Resolutions

Happy New Year!

We had a fun time last night playing games with friends.

I quite like the thought of not making New Year's Resolutions and have been feeling proud of the list I made when we came back from travelling because I didn't make it at New Year - strange logic!  Well, I thought I would take a look at them now and see how I am getting on and whether I still want to persevere with them. I was talking with a friend yesterday about how she had set a goal of reading 50 books in the year and had made it and how she liked having a specific goal.  I might try that with some of these.  The italics below are the bits I wrote on return from travelling.

1 - Local - I would like to try and buy more things locally. I love the convenience of Amazon online (and am sure I will keep using it), but I want to feel I am supporting real people rather than just nameless and faceless businesses. Not sure how to make this have a specific goal, but I will keep it here as a reminder of a general principle.  Maybe I can look into some local craft shops and there is a pottery shop my mum mentioned.

2 - Community - in a similar way, I want to know more and have more of a connection of people in the community. I loved seeing that in small New Zealand communities and also up in Stornoway. Hopefully the new Rose Hill community centre may be a starting place for that. Goal - go to 4 community events this year - yikes!  I was pleased with the Rose Hill and Iffley Low Carbon Group event we went to.  Hopefully more like that.

3 - Packaging - I want to think more about what I buy and try to buy things with less packaging. In particular, John has become good at thinking about plastic. He bought the book 'plastic free life' in California when seeing an exhibit at Monterey Bay Aquarium about the amount of plastic sea animals ingest. We are planning to research local places where you can go refill washing up liquid bottles etc. If anyone knows of any places around Oxford or has any good tips then do share! We have made a good start on this one and are pleased with our refill centre we have found, which I still need to blog about.  And I have started reading the plastic free life book now so hopefully that will help.  I am also interested finally in doing the show your plastic challenge for a week.  Maybe that would be good to do again at the end of the year for a comparison.

4 - Baking - I really enjoyed having the time to learn to bake a bit in Uganda and want to try to make the time to do it now as well. I want to keep practising the same recipes until I can do them quicker without having to keep checking the recipe.  I feel I have done ok with this so far though I am definitely having to be deliberate about it.  Here's my goal then: 4 banana cakes, 4 giggle cakes, 4 lemon cakes, 4 cookie batches, 4 shortbread batches, 4 muffin batches and 4 other baking attempts.  That's 28 baking events so I'll need just over one every 2 weeks.  I will try record on here how I get on. 

5 - Cooking chapattis and popcorn - I also enjoyed learning to make these and don't want to forget! 

Bread - I would like to learn to make bread too. Pleased that both of these are happening.  I might start a tally in the kitchen of how often I do these this year.  I'll hope for 5 of each.

6 - Basic ingredients, less processed - again, something from my time in Uganda. I'll start small and see where it's worth it.  Again, I feel this is going ok, and then plastic free desire definitely ties in with this.  Not sure how to goal this one, which probably means I won't really do much about it.  Maybe I'll save the specifics for next year.  Although we were given a cheese-making set for Christmas so that will be my goal to achieve as that is definitely in the less processed category!

7- Phonetics - a random one that cropped up while in Denmark and so I popped it down as something I'd like to learn...one day!  Funnily enough had a conversation just before Christmas with a friend who is on a speech and language course about the phonetics she has to learn, so I know its possible!

8- Blogging - I've really enjoyed blogging this year. I'd like to keep it up with General musings on things that happen. This is will be an easy one to check on my goals.  Now what to set...  well, there ought to be 28 posts just on my baking!  Let's say 20 non-baking posts in 2017 and at least 4 general musings posts.  I don't feel this has come very easily since being back.

9- More minimalist - although I am really looking forward to having belongings around me again and I still like nice things, I'm hoping to slim down belongings a bit and have another sort out as we unpack. We did do a trip or two to the charity shop when unpacking but not hugely.  I hope to slim down my clothes when I have had my colours done later in the month.

10 - Fewer clothes - I don't remember jotting this one down before, but glad I did as I wouldn't have tried to do it! This year has definitely proven that I can survive without many outfits. Although particularly in South America, I missed not having anything vaguely nice for an evening, (my indication that we were going out was putting on a pair of dangly earrings!) I definitely don't need an overflowing wardrobe. Andy H, your wardrobe with just the pair of jeans in is my inspiration! Oops, don't think I can then class clothes in my previous listing - see above!

11 - Rare shopping centre visits - I don't feel the need to visit a shopping centre often anymore. No problem there.  Haven't felt the desire to go since being back.

12 - Keep reading - I really loved how much reading I did this year. I did read quite regularly before anyway, but just want to make sure I keep it up. I wonder how much I'll read my kindle at home and how much I will go back to paper books. I am happy that I am still reading, especially a lot over Christmas.  Though now I am startled by the 50 book challenge my (mother of 2!) friend set and achieved.  But I still don't feel I would like a target.  Maybe next year.

13 - Outdoors in the UK - thank you for your suggestions of your favourite places to be outdoors in the UK. I definitely want to make the effort to visit them all. Goal - to actually make a list of the places people mentioned!  I feel this may be wildly unlikely but I am going to try for 12 National Trust Visits!

14 - Make lists - I did find I enjoyed making lists this year (as this is evidence!!) and I liked feeling efficient that things were getting done and weren't being missed. I wonder how that will continue now we are back. I have started a list book of things to do since being back but don't think I am very good at keeping up with it.  I keep trying to move it to the kitchen work top so that it is more in my face.  Think I will need to be better at this.  My goal is to photograph my completed lists when I complete a page.  Maybe 3 pages in the year?

15 - Exercise more consistently. I would love to run three times a week as I tried to do in Uganda. I'm looking forward to returning to Rose Hill Runners and seeing if I can finally get under 30 minutes for a park run... Totally haven't done this very well since being back.  Think some goal orientation will help here.  Minimum 1 run a week of minimum 2Km.  Maybe I'll go back to 20 Parkruns.  No, I think I will do 30 Parkruns or Rose Hill Runs during the year.  Good luck!

16 - Knitting - I enjoyed knitting in Uganda and particularly when we were home in June. Hopefully I can keep that up. Anyone have any (easy) knitting projects they would like me to do! Fairly happy that I have been doing some of this.  Let's say 7 projects complete in 2017.

Phewwff!  That was a longer list than I was expecting, but I am pleased to have thought about it and hopefully I'll be able to review next year and see what I have achieved.  I worry it's rather long and I'll forget about things so I will try an abbreviated list here:

1. Run each week.
2. 30 Parkruns/Rose Hill Runs 
3. Visit 12 National Trust Places
4. Bake 28 times (see above for details!)
5. Knit 7 projects.
6. Go to 4 community events
7. Make a list of Outdoor Places to go
8. 20 Blog Posts including 4 General Musings
9. Photo show me your plastic challenge
10. Make Cheese
11. Make chapatis 5 times and popcorn 5 times

Write - that seems more manageable and hopefully I haven't missed any.  I have tried to put them in order from hardest to achieve to most likely to achieve.

Let's go 2017!

On coming up to town

I started writing a post on blogger as I arrived in London yesterday but didn't save it properly and lost it. It wasn't a lot so I will try to re-write the gist of it here. 

I had a funny sensation as the train pulled in to Paddington yesterday evening for karaoke with the girls. I realised that I couldn't remember the last time I had been to London - other than Heathrow, Gatwick or edges of Kent and Middx. It could well have been when I met the girls for dinner in August 2015 before we headed away. 

It definitely felt more monumental then I was expecting as we came in to the station. My sense of occasion was added to by following a passenger off the train who had a traveller backpack. I started to see it through the traveller' eyes that I had worn last year. I also saw quite a lot of people taking photos on their phones in the station that made me smile somewhat. 

I definitely felt like I was 'coming up to London'. I'm not a local and I sort of feel saddened that I don't have that at home and in control feeling that I had as a commuter after I left school. I did enjoy the sensation of knowing the shortcuts and best places to stand on the platform to be at the right exit. I'm also rather disappointed that I don't have the romantic feeling of coming up to town from somewhere like St Mary Mead!! 

I continued to have mixed feelings about London as I was meandering around. I arrived in Oxford Circus 55 minutes before our karaoke session so I wandered. I was a bit thrilled to come up and see the Christmas lights up - they weren't switched on but I did enjoy seeing them. I do love the build up to Christmas. I must get on with writing my cards!! 

I wandered down Carnaby Street. I don't really like it sadly. The shops are not the sort of places where I would buy anything. It was all very shiny and glam and prosperous looking. Although I would much rather somewhere be prosperous than run down, I still didn't like it. I also walked through Liberty's which I don't know very well. I thought I could like out for somewhere to buy a first birthday present and then I realised I was close to Hamleys so I managed to have fun in there. A lot of noise and plastic but I did buy a fun Peter Rabbit book. 

The big thing I noticed about London was the crowds. I think in the past I have found the crowds part of the charm and mastery challenge of London - sort of like at Disney World. Mustn't London be great if all these people want to be here and won't we feel more virtuous and successful if we can overcome the crowds and enjoy it. This was the first time where I was beginning to feel the crowds were too much and hampering the experience. I'm not going off London and I won't stop coming, I guess it's just that I can see what people mean about it being too busy! 

Karaoke was a super time. After 3 or 4 songs we were away and wearing our wigs and rocking our socks off. Some new hits of last night were 'Truly, Madly, Deeply' and Wannabe. I've just tried looking through the blog and it seems shocking to me that I haven't done a karaoke post before. What?!? I've just started writing about it, but have now decided it needs its own post! So I will leave this London summary here. 

On a side note - I am currently waiting by Platform 8B at Readinf station and the lady next to me is clipping her toe nails and I am pretty disturbed and freaked out by it...!!! At least the train is here now! 

On being home

Hello blog! I've missed you. 

We have been back in the country a month now and we have been back at school 3 weeks. I want to record some of my thoughts of being here. 

The thing that has struck me currently is time. That's one thing I didn't truly appreciate about GYIL. Now I don't seem to have the time to be doing the little things I'd like to be doing. I haven't knitted as much as I wanted, baked as much, done as many things on my to do list, blogged, phoned friends, made photobooks, touched my diary. School I guess takes up a lot of time and is tiring. The evenings just seem to pass. It was a bit better in the week before school started. Maybe I need to wait till half term. But that seems sad. Maybe I just need to lower my expectations or plan in something each day to do. Maybe instead of reading blogs over breakfast I could have computer set up to photobook/video. I'd like to move the to do list to the kitchen counter. Have a plan of when to cook, rather than waiting till there is time. 

I'm going to make a list (hehe, as that seems to be what I like to do) of the things I have achieved so I feel a bit better and encouraged:

- I've knitted three segments of a ball

- I baked two cakes before school started, some disastrous muffins after school started (or August, not am), some nice rolls and on Thursday some short bread. Need to work out how to get it out the mould (just found some ideas on Lakeland while looking up whether mould has a u!). 

- have done photos in Australia photobook - still need to do labels

- have finished Leicester book and started HBP. 

- lots unpacked at house and bags gone to charity shop. Still need shelves up in spare room. 

- had two lots of friends round for a meal.

- three or four episodes of ER. 

- Scottish dancing twice

- thirsty meeples once

- Rose Hill Runners and Parkrun once each.  

I'm thinking I need to get out of bed and have a go at some photobook things. 

I'll just blog about one more aspect of being home. It's very easy to stop appreciating the nice things about home. I am having to keep reminding myself that these things are good. Instead of being disappointed that I didn't manage to get a load of washing in before bed, I should be happy that it's so easy to do tomorrow. Instead of feeling tired reading in bed at night, be glad that I'm still able to read and enjoy. I have been enjoying waitrose online shopping and meal planning and cooking - yay! 

Well, at least I can tick off blog and maybe get up and do something else productive now! 

Happy (random) photos since being back: