Tag2010 goals

10 goals for 2010 – penultimate update

I’ve not done an update on my goals for ages so thought it would be nice to do a quick one with some time still to go before the end of the year.

1. To make a meal using only ingredients I’ve grown, raised, caught or killed myself.
I completed this in July but as I mentioned in August, it wasn’t really about one meal – it was about learning, growing and cooking.

The garden continued to produce courgettes/marrows all summer, and later on we got tomatoes, chillis, beans and potatoes. There are still leeks & brassicas in the ground for overwintering and harvesting early next year. Some things were a bit of a failure, other things a roaring success. I’ve learnt a lot from doing it.

Because of gluts of output and because of wild food (particularly fruit – plums & blackberries) finds, I’ve learned quite a lot about preserving over the last few months – we have a cupboard full of jams, chutneys and pickled eggs. Speaking of eggs, the girls are still producing like crazy – averaging about 3.8 a day (ie, mostly 4 a day but occasionally just 3). We’ve learned new ways of using up these eggs so we’re not always having omelette and scrambled eggs – for example, we made fresh egg pasta recently – fun and yum!

Other learnings: I’ve been grinding more baking and I also went on a course to learn how to make cheese at the start of September. It was with LILI in Gateshead and combining it with seeing some ace old friends, it was one of my best weekends ever. I haven’t made any hard or even soft-but-with-rennet cheeses at home yet but that’s been a question of time, space and equipment more than desire. John’s also been learning about homebrewing – we’ve got 2 gallons of cider, a gallon of wild plum wine & some ginger beer from James’ ginger beer plant on the go at the moment – so I’ve been learning about that by osmosis.

On the wild fruit, I’ve been picking and identifying mushrooms all year and the weekend before last, we went on an organised fungi forage – very interesting and heightened our interest in the activity further. As I said in my blog post on The Really Good Life, it’s slow going though, learning about mushrooms and wild food in general, but that’s possibly not a bad thing.

Speaking of The Really Good Life – that’s my new more focused blog which documents all my eating, making and doing activities — more interesting content, less silly pictures of cats. If you read these blog, you should definitely read that one too!

2. To travel to a place on my “top ten places to go before I die” list.
As I said last time I did an update, this year has been very home-focused so we’ve not travelled and I’ve not minded that at all. I wrote up my top ten list as a blog post – because I first wrote the list on a little notepad about six years ago, and I have no idea where the original is now – but I decided not to post it because I’m having hippy issues with the whole idea. The way we’d have to do it feels too much like consumerism, to have not to be. It requires further thought and revision.

3. Finish writing my second novel.
Yeah, no. Still nothing here. But I have been writing – actual pen on paper, or fingers on keys writing – more lately. Due to my involvement with Bingley Little Theatre, I’ve been thinking that sort of thing than novels but it all stems from the same writing lobe and I’m just happy to be writing more again.

4. Make some sausages at home – wet English style ones and cured ones too
Still not done this but still really want to.

5. Spend at least a day fishing out on the North Sea.
I organised this really badly. Or rather didn’t organise it, that was the problem. Eventually though, I decided to set a date for it – but then there were dog sitting issues and John-being-busy issues and we bumped it a week – and by then the fishing excursions had finished for the year. Doh. Definitely for the list next year though.

6. Finally finish learning how to drive.
We bought new L plates. That’s as far as I’ve got on this one.

7. Make a full outfit’s worth of clothing for myself – including spinning any wool used.
I had a plan for this during my week off recently – my first full week off in five years! But either my sewing pattern reading skills or the pattern itself (or a combination of the two), let me down. The pyjama pants I made looked like they belonged to the clown version of MC Hammer. However, the year isn’t over yet and I’m going to try again. I’m also going to look out for a course/person to mentor me in making a few items, so I can get into the swing of things.

8. Learn how to program and make a mini-game/application using Ruby
Still stuck on my hashes issue. Given winter is approaching though, I might get back into it.

9. Climb a mountain or at least a jolly big hill.
Like the fishing, another failure to organise and now it’s a bit too wintery. However, as I’ve said before, we’re walking every day with Lily and that’s a good thing. Most weekends, we go somewhere slightly further afield than our woods, just for a change of scene, so we’re getting about a bit – but just a few miles at a time as she’s made it clear (emergency trip to the vets clear) that she’s not up for super long hikes at her age.

10. Participate more in the real world – plan/run a real life green event or scheme.
While none of my green plans have come about, and are unlikely to at this time of the year, I’m definitely participating more getting out and about more in the non-internet world because of my involvement at Bingley Little Theatre. As well as the two classes I help teach, I’ve been involved with three productions there this year (two with the kids, one with adults) and am lined up to help with another in January. The last production, the adults one in October, involved me GALLOPING ACROSS THE STAGE CLACKING TOGETHER COCONUTS. If that isn’t involvement in the real world, I don’t know what is.

10 goals for 2010 – update

A bit late with this update but nevermind, I forgive me.

1. To make a meal using only ingredients I’ve grown, raised, caught or killed myself.
Hurrah! I did this one! I blogged about it when I did it: I made courgette potato frittata thing, with a side salad, and everything in it, except for a teaspoon of oil, was from our garden or the woods at the bottom of our garden.

I can’t remember whether I’ve said it on here or just to people in person, the goal of these goals isn’t the goal itself (…), but the journey I’m taking in order to achieve it. In order to meet this goal, I’ve had to grow my own veg & herbs, learn about wild foods and, in the case of the eggs in this one, acquire & care for chickens. Learning to make sausages, how to kill & butcher a chicken and perfect slow rise bread have all been part of this goal too. Next month, I’m booked on a cheese making course so I learn how to do more exciting things than just paneer and soft cheeses, and I still really, really want to learn how to fish. So I guess what I’m saying is that while I’ve technically achieved this goal, I’m not going to strike it off the list because I want an excuse to continue on the journey. The goal now though is to make another meal – something different than courgettes & eggs – and ideally including something I’ve caught/killed too, for the variety of experience.

2. To travel to a place on my “top ten places to go before I die” list.
The year so far has been very home focused so we’ve travelled the least in years. This isn’t a problem, I’ve not minded in the slightest. There is still time before the end of the year I guess, but we’ve got nothing planned.

3. Finish writing my second novel.
Stagnation. Still been thinking about the other idea but I’m getting a bit bored of that now so maybe I’ll refocus. Probably not though.

4. Make some sausages at home – wet English style ones and cured ones too
This was going to be my birthday fun day project but I ended up cold smoking cheese instead. Now I’ve cracked the smoking thing though, I really want to make sausages that I can smoke. (Insert smutty sausage-smoking joke here).

5. Spend at least a day fishing out on the North Sea.
Since re-reading “Drop City” by TC Boyle again, I’ve had a major hankering to learn how to fish. Definitely bumped back up my priority list. Perhaps in September.

6. Finally finish learning how to drive.
Done nothing on this. Got the anticipated kicking from people for my comments last month.

7. Make a full outfit’s worth of clothing for myself – including spinning any wool used.
Not really done much on this recently. Very much want to get back into sewing again – might have a day off later in the month, get my machine down from the top room and see what happens.

Haven’t done any more spinning yet after the bruised palm incident but I’ve started crocheting a small blanket using the wool I dyed at the start of June – looks ace – and I’m hoping that’s my gateway drug back into crafting after a few garden-focused months.

8. Learn how to program and make a mini-game/application using Ruby
Really need to get over my hashes hump so I can move on.

9. Climb a mountain or at least a jolly big hill.
Because of Lily, we walk daily and while I’d stop short of calling us fit, because of that, I think this goal is a helluva lot more attainable now than it was at the start of the year. Just got to get it organised really.

10. Participate more in the real world – plan/run a real life green event or scheme.
I’ve put a fair bit of time into trying to organise something but it hasn’t come to anything yet. Bit disappointed with myself on this one. Will keep trying.

10 goals for 2010 – April & May progress update

1. To make a meal using only ingredients I’ve grown, raised, caught or killed myself.
April was an interesting meat-y month – we learned how to kill & dress chickens, and we also learned how to make sausages. It was also the proper start of seedling season – and that’s continued in May. So far, we’ve only had lettuce from the garden (winter gems) but the seedlings have been going well. This year is an experimentation year – I’m growing lots of different things to see how things grow in our new garden and also getting used to the different beds (two have proven to be shallower than expected, two deeper).

We’ve also been on a Wild Food Foray, which was a lot of fun and very interesting. I would like to go on another specialising in woodland wild food since that’s our main habitat.

My second attempt at a sourdough starter (after a first failure during the cold cold winter) failed miserably at the start of May – when everything came to a bit of a halt because I was sleeping 14 hours a day and tired for the other 10. However, we learned about slow rise bread while out on the Wild Food Foray and I thought that sounded bloody brilliant – so I’ve been grinding that lately. (Grinding in the levelling-up-at-video-games sense rather than the wheat-ears-to-flour sense.) Although each loaf takes nearly 24 hours from start to finish, it’s a relatively cheap thing to grind at and John is loving all the good, fresh bread.

2. To travel to a place on my “top ten places to go before I die” list.
Nope, still nothing on this one.

3. Finish writing my second novel.
I started to read through what I’ve written so far and while I haven’t done it so far, I know what my next step is (re-drafting while typing it up), then I’ll continue with the story.

4. Learn how to make sausages – wet English style ones and cured ones too.
As I said in #1, yes! Done this one! One goal off the list – hurrah!

Well, we made English wet ones and we learned the theory of making ones for curing (since it’s essentially the same). We also figured out we could use our half garage for hanging – it’s out of the way so it won’t stink up the house, quite cool and could easily be made a little more ventilated. Now it’s just a question of getting a mincer and giving it a go.

5. Spend at least a day fishing out on the North Sea.
I’ve done some research into dog-friendly places to stay on the coast, but that’s it so far.

6. Finally finish learning how to drive.
Done nothing on this.

7. Make a full outfit’s worth of clothing for myself – including spinning any wool used.
I learned how to spin today! Ok, technically that’s a June thing but sshhh! I’ve had the day off today and decided to learn a new craft – I intended it to be dyeing but when I went to the wonderful Textere Yarns (somewhere I’ve been intending to visit since before we moved to Bradford), they had lots of pretty coloured roving so I decided to give it a go instead. It’s lots of fun but my shonky homemade top whorl drop spindle is showing its shonkiness already so I’m going to get a better made one I think (and/or try to make a better one myself).

Today I’ve also started making a light dressing gown for myself for summer – from some lovely fabric I got from a random great fabric shop on Leeds Rd. I couldn’t find a decent pattern/how-to online so I’ve kinda made it up as I was going along, based on the theory of making a kimono wrap for a baby. I’m going to finish it tomorrow – if it works out, I’ll write it up and arguably, by itself, it’ll also be a full outfit, or rather an infit ;)

Tomorrow, I’m also going to try dyeing stuff – got some boring shop-bought dyes to start with but I’m hoping to go natural and find some suitable leaves at lunchtime when we’re out with the Lil’ dog.

8. Learn how to program and make a mini-game/application using Ruby.
I’ve returned to my programs and stuff a couple of times but as I said in my last update back in March, I’d reached a bit of a hurdle in my book, and that’s pretty demotivating. However, my list of ideas for simple programs is growing so I’ll get back to it soon.

9. Climb a mountain or at least a jolly big hill.
Still doing a lot of walking with Lil – or rather a lot more walking than we ever used to. Tom keeps mentioning Snowdon and/or the Three Peaks so maybe, maybe.

10. Participate more in the real world – plan/run a real life green event or scheme.
Again, lots of ideas and I’m *almost* ready to take the first step on two of them.

10 goals for 2010 – progress update

Right, we’re a quarter of the way through the year – am I a quarter of the way through my goals? Nope.

1. To make a meal using only ingredients I’ve grown, raised, caught or killed myself.
This feels like it’s moving on a bit now as the sun is shiny and there are potatoes chitting, seeds in pots of soil and many more seeds to meet their soil this weekend. Plus, there is more wild food about now – I “caught” some wild garlic the other day and have plans for the nettle shoots springing up everywhere (and maybe even try the cleavers).

2. To travel to a place on my “top ten places to go before I die” list.
The only places I’ve travelled to this month have been Liverpool and Bingley. So, not got any further with this one.

3. Finish writing my second novel.
Thought about it this month than I did last month. Have yet to apply pen to paper. Sigh.

4. Learn how to make sausages – wet English style ones and cured ones too.
We unfortunately couldn’t make the wonderful course at Old Sleningford Farm last month but are trying to organise going on another one with them, maybe later this month. Still can’t wait – was gutted about having to miss the last one.

5. Spend at least a day fishing out on the North Sea.
There has been preliminary talk of a week in a cottage on the coast in May-ish – my fishing may coincide with this.

6. Finally finish learning how to drive.
Nothing happened with this. Buses from Bingley still frustrating but I’m now passing the time crocheting & listening to TTC lectures — much more productive than if I drove.

7. Make a full outfit’s worth of clothing for myself – including spinning any wool used.
I’ve pretty much stopped playing WoW again for now so I’m crafting more. Working on a (dog) blanket at the moment but I’m determined to start something clothes-y soon.

8. Learn how to program and make a mini-game/application using Ruby.
My progress has slowed with this but I’m still doing bits. My book suddenly got less usable though so I’m looking for other resources.

9. Climb a mountain or at least a jolly big hill.
Last month, I alluded to something happening that would make this goal a lot easier to accomplish – the arrival of Lily. We’ve walked so much this month! Actually, it’s lessened a bit over the last week or so – the initial excitement of her new environs has worn off and she’s happy to run about everywhere off-lead while we dawdle a shorter route behind. Still, way more exercise than we used to do.

10. Participate more in the real world – plan/run a real life green event or scheme.
Getting out and about more with the dog has made me a) talk to more local people (albeit just doggie small talk so far) and b) see more of the area. The brain cogs keep turning.