I think of hobbies as wonderful breaks and escapes from some of the more demanding responsibiitie of life. They're like windows in a wide, thick wall, raisins in the cookies, sugar on the oatmeal. They help life 'go down.'

I have hobbies that include: photography, genealogy, model railroading, reading, making movies, watching movies, and likely others.

The picture is from the HO railway layout of my friend George Watson of Eden Mills. His entire basement is another world of miniatures: villages, people, cars, trucks and animals - farms and industries, bridges, rivers, boats and lakes, And much more.

I'm not there yet in terms of my own productivity (N-Scale railway). George has spent a lifetime at it; I'm just beginning. But I'm having fun and it relaxes me be-times, though I'm also sometimes be-mused about what aspect to try to tackle next. Right now, I'm stuck on the wiring necessities of track, switches and turn-outs. I will have DCC (Direct Command Control) for each engine unit, so I can potentially run dozens of trains, if I could afford to buy them. At present I have about 8.