I sometimes sit with my young daughter, and she (we!) love to craft. Here are some Christmas tree decorations she made for the HOs of our recently finished sit, featuring their pets!
We used FIMO polymer clay - such fun!
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hopefully, the sit is in a walkable/bikeable town where one may explore all that the town offers. I usually spend at least the afternoons walking the town, enjoying the local shops, tea time at a coffee shop… I also like to look for fun activities like art classes being hosted at galleries/coops, hikes, boating, rummaging through used bookstores, finding biking paths…. when I’m at the house, I usually do yoga, read, watch a show, catch up on business stuff, do art (maybe draw the house/pet). In between cleaning and caring for the home/pet of course.
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I crochet and create photo albums with Snapfish.
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I’m practising a new skill I learned from an Aboriginal elder on an expedition cruise in northern Australia in October, indigenous basket weaving. It’s very mindful almost meditative and somewhat addictive.
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Love all these ideas.
Work! Or look for consulting gigs. I’m working remotely so there’s that to fill up my time.
I look for local events. Farmers markets, social, etc. I check out meetup.com for local events, plus the bulletin boards in coffee shops, city websites & socials, timeout.com or sites like secretNYC, cheap theatre. I’ve gone to one off book clubs, marches, craft activities, art events, etc. One of my favorites was a community presentation about one of the US government proposals about use/sale of national Park properties. So informative and it felt so good to participate in a tight community (Moab, Utah).
I look for community service activities too since I’d do that at home. The simplest is using toogoodtogo.com, purchasing food there and sharing it with people on the street asking for support.
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Seriously, does anyone still read ….. “books” ?
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@DieFledermaus Yes, mostly ebooks, but when at home I utilise my local library and sometimes the books I want are only available as a “real” book. Wandering into the library also means randomly spotting something you fancy. For travelling it’s ebooks all the way.
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I still have hundreds of print books I’ve read, but have thinned out my collection over decades as I’ve switched to e-books and audiobooks. I started reading voraciously as a kid and ended up making a living in two careers involving the written word.
Note: The OP asked for suggestions and already said they read audiobooks.
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Yes, me!! Love a proper paperback 
#oldskool
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Sure do @DieFledermaus 
Always been a reader and just love holding a book to read.
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Of course! All across the UK they have free ‘libraries’ - often in unusual spots, eg. bus shelters, and (very commonly) old telephone boxes:
Always fun to stumble across one and take a few books that catch my eye
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Sweet history behind those:
The first Little Free Library was built in 2009 by the late Todd Bol in Hudson, Wisconsin.[9] Bol mounted a wooden container, designed to look like a one-room schoolhouse, on a post on his lawn and filled it with books as a tribute to his late mother, a book lover and school teacher who had recently died.[10] Bol shared his idea with his partner, Rick Brooks, and together they built and installed more of the bookhouses in different areas of the Midwestern United States.[10] After a while, the idea started to spread.[10][11]
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I’ve done that too @Rhe when I’m sitting in England. Love when one of these ‘libraries’ pops up in a village.
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@Rhe @temba I took this photo only a few days ago of the telephone box free library in the high street in Emsworth UK. They are a fabulous idea.
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Did you borrow a book @Crookie?
I didn’t @temba I wasn’t in need of a book
I love to get stuck into a jigsaw puzzle of 1000 pieces. You can pick them up cheap in charity shops if they don’t have any. They’re very addictive and hours can zip by without you realising.
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I agree that there are a lot of free tutorials online. There’s some great travel watercolor sets that are small for fitting into your luggage. Or some drawing pencils and small sketch pad , or even a set of watercolor pencils and a small pad. Picking up some discount yarn or even at a thrift store and knitting up some scarves that can be donated to the local food bank, or some such if you’re in cooler areas, is great for passing time while watching senseless TV too.
SO, I had posted in this thread back in November, but now I have something new to add.
I do crosswords and puzzles in 4 well known UK magazines, Take a Break, Chat, That’s Life and Pick Me Up. Also in the TV Listing magazine which I sometimes buy. I have free time on sits to concentrate on these puzzles.
Well, on a recent sit, 4th December I completed all puzzles, sent my answers off as usual, and look what happened! I was informed the other day by letter that my friend and I have won a 2 day trip to Paris, staying in a luxury hotel, with dinner on their Sky Deck, and with return flights from our local airport! Je Suis au-dessus de Lune!
The only problem is choosing a date between my many many pet sits!
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Congratulations @RedLassie what a wonderful prize. Have a fabulous time.
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