gym on both cardio and the weight room. Probably in the best shape now than in the last 20 years. Except that I’m 20 years older, so I guess it might negate. Oh well. Perhaps I’ve gotten off track with my blog essay.

I do still have one of my favorite hobbies on the back burner: ham radio. It should happen before we leave here on April 1st. I am practicing the guitar now on a regular basis. Getting the calluses back and remembering the chords. I need to follow along with a YouTuber that brother-in-law Tom provided a link for even more practice.

Some of my other past hobbies have been home brewing beer, target and trap shooting, wood working, remote control airplanes and cars, day hikes on the Appalachian Trail, reading, and some other small craft projects.

Wikipedia defines a hobby as “A hobby is a regular activity that is done for enjoyment, typically during one’s leisure time. Hobbies can include collecting themed items and objects, engaging in creative and artistic pursuits, playing sports, or pursuing other amusements.”

I know that some people have stated they did not want to retire because they would have nothing to do. That’s actually very sad. I just can’t imagine that someone’s work is all they have. The new hobbies that I recently started are painting and wood carving. This blog update will be focused only on wood carving.

Wood Carving

No it’s not whittling. I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect, but I started attending a class here at the Llano Grande RV Resort. The weekly session runs for about 2.5 hours on Tuesday evenings and then there is the Wednesday morning open meeting of all types of carving. What I found was a quite fascinating hobby.

We use a whole set of sharp little knives and some other filing and sanding tools as well. Some of the folks are doing relief carving from a flat piece of wood. Others are carving figurines from a small block of wood. And others are carving castles and fairy houses from tree bark. Most of the wood is a softer variety such as basswood or cottonwood.

One of the park winter residents has been teaching the process over the winter season. Lynn enjoys teaching others this craft so that the skills do not become lost. She volunteers her time to assist the others in learning the cuts to make and how to change a piece of tree bark into a carved castle or fairy house.

There is always some conversion or banter going on while we are all gathered around a table working on our projects. I have come to enjoy this as much as working on my projects. Topics are all over the place from politics, religion, current events, and park happenings. A never ending supply in this age of the 24 hour news cycle.

Usually there are at least 3-4 people and sometimes as many as 8-10 working on hand carving, power carving with a dremel type tool, and wood burning designs. There are many different aspects to this new skill.

The regulars are Lynn, Tom, Mike, Paul, Mort, Beth and a few others. Their occupations before retiring are quite varied. From a Christian Pastor to State Trooper to College Professor to quality control to Accountant (me).

In my next hobby installment, I will discuss and show some of the artwork that I have created as a beginner. Not sure if it qualifies as artwork at this stage, but it has been fun!

And I close today with some photos that we took while walking our RV resort (Llano Grande) one evening. It is truly spring down here in the Rio Grande Valley! Take care and God Bless.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

•