Topical Guide 396
Mark Dorset
Education: Continuing: Learning a Foreign Language
Hobbies: Knitting, Jewelry-Making
“Herb,” she said after a while, “I wish we could tell somebody. What do you suppose people here would say if we told them about — our work?”
Herb didn’t say anything.
“I mean — our work, Herb. The jewelry. Coarse goods. The charms. The moving parts. The sculptures. Everything.”
Herb spoke from behind the paper. “Oh, I don’t know,” he said.
“Even more than that,” said Lorna, dreaming. “Suppose we taught them. Suppose we gave a class.”
Herb let his paper fall. He was wearing the look of a boy who has just been asked, “Do you suppose I can trust you to go into town and sell the cow on your own?”
“I think everybody would love it,” he said.Herb ’n’ Lorna, Chapter 20
Whatever your age, interests, or abilities, you can enjoy pastimes that make you laugh, lose track of time, or feel like a goofy kid at heart. And plenty of activities cost little or no money. Some of the best types of diversions for older adults or elderly people include:
Arts and crafts
These kinds of creative recreational pursuits are great for people of all ages, and they often make terrific elderly activities.
Ideas like these can reignite a person’s vitality and sense of what’s possible:
Painting
Sketching/drawing
Ceramics
Mosaics
Woodcraft
Polymer clay modeling
Papercraft
Beading
Knitting
Crocheting
Embroidery
Quiltmaking
Card making
Jewelry making
Active learning
Learning is always more fun when it’s something you choose to do for its own sake. Whole new avenues of possibility reveal themselves. … Learning something new is beneficial at any age. As examples, consider learning how to:
Sing or play a musical instrument
Speak a foreign language
Use computers more effectively
Write code
Design websites
Take professional-quality photos
Write great stories
Cook exotic meals
Decipher hieroglyphs
Perform magic tricks“Fun Activities for Seniors: Over 100 Ways to Play,” from Great Senior Living
Spice up your needlework with this adventurous, irreverent, and fun guide featuring twelve projects inspired by the Kama Sutra—the classic illustrated handbook of sexual instruction—the perfect gift book for playful needle crafters.
Knit a variety of the most popular positions from the classic Kama Sutra, as well as a few of the more intriguing acrobatic poses with this frisky project book that is sure to get your creative juices flowing. All twelve projects include a witty overview highlighting quirky facts and information relating to each position, clear, easy-to-follow knitting patterns and detailed instructions for every stage, and gorgeous full-color photographs to help you visualize your progress, step by step.
In keeping with the lively spirit of the classic book of love, each project is given a different setting. Moving beyond the bedroom, naughty knitters can set their amorous couple in the back row at the movies, beside the fire in a cozy log cabin, in the hot tub, in an office closet, or camping under the stars. Here, too, are complete patterns and instructions for knitting a variety of delightful accessories to accompany each scenario, including miniature bags of popcorn, backpacks and hiking boots, tents and sleeping bags, as well as personal features such as hairstyles, glasses, and beards, and a selection of fun outfits, including lingerie, sweaters, dresses, cowboy hats, and socks.
A cheeky and light-hearted take on traditional knitting projects, Knit Your Own Kama Sutra is ideal for fun-loving crafters everywhere.
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You can begin reading at the beginning or you can catch up by visiting the archive or consulting the index to the Topical Guide.
You can listen to the episodes on the Personal History podcast. Begin at the beginning or scroll through the episodes to find what you’ve missed.
You can ensure that you never miss a future issue by getting a free subscription. (You can help support the work by choosing a paid subscription instead.)
At Apple Books you can download free eBooks of “My Mother Takes a Tumble,” “Do Clams Bite?,” “Life on the Bolotomy,” “The Static of the Spheres,” “The Fox and the Clam,” “The Girl with the White Fur Muff,” “Take the Long Way Home,” “Call Me Larry,” and “The Young Tars,” the nine novellas in Little Follies, and Little Follies itself, which will give you all the novellas in one handy package.
You’ll find overviews of the entire work in An Introduction to The Personal History, Adventures, Experiences & Observations of Peter Leroy (a pdf document) and at Encyclopedia.com.