Keeping Busy

I always think I would love to be able to not have anything going on so that I could just have alone time, however, I have quickly learned that it isn't always all glamor and relaxation. When TJ is on jobs, he works long hours, which results in me spending a lot of time by myself with our two pups. For most of the time, it's not bad. Sometimes even nice to have some alone time. But the other part of it, it's lonely, boring and stressful.

I thought it would be easier to stay on top of my hobbies, but even when I have crocheting and reading to do, I find myself sucked into watching TV and oftentimes drinking out of boredom, which is not the hobby I wanted to pick up. So I had to find some strategy to keep myself engaged and active.

CROCHET

I love crocheting. I think it is relaxing, engaging and creative. The patterns you can come up with or follow are endless. So when we moved into the camper, that's one I picked up again after years of not crocheting at all.

I think the hardest thing about having crocheting as a hobby on the road is the space. I use crochet thread now, instead of normal yarn, because it doesn't take up as much space, but still allows me to have a variety of colors to choose from for projects. The hooks are also much smaller, and the stitches are tighter. Turns out though, that I like this look and actually prefer to crochet with the thread.

Pictured: Size 1.75mm hook [Amazon], Classic 10 Aunt Lydia Thread [Amazon]

Another nice thing about this craft is that if you know someone who also crochets, get them on a video chat and crochet together. My mom and I do that and I love it. When you want to talk, you can talk. When you want to just have silence, you crochet and it's not awkward. Then you can also encourage each other to stay on top of their project and celebrate the little wins that come with working on something. I totally recommend having a crocheting buddy!

READING

Reading is one I have always enjoyed. I was always picking up books as a kid, spending time at the library, drifting off into a fantasy world limited by nothing but my imagination. Now, yes, my book collection has changed. However, the imagination and desire to read hasn't gone anywhere. I think the hardest part is stepping out and picking something new to read. Sometimes it's hard to know what you want when you don't know what's out there. And hard to know what's out there if you only stick to what you know. So what do I do? I wander around bookstores with no real goal and just read the intros of the book, the bio of the author, and the blurb about the book on the back. This seems to have worked well for me so far. The other thing I look for is cover art. No, it's not everything. But sometimes when your eye gets caught on a book cover, give reading the blurb and such a shot. It may be what you're looking for.

The hardest part about having this as a hobby is that I love physical books. Being in a camper, you can't just bring your entire book collection and build a library. No. I had to pick a few books to bring and put the rest in storage. Which really hurts, because I'm concerned about something happening to them while they are in there considering we plan on doing this on-the-road thing for several years.

I recommend investing in a Kindle. They are small, battery life is great, and you can find almost any book on it. This is the one I have: [Amazon]

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I have other hobbies I have been keeping up on, like writing, learning the piano and learning to cook. But I will touch on those another time.

I hope this post finds you well and we will see you in the next one!