How did it get to be the middle of March? Must be well overdue time for an update on my 20 for 2020 plan! I don't feel like I've got much done this month, but let's see... 20 things mended (3/20) I repaired a small hole in a nightie, but other than that no mending this month. 19 letters written (4/19) No more letters written - but I did receive a very welcome letter from an old school pal in response to my January letter. What fun! 18 days with internet (1/18) Finally made a start on this with an internet free day on Sunday 23rd. Nothing dramatic happened, I didn't miraculously get loads of DIY done or anything, but it was a nice gentle day. Very much feeling the need for another one with all the news around the pandemic at the minute. 17 new books read (11/17) Ooh, now I have made good progress here - largely thanks to the library's audio book service. I've been told (again) that listening to books isn't the same as reading them - and I do agree that biologically they are of course different activities, but this is my blog and my challenge for myself, so I'm defining 'reading' as 'consuming books', and thus am making nice progress. Again, this is a fairly haphazard selection of things available at the library, and then other things it suggested for me after I'd finished those.
I'm saying these are fairly haphazard, but there is a bit of a pattern emerging now I can see them all written down together. No fiction (so far). Lots of books about running and exercise, and the odd self-help thing (always trying to be a bit more organised...). March is looking a little bit different already so let's see what happens there... 16 household items or pieces of clothing made (9/16) I made a hat! A real hat! This is most exciting. I can still see the flaws, and there are several things I'll do differently next time, but it's still pretty exciting. 15 meals with friends (4/15) Another two added this month - a friend came over to stay, which was lovely (she's not been to our new house before) so we had dinner (I won't count breakfast as a separate meal, although it was more of an event than it would usually be). And we hosted a mini dinner party, just three guests, but one didn't know the other two which made it a little more fun I think. 14 meals from home grown produce (0/14) Er, no. But we are getting a few more eggs these days so I'm hopeful! The rhubarb is coming on nicely too (not sure there's anything that I can make that only involves rhubarb and eggs though). 13 evening lectures (0/13) No. I've started going to running club a couple of nights a week which has clashed with a couple of talks I might otherwise have gone to. This is feeling like less of a priority than other things at the minute, but again, we'll see. 12 donations to food bank (1/12) Donated a load of toiletries and household cleaning products as most of the stuff in the box seemed to be food. Obviously this is going to be more important now in the wake of recent events, which (as usual) are likely to hit the poorest the hardest. 11 solo days out for me (0/11) None yet, although I did have a little weekend in London at an event which was most exciting, might write about that more soon. 10 loaves of bread made (0/10) Er, no. 9 bike rides (0/9) No - although I did get the bike out of the garage at one point, but then it started snowing again. I have great plans for cycling the last little bit of the way to the office once I'm back at work though, so maybe that'll encourage me to get out and about a bit more. 8 organised runs (1/8) No races in February, but I did start going out with the 'Target 5k' group of my local running club. They'd been working up from nothing at the start of the year, and when I joined they were already up to running for 8 minutes with 1 minute walk breaks. This morning we did our 5k target! Very exciting (but as it's March that'll be added onto next month's list). 7 new places visited (1/7) I don't think I've been anywhere new locally, must up my game! 6 attempts at cheese making (0/6) None in February. 5 'No Quibble' weekends away (0/5) No, but we've roped my mother in to look after the chickens on the weekend of my birthday so I'm most excited about a little trip away. Hi mum! 4 pairs of socks made (0/4) None. 3 days volunteering (0/3) None - I did spot an ad hoc call for volunteers locally which I was tempted by, but it was then cancelled. 2 LAND centres visited (0/2) No official LAND centres (part of the LAND network run by the Permaculture Association), but I did visit a friend who took me to her community allotment, run by her local permaculture network. I'm not counting that as I want to visit official sites (as we're thinking of working towards becoming one ourselves) but it was pretty cheerful (although thinking about it, that was at the start of March...) 1 holiday! (0/1) No. All in all, a bit of a strange month. I was on strike for several days at the end of the month (and several more in March), and while I thought I'd get through plenty of DIY and days out, the reality has been somewhat different. The earlier part of the month was spent preparing for the strike (while of course the purpose is disruption of the university, none of us wants to harm our students, so it's not as simple as just downing tools and walking out - and at any rate quite a bit of my job doesn't involve teaching at all).
I've seen a lot of people though, visited friends, done some DIY, a bit of running, and a whole lot of general hanging around. Let's see what the rest of March brings.
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It's the end of January (already!) and time for an update on my 20 for 2020 plan! 20 things mended (2/20) Just two this month - a seam of one of Peter's shirts, which I fixed with the overlocker, and a zip on my rucksack. At one point I thought I was going to have to throw the whole rucksack away - both fasteners had come off the front pocket zip, and the zip itself had come away from the casing, so the pocket didn't fasten at all. Somehow (with a lot of swearing) I managed to undo some of the stitching, reattach both fasteners, and sew the zip together. Hooray! 19 letters written (4/19) A bit of a flurry this month as I posted out late Christmas presents. I've not counted cards here, but I included three longer letters with various presents, and wrote a separate (rather too long) letter to an old school friend. 18 days with internet (0/18) None yet 17 new books read (4/17) I generally adopt a serendipitous attitude to book reading - whatever takes my fancy in the bookshop or the library, or occasionally a recommendation from someone else. Some of them never get finished, and I'm happy to have several half-read books lying around. I've got a half price subscription to Audible at the minute, and I've been listening to audio books in the car. I'll be cancelling that once the half-price offer ends, so I've also subscribed (for free) to the audio book service from the local library. I've read a couple of people disparaging audio books as not being 'proper' reading but I'm having none of that nonsense in my house. 'Reading' a book is taking the contents into your own mind - and as far as I'm concerned that can happen by whatever means. So this month I've finished...
16 household items or pieces of clothing made (8/16) This is an exciting one. I made my hot water bottle cover of course, and then I bought an overlocker, and have had a merry time making several pairs of pants, then a batch of cleaning cloths and face flannels. I'm counting the cloths and flannels as just two (rather than 18 individual items, which seems like cheating). Each pair of knickers though was quite an undertaking so (for now, at least) they're getting counted individually, bringing the total to eight. 15 meals with friends (2/15) I'm just counting meals Peter and I have with friends together (not me meeting a friend for lunch on my own) so this month's tally is two - lunch with a friend in a cafe the other day, and a trip to stay with our friends in Birmingham last weekend (where we went out for brunch). 14 meals from home grown produce (0/14) None so far - this will be more an item for the summer. 13 evening lectures (0/13) None yet - lots of different groups seem to have not restarted after Christmas yet. 12 donations to food bank (0/12) None yet - I kept forgetting every time I was at the supermarket. Must remember to make a note. 11 solo days out for me (0/11) None yet, but I've got an idea of where I might go for the first one. 10 loaves of bread made (0/10) Nope - the breadmaker is still in the loft. 9 bike rides (0/9) None of these either, oh dear! But in my defence the weather has been rather vile lately. 8 organised runs (1/8) Just the one - I went to my most local parkrun (which isn't actually that local at all) for the first time. I enjoyed it, although at just over 39 minutes it was very far from my fastest. I discovered yesterday that my local athletics club has a group working up to 5k which is five weeks in (out of nine), so I'm off to join them on Monday. While I'm not exactly a beginner (having been running on and off for about 14 years), I'm also rather slow and would like to get faster. Watch this space. 7 new places visited (1/7) We went to the ballet! We've never seen a ballet before, so it was quite a novel experience, and we'd also never been inside Buxton Opera House before (it was on my list of things to do last year but I never made it). We probably won't be going regularly, but it was quite exciting as a one off. 6 attempts at cheese making (0/6)
None - although we have no acquired a working hob in the kitchen so this is now possible at least. 5 'No Quibble' weekends away (0/5) None - we'll set a date for the first one in February (even if we don't actually go until March). 4 pairs of socks made (0/4) None. I very nearly bought some sock wool the other day, but then remembered I have two balls of speciality wool that have been sitting around for years - one from the North Ronaldsay sheep in Orkney who live on the beach and eat seaweed, and one from my friend and permaculture diploma tutor Hannah in Lincolnshire (well, her sheep, of course) so I'm going to find a simple cable knit pattern and do some experimenting. 3 days volunteering (0/3) None yet. 2 LAND centres visited (0/2) No - I'm anticipating this will be more of a summer thing. 1 holiday! (0/1) No - we should get on the case and set a date soon though! So there we are. Great progress in some areas, and none in others. I suppose it was always going to be like that, and anyway some things are more seasonal than others. I've enjoyed having this as a backdrop to the month though (and I confess I was pretty excited when I managed to fix my rucksack so I could add it to the list). I wonder what February will bring? 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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