Day 24: Hobbies

Well, this is another post that I've been putting off.  My list of hobbies mostly fall under the "hobbies I used to do" category.  I haven't done much lately but have plans to get back into them.  Some of my favorite from the past include:

• Flower arranging.  My dad worked in the floral industry for all of my growing up years.  I loved the sights and smells of it all.  Going to work with him when I was young was always a treat.  He taught me the proper way to care for fresh flowers.  When I was old enough, I worked at the same wholesale floral- budding mums and planting cuttings.  In fact- that's where I met my husband!  I always loved playing with flowers and trying to arrange them into something beautiful.  I even had a job working for a grocery store managing their floral department.  Growing up, my dad was never a big fan of holidays that involved flowers- after that job I certainly understood that feeling!
• Playing the piano.  Thanks to my mom's example and my grandma's (among others) lessons I learned to play the piano.  I remember pounding out some of my favorites when I was a teenager- they really helped me to relieve some of the stress I felt during that time.  I inherited my grandma's old upright piano but I sold it when we moved to Germany.  After that I bought an electric piano but it was never quite the same as pounding on the old "ivories".  Yep, I need to start playing again.
• Sewing.  I used to love to sew.  In high school I made a fur jacket for myself and a pair of slacks for my dad. I was pretty proud of them.  I also sewed the dress I wore for graduation.  As my daughters grew I was able to make a few dresses for them.  Some of my proudest were prom dresses.  My mom makes beautiful quilts and one day soon I want to try my hand at quilting.