SEVEN FOR YOU â—½ TIPS
Hobbies
Our Panel of Women
Do you have a hobby, or several, or none? I love to meet other women that have hobbies and marvel at what other friends do in their spare time to wind down, be creative, or produce something awesome. We asked our panel of women to share with us some of their hobbies, just in case you too want to be inspired to try something new in 2025!
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Three hobbies for me!
Word games. I really enjoy playing word games. I play Words with Friends with two ladies: one lives in Colorado and the other lives in Australia. I have been playing Words with Friends for 14 years! I play other daily word games from the NY Times on my phone, also. If anyone wants to play WWF, my username is: Ljomerc
Football. My mom tells me that I used to sit by myself and watch football as early as four years old. Why does a little dirty country girl love to watch football at four years old? I don’t know! But this dirty suburban girl still really
enjoys watching a competitive game of football. My family lived in Kansas City for 18 years, so we are Kansas City Chiefs fans.
Gardening. This is why I’m always dirty! I love gardening. I love digging in the dirt. This has become harder as I’ve grown older and gotten more out of shape. But I love to grow my own food and flowers. I love cutting and bringing flowers inside, or giving them away. I think it is incredibly satisfying to cut things from plants in my yard and cook them for our meals. I have a raised bed on my back porch just for herbs. No bending over and lots of fresh things to cook with!
I make time for my hobbies because I value rest. I think God values rest. I get mean if I don’t rest. Yay for hobbies! – Laura
My hobbies are ever evolving. I spent 10 years trying to grow vegetables in raised beds and then in several different kinds of containers. It was seldom productive and often frustrating. I then concentrated on the landscape plants in my yard. I spent hours researching plants and their water needs and growth, etc. Along comes 48 hours of a hard freeze or no rain for 58 days or crazy, hot temps and many of the plants don’t make it. Once again, frustrating. Through all of this, I kept reminding myself that hobbies are supposed to bring us joy. I did not feel joy when I had to pull up all my dead plants.
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For the last several years, I have landed on a hobby that has been a good fit for me. This little pup and I walk 4-5 times a week while I listen to audio books. I have grown to love watching the seasons change on our walks through the nearby greenbelt. I take notes or even pictures of neighbors’ landscaping in case I get the bug to try some new things. I listen mainly to historical fiction sprinkled with a few classics through the year. When I am in the middle of a good book, I can’t wait for the dog and I to hit the trail so I can listen to more of the story. We have to adjust seasonally with the temperature variations and the daylight changes.
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This hobby has kept me moving, filled my mind with interesting stories of different eras, and brought me much joy. - Shelley
I started writing as a kid, and I wrote short stories and poems. I still create, when the words come out freely...flowing easily.
As a kid, I stuttered and was bullied in school for many years. Reading and writing were my safe space...I didn't stutter when I read and wrote...in my head, the words would come out just as they were intended.
Creating poems helps me express my fears, sadness, happiness, and emotions. It doesn't matter if anyone reads them or not...they are mine.This is one of hundreds of my words.
FYI: Pablo is Pablo Neruda who wrote a book of love poems. I love his words. - Cathy
I have always had many hobbies. Some of which I still do as an older woman like writing, drawing, crafts, and organizing. Some hobbies I can’t do so much now like woodwork and painting. And I’m talking about painting our house. I now mostly enjoy cooking and sewing. One of my favorite items I’ve ever sewn was completed just this last year. We had most of our grandkids coming for a weekend, so I bought each child a pillow and made their own personal favorite themed pillowcase, and I also made a blanket for the baby. We had pillowcases of unicorns, dinosaurs, tie dye, and sports. And they got to take them home. (See photo at top of page)
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Another hobby is word search puzzles. I enjoy just sitting and working in my puzzle books. But I also enjoy anything that has to be put together. To me, almost everything is like a puzzle, and it must be done just right to make it work. Like when I’m cooking, organizing sewing projects, or cleaning and redoing a closet. This is probably why I have so many hobbies. So many things need to be done. – Carole​
My most enjoyable hobby is sewing. I had several influences, including my mom and my grandmother. But my 8th grade sewing teacher, Mrs. Ressa, was my biggest influence. She was way ahead of her time. She made a 'capsule wardrobe' long before such a phrase was ever coined. She made 10 knee-length, solid colored straight skirts, and she rotated the skirts with different colored button down shirts! That way, she had endless combinations! My favorite, and I remember them well, was her olive green skirt with the light blue button down shirt. If it was cold, she would drape a sweater over her shoulders!
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One thing I've made that I really enjoy wearing is a tiered jean and flannel skirt. The top of the skirt is made from a pair of jeans (just down to the zipper in front and pockets in back), and sewn onto that in tiers are SEVEN men's flannel shirts cut into 8x8 squares. I used some of the button plackets, pockets, and cuffs to add interest to some of the squares. The bottom tier has 48 squares and makes the skirt very swishy and twirly! Fun, even at my age. - Debbie
I guess I'd have to say I regularly enjoy reading, and I have a stash of a dozen books I hope to find the leisure time to enjoy. I also enjoying watching my herb garden grow, and going outside to snip some cilantro or parsley or basil, for a meal. But now that I think about it, I think love organizing and redecorating the most. It's quite pleasurable for me to re-do a shelf, a cabinet, or set out new decor for each season, and I thoroughly love the hunt for that new color, or a different pillow there on the sofa, or just rearranging my hall tree in the entry. So I'm not a one hobby type of girl. I just like to either escape into a story; create in the kitchen with natural things, or make something pretty in my space...whenever I have 10 minutes to two hours...as often as I get the chance! – Marcy