I'm a Loser, Baby...

The eagle eyed amongst you might have noticed by my Twitter feed that I've taken up running recently. It's true - don't laugh! Believe me when I say I was about as fat and unfit as they come. When I quietly mentioned that I fancied having a go at running to my nearest and dearest, around the end of December, no-one said much. You could see that, although they didn't want to be unsupportive, they were thinking "yeah, right! I give that a week!" I didn't post on here about it because, if I'm honest, I didn't think I'd keep it up myself. I didn't buy myself any running gear or fancy trainers (for a few weeks, anyway). It just sort of snuck into my life. However, I'm slightly amazed to report that, sixteen weeks later, yes, I am still running three times a week and yes, I am loving it. No-one could be more surprised than me! I now run 5k three times a week, and I'm signed up to do the Hull 10K on the 19th May. I'll be honest, this absolutely terrifies me. Still, it's good to get outside one's comfort zone, yes?

It's all been part of a drive to live a healthier life. There are lots of reasons why I wanted to improve my health, and I'll share those in a future blog post. However, dear God, I wanted to be WELL. 2 years of illness made me realise that health was a precious gift and if I didn't do everything that was within my power to wring the last drops out of life, then I was a fool.

I've been asked to share pictures by lots of people now. I've lost quite a bit of weight. This isn't just from running, I've been consciously eating healthily too - and breastfeeding has helped me, certainly. I've been stuck in a weight loss plateau for the past 5 weeks and, although I am diligently eating healthily and exercising at different levels of intensity 5 days a week, its very frustrating. I've not put these photos together before, so it seemed like it might be a good motivator for me too.

Although I've lost weight, this is part of a journey. I've been losing weight very slowly for 10 months now. I expect I still have another year or more to go. I'm over half way, but this is very much a work in progress. This picture sums that up better than words:

This was me at the start of my journey (July 2012), at the heaviest I've ever been. I only own one photo as I found them all so revolting that I deleted them straight away. My Mum has some on her camera though as she refused to delete them for me. I am hoping that I get my hands on those one day.

This was me in January 2013:

This was me yesterday:

That's 80lb gone for good, or just shy of 6 stones!

I feel better for it in every way imaginable. I just feel more comfortable in my own skin, I'm not afraid of running up stairs or running for a bus or similar. My IBS symptoms have gone - ditto headaches and random aches and pains.

I still have another 4 stones to lose to get to a sensible BMI; I was very overweight. I see this as a work in progress. I've never been a thin adult but this time I am going to nail it, before my 40th in March 2014.

You'll probably be curious as to how I've done it. I could write a whole BLOG about that, its not always been successful and its not always been pretty. In short, there's no secret or trick, I've just eaten healthily and exercised. Eaten less, moved more. However, here are some of the things that have worked for me. They may not work for you; I honestly believe we need to find our own recipe to living a healthy lifestyle.

• I write down everything I eat and drink, without fail. It makes me accountable. I use My Fitness Pal - its free


• I exercise between 3 and 5 times a week. Mainly running, but also swimming, walking, cycling, dancing and weights. I need to exercise to eat the type of food that I want.


• Great music and gripping audiobooks motivate me to exercise.


• I eat a treat every day - biscuits / cakes / chocolate all work for me. In order to do this I exercise and juggle calories from elsewhere. it keeps me motivated.


• I realised I don't like most diet food, so I don't eat it. I just eat a bit less.


• I weigh all my carbs without fail


• I eat wholewheat


• I've mostly given up alcohol. Sweet treats were more important to me. 


• I eat smaller portions - its not as painful as I thought it'd be


• The Hairy Dieters book is BRILLIANT


• I home cook from scratch as often as possible


• I follow healthy eating blogs and I belong to a supportive Facebook group. We all need cheerleaders.


• I give myself days off and don't feel bad about it - this is a lifelong change. I'm not fat because I eat Easter eggs at Easter. I'm fat because I eat a packet of biscuits every day without thinking about it


• It wasn't my willpower that was lacking, it was my ORGANISATION. Meal planning and shopping ahead make healthy eating far more likely


• My tastes are changing the longer I eat healthily. I'm not even that keen on McDonalds these days. This is a very big deal for me.


• I forgive myself if I make poor choices.


• This is controversial - Slimming World didn't really work for me. I lost weight initially but I failed to keep it off (many, many times) because it didn't teach me about portion size. I needed to be more directly connected to calories in order to re-educate myself.

There are more, I'm sure. If anyone wants to add me on My Fitness Pal or Runkeeper, I'm ClaireBoynton. I'm happy to provide encouragement and support.

If you're inspired by this post, please will you consider sponsoring me for the Hull 10K? I'm raising money for the Jane Tomlinson Appeal. She was such an inspirational woman, and a great example of someone who achieved what she set her mind to. The charity does great work in supporting children's and cancer charities - sadly I have known too many people this year who've been diagnosed with cancer - scarily all of them women, and all of them my age. One of them is no longer with us :( 

If you can afford it, £1 would make such a difference. 

https://www.justgiving.com/Claire-Boynton2/

 

With love

 

Claire x

 

 

 

 

This woman's work: Limoncello and amigurumi

Just a quick post tonight, as its late and I am exhausted. Its been a busy day at the cottage. The baby fed, quite literally, all night and I woke with a sore back from twisting around her slightly in bed. Thankfully I feed her lying down an night, so I managed the odd doze. I awoke late, so Charlie was late for school and, because I'd had to wake her abruptly (and she hadn't had enough sleep either,) the baby was grumpy. Just as I'd poured myself the first cup of tea of the day, Jonny appeared and said he'd missed the school bus. 15 minutes later I'm driving us all the 15 mile round trip to school.

I've tried to work today, honestly I have, but the darkness and the horrible, cold rain has conspired to prevent me from being too motivated. I cut up some paper, and finished my hand and footprint tiles, which I will share with you another day. I am pleased with them. Then, right on cue, Florence woke up and I spent most of the rest of the time baby wrangling. Or baby wrestling, as my friend calls it. Florrie's a big, heavy baby now who won't sit still. She's prone to suddenly arching her back and flinging herself around. Wrestling is an accurate description.

Still, the baby went into the sling and that gave me chance to work on the next stage of the Christmas alcohol - home made Limoncello and Blackberry vodka. I spent a relaxing couple of hours mixing up sugar solution, sterilising jars and pottering about.

 

The now sweetened lemon vodka will now retreat back into the fridge for a week to infuse some more, before I strain the lemon zest out and bottle it. 

Here's the recipe in case you fancy having a go. There's still time before Christmas

Limoncello

6 small unwaxed lemons

1 litre bottle vodka - cheap will do

750g caster sugar

750ml boiling water

 

1. Wash and sterilise a large Kilner jar by putting into a cool oven for 10 mins (gas mark 1/ 140 degrees C)

2. Wash the lemons, then grate the lemon zest finely, taking care not to take the pith (ha!)

3. Put lemon zest into sterile jar and pour over the vodka. Secure well and store in a cool, dark place for one week. Shake everyday - it looks like a snowstorm of yellow snow (nice)

4) After a week has passed, measure out the sugar into a large bowl. Add freshly boiling water and stir carefully until the sugar dissolves.  You can tell when the sugar has dissolved as it goes clear, and if you put a spoon into the mixture, you can't see or feel any granules on the back of the spoon. Stir the lemon infused vodka into the sugar syrup.

5) Wash the Kilner jar, along with another of the same size, and sterilise both. Pour the combined mixture of lemon vodka and sugar syrup into the jars. Store for another week, shaking every day. Strain the Limoncello through a clean muslin cloth and decant into pretty, sterilised bottles.

Store in the freezer and drink neat, use in cocktails or pour over ice cream.

 

 

The blackberry vodka is proving to be more of a challenge as we've gone a little off piste with this. We wanted to use the blackberries left over from the railway jelly, so we bundled them into a demijohn and added vodka. I've been keeping notes. I'll share them with you at a later date.

 

I also wanted to share this little dude with you. Well, dudette. It's Cactus Jacqui!

How I enjoyed making her! The pattern was free, enjoyable to crochet, and I made her up in a night! a perfect project. You can find the pattern here.

Cactus Jacqui is part of a gift I've made for a handmade Secret Santa. I need to post her tomorrow, hopefully the postman will deliver her safely to her new home on the other side of the country.

 

Well. That wasn't quick, was it?! Thanks for hanging out with me again, though, its always fun.

Claire x

 

 

So, I've been keeping a little secret....

And before you ask - NO! I'm not pregnant! hahaha.

Earlier in the year I had the good fortune to come across some very lovely ladies who work at All Craft Media, the publishing company that produces such brilliant magazines as Handmade Living, Sew Hip, Knit and Inside Crochet.  The link was made through the Folksy blog, as they were looking for craft writers. I sent off a quick 'hello' with some ideas, fully expecting to hear nothing in return. To my amazement I was offered a regular gig - a monthly column at Handmade Living. Yippppeeeee!

I've got a few editions under my belt now, so I wanted to share them with you. I wanted to keep this under my hat for a bit, because it didn't seem fair to share the content of my pieces with those who had not read the magazine. I'm going to use my blog to share the back story of my pieces, and to point you to the places you might buy this magazine of fabulousness. It's available from Hobbycraft, WH Smith, Morrisons, Asda, Sainsburys and Martins. Good local newsagents will order it for you if you ask them. You can download an individual digital edition by clicking here, or you can subscribe by clicking here.

Here was my first piece:

Called "Tea at Nan's" this piece reminisces about my summers as the youngest child of a gaggle of 10 cousins. We would chase each other around the vegetable patch, play hide and seek and feed our dolls with a bakelite pink plastic teaset.

 

 

Sunday tea was always a special occasion. There were loads of us crammed into my Nan's best room - twelve adults, ten children and sometimes other friends and neighbours. The adults *all* smoked - the men mainly smoked pipes, from what I recall, and I still remember it's heady scent, mixed with the tang of coal dust, fondly. After tea we were allowed a sip of sherry mixed with lemonade, if we were lucky. I don't even think that the adults were allowed undiluted sherry, and one was very definitely everyone's limit. My Nan was extremely concerned about What The Neighbours Might Say.

 

Whether it was winter or summer, tea was always tinned salmon sandwiches (cut into triangles; a luxury in our house), plain crisps bought from the pub, salad separated out into individual bowls and pork pie. Woe betide the person who ate the last slice of pork pie! Pudding was a community affair - my mum and most of my aunties were keen bakers, so we often had a selection of home made shortbread, chocolate cakes and - best of all - my Nan's pointy little rock buns. These delights were usually served with warm Cornish ice cream (Nan had no freezer, so someone would dash to the village cafe for the ice cream before Tea, and we would eat it semi-melted.) Strangely enough, our family would also eat bread and butter with their pudding - my Mum tells me this is a war time trick to make the good things go further. Even if it sounds weird, brown bread and butter with ice cream is delicious, believe me.

During The Tea, my Grandad's friend would always turn up with a contraption that was something important to do with racing pigeons. To this day, I'm not sure what it was. As a five or six year old, I was never allowed to accompany Grandad to talk to this man in the hall. Instead I used to stand next to the door, and push my face against it's creamy, smooth gloss paint in an effort to work out this mystery.

 

I thought I'd share with you the recipe for my Nan's delicious buns. The photos are ones that I took this summer, having given them a bit of a modern facelift. Nan's were always plain and, as I said earlier, always pointy. They didn't come in fancy cases either. This is a war time recipe passed down my family, and it's still just as good today as it ever was. I only need to bake a batch to be transported back to my Nan's happy, hot and slightly damp house. My sons love them too, unaware of the history behind them. Enjoy! X

 

225g Self Raising Flour

85g Margarine

30g Vegetable Fat (like Trex)

110g Caster Sugar

2 eggs, mixed with milk to make 1/4 pint

 

1. Pre-heat the oven to 90C / 200F / Gas Mark 6

2. Rub the margarine and fat into the flour, or whizz in a food processor, until it has a breadcrumb-like texture

3. Mix in the sugar

4. Whisk the eggs and, if they measure less than a 1/4 pint, top up with milk

5. Add the egg mixture slowly (I drizzle it in whilst the food processor is whirring). The final mixture should be a dropping consistency - slowly add more milk if it's dry.

6. Spoon the mixture into greased bun tins, or paper muffin cases.

7. Bake for 15-20 mins until golden brown.

 

You can change the recipe by adding 110g of dried fruit, glace cherries or chocolate chips. You can also substitute 30g of cocoa powder for the self raising flour. Decorate with melted chocolate and brown sugar.

 

Summer Update Part One - Baby Knitting and Adventures With Cake Part Two

Hello, blog lovers. I'm sorry I haven't had chance to pop by, but it's been a BUSY summer so far. I hope you are well and that you are having lots of fun with your crafting adventures and your families.

I'm doing just fine. I had an ME flare at the beginning of the summer, and was stuck in bed for about three weeks. That was incredibly frustrating as it just came out of nowhere with seemingly no reason. Having said that, it did pass eventually, and I need to remember to simply be patient and remember to just let it all wash over me. As luck would have it, my best friend Naomi was about to have a baby, so I spent that time knitting a couple of lovely little jumpers. I made a lilac baby hoody, which was so adorable my ovaries winced, from this pattern booklet (which was the one I very first re-learned to knit from, back in 2002) 

Yes, I made that little square hat. It was green with navy stitching. I even knitted the little garter stitch jacket in shiny green. It looked OK after I had finished (OK, brilliant in my eyes), and I was extremely proud of them. However, when Charlie came along three years later, he looked ruddy awful in them. And so they have never been worn, and will be lurking around somewhere in the loft. They're not so badly knitted (honestly), they're too bulky and badly shaped. Although, to be fair, it IS difficult to make a nice baby garment with just garter stitch and no shaping, I am sure. 

I also knitted that checked blanket. It took weeks and was so wonky that I threw it away. Sadly, no-one had told me about the joys of blocking. What a waste!

The other little jumper I knitted for the baby, who has now been born by the way and is an adorable bundle called CHARLOTTE, and is very obviously not a boy as we'd all believed, is from this fabulous blog: http://www.whattoknitwhen.com/ It's an adorable blog, and an adorable little cardigan, knitted in one piece:

Now I'll be honest, I haven't finished this one yet and it's gone onto the WIP pile. It is, therefore, entirely possible that lovely Charlotte may not be it's recipient given the rate that baby's grow. But I have adopted a new sentiment, which is that of the "hope chest." Mine is a small chest of drawers in the spare bedroom. Whenever I fancy knitting baby items (which, let's face it is frequently, given how adorable they are, and how quick they are to complete) I can make an item without guilt, and without needing to know a pregnant woman. These lovely items are blocked, labelled with their size, wrapped in acid free tissue paper and put into a plastic zip lock bag, ready for any appropriate gift giving opportunity. I hope to live a long time, and have a lot of babies to knit for amongst close family and friends (even if I have no more myself.) Therefore this is an entirely practical, and NOT RIDICULOUSLY EMOTIONAL thing to do at all, obviously. Even if all I do is give them to a charity shop, at least I get the enjoyment of knitting them in the first place. It's taken me a while to convince myself that these are not the actions of an almost menopausal woman who would actually quite like another baby even though it's pretty much impossible. These are, indeed, the actions of a benevolent, mature woman, for whom it is a sensible decision. Honest, guv.

 

Oh, and Aunty Pauline was 60 and I made her a cake. 

It was great fun, but it literally took a week to make. Which is why I don't do these things professionally.

I won't leave as long next time!

Thanks for dropping by,

Claire x

 

 

 

Adventures with Cake! Part 1

In more cheerful news, we have had a couple of BIG family birthdays this month. My Father-in-law Baz, or Pops as my boys call him, was 65. He finally retired from his job as a school caretaker, which he absolutely loved. At this moment, he and my mother-in-law are sunning themselves on a cruise of the Med, the lucky things, in celebration of the next stage of their lives.

There are a few things you need to know about Baz. He's a musician, and a self confessed ladies man. And he looks a bit like Father Christmas. As he's a big flirt, my mother-in-law asked me to make him a booby cake. A BOOBY cake?! Well, erm OK then, it could be a laugh....

 

I made two cakes, one a vanilla sponge and one a coffee cake - Baz's favourite. I baked them both in Pyrex mixing bowls, as the cake needed to feed 60 at his surprise birthday party. This took HOURS - about 3.5 hours per cake! After this, I cut them in two places and sandwiched them back together with vanilla buttercream and sieved home made raspberry jam.

The sugarpaste came from the fab Squires Kitchen, an online shop that I could spend hours browsing (and often do). It took me about 3 hours to ice the cake, having covered it roughly in more buttercream.

The best fun for me, by far, was making the cake topper. I have a really talented friend, Jenny (http://www.hillandatree.com/) who does fabulous things with Fimo clay, and she'd inspired me to have a go myself. I'd seen wedding cake toppers, and wanted to make a model of Baz playing his guitar. It was marvellous fun.

The structure of his body is made from wire, with tin foil putting flesh on the bones. The clay then needs to be softened and rolled out quite thinly and wrapped around the tin foil. This was not as easy as I thought, especially for his clothes. Eventually I blasted him with a paint stripper gun. It felt a bit odd (and could, I imagine, be quite cathartic, depending on the member of family one had modelled...)

I was quite pleased with the outcome. Quite a good likeness I thought...

 

The party was brilliant - Baz had no idea that most of his family and friends would be there, so was thrilled to bits. The cake was a hit too - and apparently a lot of fun was had at the end of the night after we had gone home.

Do you think boys ever grow up?

Lots of love

Claire x

Saturdays

Saturdays are a lazy affair at The Cottage, especially in winter. Jonny always goes to football training, so often Dom goes with him taking a flask of coffee and reads in the car.

Today, Jonny was at a friend's house for a sleepover. Instead Dom, Charlie and I rolled out of bed late and trundled down to our local garden centre, Sandhills, for a mug of tea and a bacon sandwich. Yum.

Sandhills is one of those places that sums up our weekends. It's a pretty relaxed, run down even, sort of place but the food is good. I like to spend an hour wondering amongst the flowers whilst Charlie plays in the play area. They have pet sheep and chickens, giant rabbits and a pet shop next door with parrots and tortoises. You don't need to dress up, or wear make up, and everyone is polite but distant enough for early morning anonymity. Just the place for a young family to enjoy mooching.

This afternoon I will finish the tassles on my Doctor Who scarf and block it - the taa-daa picture will come soon. I had an order last night for eight metres of pirate bunting, so I have a date this afternoon with a mug of tea, my sewing machine and radio 4.

Dom will clean out and feed the chickens, check the bees are OK and get on with some DIY jobs around the house.

Saturdays here are a quiet, home based affair. I'm glad we don't go shopping or other traditional Saturday pursuits; there's something very lovely in marking time in this slow, domestic, cosy way of ours. Soon it will be time for working in the garden; I'm enjoying the chance to laze around whilst it lasts.

Claire x

PS Lucy at Attic 24 has a fab recipe on her blog for cheesy nibbles. I may have a go at baking these this afternoon.

 

'Just Do It' week

I am not the world's most organised person. I mostly like to sit around and make things and do stuff that I enjoy. I don't think so much about the stuff I don't. My home is prone to untidiness, much to the irritation of my slightly OCD husband. I am also rubbish at getting jobs done, and very talented at procrastinating. If it were an Olympic sport, I would represent England.

The only way I can cope with it all, to be honest, is to make like Nike and have a JFDI week from time to time. I used to call them OOTS weeks (out of the sh**); slightly more descriptive, but the idea is the same.

This week I WILL get those irritating jobs done that I like to put off. I WILL return the broken Soda Stream that led to a disappointing Christmas day. I willl freeze the casserole and roast the pork. Most important of all, I guess, I have some personal things that are long overdue - I'm having a smear, I've got my hair cut and coloured (BIG sigh of relief), I'm going to the dentist and so on. None of these are much fun, and some of them are expensive. However, I'm thinking of JFDI weeks a bit like my annual MOT. I should probably get my eyes tested too.

I've made a cup of tea and I have some crocheting to do, so I'm going to have a leetle break for now, but I am going to JFDI, just mark my words. And if you see me anywhere on line, please give me a big kick up the backside. I thank you.

Claire x

Busy Busy Busy!

Well, it's the last day of the Easter holiday for the boys, and the first day back at work for Dom. To ease the shock (and my guilt) I have made some homemade bread and lamb tagine for dinner tonight. I am feeling guilty because I took Charlie to school on a teacher training day. Oh my! Black mark in the good mothering chart, again.

I hope you are well and it's lovely to see you again. Isn't the spring weather lovely? This morning I was singing 'my favourite things' in my head and pondered upon the line 'silver white winters that melt into spring'. We sure had a silver white winter this year, but not much melting. January was snowy, February was cold and grey and damp, and then in March it was like someone turned the dial to 'spring'. One day of lovely sunshine and we never looked back.

We had a fun Easter - I had a go at making my own chocolate eggs (fun) but left it until Easter Sunday morning before the kids got up (stressful). Will I never learn?! In my defence, Dom and I had had some horrible virus, but really I should have done better. I did, however, bake a trio of cakes (Bakewell cake, simnel cake and passion cake), make lemon curd, and freshly bake a plaited easter loaf so that our families all got an "afternoon tea" hamper as a gift. Domestic goddess reputation restored then ;o) Sadly I did not take any photos as I crawled into bed to feel poorly and sorry for myself not long after.

We had a fab day at Whitby with our friends Andy and Lucy and their daughter Lauren. Andy has an iPhone and Lucy is six months pregnant and I am not sure which I was more jealous of! The broody bat has stayed away, but I do have the realisation that I don't have many years left to make the choice, and now would be a good time career wise. However, I have been so ill over the last year, and I am enjoying my crafting so much .... And so the dilemma goes on. The boys had a marvellous time. They especially enjoyed searching for fossils and were sure they came home with some dinosaur poo. Riiiight.

Charlie, who has recently been obsessed with broken limbs, was sure he had broken both of his ankles when we returned. I did get a bit worried about him as he refused to walk all day. However, the next day, he leapt into our bedroom and shouted "taa-daa! I can walk!" So we experienced a little miracle of our own. I put it down to aching muscles - boy we walked up some big hills. I nearly died, but had to pretend I was really very fit (which I am absolutely, completely and utterly, not). Less cake, methinks.

Whitby is about an hour and a half's drive from our house. Three if you get stuck behind a tractor. There aren't any motorways, so it's pretty coastal roads and 'A' roads all the way which I love, and reminds me of Sunday School Outings and old fashioned days out.

Funnily enough, Whitby feels quite exotic compared to our usual seasides. Locally, they are pretty quiet with just the odd purveyor of buckets and spades and fish and chips. Bridlington is good, but a bit, ummm, scruffy. A bit too much of the chips and amusement arcades for my liking.

Scarborough is really lovely, but I have only been once. Filey I have never been to. I aim to rectify that this year.

Charlie was amused by the donkeys on the beach at Whitby, with their bright painted harnesses and big cow bells. He was desperate for a go, but we didn't get round to it and the donkeys packed up before we realised. Also, there are various boat rides including, as you see above, the pirate ship. It's definitely something I want to do this year too. I love this picture because of it's quirkiness; how I long for a decent macro lens...

Anyway, there are jobs to be done so I will hop off. See you tomorrow.

Claire x
  

 

Smile

 
  
YEEEEEEE-HAAAAAWW! The Horrible Task is done! I did it! Me! And I lived to tell the tale. AND, on the back of the success of tackling the Scary Paperwork I have made a phone call and received two. I am so proud of myself my heart I could easily explode. It sounds silly, really, that I could be so floored by something I once took for granted. Funnily how life can change and how quickly.

I found out that the business had been making a loss long before I thought it had. I should have known this, I know, but it was a classic case of burying my head in the sand. Also, I was so busy taking on extra teaching work to bring money into the business that I had even less time to spend on managing the money. Looking at the figures in black and white, Dom and I both felt that we had closed the business at the right time, from a business perspective. The business had been losing money; we started to recoup that by expanding, but our income was reduced by a third when the recession hit, and it was a downward trend. We gave it a sensible chance to recover and didn't give up too soon either.

How do I feel about it? Relieved actually. I can see now that I was in a bit of a trap trying to keep everything running. I understand why the business had to close, and I don't feel as ashamed as I did. I feel as though I gave it my best shot, and hung on when other people would have given up. However, I don't think I hung on stubbornly when it never was going to get better; I was sensible and, for some reason, that feels important and gives me more faith in my own judgement, something I lost for some time.

Actually, it's been a pretty nice 24 hours. Charlie and I made a snowman yesterday, which is currently sporting a hand knitted scarf. I will take a photo of it later. I am making toad-in-the-hole for tea, which I am looking forward to disproportionately, and I am knitting a pair of socks. I have had a good go at my 101 in 1001 list - managed two alcohol free days this week, as well as the three phone calls. I am going to print off a list and stick it on the fridge, as well as sort out my blog files later.

I hope you are doing OK today.

Lots of love, Claire xx

101 in 1001 Challenge

1001 in 101 : The Project

 

It's January 2010 and I am starting to feel as though I am recovering from the depression. I need something to keep me busy, and to help me keep pushing myself and putting me out of my comfort zone little by little. The 1001 in 101 project seems ideal.

The idea is to make a list of things you want to do over the next 2.75 years of your life. Each task must be achieveable and time limited. Since I have recently experienced a very driven stage of my life in which target setting was a daily task, I will prioritise goals that I believe will bring me greater life satisfaction, happiness and self awareness. These may well be trivial to others, but will hopefully help me achieve my biggest goal: to discover who I am now and what I want to do with my life.

More information about this project can be found here: http://dayzeroproject.com

Start Date: 1st January 2010

End Date: 29th September 2012

The List

Items crossed out have been achieved

Items in italics are underway

 

 

Items Relating to The List

1. To write my list of 101 things and upload to my blog. (1/1)

Challenges

2. To make 5 phone calls a month

3. To answer the door whenever it knocks.

4. To go on an aeroplane. (0/1)

5. Smile when I want to cry.

6. Clear the credit card 

7. Complete a 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle (0/1) 

8. Ride on a rollercoaster (0/1)

 

Personal

 

 

9. To enrol on a new course. 

10. To dye my hair at least 4 different shades. (4/4)

11. To read a book every 3 months. (11/11) 

12. To wear wacky socks every day for a month. (0/30) 

13. To conceive my third child 

14. To grow my hair to my bottom. (1/1) 

15. To visit 3 stately homes. (0/3)

16. To visit at least two art galleries (0/2)

17. To visit at least one photography exhibition. (0/1)

18. To keep an art journal 

19. To crochet a handbag. (1/1)

20. To write a letter to the me that was in 2000. (0/1)

21. To write myself an letter that I will open in 2020. (0/1)

22. Make a will  (0/1)

23. Have a massage (1/1)

24. Have a facial (1/1)

25. See five films at the cinema (3/5)

26. Buy a piece of artwork I love (0/1)

27. Buy false eyelashes and wear them on a night out (1/1)

Health

 

 

28. To go to the dentist (1/1)

29. To eat my 5 per day every day for 30 consecutive days. (0/30)

30. To permanently reduce my alcohol consumption to 10 - 15 units a week

31. Go 30 days in a row without eating takeaway. (0/30)

32. Go 30 days in a row without eating chocolate. (0/30)

33. Swim twice weekly for at least three months

 

Romance

 

34. Spend at least 10 times beekeeping with Dom. (0/10)

35. Have at least one date per month with Dom, even if it is at home. (0/33)

36. Spend six weekends away with Dom. (0/6)

37. Send my husband a love letter (0/1)

38. Kiss in the rain (0/1)

 

Family

 

39. To start an open diary to Jonathan. (0/1)

40. Take the children swimming 5 times. (5/5)

41. Go camping four times. (2/4)

42. Own a new pet. (0/1)

43. Have a picnic. (0/1)

44. Go for ten walks on the beach. (2/10)

45. Create a piece of art with the boys for the playroom. (0/1)

46. Teach Jonathan to cook five dishes (0/5)

47. Teach Charlie to read (1/1)

 

Friends

 

48. Give 5 'I saw this and thought of you' presents. (0/5)

49. Send 10 handwritten letters. (0/10)

 

Helping others / the planet

 

50. Donate something for charity each month (money, time, items) (0/33)

51. Perform five acts of random kindness (0/5)

52. Donate blood four times (0/4)

53. Plant a tree for each decade of my life (1/4)

Craft

 

54. To learn how to do interstarsia knitting and produce an item. (1/1)

55. To open an Etsy shop to sell my hand crafted items. (1/1)

56. To knit a pair of socks. (1/1)

57. To knit a handbag. (1/1)

58. Make three quilts  (2/3)

59. Knit an item using only double pointed needles (0/1)

60. Make and felt an item for the house (1/1)

61. Dye a skein of yarn (0/1) 

62. Learn how to spin yarn (0/1)

63. Make an item of clothing for myself (1/1) 

64. Make an item of clothing for Charlie (1/1)

65. Attend a craft fair both as a buyer and a seller (1/2)

66. Crochet a handbag (1/1)

 

Blogland and T'interweb

 

67. Update my inspiration album once per month. (0/33)

68. Keep a blog of your personal achievements and photography that is updated weekly. Read it and feel good about your place in the world.  (0/143)

69. Leave a comment on someone else's blog every week (0/143)

 

Home and Garden

 

70. Hatch duck or hen eggs (1/1)

71. Grow at least 10 different sorts of veg. (0/10)

72. Take a course in butchery. (0/1)

73. Slaughter and cook a hen. (0/2)

74. Have cut flowers every fortnight. (0/72)

75. Decorate play room (1/1)

76. Decorate lounge (0/1)

77. Decorate hall (0/1)

78. Finish kitchen (1/1)

79. Make blinds and curtains for dining room (0/4)

80. Landscape / move plants to front garden (1/1)

81. Make new vegetable plot (0/1)

82. Use the Lady Shed for my projects between May and September

83. Put all the family photographs up in the hall (0/1)

 

Words and Pictures

 

84. To write 10 short stories. (0/10)

85. Take a photo of all 101 things. (0/101)

86. To upload a photo every week to HPAD group on Flickr (0/143)

87. Make a photo yearbook of our family life at The Cottage for each year (0/3)

88. Make a photo collage of each month at home in The Cottage. (0/33)

89. To organise my photo files every month. (0/33)

90. Take a photo of 30 happy things. (0/30)

91. Arrange Charlie's baby photos into an album (0/1)

92. Take family photos off computer and put into albums (0/1)

 

Seize The Day!

 

93. To jump in a puddle (1/1)

 

Culinary

 

94. Cook 101 recipes from my cookery books. (0/101)

95. Bake once a fortnight.

96. Eat in a Michelin starred restaurant. (0/1)

97. Make a birthday cake for Dom, Jonny and Charlie each year. (6/9)

98. Make a Christmas cake each year. (2/3)

99. Cook a souffle (0/1)

100. Buy meat from a local butchers 20 times

101. Try sushi (0/1)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Phew!

Well hello, old friends of Blogland, long time no see! I apologise for my slackness in keeping you updated recently, but it's been a busy, busy, busy sort of time. Also, I am thrilled to say, I have been feeling much more like my old self recently, and that is such a relief I can't tell you. I am hoping that the tablets are finally working effectively at last. I have had 3 good weeks of constantly good days - some anxiety and depression, admittedly, but on the whole days where I did not feel as though my day to day life has been seriously impacted by the depression. I hope you won't mind that I have been out enjoying this feeling and not posting on here.

Christmas 2009 has been and gone. It was an enjoyable Christmas. I wasn't bitten by the festive bug until 2 weeks before the big day, and then oh-so-sweetly. Unlike previous years, I didn't feel the need to run around like a headless chicken making sure everything was perfect, it just happened at it's own sweet pace. Mind you, last year I did twice as many preparations and hosted Christmas for 12 people whilst I was recovering from the flu - as well as running a full time business and working 20 hours per week. Looking back I can hardly believe I kept it going for as long as I did, rather than feeling as though I was a failure for having to stop.

We went to Mum and Dads' on Christmas Eve and came home on the 27th. This passed well enough. I did have a panic attack when some relatives I hadn't seen for years appeared with 10 mins notice on Boxing Day, just moments after Mum acknowledging she'd actually invited 11 guests for tea. However, I managed to control my breathing, let it wash over me, forced myself to go downstairs and got through it. In fact, I actually enjoyed parts of it!

We have had the most amazing weather this December - we had real, thick, proper snow! This meant we were housebound for 4 days just before Christmas but, given the amount of gifts I had to make, this all worked out fine. The children and I drank hot chocolate, watched Disney films and cuddled on the sofa, which was thoroughly lovely.

I finally made 28 gifts, which kept me very, very busy! They all went down very well, and I got some lovely comments. I think the nicest came from Baz, my father in law, who said very honestly "I think this is a lovely present, you've put in so much of your time and effort." Stating the obvious, maybe, but lovely to have that acknowledged rather than the somewhat snidey "aren't you clever?!" No, I don't home make things to make you look deficient. I home make things because I want to let people know I think of them and because I enjoy the process of making them. My Mum gave the most luke warm response, ironically to the gift that took the most time and effort. Fingers crossed the throw grows on her over time.

I wanted to share with you the end result of my freebie Christmas cake I talked about here:

Project 23 : Christmas Cake

 

 

Cost:

the price of 2 packets of marzipan and a packet of gold balls. Everything else came from the stock cupboard. Estimated £3.00.

 

 

Time taken:

3 hours, plus 3 hours cooking.

 

 

Lessons learned:

The most amazing things can be made with the tiniest of budgets. Icing isn't necessary when everyone loves the marzipan best anyway. Rolling out between layers of cling film is much tidier and leaves a lovely texture to the marzipan. Not using all the treacle, fruit, etc makes no difference to the flavour of the cake as long as enough booze is added. This can be cheap booze - I mainly used home brewed cherry brandy.

 

 

Satisfaction Rating:

10/10. Cheap, quick and edible!

 

*****

It's getting on for the new year, and I am spending a lot of time reflecting. It's been one of my toughest years, there's no doubt about that, but it's been an important year nevertheless. I am going to post all my projects over the next day or so, so I apologise in advance if oodles of information and postings suddenly appear. It's really important to me to get all of this creative stuff in one place. Standing on the outside looking in at my life has been a really helpful way for me to get perspective, and it's a habit I hope to continue.

I hope you all have had a wonderful festive season.

Big hugs and lots of love

Claire xx

PS The creative brain is ticking. Now I have worked my way through my Christmas to-do list, I am alive with ideas for projects! It's amazing, frustrating and great fun.

 

Quick Catch Up

November at The Cottage

Good evening ladies and gentlemen of Blogland. How are you doing? I hope you are well, relaxed and looking forward to Christmas.

So much has happened here in the last week, I really am caught up in a whirl of Christmas preparations. My knitting list feels as long as my arm and I am starting to feel the pressure to get the projects finished. I have completed the Christmas shopping, deep cleaned the house (downstairs, anyway), caught up on Mount Laundry, looked after Jonny when he was poorly, put up the Christmas decorations, been for another drive around Sunk Island, been to pottery - my word, the list seems endless.

It's not been a bad time, really, with a few exceptions. Dom had serious chest pains on the way home from work tonight, so went straight to the doctors - I know it must have been bad for him to do this as he NEVER goes to the doctor unless he's dying. However, all is well and the doc thinks it is a panic attack. That worries me just as much to be honest - he's working 60 hours per week at the moment, although he seems in bouyant spirit. He's happy to carry on as normal, but I really worry about him. And I worry that my illness is putting additional strain onto him too.

On Friday we had rabbot stew for dinner, and it was divine. I have never eaten or cooked rabbit before, but I certainly would again. It was very similar to chicken, but much cheaper. I slow cooked it with carrots, onions, mushrooms and parsnips and made gravy from the pan I browned the rabbit in, stock and flour. Washed down with lashings of home brewed beer. It was oh-so-yum.

The Christmas tree is up, which caused great excitement in Charlie, and typical teenage nonchalance in Jonny. I am a bit miffed because I let Charlie have complete creative free reign and it looks much, much better than my co-ordinated attempts in years gone by. Harumph.

Anyway, it's late and I have stayed up to knit Elijah the elephant as a Christmas present for Charlie. Isn't he a darling? I'm knitting him in the softest bamboo yarn, but it's really splitty and hard to work, so mine is not so good and looks much more like the elephant man. Ho hum.

Oh, and my £300 Ebay target is looking a bit shaky - I have 12 parcels to send out tomorrow and we've made £70. Grump.

Lots of love from East Yorkshire. Tuck yourselves in all lovely and warm.

Claire x

PS - this is a watercolour I've been working on recently. It's not perfect, there's a lot I'd change if I did it again, but what do you think?

Today is offically a holiday - tell your friends!

Last year, I worked my nuts off getting Christmas sorted. I try to think of original and thoughtful gifts; I make a lot of them. I handmade decorations and baked a lot in advance to freeze. Nothing came from packets - everything was homemade. I did all the shopping, wrote all the cards, had 10 people round for dinner on the big day, friends before and afterwards ad family staying for 4 days. I was really looking forward to it.

Then, guess what? 5 days before Christmas I got the flu. I honestly felt like dying, I don't think I have ever felt that ill. But I hauled myself up out of bed on Christmas Eve and, ever the martyr, made sure that Christmas went ahead as I had planned.

Whilst I was in the kitchen cooking dinner, I realised that everyone else was having fun and, having done the lion's share of the preparations, I was still working my nuts off, even though I wasn't well. And I felt a bit resentful.

This year I am making lots of changes. I am only going to do the things I want to do. And one of them is this: I am going to take lots of secret mini holidays in advance, to make up for all the extra effort. I think you should do the same. Email this page to all your girlfriends because I am, officially, giving you permission to have a mini holiday. It could be today, or any day, a whole day or just 10 minutes - but you must do something you enjoy, and you wouldn't ordinarily do. I am looking forward to hearing what you get up to!

I have already been to town and bought myself a few treats. I am now firmly planted on the sofa where I will stay until school time. I have:

New reading material

Coffee and chocolate

Fuzzy friends

Hooky loveliness (I'm crocheting together mum's throw before startig the border. It's at the pre-blocked ugly duckling stage)

 
  

Christmas shopping to do

(oh how I am tempted by the free apron)

and there is also a snooze to be enjoyed once I have finished chatting with you.

Given it's the middle of a difficult week at the end of a difficult year, it's raining horizontally and it's windy and cold, I have also decided to treat my boys. Although they will not know about my own treats, oh no.

When Charlie and Jonny come home from school, they will have a tea of boiled eggs, fresh from the chickens, with squirty cream topped hot chocolate, their favourite:

Unbenown to them, the pain au chocolates they grieved over this morning when they thought they were Daddy's, are being saved for a special pudding for two special boys:

Let's not forget a special Daddy, of course. I have not been easy to live with recently, and this is a little way that I can say 'thank you'. Once Jonny and Charlie are in the land of nod, Dom and I shall be enjoying a little treat that I picked up from our local market this morning:

Moules mariniere, with freshly caught local mussels and crusty bread to mop up all the delicious, garlicky sauce. Not forgetting a nice bottle of plonk:

 I have to dash now and begin my hectic schedule. Have fun with yours and, if you do nothing else today, treat yourself.

Lots of love and hugs

Claire xx

Autumn Sunlight

I have so much to tell you about, lovely readers. I hope you are feeling good today. It's gorgeous here, cold blue skies and warm, golden sunlight. The leaves are falling in the breeze. Such a lovely break from the gunmetal grey days of November.

I didn't take the photo above, obviously. I still have a lot of credit left over at www.istockphoto.com from before the magazine crashed. I don't like to use bought images as I think half the joy of blogs is the honesty of photographing your own life. However, this image has a sort of metaphorical touch, which I think is appropriate, so I hope you'll forgive my choice.

I don't want to jinx things, but I have noticed that my life has been imbued with a gentle glow. Suddenly, I am noticing beautiful things all around me.  I noticed them before, but I didn't feel them. Now I notice that I am starting to feel with my heart as well as my eyes. Which is a wonderful, amazing development.

I've had quite a lot of good days recently. The good days outnumber the bad. It's not that I have suddenly become Mary Poppins, far from it. There are still times of anxiety and fear in each day. But, on the whole, I have more perspective. It started from the simple decision to open the curtains one day.

I feel very blessed with my home. My pace of life has changed, I really have slowed down and am starting to look into the moment and ignore long term plans. This is a momentous change for me. Each time I clean, I feel lucky (madness, isn't it?) I take great pleasure in cleaning my nick nacks and rearranging my shelves. I am planning where my Christmas decorations will go, and how I will wrap presents. Last night, I needed some bread from the freezer in the garden. I spent a good long time looking at my home from the outside in, admiring how warm and homely it looks. It was a real surprise. I breathed in the soft light, the lovely bits and pieces, the comfortable cushions and blankets. It's not perfect - it's certainly not a showhome, but it's cosy. I was dreading this time of year, but actually I feel as though the scales have fallen from my eyes. I wrap myself in blankets, cook jam and cinder toffee, cakes and bread, and I spend my days making gifts and looking after the people I love. I feel very lucky.

Forgive me for the fluffy post, but this is a significant recognition for me. Rather than looking down the hole wondering how deep it is, I seem to be looking around and noticing it's not as ugly as I thought. Hopefully soon I will be looking upwards and making planning how I can get there.

Lots of love and big hugs.

Claire xx

Noticing the small things

Hello lovely reader, how are you today? I hope all is well with you and you enjoyed your weekend. Mine was surprisingly bright, actually.

I love, love, love the photo above. It's a moss covered rock by our pumpkin patch in the garden. The new habit that I am currently trying to learn is to notice detail. Look at the textures on this rock. It looks cold, slimey, rough and furry, doesn't it? I wonder what critters call it home? How much it's surface temperature varies? How and where it was formed? I know for sure that it has resided in Liverpool, London and now Yorkshire because Dom and I have transported this pile of rocks whenever we have moved house - I wonder where it was before? And how old it is? I don't know about you, but I really enjoy feeling very small. Thinking about how old things are always helps.

This morning Charlie and I were looking closely at spider's webs. There were two perfect specimens on the handles of his slide, and we spotted a tiny one on the railing at school. One of the other mums scoffed and said there were hundreds and, anyway, they looked better when "visited by Jack Frost." I don't doubt icy webs look beautiful, but dew drop laden webs look amazing too. I hope to teach Charlie to notice all the miracles around us that it's easy to overlook and pah! to the other mother; her loss.

We had a lot of fun over the weekend as we visited some old friends of ours, Martin and Naomi. They had a bit of a shin-dig at their house, with fireworks and sparklers. The children loved it, but I think the grown ups loved it best! Dom and Martin shuffled the kids into the house and then spent a good long time trying to blow up a pumpkin with fireworks, the big kids. I, on the other hand, enjoyed the wine and, oh my, the delicious food. There were hot dogs and onions, chicken soup, jacket potato with cheese and coleslaw, apple cake and dough nuts - all very much on a help yourself basis. I just love winter comfort food, and Martin and Naomi's home is always so comfortable and so much fun. It was just what I needed and it's perked me up no end. Naomi has had problems with depression in the past, and so little more than a few words, an understanding look and some acknowledgement was enough. It's wonderful to feel so accepted with so little fuss.

I hope you had a good time too, and you're feeling warm and cosy now these winter days have settled. If not, pour yourself a drink and enjoy a virtual hug from me. I get you.

The battery on my camera has run out, and I can't find the charger! Quel disaster! I don't have pictures of crafting, other than to say I am working on the crochet joining strips for mum's blanket. It's quick but a bit bland, so I am looking forward to getting my teeth into something else. I can't wait to show you Baz's scarf, I am so pleased with it. You'll love it.

Catch you later

Claire x

Winter is a-coming

Hello ladies and gents of Blogland. How goes it for you today? The weather has been odd here - darkness almost like night and heavy rain, then bright sunshine. And it's cold. Are you feeling the cold too?

To be honest, I had forgotton that I actually quite like this time of year. I always think of winter with dread. A couple of years ago I convinced myself that I had Seasonal Affective Disorder, but that was before I was prepared to acknowledge that it was common-and-garden depression. A lot of the blogs I read are mourning the loss of summer light and colour - I love that too, but I also like these dark days more than I remember I do.

This evening it's dark and cold outside. Charlie is tucked up all snug in bed. Dom is working in the kitchen. Jonny is watching a film, and I am on here talking to you. The house smells of a winter fragraced candle and the lights are dimmed. We are eating pumpkin soup and freshly made bread. The whole place looks and feels cosy. I am happy to wear socks, drink hot drinks, wrap up in blankets and light the fire. My only sadness is that we can't have a real fire in our sitting room as we have no chimney. There is one in the playroom, but that's not as comfortable and cosy.

I've got  a stinking cold though - how are you getting on with the winter germs? My tonsil is still swollen - it's been 3 weeks now - so I made an appointment with the doctor for next week. That's right - I used the phone today, TWICE! I am very proud of myself, even if I did cringe and hide when someone knocked on the door. Baby steps count. I am happy to chalk up the progress and ignore the weak spots.

Also, I want to show off my Christmas cake that I made yesterday, infusing the house with a warm, fruity, spicey aroma. Hmmmmm.

My main priority was to make something that cost as little as possible - and I am really chuffed with this one - it was free! Technically that's not really true, as I had to buy the ingredients in my cupboards in the first place, but it was adapted to include only things I already had in stock. I even managed to get the ready made icing from our local Co-Op for 29p!

It is loosely based on Mary Berry's classic Christmas cake.

625g sultanas

half a jar of cocktail cherries, chopped, plus the liquor

200g dried apricots, snipped into pieces

50g (2oz) mixed candied peel, finely chopped

about 10 dried prunes, chopped

150ml (¼ pint) Stones Ginger wine, plus extra for feeding

2 tbsp orange juice

250g (9oz) soft margarine

250g (9oz) dark muscovado sugar

6 eggs

75g (3oz) blanched almonds, chopped

50g walnuts, chopped

225g (8oz) plain flour

1½ tsp mixed spice

1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg

You need to begin this cake the night before you want to bake it.

1) Measure the dried fruits into a large bowl. Mix in the ginger wine, the orange juice and the cherry liquor and leave overnight.

2) Pre-heat the oven to 140 degrees centigrade, 275 F or gas mark 1. Grease and line a 20cm deep round cake tin with a double layer of greaseproof paper. I also greased a couple of muffin tin holes so I could make a couple of mini Christmas cakes, for testing (obviously very important!)

3) Measure the flour, spices, margarine, sugar, eggs, almonds and walnuts into a large bowl. Beat well with an electric whisk for 2 mins until the cake mixture is a light coffee brown colour.

4) Add the soaked fruit and fold in well until properly combined

5) Pour into baking tins. Last year I used muffin tins for mini Christmas cakes, and these worked brilliantly (although icing 12 individual cakes was a bit labourious.) Cleaned, empty baked bean tins would also work well. If you're cooking one large cake, double layer the top with greasproof paper. This isn't necessary with smaller cakes.

6) Bake in centre of preheated oven for 4 - 4.5 hours. For individual cakes start to check after approximately 90 minutes. It will feel firm to the touch when cooked, and a skewer will come out clean.

Allow to cool in the tin, then put into a cake tin. Pierce with a fine skewer and slosh on a couple of tablespoons of booze of choice weekly until Christmas.

The final result was a tangy, apricotty, nutty cake. It hasn't matured in flavour yet, so it'll be interesting to see if the spices become more developed. It isn't as dark and treacle-y as some Christmas cakes I have made, but personally, I prefer it this way.

Keep me posted on any changes you make if you attempt your own store cupboard Christmas cake. I love to hear how you're keeping the Christmas costs down.

Time for me to go now, and spend a happy half hour browsing my favourite blogs - you can see them by clicking the list in the left hand bar.

Take care of yourselves, and see you tomorrow.

Claire xx

PS Cadbury's Caramel Bites. To die for. Just try them.