Forum Discussion
Doing what you LOVE to do - before, during & after BC! What's YOUR favourite?
Hi guys
I am really lucky in that I have 2 BIG passions that consume a lot of my time ..... and (no surprise to some of you ....)
Ukulele Playing - this was a library gig we did last year .... (I am 4th from left, front row.) Our ages range from the 50s - 80s. Every 4-6 weeks we play 'gigs' at 4 Nursing Homes - and we practise weekly at another nursing home ... so I guess you can call us 'volunteers'?? Some of our members are older than the people we are playing for! LOL
and
Kayak Fishing - I love nothing more than hitting the lake with a bunch of buddies.
Yesterday, I was getting cabin fever from lack of fishing (wet & windy here for the last week), so I grabbed a warm jacket
& walked the edge of the Boat Ramp .... I was busted off on the first fish :( (a good sized Flattie from the power of it's head shakes!) then dropped the next few that spat the hook .... then finally landed another nice one, that came home for dinner!!
So WHAT IS IT that puts that 'gleam in YOUR eye' - is it Golf (I play it badly), Playing Bridge (never tried it - I think you have to be 'serious' to play Bridge), Singing (that goes hand in hand with Uke Playing), Community Groups/Volunteering, Tapestry, Running (I couldn't run round the block to save my life!), ..... that gets you out of bed quicker in the morning if you know you are going to 'do it' ........
How has your surgery/treatment impacted on you doing 'YOUR TIME" stuff? Have you had to stop doing it or can't do it as often due to your treatment? Do you find you find you are still expected to do EVERYTHING ELSE at the expense of 'Your Time'?
Prior to my surgery, my uke group were amongst my greatest allies - I had to tell them straight away as we were gearing up for a big performance at the Blue Mountains Uke Festival - and I didn't know if I would be there for them!! After my surgery, I was back playing again 2 weeks later - but was very mindful of where my uke sat - as it was right across the affected boob!! The Blue Mountains gig was 3 weeks after my surgery - and luckily, I made it!! 4 of my Uke group have had BC & were able to offer info & support.
My Fishing Buddies were also an immense support to me as well (as indeed they were when Hubby was going thru his cancer in 2010) - I've caught up with a fair few of them since I was diagnosed & it has just been terrific. A bunch of my kayak fishing ladies had also had BC and were a wonderful source of info & advice!
Part of my philosophy to recovery is to try & keep 'busy' with 'stuff' so that your mind is kept active & is a 'happy thing' compared to what we are going thru daily just now (Hmmmm - tho I REALLY should be decluttering our home - but that doesn't excite me as much! LOL)
SO, let's get a list going of all your favourite pastimes ..... then, if anyone on the forum is living near you or passing thru - you may be able to share your passion with them to help them 'while away' the time!!
I am really lucky in that I have 2 BIG passions that consume a lot of my time ..... and (no surprise to some of you ....)
Ukulele Playing - this was a library gig we did last year .... (I am 4th from left, front row.) Our ages range from the 50s - 80s. Every 4-6 weeks we play 'gigs' at 4 Nursing Homes - and we practise weekly at another nursing home ... so I guess you can call us 'volunteers'?? Some of our members are older than the people we are playing for! LOL
and
Kayak Fishing - I love nothing more than hitting the lake with a bunch of buddies.
Yesterday, I was getting cabin fever from lack of fishing (wet & windy here for the last week), so I grabbed a warm jacket
& walked the edge of the Boat Ramp .... I was busted off on the first fish :( (a good sized Flattie from the power of it's head shakes!) then dropped the next few that spat the hook .... then finally landed another nice one, that came home for dinner!!
So WHAT IS IT that puts that 'gleam in YOUR eye' - is it Golf (I play it badly), Playing Bridge (never tried it - I think you have to be 'serious' to play Bridge), Singing (that goes hand in hand with Uke Playing), Community Groups/Volunteering, Tapestry, Running (I couldn't run round the block to save my life!), ..... that gets you out of bed quicker in the morning if you know you are going to 'do it' ........
How has your surgery/treatment impacted on you doing 'YOUR TIME" stuff? Have you had to stop doing it or can't do it as often due to your treatment? Do you find you find you are still expected to do EVERYTHING ELSE at the expense of 'Your Time'?
Prior to my surgery, my uke group were amongst my greatest allies - I had to tell them straight away as we were gearing up for a big performance at the Blue Mountains Uke Festival - and I didn't know if I would be there for them!! After my surgery, I was back playing again 2 weeks later - but was very mindful of where my uke sat - as it was right across the affected boob!! The Blue Mountains gig was 3 weeks after my surgery - and luckily, I made it!! 4 of my Uke group have had BC & were able to offer info & support.
My Fishing Buddies were also an immense support to me as well (as indeed they were when Hubby was going thru his cancer in 2010) - I've caught up with a fair few of them since I was diagnosed & it has just been terrific. A bunch of my kayak fishing ladies had also had BC and were a wonderful source of info & advice!
Part of my philosophy to recovery is to try & keep 'busy' with 'stuff' so that your mind is kept active & is a 'happy thing' compared to what we are going thru daily just now (Hmmmm - tho I REALLY should be decluttering our home - but that doesn't excite me as much! LOL)
SO, let's get a list going of all your favourite pastimes ..... then, if anyone on the forum is living near you or passing thru - you may be able to share your passion with them to help them 'while away' the time!!
184 Replies
- Surprisingly @arpie I saw the groper just swim up, take the bait & I pulled him in. Actually got a few that day off the WA coast
- Well @arkie I am 68 and age is no barrier .my you boy is 51 and we are coming up to 11 years together. I'm impressed with 150 people to play to Unfortunately you can't get that many in a pub. Different venues, different audiences,, some dance, done don't, different vibes and always complimentary .I know what you mean about shifting players out of their comfort zone. In the chorus there was lots of choreo. We did national competitions etc. But try and get some of them to move with pizzazz was impossible .but we still try.
- Great pic, @Blondy - what a cool looking Love Machine, too! ;)
Gosh, if you ever make it up to NSW (Mid North Coast in particular) let me know - if you were up to it, I'd LOVE to have you give a singing workshop to my Uke Group!! (Whenever I organise a Uke one, everyone usually pays $20 to go to the 'Speaker' i.e. you!)
Enjoying your own performance & Engaging with the audience is SO important for any performers, yet a lot of my guys are so stuck on their song sheets (we don't have good enough memories to remember all the lyrics & chords) ..... and working on Harmonies as well, would be just terrific if you could give us some pointers there!! We have 2 ladies that are good at it & I do 'some' but I would LOVE to get them to be more confident in adding to our songs in that way! I tell (and show them) that the note is 'in the chords' and to just hold one of the notes & change it to the next one when the chord changes .... but they have difficulty understanding that theory! LOL (most of us are over 65!)
This was doing a Probus Gig this week ..... I am in the blue/black shirt (bottom right corner) next to the lady with the white hair! ;) There were about 150 people there & they told us we were the best entertainment they'd had EVER!! :)
(Uke is my OTHER passion, in case you only thought it was fishing! ;) )
I must try the 'cornflour' thing @"Annie C" - I often just use light breadcrumbs (no flour or eggs - as the damp fillet, if done straight after filleting and skinning, will cling nicely to the flesh.) Keith always reckons if something is crumbed, they are trying to hide something! LOL But he knows with MY fish, it is protecting the delicate flesh from the heat of the oil! ;) My sister likes just plain ordinary flour.
Believe it or not - Cat Fish are actually the 'preferred Xmas Dinner meat' in Europe (whereas we like Chicken, Turkey & Ham!) They order them months in advance, to get the 'best one'!! Yet we rubbish them!! (There are professional Fishos who net them, for the Australian 'European and Chinese Market!) Personally, I kill them & put them in a bin - cos if you leave them on the riverside, even after they degrade, the eggs inside still hatch & infest the waterways! At some of our dams here, they have special bins to put them in - and the Charlie Carp people (plant fertiliser) pick them up & use them in their product!! WIN WIN - Awesome @"Annie C" that would have been great to catch especially on hand line. I can just picture it. Been to the Diversion Dam many times great spot. :o
- @arpie
This one was great eating. I like to dust the fillets in corn flour and gently fry them. No need for any extra flavorings.
Most of my river trips rarely yield a barra. Usually "gook gooks ", Kimberley lingo for catfish (chuck em back fish!) - I sang with a Sweet Adelines Barbershop Chorus for 18 years and when I returned 7 months later after my treatment ended I found I had lost all my love for it. It was very hard to leave but I felt better when I did. My husband has a rock band and I get to sing a few numbers, do backing vocals and a few duets. I went during my chemo when I felt up to it. About a month after treatment ended my voice went all strange when I sang and I had to take a couple of months off the middle of this year, but I'm back and loving every minute of our gigs. I've been rocking the Annie Lennox hairdo ,but now its growing into a Guy Sebastian fro. Interesting. My love machine is to my left behind me.
- Ripper fish, @Doodoo - that would have pulled HARD!! ;) Well done!
- Caught a bluebone groper on a handline. Best fish I’ve ever eaten
- Woweee @"Annie C" well done & on a hand line too!!
- WOOOHOO!! Nice one, @"Annie C" ..... and don't they LOVE Tail Walking? He would have been BIG fun on a hand-line!!! Well done!! Yummy size too!! I caught one when fishing Corroboree Creek, out of Darwin .... and took it back to the Backpackers accommodation we were staying in .... but didn't really do it justice with the cooking facilities available to us! :(
KEEP 'EM COMING!! ;) XX
