Collecting Hobbies

More and more people these days enjoy having a hobby. Something they are passionate about, something that helps them to decompress, de-stress, or just hide out in the basement for a few hours. Many hobbies include building or assembling things, such as miniature train sets or making jewelry, often giving an outlet for creativity. Some hobbies involve collecting things, like spoons of the states or Star Wars figures.

Me, I collect hobbies.

Yep. My hobby of collecting things involves collecting hobbies. I have unfinished projects all over the house. I have divider bins full of beads and findings for making jewelry. I have some new yarn and knitting needles because I want to learn to knit, and I couldn’t find the knitting needles, crochet needles, and crochet thread I bought at an estate sale several years back.

I do actually collect elephants. Yep, the one I got for Christmas sits on top of the humidor, awaiting a coat of paint. I haven’t decided if I want to paint it purple, my favorite color, or gray, cause it’s an elephant, or pink, cause well…pink elephants are funny, unless you’ve been drinking too much for too long. But my Sweetie has threatened if I paint it pink, he’s gonna take it back up to the liquor store where he works and freak out the drunks. So it sits, awaiting my decision (and the spring thaw).

I used to make soaps, lotions, candles, and lip balms. Do you have any idea how much STUFF you accumulate when you do that sort of thing? There are the base oils, the Red Devil lye you hoard cause it’s harder and harder to get, the fragrance oils you become addicted to and have to have JUST ONE MORE SCENT. There’s the postage scale for weighing things in ounces, the crock-pot JUST for melting oils, the hand blender JUST for mixing this stuff. The special pyrex measuring cups for mixing the lye with water that you’re afraid to use for anything else. And I haven’t made ANY soap, lotion, or lip balm in almost four years.

I’ve had a full set of scrapbooking edge scissors for a couple of years now. I am JUST NOW starting my first scrapbook ever, and only cause that project is due for a birthday party for my 6-y-o this Sunday!

Every couple of years or so, I buy some of those cute lil cross-stitch ornaments, thinking I’ll make one for each of the boys and put it on the tree this year. And if I ever find where they’ve ended up, I’ll have a BUNCH to put on a tree…lol…assuming I can ever get them done.
I joined SMC last summer. Haven’t made a DIME lol I was all gung-ho; my website was gonna have the cash rolling in, and occasionally I would buy medieval-type items and consign them with a friend who does lots of reenactment shows and fantasy conventions. My website hasn’t had a single purchase, and my hook-up for consignment is pregnant and won’t be able to do any shows once the season begins. I’m happy for her, but sucks for me!

If I ever got organized enough to put them all in one place, I’d be really dismayed at the beading loom, the plaster I bought for molding Christmas ornaments (we actually made and painted several of those, AND they made it to the tree—THIS YEAR!), the candle molds, the crochet thread I’m one day going to learn how to make those cool snowflake ornaments…

Maybe when the kids are in college, you think?

Cheryl Lee

600 words, February 15, 2008