Do you have any ways of relaxing by doing things that others would consider to be odious chores, but that you find relaxing? I find that mindless chores often relax me. Ironing; hand washing clothing; organizing things like drawers, closets, books, etc. is relaxing. I also find writing with a fountain pen or dip pen is calming. For some reason, cleaning out the garage is not relaxing. Making soups from scratch, especially on cold days is soothing and the smell of soup cooking is wonderfully calming.
Odd Ways of Relaxation
- Thread starter TinyTim
- Start date
My favorite way to relax is a long fast (almost a jog) walk with my dog!
The harder I breathe and the more my legs burn the more calmness I feel.
Jay
The harder I breathe and the more my legs burn the more calmness I feel.
Jay
FarmerTan
"Self appointed king of Arkoland"
Stacking wood, lol.
Tim:
For me, it's;
1. A good spirit / wine to drink.
2. Cooking.
3. Soulful jazz on the stereo.
3. A good book to read.
4. A premium hand-made cigar!
5. Washing Dishes.
(“...and pots & pans builds character”. CBJ)
6. Shaving.
"The more relaxed you can get, the better you'll do". Issac Mizrah
For me, it's;
1. A good spirit / wine to drink.
2. Cooking.
3. Soulful jazz on the stereo.
3. A good book to read.
4. A premium hand-made cigar!
5. Washing Dishes.
6. Shaving.
Last edited:
Splitting, stacking or cutting kindling, all relaxing. Cooking for me would be my #1.
Dave & Ravenonrock:
Awesome stacks of wood...how many cords and did you use a hydraulic splitter or axe?
Does sniffing an Arko puck count? 
Split the rounds from a tree we had taken down using a maul. Some larger pieces split again with an axe. I have rented a hydraulic splitter before, makes quick work of everything, but noisy and requiring focus. I can still do the manual work myself, it’s healthy and strangely relaxing in an active way. I did the circular woodpile for kicks with my daughter who suggested it. Might be a full cord there surprisingly. It was a definite home to some critters over winter.Dave & Ravenonrock:
Awesome stacks of wood...how many cords and did you use a hydraulic splitter or axe?
View attachment 1742409 "People love chopping [and stacking] wood. In this activity one immediately sees results". Albert Einstein
Prior to selling our house in 2020, I enjoyed cutting the lawn or working outside on the cars, while listening to 50s/60s oldies, Brubeck, Glenn Miller or Billie Holiday on my iPod. I'd wear shooter earmuffs over the ear pods to keep them from falling out and to block out the rest of the world. Since we downsized to an apartment, a bottle of gin and a 3-7 hour German or French silent film has become my favorite, but not so healthy, way to relax.
I used to like a little made-up game I played that I called "Swinging Bells." I had a couple of really cheesy cast iron temple bells that I dug out of the garden at a house I bought. Cleaned them up a little and wondered what to do with them. Hung one on a limber little branch, backed off a ways and plinked it with my target air pistol. POP-ting! Hey, that was cool. Once the bell got to swinging from the impacts it got more demanding, and I could easily kill an hour doing that. Didn't leave me much to show for the effort, though.
Wood, yeah...
Kind of an old pic; I'm about 60 pounds lighter now. Seventies-vintage Swedish double-bit rehafted to a modified hickory handle. The other axe is a '50s vintage "Forester" 4-pound single-bit overcoat style hafted on a straight handle. What I'm splitting here is a very large silver maple that came down on campus. From the size of the pieces, I'm gonna say that wood went in the cookstove. The woodstove gets the big ones.
These days I go to the veneer mill and they'll fill my trailer with a couple tons of alder block ends. Four tons of dry alder will usually get us through a winter in good shape.
O.H.
O.H.
Wood, yeah...
Kind of an old pic; I'm about 60 pounds lighter now. Seventies-vintage Swedish double-bit rehafted to a modified hickory handle. The other axe is a '50s vintage "Forester" 4-pound single-bit overcoat style hafted on a straight handle. What I'm splitting here is a very large silver maple that came down on campus. From the size of the pieces, I'm gonna say that wood went in the cookstove. The woodstove gets the big ones.
These days I go to the veneer mill and they'll fill my trailer with a couple tons of alder block ends. Four tons of dry alder will usually get us through a winter in good shape.
O.H.
O.H.
I like taking a nap in the afternoon, and a leisurely 3-pass shave in the evening, while listening to a little Mozart or Bach. 
Honing I find tremendously relaxing; both the single focus, and the repetitiveness of it. The fact that it is an investment in a great shave is also a contributing factor.
Otherwise, I find cleaning shoes and boots oddly calming and satisfying. Brushing off the mud, using a cloth to clean them and then applying a coat of dubbin. In the same vein, waxing wooden furniture... Weird, I know, but it works for me!
Otherwise, I find cleaning shoes and boots oddly calming and satisfying. Brushing off the mud, using a cloth to clean them and then applying a coat of dubbin. In the same vein, waxing wooden furniture... Weird, I know, but it works for me!
Recently I had the strange idea to start to/learn to sketch pop into my head. I am almost 50 and can honestly say I have never had the tiniest urge to draw anything before!
Might be relaxing....we shall see.
Might be relaxing....we shall see.
- Thread starter
- #15
Now that's a winning combination!I like taking a nap in the afternoon, and a leisurely 3-pass shave in the evening, while listening to a little Mozart or Bach.
FarmerTan
"Self appointed king of Arkoland"
My friend, do you have any houses for sale in your neighborhood? You see, I don't live near a veneer mill! Used to be one not too far away, but I think they closed up shop.
I had a customer years ago that bought hardwood rights from folks. He shipped a lot of black walnut to Japan for veneers. Said they cut the veneer off on giant sized wood lathes! That'd be something to see!
Is hard to find time to relax when I have 3 kids running around after I get home from work…but that’s the catch: I “use” my kids to relax!
We live right in front of the school practice field which is open and available 24/7 unless there is practice going on.
So right after dinner we go out and play catch, soccer, whatever we are in the mood for and just have a good time. Is physical but is relaxing in a way that takes my mind off everything.
If I want to really slow down, sipping some coffee or tea after the kids have gone to bed and honing my razors/knives is the way to go!
We live right in front of the school practice field which is open and available 24/7 unless there is practice going on.
So right after dinner we go out and play catch, soccer, whatever we are in the mood for and just have a good time. Is physical but is relaxing in a way that takes my mind off everything.
If I want to really slow down, sipping some coffee or tea after the kids have gone to bed and honing my razors/knives is the way to go!
Yes, as a matter of fact, we do.
I keep figuring this one will, too. They import sawn alder boards from the U.S., shave it to veneer, and then send it somewhere else. But for now, it's still there.
It's a little different in this plant. They put a big pile of boards into a huge pressure cooker and steam them for a while to soften them up, then they cut the boards to the proper length (leaving "blocks" as waste) and put them on a planer. When the planer has cut off enough that it's -->that<-- close to hitting the bed of the machine, they toss the last bit of board ("back boards") into a pile.
When we were building soil on the rock terraces we had bulldozed out of the hillside, we got probably 30 tons of back boards and laid a thick layer of them down on each of the 70-by-200 foot terraces, then loaded topsoil on top of that. Several years of really hard work! That was about 15 years ago, and if I dig down far enough on the terraces a lot of that alder is still there. Kept the Couchgrass out until things got established.
The only problem with burning alder is it's like burning birch. Dead quiet. Kinda miss a big ol' chunk of Douglas-fir that pops and cracks and sounds like a shootout at the Okee Dokee Corral.
O.H.
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Cooking, cleaning, ironing, gardening, and clearing things out (indoors or outside). Some might view it as an odious task, but I find golf supremely calming.
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