Swiped: Ten favorite things to do during "Me" time

1/2.  Knit and spin.  These two play swapsies on an intermittent, unpredictable schedule.
3.  The dreaded internets:  email, Bloglines, Ravelry, generalized looking at yarn and fiber. 
4.  Relaxing with a glass of wine, Mr. E, and a knitting project on the porch in the summer.  It IS summer, so the porch qualifies.
5.  In winter, this one is obvious.  Ski.  Downhill edges cross-country just a bit in the thrills department, but cross-country edges downhill in the food and time that is leftover for knitting department.
6.  Admire my garden.  Since the tick episode several years ago, and the onslaught of deer and voles, the actual act of gardening is a little less pleasurable than it used to be.  But I can view the bloomers from a safe distance. 
7.  Sleep.  This is pathetic, but it is true.  My job takes everything I've got and more.  Sleep heals the body and the psyche.   I keep telling myself there will be enough time to sleep when I'm dead, but the argument so far has not changed the need for sleep.
8.  Quietly watch the local wildlife.  My hummingbirds, my chipmunks, my birds at the feeder, my reproductively-challenged robin who abandoned her nest when the eggs didn't hatch, the rabbits on the lawn that hop out of headlights' view in the quiet evening dusk. 
9.  Read.  This used to be #1 before the knitting and the spinning.  Another pathetic development, but there really are only so many hours in a day.  And night.
10.  Speaking of running out of hours, 1-9 takes all the time I have.  I dabble at cooking.  I fail miserably at cleaning and organizing.  A quiet piano sits in the house, mourning our previous relationship. 

This little guy lives under the deck.  I always imagined chipmunks were cheerful until this picture showed only worry and fear.  I suppose there was too much Alvin, and not enough reality in my childhood when it came to chipmunks.  His cheeks are full of sunflower seeds.  He is plotting his escape from the camera, and the biped who is blocking the way out. 

Comments

[Anne]

He needs to take lessons from the one that sits outside my office doors. The little beggar practically bangs on the door with his grubby little fists, looking for a handout.

When you get the "sleep when you are dead" thing worked out, forward me the memo please. I haven't been able to puzzle that one out on my own yet.

[Carrie]

Your porch sounds pretty excellent to me.

[Marcia]

I don't know, I think your 'munk looks contemplative! Cute picture!

[Carole]

Wonderful list. I used to read a lot more, too. It's always a trade off.

[Lynn]

Sleep good. Also knitting spinning weaving gardening friends internet wildlife reading not-skiing. Dying is a not-good thing.

[Diane]

Hmm, that chipmunk has a glint in his eye from here; I think you were lucky to escape unscathed.

[Sylvia]

When you used to read, what genre appealed?

[Chris]

Ahhh, I'm in good company on the fail miserably at the cleaning and organizing thing! Except... I'm not miserable about it. :)

[gayle]

It's a good list. I used to read a lot more, too, but the balance I used to have between reading, knitting, and sewing was seriously disrupted when I learned to spin. Sewing and reading suddenly found themselves getting short shrift.
If it's any comfort, thirty seconds after that photo was taken, that chipmunk had forgotten all about worry and fear, and was well into enjoyment of the sunflower seeds. Nature is stingy with that "hanging on to memory" thing.

[Kim]

I'll sleep when I'm dead kind of fell by the wayside after I hit 40 - it's just too hard to maintain at my age, so why bother. Of course, that's probably why my biggest perimenopausal symptom is difficulty getting to sleep 1 week a month, but no one who knew what they were talking about ever said life was going to be fair.

[Susanne]

This could be my list too. I would put Knitting and Reading at the top. I have not yet tried spinning. Reading your list made me feel good. Especially as I am reading it while I am sitting in a gray cubicle with neon lights above me and the cold a/c running, no windows close by.

[Angie]

Lovely chipmunk picture; to me he looks like he's thinking (well, yes, maybe thinking, 'how do I get out of here?'), but not panicking. You and your house are reflected in his eye.

Add me to the list of knit, read, spin, or sleep. Here's a thought: how about a book stand for the spinning wheel--like those cup holders? I am only consoled by the fact that I've read all the Golden Age mysteries.

[Teyani]

I soooo should have added number 7 to my personal list as well (heh heh). Work, read, sleep seems to be about all that I've done for the last three weeks.. ah well.. It'll all even out one day.

[Melissa G]

What about hooping?

I combine 9 and 1 which is why I always like to have at least one WIP that does not require a chart or at least patterning every other row. I haven't figured out 9+2, which is probably why less of 2 happens.