So this is the start. I'm blogging.
I've chosen the name of "Undecided Hobbyist." I feel like this is a little less harsh than "I like to spend money on hobbies and become obsessed for months (or years or days) then drop it." So here's a blog that documents my journey trying out hobbies and projects to see which stick.
I've been meaning to do this for a while. This week I joined the Farmgirl Sisterhood. I feel silly and excited at the same time. It's kind of like the girl scouts for grown women (badges and all). Now, I know I don't really live on a farm and never have, but I have a tomato plant and 4 chickens, so I think I have some farm cred, if there is a such a thing.
The FS (as I am going to abbreviate it), has a list of almost 90 badges at 3 levels that women can earn. So far I've narrowed my initial attempt at badges down to 18. I'm going to sort through those and try to go for 3 per quarter, so it should take me a year to get the first 12. In the spirit of completeness (and accountability), I'll go ahead and list the ones I'm thinking of starting with, all at the beginner level:
1. Blogging - working on it now.
2. Busting Out - Eat 1 new organic food per week for a month.
3. Recipes - Gather your family's favorite and well loved recipes and write them down.
4. Grow Where You're Planted - Collect native flowers and press them.
5. Gaining Ground - Start a compost heap or a worm bin (already do this, so I'm going to write a blog post about my experience).
6. Backyard Farmer - Start your own chicken flock - working on that.
7. Heirlooms Forever! - replace 5% of your plantings with heirloom varieties.
8. The Secret Life of Bees - Read the book (done, but I think I'll read it again!) plant bee friendly flowers.
9. Let's Get Physical - set a fitness goal and stick with it for a month.
10. Out There Women - make a survival pack & learn to identify 10 native plants and their properties (food/poison).
11. Outstepping - day hiking - visit 3 new places. Take photos of the state bird/tree/flower. Learn to make a campfire.
12. Knotty Farmgirls - learn 3 knots and build a tree swing.
13. First Aid - Assemble first aid kits for all the vehicles as well as kitchen, garage and bathrooms.
14. Rocks and Minerals - research difference between rocks and minerals and learn how they are used in our everyday lives.
15. Aprons - Sew a half apron. Wear it in the kitchen.
16. Buttoned Up - Start a button collection with 50 buttons - try to find the buttons and not buy them... I'm going to look at estate sales.
17. Ink Slinger - Read Strunk and White's "Elements of Style" and write a 2 page story to be corrected by a friend or family member.
18. Cross-Stitch - Learn to cross-stitch. Make a simple project like a bookmark.
I spent a little time browsing some of the forums and other women's blogs. A few that I've seen talk about how they are enjoying the celebration of typical women's work. I am not a feminist, but I do believe that I would not have had the opportunities as a woman without feminist in history making it possible. One of the reason that I have embraced this group is that I feel like it encourages women to do things that are not generally considered women's work and encourages them to learn skills that will make them more independent (for example checking the fluid levels in their car and fixing squeaky doors and leaky faucets). Looking back at my list I realize I haven't really selected these types of activities, but I think that may be because I feel like I already do those things... or at least that's what I'm going with today.
