Welcome to Casual Conversations!
Every first Wednesday of the month we want to take a moment out of our day to break from the hustle and bustle of online marketing and open discussion up to subjects that have less to do with emails, events, and landing pages and more to do with... everything else!
Now sometimes we might skirt the line between business and pleasure in our topics of conversation, but ultimately we know how hard y'all are working and it's fun to think about something other than work every once in awhile.
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I’d like to think everyone has a favorite hobby. An activity they enjoy doing outside of their professional and personal responsibilities. Maybe that hobby turned into a full-time gig, or it’s just the way you enjoy passing time on the weekends.
I’ve mentioned my enthusiasm for art in a few posts lately, so it’s no surprise that I would say it’s my favorite hobby!
I drew a lot as a kid (terribly), but let the (meager) skills flounder for more than ten years before I found myself stuck at home during the early days of the pandemic. I randomly decided to try my hand at creating pixel art (think old school video games), and while researching tutorials, a random line stating that “to be good at pixel art you still have to learn traditional art fundamentals” made me realize I had to start from scratch. It’s been about four years now and while I haven’t returned to making pixel art, I’ve continued to draw basically every day. The jury is still out if I were to turn it into an actual professional career, but I get a lot of satisfaction out of creative problem solving regardless.
What about you? What’s your favorite hobby?
So cool! Any day in the sun and on the water is a good day!
Melanie Diehl Melanie & co Marketing Collective Help others find this post by giving it kudos. Note: I am not a Constant Contact employee. |  |
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Here are a few!
A bonsai I planted during a class I attended back in May. It's...adjusting. This is the one I'm most nervous about. Also peep the skeleton in the back. It has a space at the top of its head so you can put an air plant in it. Like a little crown.
A mix of spider plants, pothos, and philodendrons. I have an app that keeps track of watering schedules.
They look so happy! I used to work near a store that sold Bonsai trees, and I bought and killed two of them. 
They sent me home with instructions that I followed, but they were so fussy that I swore them off forever. I also like to kill air plants.
That's fun! I finally found a place where my houseplants don't go to die, so that's where my African violet and spider plant and snake plant live. I'm not pushing my luck with anything else!
Melanie Diehl Melanie & co Marketing Collective Help others find this post by giving it kudos. Note: I am not a Constant Contact employee. | |
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Two words, board games. I got into them during the COVID-19 lockdown to keep busy. Gloomhaven kicked off my love for the hobby with its dungeon-crawling story, and the ability to unlock new characters. Below is a picture of some of my collection.
I love game night. We play canasta with my parents and Mexican Trains with our friends and our daughters.
Melanie Diehl Melanie & co Marketing Collective Help others find this post by giving it kudos. Note: I am not a Constant Contact employee. | |
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I love board games! I like to buy them for my daughter, but we all know it's really so I can play them. Lol!
This was my favorite board game as a kid, and I still play it now.
I've recently found a lot of satisfaction in preserving food. As a young girl living on a small homestead farm, we canned everything in our garden. I must say I didn't enjoy it as a teenager. Recently, I've taken up the canning as well as dehydrating! It's a lot of work, but I do enjoy the fruits of my labor (pun intentional!). It's nice to pass along a jar of homemade bone broth to my daughter when she's not feeling well, or give a jar of wild violet jelly with a loaf of homemade sourdough to a neighbor, or share some dried apple rings (he calls them chips) with my grandson. My husband jokes about what I'll try to dehydrate next 😂
Melanie Diehl Melanie & co Marketing Collective Help others find this post by giving it kudos. Note: I am not a Constant Contact employee. | |
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It's a soft floral/fruity flavor. And it's SO pretty--almost too pretty to eat!
Melanie Diehl Melanie & co Marketing Collective Help others find this post by giving it kudos. Note: I am not a Constant Contact employee. | |
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WHOA, I'm impressed! I have great respect for anyone who has the talent to draw or paint. That's stunning!
Melanie Diehl Melanie & co Marketing Collective Help others find this post by giving it kudos. Note: I am not a Constant Contact employee. | |
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