I read this article on Yahoo about a bedridden Grandmother who'd taken up "Paint by Numbers" painting as a way to relieve the boredom of being bedridden.
It made me realize that I love being indoors. I'm not an outdoors girl at all. When the weather gets better, I love it but not because I want to head outdoors and do outdoor things...more because I like the warmer weather, the sun, and the longer hours.
I have to make myself go outside. If I'm off for a few days, I'm perfectly happy to stay inside and sew, watch TV, read a book, etc. Outside activities hold no attraction for me.
So my question of the day is "Are you an Outside or Inside girl?" And if so, why? Also do you develop cabin fever if you have to stay inside too long. Does it reflect in your sewing?
I ask because here on the East Coast the weather has been very winterish for the last week and a half. Bitter cold and then loads of snow and more snow. I've been very happy burrowed in the sewing cave creating and after the article and the weather, I just wondered.
Talk back to me!
...as always more later!
Both ! I love going for walks, love looking at the stars at night , or enjoying a meal cooked on a fire outside. I love riding in my bike group, love walks on the beach. I also love snuggling up in front of our fire reading or watching nordic noir and finding an excuse to sew. I would hate to have the freedom of choice of doing either inside or outside activities curtailed. Of course this has to be fitted in with work !
ReplyDeleteBoth for me as well, for different reasons. I live in a rural area, near the ocean and can feel the calm coming over me when I get outdoors to garden, walk the dog or just sit under a tree. On the other hand I don't mind a run of rainy days because it means free rein to read, and potter around in the kitchen or the sewing room.Too much of one makes me crave the other. It's a balance.
ReplyDeleteWell I wondered why you were asking about belly buttons! I love being outside but am a wimp--I don't like it too hot or too cold. I love sitting by the window looking out--and my sewing machine faces a window. It's been raining here for weeks (yes, weeks!) and when the sun came out yesterday, I spent most of the day outside. And I do like a little walk every day.
ReplyDeleteI'm an indoor person. I get bored with outdoor activities.
ReplyDeleteWhile I enjoy both, I'm a true outdoor person. I grow a veggie garden, tilling the soil myself, mowing about 5 acres of lawn each week in the summer, swimming daily in our pool. I enjoy sewing, reading, baking and cooking, too, though.
ReplyDeleteI'm an outie. I love going for a walk when the weather is good. But like some inside time too. My hubby is an inny. Trying to get him outside, even in the summer is like pulling teeth.
ReplyDeleteI am on outie in summer and an innie in winter. No matter how well I am wrapped up in winter I get cold and miserable. So I stay indoors as much as my rural life will allow. Once summer comes I'm outdoors every moment I can.
ReplyDeleteI am so happy inside . . . climate controlled . . . with my trusty sewing machine. When the heat is ridiculous outside I stay in the AC and tend to go from air conditioned home to air conditioned car to air conditioned restaurant. That being said, I love being outside when the weather is perfect -- you know, those 2 days a year when the humidity is low and the temps hover around 65.
ReplyDeleteI am with you the inside is more alluring to me than the outdoors.
ReplyDeleteMarie
I love the outdoors and nature; working in my flower beds and vegetable garden; walking, hiking, riding my bike, thinking, meditating...being in nature is where I find the 'answers' to my questions. BUT...I like winter/colder weather because it brings me indoors to rest and get other things completed like sewing, knitting and resting my body. I do love walking in the cold and snow but then I like watching the sun come up! Outdoors speaks to me in a way that indoors never has. I grew up with three brothers and just had to be in the hayfield and outside with them and my Dad.
ReplyDeleteInside! I like lovely weather and fresh air, but I'll enjoy it through my craft room windows.
ReplyDeleteI need to get out every day. Even go for a walk after eating lunch at work. I love being outside. Hmm, perhaps that is why I don;t get much sewing done :)
ReplyDeleteI'm exactly the same. I go out of my office to eat my lunch every day and get out as much as I can... and same, my sewing (and everything else inside) suffers.
DeleteOutside. I run outside in almost all weather year round (won't run if there's snow or ice on the ground; I run in the dark and I don't want to hit a patch of ice, fall and break something). And sunshine is super important to me. We have very few proper curtains in our house because we want the sun to light up the rooms.
ReplyDeleteHoly Cow Carolyn. You and I are so much alike. I feel exactly the same about outdoors. I just like the look of it. I'd much rather be in my sewing room sewing I have three sisters who love gardening and could live outdoors all spring and summer but I only do gardening because I have to .
ReplyDeleteAs others have said, both. When the weather is just perfect I love being outside but in the extreme heat or in the cold it's lovely to be inside in climate controlled comfort. We are at the opposite of you right now, in a heat wave in the 90's, somewhat unusual for this time of year and are working on a new outside project. Well, the first phase is almost done and I am really looking forward to some uninterrupted sewing time while we wait for the next phase.
ReplyDeleteTheresa in Tucson
I'm definitely and "innie" but my innie comes from being an introvert :). I love the outdoors but don't make much of an effort to get out and enjoy it. In northern Ohio it never snows enough to enjoy winter activities. It's mostly bone-chilling cold and rain and you've got to be pretty hard-core to enjoy being outside in that. I would (and used to) love having days to just sew to my hearts content. However, I would always leave the house at least once to avoid cabin fever!
ReplyDeleteAt this stage in my life I enjoy being in more than out. When younger I loved my big veggie garden but had to give that up a few years back. Now I am perfectly content to sew, create greeting cards and crochet. I still like to sit in the swing on my front porch when the temps permit. Once I retired, I have to admit to loving a full blown snowstorm sans power outages that is....lol. Barbara
ReplyDeleteA hermit in the winter. If I did not have to work (or eat) I probably would not leave the house all Winter. Spring and Summer I love being outside. I also enjoy sewing for the warm weather and sew very little for fall/winter. I wear scrubs to work so I don't need a lot of things for "off duty" hours.
ReplyDeleteI'm a weird rabbit... because I'm an innie who dreams of being an outie and doesn't go out, until I finally do, and then I'm so preposterously happy... but then I forget to make time to be outside and stare greedily through the window again...
ReplyDeleteTotal outtie! I've always been this way. My absolute favorite thing to do in all my life is work on my gardens and the rest of the property. When we go on vacations we go hiking for preference. I do love a good book on the couch with some tea and I do love spending time sewing but I can only do a little bit a day before I get crazy and have to take a walk or dig in the garden.
ReplyDeleteI think it's really important to my mental health to get outside as often as possible. I tend to not prioritize it because of all the things I need or love to do inside, but getting outside is important for me.
ReplyDeleteSewing for brides keeps me indoors 11 months of the year but having a veggie garden forces me outside to catch Vitamin D and work other muscles than pinning and shoving satin under a presser foot all day. The best place would be a beach but we are over 2 hours from a coast while surrounded by high snow-covered mountains and extinct volcanoes...so I guess my life is balanced.
ReplyDeleteI love the outdoors, I live in Alaska who wouldn't love the outdoors. Yes it's cold out, but the daylight hours are increasing (5+ minutes a day) and can't wait to start my garden, etc. I do love sewing and get much of my inspiration while outside walking around.
ReplyDeleteSewing is my other passion and I have to keep a balance.
I love the great outdoors in theory but I loathe mosquito bites and suffering from allergies so I would have to say that I'm an innie. If it is not too cold or dangerously icy, I do prefer the outdoors in the mosquito-free winter time over the summertime.
ReplyDeleteThat is an interesting question!
ReplyDeleteI think that part of the answer may be that it depends where you live. When I lived in cities I preferred indoors a bit more but I have lived in a glorious rural area for the past 25 years and
and have enjoyed long walks, running and being outside in good weather sooooo much!
For me the answer is a bit of a mix. I love the outdoors and am fortunate to live in an an amazingly beautiful place, but a health issue has forced me to appreciate being indoors a lot more.
When I was younger and before I had spine surgeries I would have answered that I was an outside girl all the way. Although even then I could be perfectly happy spending time indoors with creative pursuits. Now, being older and unable to stand for very long , I think I would have to say that I am quite happy being an inside gal.
I ALWAYS feel better when the sun is shining and the weather is more settled...sunshine cures a world of woes ������
I'm definitely more of an indoor gal than outdoor especially when it's so hot and humid which is most of the time here in Houston. I do enjoy travelling to interesting places with decent weather so I get my outdoor fix that way. Otherwise, I'm very happy sewing and creating inside in my studio. Karen
ReplyDeleteI love these questions because you get such divergent and honest answers. And Mrs Mole characterizing her job as "pinning and shoving satin under a presser foot" just makes me giggle and giggle.
ReplyDeleteI'm an indoor girl, through and through. I love making stuff, whether fabric or cardboard or plywood or sheet metal duct material. I also love working in my yard; not enough sun for a garden but plenty of trees and weeds and shrubs. I also like to walk around and look at everyone else's trees and weeds and shrubs (that's how I found this house). So 75% indoor/25% outdoor/20% sleeping.
Side note: I do not use a chain saw. That's the only power tool off the list. I am a handgardener I guess.
And innie! I have to be dragged outside by my family. I could happily stay inside all year!
ReplyDeleteOMG! I just told my daughter today that I had to drag myself out to this event and that "I could happily come home Friday at 5 p.m. and not leave the house again until Monday at 7 a.m."! She looked at me like I was crazy.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely an innie. I like my house. My house is warm and safe and comfortable. There's food and internet and sewing stuff. And I can choose to go braless. :-p
I am an "innie". I, on occasion, will make a visit to the great outdoors unto the deck. I do love Spring and Fall. Not so much (cold) Winter or (hot) Summer. I will putter with potted plants on occasion but I think, for the most part, I'm allergic to outside! Love me some sewing, reading, cooking, and movie watching, cause those are inside activities. I even venture forth to the "Y" for treadmill walking time cause I just don't like outside much! (Bugs, hot, cold, too much sun, not enough sun.....!)
ReplyDeleteI can't go on holiday for more than 9 days or I get cabin fever and want to go home. I do enjoy the outdoors but with an autoimmune disease, too much sun is not good for me and all my toys are at home. I am lucky, our main room is south facing and with windows at the side as well so winter or summer there is a good light all day. If I lived on my own I would have to be careful not to become a hermit because with a tap of the keyboard I can get anything I want brought to me.
ReplyDeleteI am very lucky, I live in a safe environment and have no worries or fear, unlike many other people. Nothing wrong in loving your home, your sanctuary.
I was quite content being housebound in the snow this week, but once the weather is nice, I want to work in my garden, or have breakfast on the patio, read on the porch, etc.
ReplyDeleteSo, for me, it's all depends on the weather.
I think I'm half and half-I enjoy being indoors puttering around the house, but I think the outdoors has beauty year round and I enjoy going outdoors to look at it.
ReplyDeleteOH I just saw Hearth's post up there-YES! I stare greedily out the window sometimes and then I'll suddenly realize that I CAN GO OUT THERE and enjoy it, I don't HAVE to stay in the house! LOL!
ReplyDeleteOH WOW...Spring is in the air...I love being outdoors...But then I LOVE my sewing...so I will open up the windows...let the fresh air and breezes join me in my studio. I have to say that my profession by trade is an online teacher. So, I am inside alot...Soooo...when the sun comes out and temperature is comfortable I am out the door...even if I am making phone calls to my students on a blanket in the yard. Happy Sunday....Love your blog ...Marilyn
ReplyDeleteI definitely love the warmer seasons, when the days are longer, the windows are open, and the clothing needs are less complicated. I do love being outside -- need that Vitamin D! The big challenge for me is balancing my yen to be outside with my desire to sew lots of things. Thankfully, the longer days make this balancing act a bit easier.
ReplyDeleteBoth. I am both. Love long walks a day hikes. Love sewing and knitting and reading. I think of both as necessary and important.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting question. Honestly - I love being indoors and can stay at home days at a time. Never venturing outside at all. At the same time, if you tell me I HAVE TO stay in - then I want to go out - right now. I can't focus and can't wait to get outside. Strange, eh? g
ReplyDeleteOutie all the way. I love anything outdoors, especially sleeping. Though I do love showers and real beds, too. Pretty soon I can set up my sewing machine out on the screened in porch. Best of all worlds.
ReplyDeleteInnie all the way. I have an screened outdoor porch and I live there in the summer, but I am not out wandering around, I am just soaking up the breezes while still really being indoors. I live in an area with lots of outdoor activities and I always feel a bit out of place with everyone spending their weekends outdoors. Not me. Sewing, movies, books!
ReplyDeleteI am an innie for sure, mostly because I want to stay inside to sew or knit. Eric and I love watching movies and TV, which I tend to knit and sew while doing. I do enjoy being outdoors, but mostly when I am traveling. We love to go camping in Tennessee and I love hiking and being outside then.
ReplyDeleteI am an epic Innie! I just read an interview of Gloria Steinem and felt a real kinship to how she answered this question:
ReplyDeleteHow do you relax?
Having dinner with friends, walking around the city, reading with my cat on my lap. I’ve never done sports: if there were an Olympic team for sitting still, I would be on it.
I'm both. I love being at home it's my place of peace. I can stay home for days and be perfectly content. But I also love being outside especially to walk, garden and knit.
ReplyDelete