I've always had to have something to do with my hands, and crafts are something I really enjoy. I have just enough artistic talent to turn out a decent whatever, but not enough to really design for myself and create works that stand out enough from the pack to be notable and valuable. I'm basically a crafting dilettante for the most part.

My favorite hobby is making glass beads. This involves melting glass rods with a propane and oxygen fueled torch, wrapping the glass around thick wires, and then removing them from the wires when they're cool. There's a lot more to it than that, but you get the gist. I haven't been able to do any of this work for a while because of nerve damage in my right hand/arm, but I'm hoping I can get back to it eventually. I'll also need to build a home studio since the open studio near me has closed. The focus and concentration needed make it very enjoyable to me. Along with making the beads I've done a lot of bead weaving and stringing and jewelry design.

Cooking and baking, definitely. I've been knitting a bit lately, I'm teaching myself lace knitting at the moment and have promised myself a nice cardigan when I get to goal. Needle felted sculpture is something else I have planned. I've dabbled in quilting, sewing, woodworking, stained glass, crochet, and quite a few others, some as exotic as pysanky (Ukrainian Easter eggs.)

I'm trying to work on swapping out most of these sedentary, crafty type things with more active and dare I say, athletic things. I mentioned in another thread that I like to shoot a bow and arrow, and walking/hiking is something that's always interested me as well. Once I get to goal I also want to get SCUBA certified and do a little diving before I'm too old!

If you want to frighten someone, you wear you gun on a holster in plain sight.  What is scarier is when the criminal just does not know who might be concealing a weapon. 

To buy a gun in the USA, all you need is a credit card.  I have seen people at the gun shop who look truly scary.

Card carriers like me have received classes, training and testing at the gun range.  We pass a written exam and must have a passing score to continue applying. Then we submit an application form that details our history and background information.  We submit photos similar to passport photos.  The application is processed by the local law enforcement. 

I have a permit, a license for concealed carry and a loaded gun that I am comfortable using.  I can only conceal me gun in the state where my license is issued.

A few years ago I was on vacation when a man reached into my open car window and started punching my friend who was seated next to me in her face .  They knew each other and he was in a jealous rage.  When I went to push my On-Star button to call police, he said that he would beat me too if I called the police.

I was furious and helpless.  As I was cleaning the blood off of my car seats, windows, and rugs, I vowed that I would never allow myself to be that vulnerable again.  I am a widow, live alone in a rural area, and I am not physically able to fight someone who weighs double what I do.

I do not go looking for trouble, but if someone again invades my home or my vehicle and is hurting or threatening to hurt me or another person, then I want to fight back.  My gun is like my house insurance.  I pray that I will never have a fire and use the house insurance that I have been paying for 45 years, but if there is a fire then I am glad I have the insurance.

When I was younger I enjoyed tennis. I'm hoping once I lose weight that I can play again. Of course my joints may not agree :)

I plan on doing more bicycling. We have some trails nearby that are upwards of 100 miles long, not that I'm planning on that big of a trip but who knows?

I'm also an avid walleye fisherman and with less weight I'll be able to hit more rustic areas in Canada. Right now camping is not a viable option, I tend to stay at resorts or cabins. Plus I think I'll be able to fish more days locally because my body won't be so abused by the extra weight. Bouncing in 2-3 ft waves is rough when you weigh over 400lbs.

I may try to get back into deer hunting. I enjoyed it when I was younger but trekking though the woods at my size is a recipe for a heart attack or a broken ankle.

I love old movies.  It's too bad AMC and TCM added in more modern movies (I really didn't like the '60s beach movies but when they started in with '70s and '80s I stopped watching).  

I really enjoy watching classic movies on TCM, the older the better I even enjoy silent movies.  I love camping.  I also enjoy making artificial flower arrangements, taking photographs-of other people & animals-I'm not quite camera ready just yet.  I also enjoy flower gardening but haven't planted anything this year so far. This is also a bit crazy but I enjoy keeping my yard looking nice & cutting grass, it needs cutting now but surgery was only a month ago so my husband needs to do it this once.  He works all the time so I took it over about 2 years ago & found I really enjoy it.  We also live out in the country & I enjoy animals, dogs especially.  I am also enjoying cooking healthy foods now which baffles me because I never really liked cooking before.  I like to read also.  I love love love planning parties & get- togethers as well like my husbands or my daughters birthday parties & Halloween & Christmas parties, all the little details & special touches are just fun to me.  I think my biggest hobby is planning for Christmas, I must admit that I think about Christmas all year long.