Granny hobbies: for longevity and creativity.
5 Thoughts I'm Having
Dear friend,
Can caring for house plants (or other “granny hobbies”) replace having a dog or cat? I think I’ve found my answer.
Since early in my husband’s and my relationship, we have had an animal or two or three in our house. Before we were married, we had a cat. (Well, I had a cat who loathed my husband. She peed on him once.) Then we got a golden retriever. Since then, over the past twenty-seven or so years, we’ve enjoyed two golden retrievers and two cats, and until last year, we’ve enjoyed at least one of those pets in our home at all times.
For the most part, I blame having a cat on the fact that I’ve never really taken the time to have plants, other than a succulent and some orchids that the cat didn’t seem to care about, because the cat always gnawed on the leaves. Even when the leaves weren’t toxic, the leaves would get stuck in her throat, and she would throw up on something important, like the antique, mahogany desk I got my husband as a wedding gift. (Loved that cat!)
You really can’t keep cats from getting to houseplants. They’re sneaky and nimble that way. So I never bothered with plants before. (Yes, I realize I could have hung certain plants, or placed them high on plant stands, etc. That just seemed like a lot of work at the time.)
Since losing our two most recent, beloved pets last year, my husband and I have been slow to get another. This is mostly due to the fact that we have been traveling more and more, and it’s sometimes difficult to make sure the animals are cared for while we’re away.
So, instead of investing time into another pet, I, for now, have turned my energy to house plants and other hobbies, in addition to my regular day-to-day work.
Remember in last week’s letter how I told you that I’d been reading about longevity and grandma and grandpa hobbies? Well, I first heard about “granny hobbies” in a post from Chris Guillebeau who first heard about “granny hobbies” in a post from Anu Atluru. Both posts are worth the read, as they talk about the importance of these pastimes in relation to your mental health. Though I’m a little torn on the idea of calling them “granny hobbies.” But whatever. Let’s just go with it for now.
In Anu’s post, she says:
I’m convinced that granny hobbies are a big unlock for day-to-day happiness and hence your overall mental health. From personal experience, I also think they’re one of few accessible and active antidotes to digital overload (the new-gen mental health monster).
Anu also writes about how granny hobbies are a way to spend time in a “hands-on, thumbs-off” capacity, meaning you’re putting away your phones and resting your thumbs while using your hands and mind for activities other than mindless scrolling.
Anu, Chris, and dozens of commenters came up with a list of granny hobbies to consider. This list comes from Chris’s post:
quilting, birdwatching, puzzling, candle making, gardening, genealogy, cooking, calligraphy, knitting or crocheting, photography, woodworking, pottery or ceramics, drawing, flower art, board or card games, scrapbooking, sewing, reading, journaling, collecting, needlepoint, baking, crafting, and painting
I love the idea of having hobbies that take us away from our phones and screen time, and that benefit our mental health and happiness.
But I think there’s more to the importance of these hobbies. Here are my 5 thoughts on the subject, and on caring for house plants specifically.
Most of the above hobbies also spark creativity in some way. There’s a certain art to keeping plants looking pretty and healthy and styling them around your home. And anytime you’re spending time creating one type of art, you’re getting inspiration for another type of art. Styling plants or spending time in your garden can lead to flower arranging or sketching or painting. (Just the other day, I cut the rest of my hydrangea from my garden and styled them with some magnolia leaves to take to my brother and sister-in-law’s house for Thanksgiving.) Likewise, birdwatching could lead to journaling, drawing, or reading about the many species of birds.
While I don’t consider caring for house plants to be a huge activity in terms of time spent, it does tend to be a new hobby that requires certain attention away from my computer or phone screen, and a hobby that extends gardening to year-round.
Similar to #1 above, adding house plants to my home has inspired me to draw more in my bullet journal (a habit and hobby I’ve done for many years). While I don’t consider myself to be very good at sketching, I’m not afraid to experiment in my journal. And doing so gives me more confidence to try other art forms, like my recent experimentation with watercolor paint.
House plants can be challenging. When I recently purchased the above Silver Pothos and a Philodendron Cream Splash, I used my regular potting soil to plant them in some pots I found while shopping with my mother-in-law in Washington D.C. Little did I know that using soil that has been sitting in your garage can unintentionally bring gnats and other plant pests into your home. Thankfully, my neighbor is a bug guy, and he has sprayed my plants for me to get rid of the gnats. I’m definitely learning how to care for plants: how much water they need and how often, keeping them free of gnats, spider mites, and other things I know nothing about yet.
House plants and other hobbies are not a replacements for beloved pets. I miss our golden retriever and our calico cat, both rescues. While it’s been nice to not have to worry about boarding animals or hiring house sitters (our typical choice) for our animals when we’ve traveled the past year, I miss not having a dog curled up at my feet or a cat climbing on me at night. And we all know that having a pet is also good mental health therapy.
While those are just some of my thoughts on house plants and hobbies in general, I hope that you’ll consider the types of hobbies you wish to spend more time on as we wind down one year and head into a new one. And I hope you’ll share them in the comments of this post and future posts.
In related news, I mentioned in last week’s letter how I am redecorating a room in my house, that was my son’s room for several years, to be more of a space for a home gym, office and art studio. My husband and I have spent quite a few hours the past week moving furniture around and re-organizing all of the stuff that came out of my old office (my son’s room now when he visits). It’s starting to come together, and I couldn’t be more excited for this creative new space. The picture of the plant above is just a tiny peek inside the new space. I’m pretty sure this new space will inspire many more “granny hobbies”, though I plan to just call them hobbies or art or creative activities/jobs, including some much needed novel writing in the future.
I hope my friends here in the U.S. had a lovely Thanksgiving with friends and family. And I hope all of you find ways to be creative and take time for yourself during the busy holiday season.
Until next time,
Heather
If you enjoyed this, do me a favor and hit the ❤️ button. And don’t forget to subscribe.
Thanks for reading. This newsletter is a consistently inconsistent publication of my thoughts. You can find more of my shorter thoughts and links to things I’m reading in my Notes.
If you enjoy my thoughts and want to encourage more writing, you can do one or all of the following: leave a comment and join in the discussion, buy my books or become a paid subscriber (you can also subscribe for free, and I welcome it).