The drawing is brand new because I never thought I had the talent. I was very surprised when I started doing pencil sketches of vegetables and they actually looked like the subject at hand.
Now trying to do some stuff with colored pencils and hope to shortly expand into water color.
I’m having a blast with this.

Just kidding.

Sailing, golf and amateur carpentry.

While I am watching TV I can do sewing projects, drawing with alcohol markers, making protest bracelets and doing jigsaw puzzles on my iPad. When it is warm and sunny you will find me outside digging holes for some kind of gardening project or swimming.

Ham radio, playing forty thieves and klondike on computer or tablet, simple cooking, classical music listening.

Dormant hobby: photography

...so I do that, often traveling for photo opportunities. I'm an avid, lifelong reader with a personal library I won't ever finish reading-- that alone would probably exceed the rest of my life, lol. I have special interests in history, biology, and mathematics. I like to stay fit-- I'm seventy-- so I exercise at the gym and track four or five days a week. I like to build things-- I'm currently working on a boat and designing my ultimate (read last!) woodworking bench. I'll begin that project this winter. I retired from a good union job so I have time to indulge my interests!

Just kidding.

Fishing, gardening, slots, and eating.

Morning, noonish and night. All while watching cool videos on my self attached laptop. Sometime even doing DU and answering questions from debm55.

Last edited Mon Oct 6, 2025, 06:31 PM - Edit history (1)

I am constantly working on what is known as a 'ttrpg', or a 'Table Top Role Playing Game'.

It is based on this premise: A group of 8-10 year old scouts get lost in the woods, discover a massive old mansion, get fooled into rushing into the mansion, discover that it is actually the base for a mad scientist who is creating zombies to take over the world, manage to not only defeat the scientist, but also his gang of undead and demons, learn that the scientist had already released several of the zombies, decide to stay quiet about the gear you had gathered while defeating the scientist and use it to go find and destroy the escaped zombies, then form a secret group to continue the fight against any and all paranormal activities, a la 'Ghostbusters'. (This idea was had and expanded on long before the new movies came out, by the way.)

I have been running a version of this game for three years on a gaming website, and I want to create it as a real 'table top' game, like 'Dungeons and Dragons'.

I am trying to organize our 'new' garage so I can work on things. I will be able to do this probably until New Years, unless Minnesota decides to have a real Minnesota Christmas. There are some projects that I will have to do out there. I doubt the apartment neighbors will appreciate my using the miter saw for five hours in my place.

Also, I make jewelry... but I have not in a while and I need to start doing it again. My 'jewelry box' was pretty depleted, but I have spent time replenishing it and now I should empty it again.

(And, and all of these things are subject to postponement due to a failing body and mind. Figures.)

🚨 Looong post. Love craft, art talk!

I draw either w a black Bic pen (but not in super tight biro style], or ?Sakura thin line black markers. Sometimes a light pencil under drawing. From HS though mid 40's I used a bunch of Rapidiographs (technical pens).

I quite rarely now, but did bead stringing from my late teens through ?mid-late 30's. But it got to be too expensive w the more semi-precious stones, instead of just glass beads, brass beads.

Then - and don't remember (at least right now) how I got into working w wire in my ? esrlyish - mid 30s Inless it was my veru early 40s. Der! Most of my stuff is quite unique. At first brass, then fairly soon after sterling silver for a fairly long time. I still used some semi-precious beads, or water pearls at times but waaay less than in bead stringing. I still have some of the early charts of wire gauges, and simpler drawings of earliest ideas. Oh, for a somewhat short while at first I used anodized aluminum beads. The aluminum that ?has an electric charge run through it (possibly bathed in liquid); depending on the strength of the charge various colors happen. [It's possible someone will say I'm remembering it all wrong!] 😄 That's ok!

Unfortunately 3 major pieces; 2 fancy, complex pendants with labradorite, and one fancy bracelet with labradorite, ss bead caps, and? pearls got lost in the mid-late '00s. Maaaybe if I slowly save up I might be able at least one or two of them. Probably take a longish time.

I still.have some thick brass 10g I want to approximately remake a thick curve & circular bracelet I did ? middle '10s.

When my income went down I switched to silver plated. I still have some very thin sterling silver which I may wrap around the plated wire.

Reading, I've done all my life. Physical, and e-books since covid. Have to get back our big library for books not in e-format.

Painting will be in acrylic, as previously done .

Yarn craft I a successfully picked up later - inspired by these wonderful women sheep farmers who did the whole thingcfrom shearing to finished gorgeous single, and multi-colored yarns! I bought their multi colored yarn sampler it was sooo pretty! Also they had some finished items, and maybe kits.

They had this very fine open knitted shawl. Couldn't afford it, but they told how I could make it. It took 4 books from the library to find one who instructions, and drawings I could understand! Actually I'd tried when I was 17 with my mom, and in my 30's from instructions but didn't work out. This time was mid-late 40's.

Then early 50's I learned crochet from on line instructions! I got inspired by a special multi group project(s). So I switch back, and forth between the two. No real big projects. Very infrequent midfle size projects. Too boring for me, plus afraid of over extending my hands/fingers for drawing. Kudos to those who can do the big projects!