All my hobbies

This started off as a dilemma. I checked out the Photo Theme for Thursday web site this morning and discovered the theme is "hobbies". Ack! I have so many hobbies that it's difficult to find a photo that represents all my various passions. I finally settled on the above photo, and here's why.

First off, it's a photo that I took inside my own home, of my own possessions, and then altered it in photoshop. So it captures my love of my own personal space (not a "hobby", I know, but something near and dear to my heart nonetheless) and it's an altered photograph, something I must include as a hobby (although, to be honest, I think passions is a better word for me than hobbies, as I tend to get spectacularly and deeply involved in all my interests!).

So, I can check off photography and photoshop. Next, books are incredibly important to me -- I've been reading them since I was four -- so check that off too. This photo is just one half of one shelf on the bookcase nearest my home's front door, one of many bookcases the captain and I have. And fill. The influx of books never ends and this year, I realized even a booklover must learn to say when. So, in an attempt to clear up bookshelf space, I have taken dozens of boxes of books to the local thrift stores over the past few months -- and this has barely made a dent. Sigh. As my brother-in-law Chris famously commented when he helped us move into this home, after toting in box after heavy box of books, "you read too much!"

And then there's cooking. What's the name of this blog, after all? Right! I am passionate about food....shopping for it, cooking it, eating it, and of course, reading about it. Another hobby represented by this one photograph.

And finally, there is even the fact that this photo was originally taken as part of my participation in the 5x5 challenge blog started up recently by Krysta of Evil Chef Mom fame. Which brings me full circle as artistic challenges are one of my newest hobbies!