Hobbies for Ostomates: What Keeps You Busy?

Well, I play guitar, bike, camp, hunt, fish, climb, and pretty much everything I did before, plus more. After surviving cancer, I put living my life first.

My hobbies are model railways (N gauge - a bit) and gardening (a lot).

We took over 5,000 sq m of garden on arriving here in 2010 - largely cow field, plus a derelict orchard. It's full now! Being on the autistic spectrum, you won't be surprised that I have special collections of favourite things: varieties of Acer palmatum (Japanese maples) - around 150; obscure snowdrops - around 140 varieties; and various other things. In preparation for no longer being allowed to bring plants from the UK after December I'm building up collections of stuff French gardeners can't get, in preparation for a humungous annual Plant Sale for my pension fund!

I also enjoy antiques, especially Royal Worcester china, and family history (now traced one line back to c1270, thanks to DNA profile). A relative of ours invented church bell ringing I would be a disappointment to him!

I got bored with retirement, so I've gone back to teaching and academic study. I have joined the International Organisation for Septuagint and Cognate Studies, pursuing a long-term interest in the Greek version of the Old Testament. I'm also a Myers Briggs (MBTI) practitioner.

Inspired by G K Chesterton's comment on Thomas Aquinas, I guess I have to say that thinking is a hobby for me. You might think this sounds smart, but I have to tell you that my brain is a junk yard (runs in our family!), and I would probably sleep better if I could only tidy it. Hopeless!

I have a Commando of the same vintage with the Buick 226 Dauntless in it.  We love to tool around in the summer with it, it's a head-turner.

Regards,

DAVE

Hey wBob,

A few of the ones I had when I was growing up.

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Just out wandering, enjoying nature. So photography plays a big part. Working on an art project with different feathers and leaves that I pick up along the way. Have been traveling the last few years to new places and catching up with old friends. New relatives never met before... Tiny chance to meet that someone special?

How to Manage Emotions with LeeAnne Hayden | Hollister

Dog agility - crazy addictive sport that keeps me going. 

Nothing so exotic as you astronomy buffs! Mainly riding our bicycles (me and hubby), and exploring all the bike trails in and around the city of Lexington, KY. Great place for bikes!

When I was younger (kid-sized), I was into the space program stuff and collected newspaper clippings and photos and such from the Apollo program, and put them all into notebooks and binders to keep it organized. All gone now, when Hurricane Katrina wiped out my mom's house and everything in it (she lived in Louisiana, south of New Orleans). I still remember our parents letting us stay up late to watch the first moon walk.

A little gardening, cooking, canning. It's so satisfying eating what you grew yourself!

Hi Dave,

  Nice!  I've got a '70 W30 like your gold one awaiting restoration, but it's Peruvian Silver with a black roof, interior, and stripes. My other Olds is a '72 W30 in Copper Bronze with tan stripes and a white interior.

Regards,

Bob

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I race sports cars. I started when I was 19 and I'm 54 now. 2020 is my 37th year. I've raced everything from formula cars to Miatas to various small sedans and even a NASCAR Truck once.

My ostomy slowed me down a bit, but it hasn't stopped me, and by slow, I don't mean speed on the track! It's the little things like having to empty the bag before putting on my fireproof driver's suit. I wear a device called a CoolShirt, a shirt with tiny plastic hoses stitched to it that flows cold water and cools your torso and the rest of the body. It's fantastic!

Cancer got in my way, but it isn't stopping me. Having been asthmatic since age 3, I've always been a bit selfish and put myself first, so nothing really changed. It's a lifelong personal attribute I have to work at keeping in check for my wife and daughter.

I uploaded a photo of my most recent race car, a 1994 Nissan Sentra SER.

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Hi B,

Well, that's pretty cool. Glad to hear you're following your passion despite life throwing you some red flags. Rock on, Bro'!

Later,

Bob

Hi Bob. In the winter, I plow snow, and in the summer, I do scroll work. It keeps me pretty busy, and of course, I LOVE spending time with my grandchildren as much as I can.

Hi Ray,

You've piqued my interest. What do you mean by "scroll work"? Interior wood carving or calligraphy?

Thanks,

Bob

I am making masks! After sewing 10 different patterns, I am getting better and a bit artistic. Be well, keep that 6-foot distance and wear your mask in public.
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I'm a homebody; my neuropathy keeps me home... I did housework, got out, and walked a bit...

Since my little friend popped in, I've been keeping busy with my hobbies... I taught myself

different languages, my ancestral tongues: German & Polish... then ventured into word puzzles in

those two languages besides English ones.

And my local library has their system on a book streaming service, so I can read my favorite genre,

Scandinavian noir crime thrillers...

And genealogy is another of my hobbies on Ancestry...

Have you read Wolf Winter, by Cecilia Ecback? Engrossing. Chilling.

Laurie

Wolf Winter sounds pretty interesting... I googled it...

I hope it's on Libby, my library book streaming app.

In my spare time I spend time with my grandchildren and I love Amazon...maybe a little too much lol

I love to make and sell assorted flavors of tamales and smoked beef jerky and fish.

That bag is awesome; it looks like an old doctor's bag, way cool. You said you gave up camping. Why? I am 70, and I think I have lost my mind. I have ordered all new camping stuff; no fishing poles yet, but that is for later; I have to find camping first. I live in Madras, central Oregon, and am pretty new to this area. My new tent is one of those Unbag and toss; walla, a tent, peg her down, and she is ready to go. 9x7, 50" tall, might work. I was going to go exploring this week, but my car has lights on again. I love my Cadillac but not all the bells and notices. I am not sure if I physically can load and unpack, etc.; that is why I am toying with the idea of a van. I have tricked out two different vans in the past for camping; it made it easy.

I love birdwatching, I paint with acrylics, and I write songs, some jazz, some Christian. My favorite hobby is to find the connecting dots of what is happening in the world and connect it with the Bible. I love the hunt for those things you don't hear on Saturday or Sunday at church. Like fire-breathing dragons, unicorns, storehouses of hail and snow. Anyway, it is way fun for me. Here is my favorite example of connecting dots.

In 1997, I found a patent that was for a chip. Down the page, it said “will not reject on hand or forehead.”
Revelation 13:16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
Please note it is not a card or vaccine; it is literally hand or forehead.

Then I saw this guy who said he worked on the RFID chip that is being forced on the homeless, etc. already. He said he didn't understand, though, why they put lithium in it as it would cause a nasty painful sore.
Fast forward to Revelation 16:2 And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.

Well, anyway, I find it fascinating. We are not in the time of the end yet, but it is staring down at us.

Hi Bob,

I have to agree, my activities definitely changed since getting "Ruby" AKA Belly Butt. But I found my inner artist. I've done acrylic painting, a few oils, wood signs, and now my newest thing is resin works. I collect roosters/chickens (man-made, not natural, lol) antique tschkas (fork, strainer, spice container, etc.) to hang on my kitchen wall.

Well, it's great to hear what everyone is doing!!!  To any new ostomates who find this post it should serve as an inspiration.  I'll just add that having an ostomy is an ever evolving process.  If you can't physically do something you love today.......it doesn't mean you won't be able to do it in the near future.  Your bowels will continue to adapt and your stoma will do whatever the hell it wants to......but over time you will regain a lot of what you may think is permanently lost.  They say time heals all wounds.........but the guy who said that didn't have an ostomy, obviously.  The wound will never go away, but how you deal with it will change.  And whether you regain some physical attributes or you just no longer give a hoot about what people might say if they discover you have an ostomy.......you WILL get back to where you want to be.......or at least darn close.  And don't let anyone tell you otherwise! 

Thanks for all the replies!!

regards,

bob

Once again, Bob nailed it. We were all new to this ostomy thing once and experienced all kinds of emotional, physical and whatever else there are symptoms. Most of us survived, welcomed the absence of the bad stuff we had before and learned to be pretty good at darn near everything. Bob explains this evolution perfectly.
Mike

I am a drummer in a rocking country band. I have been a working musician for about 50 years. I play drums and guitar. I also love weight training. I entered a bodybuilding competition at 50 years old, ileostomy bag and all. I would love to communicate with other ostomates who are into weight training and/or are musicians.