Balance

"I cultivated vegetables and flowers in my garden."

"I was sleeping a lot and went out with friends."

"I trained athletics."

"I wrote a war diary."

"I was taking a rest and talked to my wife."

"I did nothing in my free time."

"I was knitting, crocheting – anything to busy my hands."

"I was preparing the exams in journalism."

"I was stitching a large needlepoint."

"I used to make toys in my free time, I've been doing this for 10 years, and now I earn my living this way."

"I mainly spent my free time reading everything at hand."

"I crocheted."

"I went to choir rehearsals."

"Painting or gardening."

"I used to work in the garden, as well as tailor and sew clothes."

"I was studying English and sleeping."

"In my spare time I was cleaning the apartment."

"In my spare time I was writing my MA thesis and studying English and German."

"I mostly listened to music."

"I was listening the radio."

"In my spare time I was fooling' around."

"I was thinking about what I could use to make the next broth."

"In my free time I was thinking what to make for lunch the day after."

"Gathering strength for the next shelling."

"I used to ride a bike."

"I used to learn Italian."

"I was teaching math to children from my street; long ago I used to work as a math teacher."

"I used to repair TV sets in people's houses. That was often needed as TV sets often broke down because of the unstable electric current and frequent electricity cuts."

"I've been repairing my car."

"I was fixing my neighbours' radio and TV receivers."

"I played football."

"I was working out."

"In my spare time I was resting by reading novels."

"I played cards, chess and dominoes with my neighbours and friends."

"I organized several plays for children."

"I was reading books, knitting, cleaning rice..."

"I was gardening and socialising with neighbours. "

"I did a lot of reading since I could hardly move – I'm an invalid."

"I was styling my neighbours' hair to make them more beautiful."

"I mostly played with my band."

"I was thinking about nice things."

"Sipping coffee with my pals..."

"In my spare time I was perfecting my French."

"In my free time, I was thinking of how to make lunch."

"I tried to rest as much as possible."

"In my spare time I was visiting friends and going to the theater."

"I used to spend my free time with my wife in the garden."

"I tried to look good."

"In my free time I made wartime 'gourmet specialties'."

"In my spare time I used to read things that could calm me down."

"In my free time I engaged in farming (in pots). It was very calming."

"In my free time I was helping my family members and my elderly and infirm neighbours."

"In my free time I used to make donuts."

"In my free time I was dealing with myself."

"In my free time I was repairing watches."

"In my spare time I was stitching needlepoints, it calmed me down."

"I tried to spend my free time the same way I did before the siege."

"Some small household chores, repairs and playing with the dog."

"In my free time I was making different creams out of milk powder and some other ingredients."

"I used it to visit my mother."

"In my free time I was seeing people dear to my heart."

"Some of my free time was devoted to the scientific work, for the rest of it I used to hang out with friends."

"In my spare time I was visiting friends."

"I usually stayed at home with my family."

"In my free time I was drawing."

"In my spare time, if there was no shelling, I would sit in front of my building."

"In my free time I would play Indian dice until I didn't know where or who I was."

"In my free time I hang out with my peers, mostly in apartments because we had nowhere else to go."

"I was playing cards and drinking coffee, if there was any coffee."

"In my free time I used to tell stories of the World War II."

"In my spare time I was doing a little bit of work."

"In my spare time I enjoyed a decent sleep, if I'd manage to get it."

"In my free time I was doing my best not to think about the war."

"In my free time I used go out with a friend, just for the sake of not forgetting the old habits."

"I was trying to do something creative. I used to create designs and models hoping the war would stop and we would build again."

"I walked my dog."

"I did nothing. Just lying there staring at the ceiling."

"I was reading books, that way the time passed more quickly."

"There was very little free time, and I mostly used it for mental and physical relaxation."

"In my spare time I'd gather the neighbourhood children to work with them as I am a professional teacher."

"In my spare time I was reading old magazines, before I'd burned them to make fire."

"I read books, some more than once."

"Doing crosswords with a pencil – I would then rub it out and do it all over again."

"I was talking to a neighbour and cutting cigarette-holders out of willow wood."

"Crocheting, embroidering until nightfall, and then I'd go to bed."

"I've been knitting wool socks and slippers, talking to my neighbours, taking care of the house, all that was everyday free time."

"I tried to engage in growing vegetables, I exchanged wartime recipes with my friends, and I was reading..."

"I was looking after my son, I took care of him, and played with him and took care of his health."

"In my free time I was doing my neighbors' hair, I'd get a pack of cigarettes for a haircut."

"I was drawing throughout the war."

"There was little free time.I dedicated it to my boyfriend."

"I was listening to music all day long, and fooling around with the guys."

"In my spare time I worked around the house. That calmed my nerves."

"In my free time I cultivated flowers."

"In my free time I used to play with my daughter."

"In my spare time I was visiting my neighbours and exchanging recipes."

"I was talking to the neighbours, with a cup of cocoa."

"I used to read old novels and books, sometimes two or three times."

"I was getting some rest after 14 hour work day."

"In my spare time I trained basketball."

"We mainly used the free time to talk about food. You didn't need light or electricity for discussions."

"I used to read newspapers a couple of weeks old."

"Most often I was writing, mainly for the loved ones; it resulted in a published collection of poems."

"I spent it with my family, because I did not know if I'd survive the next day."

"I was listening to transistor radio and knitting."

"I used to make wooden sculptures."

"Since I've had a band, we used to play, thus defying shells."

"Farming rabbits, peppers..."

"I was into folklore."

"I was whitewashing my friends' apartments."

"I was sitting with pals in the garden, sipping homemade plum brandy."

"I mostly walked around the building with a friend."

"In my free time I used to sleep. I'm a huge sleepyhead."

"In my free time I mostly played cards, something I wouldn't dream of doing in peacetime."

"I socialized with people trying to forget about everyday life."

"Since I lost 20 kg, I was redesigning my old clothes."

"I used to make love."

"I tried to have the best of times."

"I was socializing, participating in the organization of cultural events, performances, exhibitions; I organized about 50 charity concerts."

"I was working out."

"I used to get up at 7 in the morning to play basketball. At the same time, I was waiting to get some water from the pump."

"I used to read everything; from old magazines to Dostoevsky."

"Most often I used to sit with my neighbours and drink 'coffee' made of lentils, barley or rice; and we talked."

"When I was not working, I was sitting in the stairwell and played cards with the guys."

"I was singing, or reading."

"In my spare time I wrote poems."

"I'm a magician. I used to practice magic tricks."

"I used to fix my colleagues' domestic appliances."

"I played chess with my neighbours Salko and Hasan."

"I was tired both physically and mentally – sleep was the best medicine."

"The free time was spent in good company, with music, or with some surprise treat."

"In my free time I tried to get some rest from the war."