2025 Challenges - February

 include the challenges for the month

2025 Challenges - January

Staying away from Bored Panda for a month was tricky for the first week, and then it became easier and easier. By the end of the month, there was no decisions to be made, it was just something I don't do anymore. If only all time sucky things were so easy to ditch!

Writing every day was also surprisingly easy.  It felt really good putting pen to paper and allowing the Honey Hill story to flow. I had thought all of the research had been done, but no, there's more happening almost every time I write. Thankfully, I've learned to mark my writing, and edit in the researched information.

2025 Challenges

No New Year's Resolutions for me. Instead, I'm planning on completing 25 challenges this year. The idea is to make small, but meaningful changes in my life, even if they just last a month.

I'd also love to read/listen to 52 books, make 52 items, and try 12 new recipes. 

Books: List of 2024's Books

1. Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

2. The Very First Damned Thing by Jodi Taylor

3. Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor

Dublin 'Trilogy'

A Man with One of Those Faces

The Day That Never Comes

Angels in the Moonlight

Last Orders

Lemon Crinkle Cookies

Ingredients
INGREDIENTS
150g caster sugar
zest of 2 lemons
70g  butter
½ tsp vanilla bean paste (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
2 medium eggs, room temperature
2 tbsp lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
240g plain gluten free flour blend (Doves Farm Free)

1 tsp baking powder

For rolling

100g granulated sugar

90g icing sugar

Method

Add the sugar to a large bowl, and zest the lemons over the sugar. Combine well the sugar and zest.

Melt the butter, and add to the lemon sugar. Also add the vanilla, and whisk to combine. Add the eggs, and continue to whisk. Next, add the lemon juice.

Mix the flour and baking powder, and add to the wet ingredients, using a spatula until a smooth consistency is achieved. The mixture will look like a batter at this stage. Chill in the fridge for 2 hours (or even overnight). This will firm up the dough to a consistency that can be rolled.

Preheat the oven to 180ºC and line 2 large baking sheets with parchment/baking paper.

Each cookie is made by taking 1 tablespoon of dough, and forming it into a ball. Roll first in granulated sugar, then icing sugar until the dough has been cover. If the dough is sticky, coat hands in icing sugar. 

Place the cookies on the lined baking sheets, about 5cm apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes, on the middle shelf. The cookies are done when the cracks no longer look wet or shiny. The cookies will be very soft and delicate immediately out of the oven. Allow them to cool on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Arm Exercises

1. Wall angels – 10 reps

Stand with your back against a wall and put the backs of your hands against the wall by your side. Maintaining contact with the wall, slowly slide your hands up the wall towards the ceiling, return to your side and repeat 10 times.

2. Incline press ups – 10 reps

With your hands on a bench/step/sofa, concentrate on lowering your body in a straight line. 

3. Knee tucks – 10 reps each side

While still in a press-up position, lift one foot and bring your knee up towards your chest. Return to starting position and repeat on opposite side.

4. Straight arm plank with shoulder touches – 10 reps each side

Still in the press-up position, widen your foot stance and squeeze in your torso holding a strong position, lift one palm off the floor and touch the opposite shoulder, return to starting position and repeat with the opposite hand.

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I've no idea if I'll be able to do all of these exercises, but I'll give them a go. Protecting my shoulders against dislocation is a higher priority than pretty arms.

And Bingo was it's name-o

 

"Bingo Wings" - the wonderful name given to flabby upper arms. It is thought to be derived from when women wave their arms in the air when they call out in bingo. It's a rather derogatory term.

However, as a woman in her 50s, I definitely have them, and I don't want them. I feel my expectations are pretty fair; the chances of eliminating them altogether is absolutely tiny, but I should be able to do something to improve them. Therefore, I'm using my standby motto, 'Make it a bit better'.

To this end, I'm going to employ SMART - Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound.

S - I want to reduce my bingo wings

M - an reduction of 0.5cm

A - I hope it will be achievable in the time frame

R - There's a dress I want to fit into comfortably, and smaller wings would allow this

T - I'm initially using a date of the end of August.

I've no idea if that is realistic. But I can but try. If it isn't then the contingency is 3 months. There should be enough time in that to see some benefits.

July Declutter

 

13th - 15th of July

30 items of rubbish removed from Offspring's bedroom

July declutter

 

1 hot water bottle
4 cuddly toys
1 jacket
4 toiletry items

July Declutter

1 cookery book
1 pair of shoes
1 packet of biscuits
3 new spools of thread
4 partially used spools of thread

July Declutter

Eight items from the linen closet were decluttered, along with two items from the Offspring's bedroom.

I realised there's quite a number of rooms that have now been decluttered. Done so far are the front entrance hall, the bathroom, the shower room, the loo, and the back vestibule.  Although the back vestibule is where the charity donations and items to be disposed of at placed before they leave the house.

It's also rather lovely there's not much more to go in the bedroom. I don't think there's much to go in the kitchen either, but there's quite some organising to do in there.

The places that need most work are the dining room, the guest bedroom, and the Offspring's room.But for the moment, I'm just going to be happy five areas are decluttered, and everything has a place.

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The hexagons for the Temperature Blanket now total 62. Only another 31 to do this month. If I keep up the pace of 2 hexagons per day I'll have to cut back to one per day in December. But, I can use the extra crochet time to start edging the hexagons and joining them together.

July Declutter

 

5 produce items ( moved from the fridge to the compost)
5 more toiletry items (thank you, Offspring)

And now the fridge and shower room are looking quite a bit better.

July Declutter

8 items of clothing (4 worn out, 4 donated)

2 toiletry items decluttered from the shower room (thank you Offspring for the declutterings)

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Not much of anything else has been happening. I caught what the Beloved had, and I'm now suffering with it.

July Declutter

 

A further 10 paper patterns are going out for recycling. I had not realised quite how many I had collected.

The forty items decluttered have not take up much space at all. However, it's a good start, and it tidies up the space a little more.

July Declutter

7 dressmaking paper patterns

1 reproduction of a painting 

1 children’s book in Italian

1 pair of trousers

At work, we are sometimes able to take home some dressmaking patterns. I've found myself collecting an number of them. So far, I haven't made a singe one of the patterns!  It's time for a cull.

When we were in Ireland, many years ago, I bought a reproduction of a painting from one of the museums in Dublin. At the time I was swithering, but the desire to have a tangible memory of the visit won out. The reproduction was bought, even through I was not in love with it. 

This poor print has languished in its transport tube since then. It's time to let it go, and to remember to only buy art I love, or that provokes joy. The giraffe in the entrance hall makes me smile each time I see it. That's the sort of art I need and want in my home.

July Declutter

Decluttered:

3 balls of yarn
3 bottles of juice
4 cans of fish

Why yes, I did venture into the kitchen. How did you guess?! The food and drink have been donate to the local food bank. There's no sense them sitting on my shelves when someone else could have use of them.  

It's time to start making regular donations to the food bank. 

July 2024 Goals

After a huge lull, I'm back to making goals for my life.

This month, I have a few goals:

1. to eat better

2. to declutter 10 items each day

3. to make 62 hexagons for my blanket

4. write or research every day.

Yesterday, I found a chapstick, and 9 items from my crafting space. The chapstick was put in the rubbish bin today, and the crafting items were taken to the shop this morning. This evening before dinner, I sorted out a tube of expired handcream, and 9 more crafting items. These will follow the same fate as the items I sourced yesterday.

Food-wise, lunch was leftover chicken risotto, and dinner was chicken and spinach pasta, a small jelly, and also some yogurt and granola. This is a huge improvement on yesterday.

No hexagons have been made, but writing has been perpetrated.

Entry Hall Makeover (cont.)

The other side of the entry hall has been completed. 

On the wall, there's a coat rack  to hang coats and hats. When the pegs are not required, they can be folded away. Initially, I was going to go with a far more traditional coat rack to fit in with the traditional style of the house, but when the others were consulted, they rather like this design too. 

Behind the door is the electric panel. Previously, it had been hidden by a bamboo blind. Now, there's a fabric curtain instead. 

This little room, about 1.5x1.5m, is now a light, bright, calm place. There's colour from the shoe rack (cherry wood), the key bowl (copper tones), the deep green o the plant, and the softer greens in the fabric. It all flows rather nicely, and brings a smile to my face. It's a serene entry, but rather practical too.

Entry Hall Makeover

Giraffe by Dawn Kennaugh

The entry hall has been pretty much untouched for the whole time we have lived in the house. It was desperately in need of a makeover.

As you enter the small space, there's  an enclosed shoe rack. A small umbrella plant sits atop the rack, and beside it, a bowl made from keys. Hanging above this on the wall is a limited edition print of a giraffe by Dawn Kennaugh. I smile every time I look at its beautiful, quizzical face.

The walls and ceiling have been painted a simple white. 

Carrot Cake Muffins

Ingredients

2 medium carrots (grated)

4 Tsp maple syrup

2 Tsp oil

100ml plant milk or apple juice

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

130g SR flour

1 tsp cinnamon

Glaze

6 Tsp icing sugar

2 tsp lemon juice

Method

Mix together all of the muffin ingredients. Divide into 6 muffin cases and bake at 175C for 15-20 minutes.

Mix the glaze ingredients together until smooth. Whilst the muffins are still warm, brush the over with the glaze.

Notes

Very lightly adapted from a recipe by Fit Green Mind.

They were rather too moist. I've reduced the apple juice a little. It would also be good to include some chopped walnuts into the mix too.