Recharging: surfing vs play

I was in Cornwall last weekend, visiting some dear friends and three lovely little munchkins. I'm still in the process of recovering from a very stressful few months at work, so while I was very much looking forward to seeing my friends, I wasn't looking forward to the (very) long drive there and back! 

I travelled on Friday evening and was there to  greet the little ones when they got up on Saturday morning. I hadn't seen them since Christmas, so had a couple of little presents for them. 

Watching them open them up and start playing with them was a real joy.  We spent about an hour or so making various things with playdough. We had some branded playdough, but I also like making it myself. Well worth a try if you have time and some little ones to entertain!

The next day I went with my friend to her local knitting and crochet group.  I'd been once in the past, and a couple of the ladies remembered me. Then, we had been making these little hedgehog houses.

In the year since my last visit to the knitting group I hadn't progressed at all, despite finding it relaxing and good fun.  Apparently, wool is also cool these days, and it might even be good for your health! 

Now I'm home I'm really thinking about if/how I can build knitting or some form of crafting into my life. The argument that 'I don't have enough time' doesn't really fly when I spend hours per day surfing the internet. I love the internet, and all of the tools and resources which are at my fingertips, but when is enough, finally enough? I've always thought of it as harmless, but now I'm not so sure. Some think that surfing and social media can actually lead to low mood. I know that I don't feel energised after an hour of mindless surfing!