I Will Die in this Apron

Channeling my inner housewife/Barefoot Contessa today. One of three turkeys, strudel, spinach dip, layer cake, pumpkin bars, cornbread, homemade crescent rolls and three bags of turkey stock. Good God. And a craft. And this. Boom.

Enjoy, as yer not getting one tomorrow, that's for sure. Cooking for 30 people leaves no room for blogging.

So, without further ado, today's topic...

What are your top five hobbies and why do you love them?
Can't I just copy and paste my passions post??

Food – cooking it, eating it, talking about it. I love it for a number of reasons. For one, it’s a great way to learn about new cultures. When I moved to Prague, I spent many happy days sampling gulaš and medovník and svičkova and fruit dumplings and pork knew and sausages and whatever else crossed my path. Food is such an integral part of a society – people’s tastes, attitudes and social cues when it comes to eating say a lot about national traditions and history. But I also love it because food can introduce you to new things, teach you new things, give you valuable skills, force you to get creative, and best of all, it brings people together.

Painting and other crafty things – I forgot how much I love to make things, anything really. It’s incredibly relaxing and when you’re finished, you have something that you can (maybe) put on your wall. Hobbies with something to show for it – excellent!

Travelling - I don't really have the budget but planning, packing, the actual travel, exploring - I love it all. It's incredible to see new places, meet new people, try new things. I'm very lucky to have seen so many amazing cities and sights this year - Prague, Vienna, Berlin, Krakow, Budapest, Wales, England, Croatia, around the Czech Republic... excellent! Just realized I've ended two paragraphs this way... my brain has been juilliened, boiled, broiled and baked today, leave me alone. 

Blogging - I have such a great time sharing my life on here (plus it saves me writing a thousand emails), figuring out what to tell, how much to tell, how to tell it. It's often a source of guilt about not posting enough but it's a really great feeling when I press "Post" and it's out there. And I love the feedback!

Reading - My Kindle gets a workout, let me tell you. It's just so relaxing, and as about half my day is spent commuting, I get through a lot of books. You always have something to do, and you always look busy when waiting at a bus stop, train station, bar...

Bonus - only bc Peej reminded me - collecting containers. A place for everything, and everything in its place.