Grandma Red does word searches.  Grandma Blodwin quilted and did textile painting.  Grandma Bloxham refinished furniture.  They all canned in the fall and loved their flowers in the summer.  These are granny hobbies, along with knitting, reading, sewing, baking, gardening, puzzling and a score of other activities older folks enjoy.  I recently read an article* promoting granny hobbies to everyone because of the health benefits.  Such benefits include an improved mood, calming effect and an outlet for creativity.  Who wouldn’t want that?

The trick is finding the granny hobby that promotes those qualities in your life.  In search of my ideal granny hobby, I signed up for a watercolor class at our local “Library of the Year” Library.  I haven’t been so excited in a long time.  You have got to understand I have no artistic tendencies, none, but here I was taking art.  I was the first one to arrive and chose my seat right by Dianne Adams, our teacher, primarily because being a granny the eyesight is a little weak and I didn’t want to miss a thing.

Another highlight of the class was having friends involved, most of whom were about as artsy as me.  So, the added sociality strengthened this experience from the beginning.  The next big plus was two brand new paint brushes and a Sharpie along with a few other tools I couldn’t wait to get my hands on.  Wow, friends and new tools!  This was as good as the first day of school, back with your friends and a new box of crayons!  

Dianne took us through eight different techniques.  We smiled, we compared, we experimented, we smiled, we admired each other’s work, and we tried hard to pay attention.  After the introduction of techniques Dianne gave us another page and encouraged us to use some of those techniques to create a picture.  Kris did flowers, Alyce had a vase, Tracy created a butterfly, and Lois painted a tree complete with a swing.  I did the classic-2nd-grade -house with a car outside.  Of course, everything was 2-dimensional, and it was beautiful.  Looked just like every classic-kid-house with smoke wafting out of the chimney and flowers in the window.

Life is Good when you can create a timeless classic.  But back to the article which stated granny hobbies are “…not only relaxing pursuits, but also activities that can be shared.”  That, I believe is the key… “something to be shared”.  So, figure out what you like and don’t forget to share it!

*Why Everyone Is Suddenly Returning to ‘Grandma’ Hobbies—and Gaining Some Surprising Health Benefits, by Lisa Milbrand, Real Simple.