Do ;you have a hobby?

 In a great post by "Sightings over Sixty," Tom asked the question and went on to talk about all of the positives of having a hobby. It was a great question and a great post. Hobbies are good for you they tell us. My problem is that I have never had a hobby that I was good at doing. When I worked I had no time. I worked, coached at school and at home.  I worked hard at home maintenance chores and had little time for hobbies. 

I tried hard to develop a hobby that required skills, I took a woodworking course to learn how to make things out of wood, but when the course was over, I did not continue in that direction. I took a weightlifting course, with the same result, while I was in the course I did well, but when the course ended I stopped weightlifting. My wife even signed us up for dancing class, and again while we were in the class we enjoyed it but when it was done, we did not continue.

Five years before I retired I took up Golf but did not take lessons. Over the years I surprised myself and I continue to Golf. I go once a week from about April to October and I enjoy it. I may have to amend my earlier statement, I do have a hobby. I golf or rather I walk the course with good friends, tell stories and enjoy the company while trying to hit a little ball with a big stick less than 100 times over eighteen holes. To date, I have only succeeded a few times. I think my saving grace for golf, is that I have never had the desire to take lessons, so I know that I will never be more than a mediocre golfer and I realized that I am fine with that, and I also realized that I did in fact have a hobby.

Is That for Real? Fake Artifacts and the Truth

People love to collect things: especially artifacts and other collectibles that they deem to either have personal or monetary value. Unfortunately, with the growth of this popular pastime comes to the people who are out to take advantage of these people who wish to purchase artifacts for their collections.

These crooks only want to defraud the innocent people of their money while preying on their desire to have something unique and original. Until these people are all caught, it will continue. However, the sad fact is that there will continue to be sideways crooks that will prey on unsuspecting people until the end of time.

So, if you are a collector, take note. If you are looking to purchase any sort of collectable from someone who claims to have something original, make sure you take the time to research the claim before you shell out your hard-earned cash.

How can you be prepared to avoid crooks? Well, it surely is not easy, but here are a few steps you can follow to try to protect yourself, your interests and most of all, your cash:

Only buy from a reputable antiques or collectables dealer. These people will have references and contacts in the industry that will prove that they have the goods, Never buy from someone who approaches you about buying something unique or rare. Most times these people are trying to

·  take advantage of your interest. Instead, only buy things you have had the time to research in advance.

·  Go with your gut, if you look at something and it seems too good to be true, it of course probably is just that.

·  Do not let your excitement get in the way of your good judgment. You may be excited at the prospect of purchasing a

·  unique artifact, but do not let that cloud your good judgment and make sure you research your purchase before buying,

·  by confirming on historical records, etc.

·  Develop relationships with your dealers and buyers. That way you will build trust and you can be assured that you will be able to trust these people and know that what they are saying is the truth.

There may come a time when you do get bilked out of your cash and end up losing some of it due to a bad business deal. Do not dwell on that, it can happen to even the savviest of collectors. Instead, brush it off with a hard lesson learned and then get up and try again. You will no doubt have the opportunity to purchase many find artifacts and collectables in your life. Some will be amazing, some not so much. In the end, you will have a great collection of artifacts that will make you proud to show off to your friends and family. It will take some time to assemble this amazing collection, but once you do, you will be amazed at the satisfaction you get from it.

A Time Consuming Hobby

When you are raising a family and involved in a demanding career, if someone asks you what your hobby is, you probably would answer “Who has time for a hobby?” That is why retirement and your senior citizen years give you the perfect opportunity to get involved in a time-consuming hobby and be able to throw yourself into it with gusto.

The purpose of a hobby is to allow you to explore an interest and even build an expertise in a facet of life that you follow for the sheer joy of learning and engaging in that activity.  You have no interest in making your living at that hobby and for most of us that do build up a hobby life, to earn money at it would ruin the fun of it.  You want to be able to go after that hobby at your own pace and “do it your way” without the nuisance of a boss or someone telling you that you are doing it wrong.

Many hobbies are recreational activities.  Golf, bowling, pool or playing poker are such hobbies.  And each of these is the kind of pastimes that require dedication to get good at them.  And once you have your expertise up, you get a real gratification from competing in that sport and demonstrating that your years of devotion and the time you put into that hobby were worth the effort.

There is just a certain satisfaction to become so completely lost in a hobby that time disappears and before you know it, a day can go by and you didn’t even know it.  That kind of mental absorption keeps your mind sharp and functioning which is good for your health in many ways.  And many hobbies are just that time consuming and just that fascinating.

If you have a flair for the technical and mechanical, Ham Radio is a hobby that seems to become a passion for those who become enthusiasts.  The joy of Ham Radio is being able to communicate around the world through this private network that anyone can join.  And Ham Radio operators have at times proven valuable in communications during a time of national crisis when perhaps other forms of communications were not available.

To find that perfect hobby, look within at areas of fascination that you never got a chance to express and explore.  If you cannot get enough of history, the civil war or the renaissance, reenactment and renaissance fairs give you the chance to all but travel back in time and enjoy the feel of being part of that era in history.  If theatre is your passion, dozens of local theatre groups will take all the time you can give even if you don’t have an acting bone in your body.  And enjoying even a simple level of involvement in the theatre like putting together posters or painting sets can be just as exciting as getting out in front of an audience.

The key is to find something you love and find others who love it too. This is the great thing about hobbies.  There is almost always someone out there who is just as fascinated by this field of interest and probably a whole society who are just as able to see a day or a weekend disappear becoming absorbed in their hobby.  So throwing yourself into your passion also opens doors of social interaction with others who may not be senior citizens and that is refreshing. 

The benefits of getting involved in a time-consuming hobby are many.  You do need to use some common sense and balance so you take care of your health and spend time with family and friends.  But that leaves plenty of time to be obsessed with your hobby and have all the fun that this kind of pastime can bring to you.

FM.1 ONLINE RADIO

When  I started playing with my phone, looking for online radio stations I found two stations FM.1 which according to their website is a Swiss based online radio network broadcasting a variety of Internet radio channels covering various music genres, time period and styles.

I also found ABC 50's Ireland which is out of Ireland and plays nothing but songs from the 1950's for all you folks who enjoy the music of that decade. On their website you can also request songs, and watch vintage movies. Great radio, great site.

FM.1 offers the  best in class content on each channel, 1.FM has become one of the most listened to online radio networks globally with an extensive reach to European, North American and Asians listeners. 1.FM is currently ranked as the 6th largest online non-US radio network. The 1.FM music channels are 100% free (ad-supported) and require a simple user registration.

Since it’s founding in 2011, the Swiss based 1.FM has launched 37 different music channels and has attracted listeners from various demographics, locations and backgrounds.

Here is a list of just some, of the stations:Top 40, Dance One, Otto’s Baroque Muick, Adore Jazz, Acappella channel, Back to the 50s and 60s,  Absolute 70's Decade, America's best ballads station, All times Urban and Gospel Radio

Most of the network’s channels are offering daily shows and exclusive content from hosts and artists. Please refer to each station page for more details about exclusive content.

1.FM GmbH is licensed with SUISA and supports payment of royalties to songwriters and performance artists.

If you get a chance take a listen to them, you can dedicate songs, recommend songs or just listen to some of the best music ever played. 

Gardening Tips For Beginners

If you are just beginning with gardening, don't be afraid for it is not meant to be difficult. In fact, it can be so much fun much more than what you think. If you don't know how to start, there is always an avenue of knowledge for you: your grandmother to assist you, informational books and magazines to read, and the internet to browse more information.

It used to be that gardening appeals only to the older folks. But nowadays, people of all ages, children, young adults, adults, and old folks alike, they see gardening as a refreshing and rewarding hobby to take. Why not? With all the benefits that you get, your being a busy, career person should never be used as a hindrance to start growing your own plants indoor or outdoor. You will see the big difference when you get to reap your own fruits of labors.

It doesn't matter what you prefer. Would you like to have a bed of beautiful and colorful flowers, country garden full of wild flowers and shrubs, manicured lawn strategically placed with shrubs and little trees, or just a simple backyard with lots of pots and containers planted with grown plants? It isn't a problem to start one because you can find lots of information on how you can start doing them. You can also ask questions and assistance from the experts.

For a starter, you will need these basic tools: trowel, spade, lawnmower, rake, and plants of your choice to grow. It would help a lot if you have some sort of garden plan based on the space that is available. In this way, it won't be difficult for you to arrange some things like flower beds, lawns, paths, and on your garden bed or space. 

The kinds of plants that you will grow will depend on what you want, the availability, and the climate that your location has. There are plants that grow only for the season but there are others too that can be cultivated to grow year after year. If you consider yourself a hobby gardener, then you would want to have plants that do not grow more than two seasons. These are perennial plants that allow you to tend to other things other than mere gardening.

If you don't know what plants to start growing, you can always ask assistance from the local nursery available in your location. The experts from there should know what types would thrive specifically considering the climate in your area. And speaking of the local nursery, it is one avenue to buy plants you want on your garden. It is usually available with packets of seeds or small young plants for the beginners to grow. You can obtain them whether via online or mail order.

The small young plants are great choice if you want to have an automatic decorative display on your garden. Otherwise, choosing seeds to grow and watching them grow will provide great satisfaction from the accomplishment of having to cultivate and care for them. You can have the seeds planted on pots or containers, or you can plant them onto pre-designed bed of soil. Gardening should be this fun and exciting, and of course, rewarding, even if you are a beginner.