Category: Leisure

10 Ways to Destress and Have More Leisure Time

  1. Live simply. By reducing the amount of stuff you maintain, you can increase the time available for leisure. 
  2. Plan unoccupied time. Schedule two hours on Wednesday afternoon and plan to do nothing. See what happens. That is leisure time. Do not do anything responsible or dutiful.
  3. Say no. It is okay to miss a co-worker’s daughter’s bridal shower. Send a gift card. Three to four hours become instantly available.
  4. Schedule days of the week for the important people in your life, which includes yourself. For every family commitment, make a commitment to yourself. Make leisure time a priority. Work and chores will always be there.
  5. Live close to work. Decreasing commute time in the car increases leisure time.
  6. Live close to play. Decreasing the driving time to a favorite leisure spot like the family cottage, or a ski resort increases the frequency of a favorite leisure activity.
  7. Maximize your schedule by coordinating errand runs and reducing driving time. Do errands during lunchtime to free up evenings.
  8. Eliminate unwanted mail. Cancel unread magazines, newspapers, email groups and junk mail. Set your spamblocker to keep out unwanted email. Time is wasted on undesired communications.
  9. Delegate chores and tasks. Let go of the need for perfection or control. More is accomplished and more time becomes available.
  10. Throw out the watch or quit looking at it so often. There are no time police.

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Crocheted Pumpkins

Used stitches:
Slip stitch (ST)
Half double crochet (HDC)
Double crochet (DC)

You need:
Orange yarn
Green or brown yarn
Matching crochet hook
Filling
Stitch marker or safety pin

(I used Rico Creative Cotton and a 4 mm hook) 

Before you start: place your marker in the first stitch of every tour, this will save you loads of trouble (trust me!) 

Pumpkin
In orange: 

Round 1. Create a ‘magic circle’ or chain 2 and work in the second stitch from the hook. 8 SC in the ring. 
Round 2. *1 SC in the sc of the last round and 2 SC in the next*, repeat till the end of the round (12 SC)
Round 3. *1 SC in the sc of the last round and 2 SC in the next*, repeat till the end of the round (18 SC)
Round 4. *1 SC in the two SCs of the last tour and 2 SCs in the 3rd *, repeat till the end of the round (24 SC)
Round 5. *1 SC in the next 2 SCs of the last tour and 2 SCs in the 3rd*, repeat until end of the round (32 SC)
Round 6. *1 SC in the next 3 SCs of last round and 2 SC in the 4th*, repeat until round (40 SC)
Round 7 and 8. 1 SC in every SC of last tour (40 SC)
Round 9. *1 SC in the next 3 SCs of last tour and SC 4th and 5th together (decrease)*, repeat until the end of the round (32 SC)
Round 10. *1 SC in the next 2 SCs of the last round and SC the 3rd and 4th together (decrease)*, repeat until end of round (24 SC)
Round 11. *1 SC in the next 2 SCs of last tour and SC the 3rd and 4th together*, repeat until the end of the round (18 SC)
Round 12. *1 SC in the first SC and SC the 2nd and 3rd together*, repeat until the end of the tour (12 SC)
Start filling your pumpkin!
Round 13. *1 SC in the first SC and SC the 2nd en 3rd together*, repeat till the end of the round (8 SC)

The pumpkin is now almost closed. Keep decreasing until it’s entirely closed. Finish and leave a long piece of thread at the end. Pull this thread 6 or 8 times through the heart of the pumpkin. Make it nice and tight to create that real pumpking ‘effect’.

If you’d like a bigger pumpkin, just keep increasing after round 6 untill you think your pumpkin is big enough. 

Leaves
With green or brown

Chain 7
SC in the 2nd chain from the hook. Then: 2 SC, 2 DC, 1 HDC and 2 SC. On the other side of the chain you hook: 2 SC, 1 HDC, 2 DC en 2 SC.

Finish one of the two threads on each leaf and use the other thread to attach the leaves to the pumpkin. I made two leaves, but if you’ve made a bigger pumpkin you can of course make more leaves. 

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Candy Corn Vodka Tonic

Ingredients:
1 oz candy corn vodka
splash orange juice
tonic water
ice
candy corn [for garnish]
1. Mix the vodka and orange juice. Pour it over ice.
2. Gently and slowly pour the tonic water on top. Do not stir.
3. Press a candy corn onto the brim of the glass and serve.

Candy Corn Vodka
2 c vodka
3/4 c candy corn

1. Mix both ingredients in a glass jar. Seal tightly and let rest in a cool dark cupboard for 5 days.
2. Give the jar a shake and strain through a paper towel. Store in the jar in the freezer.

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