How do you recharge?

[dclevinger]

I was just wondering what some of you do to recharge yourselves. After spending eight weeks stuck in the house being a work at home dad, I needed to get out and do something. Luckily I was invited to do some pheasant hunting in Eastern Colorado. What a difference walking through the grass with a shotgun in hand can make. Sunshine, fresh air and plenty of flushing roosters did the trick for me. I came back with a lot of fresh ideas and tons of inspiration. What do YOU do?

David

 

[jimzim75]

Hi Dave,
This time of year, I'm continually at the bench working on Christmas orders. I work at home
also, but not kids anymore. Maybe Grandkids soon but not yet. Yesterday being Saturday
I took a day off, and watch some more and had a nice dinner with the wife.
This leave Sunday to get ready for Monday.
My weeks are usually Wed. to Wednesday, capping off with a visit to the States.

I get to see what the latest lunacies my fellow American have come up with to
moan about. The latest is, I selling my parent house in Metro Detroit.
The inspector has decided that six smoke alarms are not enough. He has requested I
add another four for a total of ten smoke alarms in a medium size house.
Gee I wonder if ten will be enough? Heaven help the new owner if there really is
a fire, they will go permanently deaf. Visiting the homeland is always entertaining.

I have taken to buying carbides in the USA because there a little cheaper.
I know if I'm every inspected they'll throw me in detention forever for plotting to
make the Bluewater Bridge collapse, one millimeter at a time. There such a happy
crowd on the bridge. The nice thing when you tell them your an engraver, they
don't know quite what to make of it. There not exactly sure if that's threatening or not.

Jim

 

[Tim Wells]

I was just wondering what some of you do to recharge yourselves. After spending eight weeks stuck in the house being a work at home dad, I needed to get out and do something. Luckily I was invited to do some pheasant hunting in Eastern Colorado. What a difference walking through the grass with a shotgun in hand can make. Sunshine, fresh air and plenty of flushing roosters did the trick for me. I came back with a lot of fresh ideas and tons of inspiration. What do YOU do?

David

Did the same as you did; went to Idaho to bag a few birds and didn't see one pheasant except the one that was flat on the road. Saw a zillion deer but I wasn't hunting them. I usually take off on a 3 day weekend (my wife is wonderful about that) and go up to the North Carolina mountains riding motorcycles through the twisties and dirt/gravel roads to nowhere with my uncle. Haven't met any "revenooers" yet

 

[Andrew Biggs]

Fly fishing (anything in the countryside is good). Reading on the couch and falling asleep. A lazy Sunday lunch with Mary with wine and coffee, 3 day weekends where possible and getaway weekends where there's no phones.

When the kids were small (they've all left home now) handing them over to the grand parents and saying see you in 3 days was bliss!!!!!

Oh.........and coming to the USA as well

Cheers
Andrew

 

[Tira]

Camping all spring, summer and fall, and road trips across the country.... although, I never seem to get past Kansas.....

 

[Tim Wells]

Fly fishing (anything in the countryside is good). Reading on the couch and falling asleep. A lazy Sunday lunch with Mary with wine and coffee, 3 day weekends where possible and getaway weekends where there's no phones.

When the kids were small (they've all left home now) handing them over to the grand parents and saying see you in 3 days was bliss!!!!!

Oh.........and coming to the USA as well

Cheers
Andrew

Does the wine counteract the coffee or is it the other way around???
Mixing those two may just be how you aquired that funny accent of yours mate.

 

[Andrew Biggs]

Accent………..moi?

Maaaaate……fair suck of the sav Trev, is yoous blokes with the accent!!!!

Actually it's the chicken and the egg syndrome. Coffee makes you thirsty, so you need more wine which dehydrates you, which causes you to drink more coffee which..............

A very pleasant way to spend the afternoon outside an el fresco restaurant/bar watching the world go by on a sunny day (or any day for that matter). If there is no wine then a beer works as a very good substitute.

It's a tough life I tell ya!!!!

Cheers

 

[jimzim75]

Hi Andrew,
Accent depends where you are. Since living in Canada I've notice going back home to
Michigan. Everyone uses a hard A because they tend to talk through there nose.
It's so hard that you could probable sharpen a graver on it. In Canada every uses a sort
of a soft A. Unless they're saying "eh" that sounds like a hard A. New Zealanders
use a A that has morphed into extremely soft A.

I figure all this out while in doing Coffee and wine which makes me sort of sloppy and
jittery at the same time. Thus rendering one incapable of doing any engraving,
but making one very profound. Good thing I bunt out the hang over nerves long ago.
Talk to ya later,

Jim

 

[BrianPowley]

Since I'm a full-time engraver, there isn't much "down time", but when I absolutely have to recharge my batteries, I just head off to the bank and cash a couple dozen paychecks.

I was warned that this would happen..........just can't believe it happens so often.

 

[Sam]

Sam & Abigail recharge:
* A quiet evening spent in a bookstore.
* Weekend travel/photography trip.
* Browsing antique stores or flea markets.
* Visiting with friends in a coffeeshop.
* Staying in pajamas until noon.

~Sam

 

[SamW]

I have numerous projects going. I am building 2 cars and planning 2 more, several r/c models in various stages of construction, building a louver punch/english wheel, flying models, and several other projects to divert my attention...now wait a minute...maybe engraving is my way of recharging???

And Andrew, I told my son some years ago that he had waited too long to have children because this GrandDad is too old to babysit! S

 

[Sandy]

Sharing the day of fishing with a friend. The smells, sounds and the view of an early morning fishing camp over looking the beauty that God has given us. There is nothing better then being on a great fishing steam with fly rod in hand and fish rising. Except maybe the tug of a brown on the end of the line that has a fly you tied. The smile of my granddaughter when we spend time together.

 

[D.DOUGLAS]

A little crappie fishing usally does the trick. Latly i have been chasing this one paticular whitetail deer i call Mr big. I Like Sam H. engrave to recharge. Hopefully that will change someday.

 

[michaelp]

chasing quail and pheasant with my Wife Carrie and my German shorthair. Carrie with her camera and me with a 28ga. seems to make life woth living and all troubles go away

 

[Christiaan]

Very interesting question.
I got invited a few times to lecture in Samara, Russia on Leadership. One of my lectures is on the different "pathways" to recharge. I find it interesting that quite a lot of creative people have a "contemplative creation" pathway to recharge. That means getting into nature to observe and meditate. That could be fly-fishing, hunting, photography, walking trails or just sitting and be filled with the beauty of nature.

Personally I like to walk in the veldt with my boys with our muzzle loading shotguns. Or spend time next to the fishing waters. Just being in nature.

Here is me and two of the boys while we tried to save a farmers harvest. But we did not make a dent in the pigeon population. To us it is not about the quantity but about the quality time in nature.

Here is my oldest son fighting a bass.

Hope you enjoy the way our family recharge in South Africa.

 

[Tim Wells]

The failed pheasant hunt. You reckon it was because they were scared of the Hawaiian shirt? That's what happens when Delta looses your bags for 3 days; you hunt in what you wore on the plane.

 

[D.DOUGLAS]

Tim, You look like a city boy in the country for sure. Looks pretty warm! You need to be cold,miserable and a couple of miles into it before you can kill any birds.

 

[Andrew Biggs]

Hi Christiann

Great photos and excellent taste in guns!!!!

D. Douglas...........yip, cold and rain were definatley part of the experience (or used to be when I was younger) These days the sun has more appeal.

I remember one hunting trip in winter when I was in my mid twenties. A friend and I motorbiked in to the back of lake Wakitipu in the Fiordland forest. Him steering, me on the back. To do this trip you had to climb over a locked gate which was kind of tricky with a motorbike, but being fit young bucks we managed. It really was at the back and beyond and in the middle of nowhere. The scenery was just stunning for those reckless enough to do it as the road was little more than a goat track for miles on end and fairly hairy in parts.

We left our run out a bit late and when the cold came down it was freezing. Well, we made it back OK but when we stopped at the locked gate we were both frozen solid and couldn't move. All we could do was stop the motorbike and fall over, still attached to the motorbike!!!!

It took us about 10 minutes just lying there, laughing our heads off like crazy idiots till we could finally move enough to get over this locked gate.

It was a lot of fun and a great way to unwind.

Cheers
Andrew