Really, my "leisure" and "work" activities intersect so deeply that it's hard to pull them apart. I love travel, road trips, hiking, and visiting botanic gardens, which are a huge part of my art practice. Covid took a hit on my activities. Making a habit of visiting museums and galleries is back on my agenda. I'm slowly getting back into attending art openings and receptions. I've actually been really enjoying a lot of artist talks via zoom, and its so nice to be able to participate in something like that from all the way across the country! I give presentations and judge photo competitions, which is something that is undeniably social as well as work-related. It's a mix of zoom and in-person, which is nice.
Until the pandemic, I was serving on the organizing committee for a quarterly design gathering, which was a lot of fun, but also a lot of work. After a couple of zoom gatherings, it became apparent that I was the only one left who was remotely interested in organizing these events, and I was not willing to be the sole leader, so it sort of died on the vine, unfortunately. Perhaps it will start back up again someday, but I will not be the one to initiate it. I also volunteer for a dog rescue organization, doing home visits to assess potential adoption families and driving dogs to their new homes once they have an adoption lined up.
I am an introvert and really do require good chunks of quiet alone time to recharge. So I value time spent reading, listening to music, watching streaming shows and movies, etc. Even my fitness activities tend to be more solitary -- hiking, a little running, bicycling. But I'm also enjoying my group pilates sessions and the occasional yoga class. I'm going to concerts (primarily rock shows) again, although not at quite the rate I used to. I haven't been in a movie theater in three years.
My husband and I love to travel together, spend time with our dogs, and hang out with my stepson and his wife, and my neice and her husband. We go to baseball games and occasional other sporting events (Navy football, Ravens football maybe once a year). He and I attend some concerts together, but I also go to a lot by myself, which is fine with me -- I've been going solo to shows for over 30 years! We do love going to restaurants, but when our new kitchen is built, I know we will both be spending a lot more time cooking and trying new recipes and techniques!
Lately we've spent a lot of time on neighborhood efforts as I am the HOA board secretary and my husband has volunteered to project manage the building of our new recreation area. We have really enjoyed getting to know our neighbors better, while helping improve the sense of community here. We hosted a neighborhood pool party last summer and are looking forward to doing more of that, since we do enjoy entertaining. We're also looking forward to playing pickleball together!
Hubs has played over-40 baseball in the past and has now been recruited to coach a kids' league, which he is enjoying. He's also started a new interest in astronomy and has a brand new telescope -- he's taken some trips to dark-sky destinations to stargaze. I'm really pleased he is finding activities that he enjoys, as he is preparing to retire from his business next year.
