I do love this time of year for plotting and scheming and hatching plans. I always take two weeks off work if I can, and the rest does me good (as does the ability to be outside in daylight, something I don't always get chance for while at work). I have lots of big, practical plans for 2020 (having a functioning kitchen for a start), but in 2019 I very much felt the lack of little things that I always used to find cheerful - writing letters, making jam, sewing, that type of thing. I did a few things last year, but not as many as I'd like, and so I'm setting a little intention here to keep track of things. I'm taking the idea from Jan at The Snail of Happiness, although she hasn't done this herself for several years now. I did enjoy her updates at the time though, and I've enjoyed looking back at them again recently. Our interests overlap, and I confess I've taken on board some of the things she herself did several years ago. So, without further ado - my 20 for 2020. 20 things mended Things break all the time (round here they do, anyway), and I much prefer to mend rather than buy new if possible. I'd like to keep track of what gets mended and how, and see if I can become more creative and ambitious with my mending. 19 letters written I love writing letters, and don't often get round to it. I love receiving them too, and I've found the more I send, the more I receive. So, a year of letter writing for me. 18 days without internet A slightly daunting one... but all the more important because it's so daunting. 17 new books read I used to read all the time, and that's tailed off lately (partly because I'm more inclined to sit scrolling through my phone - not a habit I want to keep). I'd like to read some new books, and be mindful about the ones I choose (although I will be counting all and any that I read). 16 household items or pieces of clothing made I love sewing, and have made many useful (and not so useful) things in the past. That's also tailed off recently - partly because my sewing machine doesn't have a home our new house yet (and we've been here nearly two years so it's about time it did). 15 meals with friends We've had some lovely times with friends this year, but I'd like to make a conscious effort to have more. 14 meals made from home-grown produce This is also a daunting one - last year we managed herby omelettes but not much more. Let's see what we can manage this year. 13 evening lectures Our local area has quite a few groups who put on evening talks and I do rather like going to them, especially when they're about things I'm particularly interested. I'm putting together a list of groups and the events they're organising, and I'll try to get to thirteen throughout the year. 12 donations to the food bank I hate that food banks exist. But they do, so I'd like to donate more. This is a reminder for me to find out what they need the most and to make a regular donation. It hate the thought of people going hungry. 11 solo days out for me I had a couple of little trips out last year, but it's not often I take off for the day on my own. Peter and I do have many overlapping interests, but there are other things I like that he doesn't, and I hope having this little target will encourage me to think about places I'd like to go that he might not enjoy. 10 loaves of bread made First step - retrieve the bread maker from the attic. I'd like for these not all to be a plain white loaf, so there may be a bit of experimenting this year. 9 bike rides I'd love to say more than nine, but I didn't even manage five in 2019 so I'm keeping things realistic. 8 organised runs I've started running again (for the 800th time), and have a half marathon booked in May. I don't want to do too many big races, but I would like to go to the local Parkrun a few times this year. 7 new places visited We have our favourite places that we visit, and I'd like to branch out a little and discover some new places. This can be anything from a new cafe to a new country (cafes are more likely...). 6 attempts at cheese making I love cheese. I've made mozzarella and ricotta before, but I'd like to get better, and also to branch out into hard cheeses. If I get it right, this might help with my '14 meals from home produce' goal. 5 'No Quibble' weekends away No Quibble is a concept we invented a few years ago. Because we have many different interests, we often end up compromising in where we go on holiday. The idea with a No Quibble weekend is that one of us does all the organisation and decision-making (to suit themselves) and the other tags along and is cheerful, and maybe even discovers that they like something new. Like many things, they fell by the wayside while we were decorating our last house and moving, and we'd like to start them up again. 4 pairs of socks made I can't decide whether this is ambitious or not. I love knitting socks, but I started a pair in March last year and am just about to finish them this afternoon (I won't be counting them in my 2020 total). Most of the knitting has been done in the last three days, so it's definitely an achievable number if I put my mind to it. 3 days volunteering I'm not sure about this one. I would like to get more involved with things locally though so I'm going to keep an eye out for volunteering opportunities I can do as a one off, rather than making a regular commitment. Who knows what it might lead to. 2 LAND centres visited I'm right at the end of my permaculture diploma now, and I'm not sure what my next steps are in that direction. LAND centres are permaculture demonstration sites, and one of our options is to register as one ourselves at some point in the future. I'd like to visit a couple of others to get a feel for what people are doing. 1 holiday! Aside from three nights staying with friends in Berlin, we haven't been on holiday since 2015. We never went abroad, but just being somewhere else for a couple of weeks was a luxury that we've very much missed. Things feel harder now we have the chickens, but we are training up willing volunteers to come and look after them, and we hope to get away for at least a week this year. So there we are! I'll update at the end of each month, and I hereby promise not to beat myself up if I don't reach any of these numbers. Do shout up if you'd like to join in!
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Hello!Sit down and make yourself comfortable. I'm Jenni, and I write here about our new foray into country living, which includes growing food, knitting, baking, wandering around the fields, and seeing which local cafe serves the best cake. Categories
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