COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL January 13, 2016
9A
Just in time for National Hobby Month
Learn something new today
Have you resolved to learn something new this year? You’re not
alone. Each year, millions of people resolve to expand their horizons
and for the sake of a more fuli lling life.
It is one thing for adults decide to something new, but quite
another to narrow down how you will enhance your knowledge or
experiences. Don’t be discouraged by the adage that you can’t teach
an old dog new tricks. It’s never to late to move out of your comfort
zone, and these ideas may help you do just that.
• Learn a new language. If you have always dreamed of travel-
ing internationally and speaking in a country’s native tongue, begin
taking lessons. A Gallup Poll indicates that only about 25 percent of
Americans can speak another language sui ciently enough to carry
on a conversation, although many agree that knowing a second lan-
guage is a good skill to have. In addition to private tutors or classes
at nearby community colleges, make use of foreign language apps
and computer programs, which allow you to practice in the com-
forts of home. Depending on how much time you can devote to
studying, it may be just a matter of a few months before you have
mastered a new language. How quickly you pick up a new language
may be af ected by your knowledge of other languages. For exam-
ple, if you already speak Spanish, learning French or Italian maybe
easier because of similarities between these widely spoken romance
languages.
• Take up a new sport or hobby. Hobbies and sports appeal
to all types of people. Adults who never participated in sports as a
child may i nd their interest piqued upon joining an adult league.
Don’t underestimate your potential abilities
on the playing i elds or with regard to certain
hobbies. Give painting, woodworking, paper-
crat ing, and other hands-on hobbies a go and
you may be surprised to discover the talent lies
within.
• Go back to school. Even if you already
have a degree, don’t be hesitant to pursue ad-
ditional education. In 2013, a report in h e
Wall Street Journal indicated that just 29 per-
cent of college students i t the “traditional”
student mold. h at means nontraditional stu-
dents, many of whom are adults, make up the
majority of students on campus. Many local
colleges and universities of er distance learn-
ing or adult education programs. Speak with a
curriculum advisor about a particular school’s
of erings and i nd out if you’re eligible for re-
duced tuition or i nancial aid.
• See new sights. If travel is a passion of
yours, make sure your passport is current and
start making plans to visit areas of the world
you have always wanted to visit. Perhaps there
are particular ancient ruins you hope to see,
or maybe you want to trace your genealogy back to your ancestral
homeland.
Trying something new is easier than one may think, and it can
make for a great resolution and a more fuli lling life with lots of pre-
cious memories.
Scrapbooks can help document your year
Many interesting and special events take place
during the course of a typical year. While the trend
is to share photos and anecdotes via social media,
these memories tend to be forgotten soon at er
they are posted.
Rather than rel-
egate birthdays,
holidays, school
milestones, and
other such year-
ly events to the
black hole of cy-
berspace, crat y
men,
women
and
children
may want to
display them in
more prominent
ways.
Scrapbooking is
a popular hobby
that can help
people
docu-
ment
various
events over the
course of the year. But scrap-
booking can be much more
than that as well. Scrapbooks
can serve as valuable resources that speak to the
way life once was.
Such traditions are not new. Books highlighting
family memorabilia, such as recipes, poems, let-
ters, and illustrations, were popular in England as
early as the 15th century. Even school yearbooks
are a type of scrapbook, highlighting students and
events in a single convenient book.
h e reasons for scrapbooking are the same today
as they once were. Scrapbooks preserve memo-
ries, record family stories and pass down informa-
tion through generations. Scrapbooks can even be
customized in any manner their creators desire.
For those who have resolved to devote more time
to documenting happy times and special events in
the year ahead, scrapbooking is a great way to do
just that. Here’s how to make the process creative
and successful.
• Devote a box to “scraps.” At the beginning of the
year, set aside a medium-sized box, such as a shoe-
box, that can store various items you want to in-
clude in your scrapbook. h ese may include ticket
stubs, receipts, brochures from trips, or any other
items you deem worth saving.
• Make time to scrapbook. Set aside a few days
each month to go through collected items and
organize them so you have an idea of what will
be included on your pages. Every event may not
make the i nal cut, but that’s up to you.
• Indulge in some crat -store shopping. Not every-
one has the time to design each scrapbook page
from scratch. Fortunately, there are numerous
pre-designed templates or slip-in pages that re-
quire little work on the part of scrapbookers.
• Use your own handwriting. Handwritten senti-
ments can make the scrapbook even more mean-
ingful.
• Don’t overload with photos. Let one or two
photos on a page best convey the emotions and
stories. Create balance with white space, text and
other accents.
• Categorize your photos. Disorganized photos
can make scrapbook creation more challenging
and ultimately frustrating. Organize your photos
by month and rely on cloud-based photo storage
systems to keep them safe. h en, when you need
them, you can print only those images you want to
include in your book.
• Have fun with the process. You have the entire
year to create a beautiful scrapbook. Take your
time and experiment with dif erent ideas.
Tom Harada’s
EUGENE PICTURE FRAMING
Framing for the 99%
541-895-2708
Fishin-musician@centurytel.net
Baker Bay Bead Co.
541-942-3941
)BSNPOZ.BD(SFHPS
Proprietor
imagineitframedcg@gmail.com
www.bakerbay.com
35655 Shoreview Drive Dorena, Oregon 97434
4PVUIUI4USFFUt$PUUBHF(SPWF03
