Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Favourite Things

Hello, hello! I hope those of you who had a long weekend got a chance to really enjoy the extra time off. Summer break is just around the corner for a lot of us so I thought it would be appropriate for today's theme to focus on free time. I had a lot of fun reading about everyone's internet favorites last week--found some new time wasters (as if I needed them!) and cool new-to-me sites as well. Can't wait to read what you all have to say this week!

Today's theme: Free Time Favorites

1. It's raining/storming out. What's your favorite way to spend a day cooped up inside?
2. What's your favorite way to spend the day around your own town?
3. What's your favorite destination for a relaxing escape?
4. What's your favorite place to visit for non-relaxing activities?
5. Finally, what's your all-time favorite vacation?

Alright, go! --Katie :D

10 comments:

  1. 1. I'm really tempted to put "sleeping" for my answer, but I won't. Instead, I'll put that I like to piddle: Re-arrange my curations of collectibles, cook something hearty, read home decor blogs...

    2. Chris and I take a lot of walks downtown. I like to grab my camera and explore. You'd think we'd have seen everything there is to see by now, but one time we stumbled on a "Storybook Garden" built under one of the many bridges in the area.

    3. Cherry Grove Beach in SC. It's dangerously close to the tourist-y hubbub of Myrtle Beach, but somehow manages to be a really relaxing beach. The beach has a long fishing pier, is very wide and curves along an inlet so there's always fun (natural) stuff washed up on the shore. Great for picture-taking.

    4. New York City. I don't know how anyone could relax there. Too much to see and do!

    5. This one's tough, but I think I'll go with our honeymoon in Key West. We drove down the east coast of Florida and made lots of stops along the way. It was such a fun way to start our new life. Key West itself was pretty, but I think it was the newness and adventure we enjoyed most.

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  2. this is such fun!!!! thanks Katie...

    1. home alone in front of log fire, watching films from the sofa with my feet up, knitting.
    2. it must be on a Sunday - brunch at favourite cafe/bar followed by window shopping when the best shops are closed so we can have a really good peek through the windows, then to the library to browse & for the children to join in free craft sessions, then to the park & home to cook family dinner!
    3. the north norfolk coast & more specifically a day on Holkham beach, followed by fish & chips on the harbour wall in Wells-next-the-sea
    4. London has to be my New York & for the same reasons as you Katie ;-)
    5. tough - narrowed it down to 2 - Marrakech when we just found out we were expecting our first baby, & Denmark last summer for a superb family holiday...

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  3. I love this series, Katie! Thanks for thinking this up!!!
    1. When cooped up inside, I always love rearranging the living room furniture and/or cleaning the aquarium.
    2. The 7-mile round trip to the P.O. This is best when mailing out an order and then finding a check (or a juicy catalog) waiting for us. Yeah, it's a small town.
    3. A lunch of scallop stew at the Harbor Cafe in Stonington, followed by and afternoon at the tropical fish shop in Bucksport.
    4. Okay, I know this sounds really strange, but (unless I'm really sick) I actually enjoy an appointment with our GP.
    5. Our 15th anniversary celebration, when we crossed the Atlantic on the QE2, rented a car in Cherbourg and explored Normandy, Brittany and the Loire Valley.

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  4. Well, I can't let Mollie have all the fun with this, so ...
    1. On a stormy day my favorite thing is cleaning a closet or rearranging a bookcase. This is a holdover from my childhood, when I could spend all day cleaning the attic. My mother always said that when I was finished you could set up a ping pong table up there.
    2. Town? What town? A hundred years ago this village had 6 miles of board sidewalk and 5 grocery stores. Today we have 1 general store, a library, a P.O., 1 church, a self-described a cafe, and a town hall in the old 1-room schoolhouse. Oh, and two well-populated cemeteries.
    3. I like to take the hazardous stroll down to the beach, sit on a big rock and stare into a lively tidal pool (while Mollie collects shells). It's difficult to imagine all the activity in that one little pool.
    4. I carefully avoid all non-relaxing activity. (I say this after a long career as a school teacher.)
    5. My mantra for many years now has been: "Every day's a holiday!" :)

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  5. 1. Stuck in the house? Time to organize anything and everything!
    2. Not a lot to do in my little country town, but I like to visit the local arts and craft center to see what's new.
    3. Nothing like a cruise for a relaxing excape! Coming up on my 10th...
    4. Loved my recent trip to Boston! Not relaxing, but lots to see and LOTS of walking...
    5. Recently my favorite was a trip to Alaska for our 50th anniversary. In the past it was the WONDERFUL camping trips with our 4 kids.

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  6. oh fun!
    1. I love a rainy afternoon curled on the couch with a soft quilt, a cup of tea and a great book!
    2. Lunch at an outdoor cafe downtown, some window shopping and a walk along the river trails.
    3. ... anywhere there's a beach! (and lots of time at the cottage)
    4. ... anywhere my niece and nephews are!
    5. My all-time favorite vacation has to be a South Pacific cruise we took a few years ago~ and my dream of visiting BoraBora coming true!

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  7. 1. Stormy weather... reading or songwriting / music practice.
    2. We don't have much of a town, just a very small main street area that contains our arts council office and gallery, a bakery and cafe, school system offices, gov't center, library, beauty shop, historical society and museum,a bed and breakfast, the P.O. and a couple churches. Everything else is spread out through the county. So I just stay home here in the woods.
    3. Either Chateau Morrisette, a dog-friendly winery about an hour away in the Blue Ridge Mtns of Virginia, or the Dan River Company about 5 minutes away on the Dan River. There's a great back porch area right over the river where you can relax, visit with friends, play music... or you can take a very slow 3 hour trip down the river via canoe (much more relaxing than a kayak for me!).
    4. Like Joe, I tend to avoid non-relaxing activities, but I do like to hike and we have the very nice and very close (one mile away) state park, Hanging Rock, for such an adventure. Several trails cater to how much exertion you're up to.
    5. Not much of a vacation girl, having found the best spot in the world right here at home. But I did enjoy our honeymoon many years ago to Sanibel Island in Florida and wouldn't mind going back there.

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  8. 1. It's one of the few times that I get to stay inside and make jewelry, so that's where you'll usually find me.
    2. Another country girl without a town. I like to take walks with my camera. You never know what you'll see in the woods or around the next bend.
    3. I think we all know my answer to this: the beach
    4. Our place up on Monteagle Mountain. We're always working when we're up there, although it is enjoyable.
    5. Again, I have to say the beach. Any beach.

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  9. 1. Cooking, playing games with the children. I would read if my girls let me!!
    2. Sadly I don't enjoy going to the local town these days. Things are rather dire here, many places have closed, replaced by second hand clothing shops selling clothes probably given as charity. It is somewhat depressing. I suppose the most interesting place is the market, especially at this time of year.
    3. Italy. The Amalfi coast probably.
    4. For non-relaxing activities ....? Ha!! Home!!!
    5. I think a trip to Spain when Lucy was 2, because it is the only holiday we have had as a family. We flew to Barcelona and drove down the coast to a place called Puerto Rey.

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  10. Katie this series is so awesome! I love reading everyone's responses!

    1. Well, when not creating something it would be curled up with my favorite blanket and either watching a movie or reading, either one is equally the best way to be cooped up to me!
    2. Welllll...I have to admit that I'm a sucker for Pike's Market even though it is a Tourist attraction! There is so much history there, great food, wonderful artists, and it's the only time I really "enjoy" the hustle and bustle of living in/near a city. And maybe one of the reasons I still like going there is I don't do it often and NEVER on the weekends.
    3. Hiking. Getting out out out in the beautiful mountains and seeing, feeling, breathing and being a part of this glorious place. I avoid the any part of the city at all costs if I'm thinking relaxing.
    4. The city. But not just any city. Boston is awesome. San Francisco. Washington DC was really fun. I love Museums so that is always a big pull when I'm in any city.
    5. Wow! This one's hard.....and after much thought, it's a tie! The first would be a long trip that I took years ago to Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia because it opened my eyes and mind up to all kinds of new and wonderful things. The second is a trip I took to Mexico with Kane, my husband, when we first started dating. I had been to Mexico many times over the past 25 years, but this trip was so beautiful and relaxing and fun and fresh....think I was in the throes of new love....?
    :)

    Thanks again Katie and I look forward to next weeks, if you can what with the bundle of joy on the way.....all the BEST!!
    xoxo

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