Top Ten Tuesday

TTT – These Are A Few Of My Favorite Non-Bookish Things

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Wow, is it Tuesday already? It feels like the last week just flew by. Maybe that’s what happens when you get busy. Due to last minute cancellations, we had two glorious days midweek to rest, make phone calls, and follow up on the things we can’t get to on the nights and weekends. I like to call it ‘admin work’ or ‘busywork’ since I’ve adopted the new title of Personal Assistant to my mom. And I have no idea what happened to yesterday—I had an appointment written in my book that wasn’t in the office portal, and then I had another appointment for my mom that the doctor’s office gave me, but when we went there, we didn’t actually have an appointment. At least we got a good laugh out of that.

This week’s prompt is non-bookish freebie, where we can write a top ten list on any topic of our choice, bookish or not. This week, since there are so many bookish top ten lists, I’m going to come up with a list of ten of my favorite activities I’ve participated in at some point:

[Two people dressed for fencing assume the ‘en garde’ stance]
  1. Fencing. I did this for my last two years of high school and college. It isn’t a sport that you see too often, but when I do, it reminds me of the good old days. I’ve learned how to fence all three weapons, and I can also fence with both hands.
  2. Swimming. This is my favorite way to cool off, and get a great workout without feeling sweaty. Unfortunately, I’ve never lived in a house with a pool, but I went to the university pool in college on a regular basis especially when my roommate was lifeguarding.
  3. Hiking. Going on a hike is like taking an adventure, allowing me to explore and always discover something new. My friend brought me to his favorite town beach, near my house. When we went there, the view from the cliff overlooking the beach was so beautiful, and it was only a ten minute ride from my house.
  4. Road trips. When I was young, my family used to drive from NY to Florida on a regular basis, and I guess it set the tone for me to love being in a car on a trip. My favorite recent trip was the spontaneous girls day I had with a friend of mine. We decided to visit an old-growth forest a few hours upstate, hiked around a little, enjoyed being in nature, and then had lunch and went back home.
  5. Traveling. I love traveling firsthand (as opposed to armchair travel), and have a bucket list of destinations as long as my arm. So far, I’ve been to Canada, Costa Rica, Israel, Germany, Austria, Slovakia, and Hungary. Top dream destinations to visit (if I ever win the lottery): Antarctica, New Zealand, Brazil, Greece, and India.
  6. Walking. This one sounds boring, but what I like about it is that it forces me to slow my pace. Everything is always go, go, go, but taking a walk allows me to intentionally slow down and smell the roses (if I pass any).
  7. Crafting. I taught myself how to crochet from an old book my mom had, and proceeded to make blankets for various family members (and myself). All of my great-nieces and great-nephews received chenille baby blankets and they love them! Next up I’ll be trying my hand at some new crafts.
  8. Learning. Growing up, my father always emphasized education, both as something he didn’t have the opportunity for, and as something that no one can take from you. In the last few years, I’ve done a lot of learning and exploring new topics, including learning a third language even if I’m only able to hold a basic conversation so far.
  9. Festivals and fairs. Growing up, my sister-in-law would take me for the weekend and me, her, and my two nephews would pile in the car and go to all kinds of fun stuff. Every year, we went to the renaissance fair upstate, and we would also go to the powwow on the east end of Long Island at the end of the summer. I haven’t been to either since we all grew up, but there are plenty of craft fairs and other festivals on the island.
  10. Being a dog mom. This is hands down an ongoing activity, but the returns are immeasurable. Currently, I have three dogs: a 17 year old Chihuahua who is so sweet I call her my little angel baby, a 10 year old Chihuahua that’s the meanest thing on four legs unless you’re one of the lucky few he actually likes, and a 1.5 year old Chihuahua mix who we rescued with the worst anxiety I’ve seen in a dog. They’re a handful, but I love them with my whole heart.

What are some of your favorite activities? Do we have any in common?

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41 replies »

    • Thank you! I grew up with my mom driving the family from NY all the way down to FL, so I grew up with road tripping in my blood. 😂 Now my biggest problem with travel and road trips is finding someone to go with me. That and saving enough money to visit all the places I want to see.

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    • Thank you, Cheryl! I actually knew nothing about fencing, and my friend and I happened to walk through the cafeteria after school on our way home, and saw the sign-ups. We both signed up and had a blast! What’s the best road trip you’ve ever taken?

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    • At least you were close! I’ve had weeks where I completely did the wrong prompt without even noticing. Both of my parents were very into gardening, but I didn’t have any interest or talent – I always kill plants without meaning to. My desire to learn how to garden and grow some veggies and herbs has grown, and now I want to plant all the things. Too bad Mom and I missed the planting/germinating phase this year, so I’m going to have to wait until next year.

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  5. When I was growing up, road trips were the only way we travelled. As such I’ve been from Upstate NY (from near the Canadian border), south to Key West, and out to Wyoming. All by car. I didn’t get on an airplane until I was 33. I’ve only been on a plane a handful of times since. But I would love to visit Europe some day.

    Pam @ Read! Bake! Create! https://readbakecreate.com/ten-memorable-places-ive-visited/

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    • When I was young, my mother absolutely refused to fly, so we would road trip from Long Island to Miami, and all the way to Canada. In the 70s, before I was born, my father got a full-sized school bus at his junkyard, and he gutted it and turned it into a motor home. They took my 3 siblings and some other family members cross-country two summers in a row. I had so much jealousy about missing those really cool experiences – I still do!

      When my first nephew was born, my mom realized that she could fly down to Florida in 3 hours and get to spend a whole weekend there without having to take off from work and spend 3 days driving each way. Since then, I’ve been on more planes than I can count. Europe was such an incredible trip – Mom and I went on a river cruise down the Danube and got to see four countries within a week without even having to unpack our suitcase more than once. It was a really cool idea, and if you can handle a cruise, I really recommend it.

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  6. I love swimming and traveling. In fact, my top ten today is about travel. I used to sew a lot, but fabric is so expensive now, I don’t do it anymore. I do walk, and loved being a dog mom when I had my furbabies, but travel too much these days to have one. Have a great day, Leah.

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    • I hope you got to engage in all of those hobbies this summer. I got to do two out of three, but didn’t have access to a pool with summer so no swimming for me. Yesterday I went to a Korean culture festival with some friends and had a blast!

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  15. I also enjoy swimming and I have a nice pool in my backyard, but it’s surprising how little I actually use it. Right now, the water is about bathtub temperature, so that’s part of the reason. Still, I should do it more, especially in the early summer months.

    I love that you know how to fence! That’s a unique hobby for sure.

    Happy TTT!

    Susan

    http://www.blogginboutbooks.com

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    • That makes sense – one of the best parts of swimming is when it is refreshing, not like getting in a bathtub. Can’t lie that I’m super jealous of your pool.

      Fencing was a really fun experience.

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  17. We do have come in common:

    1. Hiking
    2. Walking- favorite ones are on Greenways
    3. Traveling (just don’t like the whole airport parts)- we both have been to Costa Rica
    4. Learning- a strong reason why I loved school
    5. Festivals and Fairs- some do stand out in Charlotte
    6. Crafting- a little behind on some of those

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  18. Greetings!
    Here’s my list of things I love to do for fun. I hope you like it!

    1.I didn’t fence very much. I got into real metal and leather armor and used rattan swords in the Society for Creative Anachronisms. That was fun! I fought for a total of about 15 years. Had to quit due to unrelated knee injury. Currently, I’ve been in the SCA for 43 years.
    2. Rode, trained and cared for horses all my life- until I got married at 30. Then, not so much. (Previously, I was also a horse guide at a lake resort for several years.) Still love to ride.
    3. Love swimming.
    4.Hiking…some. Love to explore Nature.
    5.Love traveling- been *blessed* to have been to a lot of places- Western Europe/ England& Ireland. Egypt ( 3Xs-one my favs!) Going back to Britain in 2027.
    6. Love to Pow Wow! Never competed, but dancing is fun. Fry bread is so yummy!!
    7. Crafts- needle arts, sewing period clothing, fiber arts and weaving…painting, with both brush and airbrush, on multiple surfaces.
    8. I’ve played D&D for 45 years…
    9. Write at a collaborating story site named Pan Historia. It really helps my brain relax.
    10. I’m taking up making paladariums- terrariums with a water feature. Currently figuring out the layout of a water feature- waterfall, bubbling spring or both? Watching Mugen Woong put together all of his was instructional and relaxing. Google him- he’s great without saying a word.

    So…some fun things we do have in common, other than reading! 😁 Thank you for all of your lovely,relaxing, intriguing and fabulous writing!

    Z. Burdick

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    • Wow, nice to meet you and get to know you a little bit! I played D&D for the first time last summer, and it was way more fun than I expected it to be. I’ve never heard of a paladarium before, but they sound really cool. It sounds like you’re really creative, and that comes out in a lot of ways. Thanks for visiting and introducing yourself a bit.

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