New hobbies

Problem with learning to play an instrument is that no one lives long enough to master all of them.  You start off with a difficult choice -- which one?  A lot of people learn an instrument based on public image -- saxophone, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, piano.

These are all perfectly legit options, but the rationale is not always robust.  It's one thing to, say, pick up guitar because you think it looks cool.  That's fine -- you can never start something with the benefit of hindsight -- but you're not going to keep at it unless you sincerely enjoy making music with it.  So I would start by listening to various samples and seeing if you fall in love with the sound itself.  Not the songs or the artists, the sound.

On that note (heh), a lot of folks are starting to get into music via programming.  This is sort of an "easier" route as it takes no motor skills beyond typing, but I'm OK with it as a gateway toward using various sounds to create music.  If one in particular catches your fancy, you can always try picking up the real thing.

Guhhh I know the consensus is that trolls lack social interaction to begin with but boards have gotten VERY annoying since this pandemic went into full swing.  The trolls are hungry.  Either the basement-dwellers are somehow even more bored than usual, and/or we have social media sweatshops trying to maximize the damage from this crisis.

ducks are fine, but they don't lay nearly enough eggs.  suggest laying chickens.  also, the mobil coop that stig mentions is more commonly called a 'chicken tractor' and properly used will obviate the need for any fertilizer.  we do hundreds of birds/yr, and in this fashion they are called 'pastured poultry'.  it is how we raise our meat birds and our layers.  highly recommend for the health of the birds and your eco-culture.

I'll echo XM about chicken over ducks for the eggs - except for runner ducks.  Those damn things lay 1 egg per day, per hen - literally.  You like eggs?  Get half a dozen runners and you'll have half a dozen new eggs every day for the rest of their lives.  And they are DAMN good eggs!

However.  And this is a big HOWEVER!  If you really want ducks, understand that they require fresh water every day.  It needs to be deep enough for them to dunk their heads, and so kept fairly clean.  This is how they keep their eyes clear (otherwise, they'll get food clumps stuck to them), and they need to soften feed in it.  So it will get filthy, quickly.  They also need to swim and dive to preen properly and stay in good shape.  You can use a plastic baby pool for this (they don't need much), but you'll be cleaning it out every day.  The coop will always (I can't emphasize this enough) - ALWAYS - be a muddy mess because they are in water all night.  So no, you can't coop them up at night without water.  BTW, water and feed together make a sticky, smelly mess that flies love - so that needs to be cleaned, also.

That's a lot of words against ducks, and it's all true.  You think chickens are dirty?  LOL!!!  Ducks are twice the mess and twice the maintenance because of it.  But if you have a decently sloped spot for a coop that drains well, and don't mind moving a small baby pool around, ducks are a lot more fun to watch and cleaner to handle than chickens.  If you have a natural water source (pond or creek) to use, you're golden - get ducks!  (Just keep their wings clipped so they don't fly away.)  Like XM said, they will eventually learn to go to bed on their own at night, all you'll have to do is close the door.

Starting a raised bed veggies/spices garden in the suburban backyard ... we'll see how that goes, as it's a bit late down here in NC. But we'll give it a shot.

Wife is building a terraced flower bed off the back of the driveway.  In both cases, we're starting with concrete blocks and intending (ha!) to clad them with the leftover manufactured stone from our house build.  Hoping that approach both looks nice and keeps the HOA at bay.

Also trying to find time to volunteer a bit more.  Wife is sewing masks and I went in to a local co-op where I ran a laser to cut face shields (social distancing, disinfecting, etc all strictly observed).  Good on several fronts, not the least of which is having our kids see us be intentional about continuing to serve (rather than turning entirely inward) in this time ... hopefully consistent with what we've been preaching all along.

If you really want to learn how to draw, may I recommend charcoal and paper.  

We got a guy for that.  We really could use a decent nose, assuming OP has any eligibility.

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The virus is simultaneously a hoax and a government bioweapon delivered through 5G towers. Isn't it obvious?

I'm on your side this is a very serious issue BUT I'll bet anything death rate is nowhere near 3 pct. Looking more and more like a decent percentage of cases are asymptomatic and lots don't get tested either. 

Again not saying this isn't scary just think lot lower than 3 pct.

Too easy. Try it with no hands. 

Grandma?? I didn’t know you were on here!!

I've been sharpening my knives with a whet stone for years.  Heavily recommend it.  Superior sharpening compared to the "sharpeners" sold in stores.  Keep at it and you will be happy.  Secondly, you should only sharpen occasionally.  The most important tool to keep your knives sharp in the kitchen is the honing steel.  Give a knife a few reps each time you use it and you will only have to sharpen a few times a year.

You get the hang of that whetstone, you're going to have to change your knife technique.

Hot DAMN a stone-sharpened knife is sharp.  It's ironically safer once you're used to it because a sharp knife doesn't "slip", but you have to learn to consistently cut away from your hands because it'll segue right into slicing your flesh before your nerves even register that you've just trimmed yourself.

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