smallhobbit: (Gloucestershire Peregrine)
Week 4 had a creative theme, so I wrote a tanka:

Counting garden birds
Filling up the water bowls
Walking through the woods
Small steps to gentle progress
Building a lifetime's habit

And I downloaded a knitting pattern from the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, to knit a bittern - a 'knittern' for making later.

In addition, I downloaded 14 spotter sheets for use during different seasons (and therefore encouraging me to go out), plus masks and colouring sheets for our after school club.

Finally, I made a bumblebee felt craft brooch from a kit I'd myself a while ago.




Looking back on the 30 Days Wild challenge, it's been fun and hopefully will encourage me to do more - I always feel it would be a good idea, but finding the necessary motivation is important.  I've become a member of the British Trust for Ornithology (it's not very expensive) and have submitted two weeks' worth of garden bird sightings.  And I'm currently watching the house martins flying around catching flies.


smallhobbit: (Gloucestershire Peregrine)
Week Three had Learning About Wildlife as its theme.  I wasn't attracted to any of the possibilities, but the BTO website has lots of information I've been dipping into. I did get out and about a bit - less than I'd hoped, but it was HOT so not ideal for anyone.

However, I spotted a blackbird on two separate occasions (one male, one female), so I was able to submit my observations.

And yesterday, although not actually in the garden, I saw the house martins flying around, catching flies.  And also the house roofs at one point had a whole row of starlings, shouting about something - probably the threat of rain.  This is the tree they flew off to.



And my Week 3 badge:




smallhobbit: (Gloucestershire Peregrine)
Week Two was supposed to be about moving around and enjoying the wildlife, although for various reasons I didn't do that much.

Week Two )
smallhobbit: (Gloucestershire Peregrine)
As I said in a recent post I'm planning on keeping a photo journal, so here are Week 1's photos:

30 Days Wild - Week One )
smallhobbit: (crochet Holmes)
Two years ago I decided I would try out some new things, and trying something new has been one of my goals for the past two years, so it seems a good time to reflect on what I've done/learnt.

new things )
smallhobbit: (Lucas 4)
I have completed my poetry challenge, and my try 12 new things in a year challenge.

April Poems

1 - Henry & Abe Morgan (Forever): Haiku Classics Lover
2 - Tigger Holmes: Call & Response [personal profile] scfrankles 
3 - After Easter (ACD Holmes): Cinquain Okapi
4 - Tudor Kings & Queens (Historical RPF): English Sonnet [personal profile] dariaw 
5 - Richard III (Greg Hicks) to Buckingham: Rime Royale [personal profile] grondfic 
6 - Harry Potter to Severus Snape: Limerick [personal profile] alisanne 
7 - In praise of Laura Hobson (Lewis): Italian Sonnet ComplexLight
8 - Mrs Hudson in 221B: Rondeau Debriswoman
9 - The Colour of the Ferret's Fur: Colour Poem Okapi
10 - Richard III (Toby Manley) to Lady Anne: Rime Royale [personal profile] grondfic 
11 - Goat: Limerick [personal profile] bunn 
12 - Lucas North to Adam Carter (Spooks): Limerick [personal profile] dariaw 
13 - Lucas North to Adam Carter: Love Poem [personal profile] dariaw 
14: Mouselet in 221B: Rondeau Debriswoman
15: Thorin to Bilbo, via Raven: Haiku [personal profile] moth2fic 
smallhobbit: (crochet Holmes)
And so another year of goals draws to a close with a chance to reflect on how this year has gone.

Goal No 1 - Write all the things

This is always a satisfying goal to look back on.  This year I've really tackled AUs.  I've written every month for [community profile] whatif_au  and surprised myself and some of my regular readers.  This month's contribution Lock Up Your Daughters is a double - western and soul mark/mate AU.  I've also been writing Harry Potter drabbles and verses, some of which are more explicit than my normal writing.  I've added a further 15 badges to my [community profile] fan_flashworks  collection, bringing the total to 103.  Total words since the beginning of January 43,000, which means I'm on course for this year's lower total of 150,000.


Goal No 2 - Write a monthly pastoral assistant post

This has been surprisingly useful to me, to see how things have progressed and changed over the year, and to enable me to reflect on my feelings on various matters.  I shall be writing my last formal post in a couple of weeks' time.  Perhaps inevitably initial enthusiasm has been tempered by the reality of time, but also circumstances change and I can see I'm still able to contribute, although possibly in different ways from those I'd originally expected.


Goal No 3 - Try twelve new things

The great success of the year.  During the year I have visited Dennis Severs House and the Sky Gardens in London.  I have tried to learn some Polish and a little sign language, plus using my left hand for a day.  I have tried some artwork.  Craft-wise I've completed a sewing project, crotcheted Holmes, cross-stitched a bookmark and completed a hardanger piece.



I've also written Ninety-nine Words and am currently working on a poetry challenge April Poems

So this has been a very worthwhile goal, one I'm delighted to have had.  And overall I'm pleased with the way the year has gone.
smallhobbit: (Forever Henry)
This month's challenge, as some of you may be aware, is to write different forms of poetry.  It turns out to be American Poetry Month as well, so perhaps an appropriate month for the challenge.

I shall be aiming to post one poem a day, although, since there are two sonnets requested, this may not be possible.  The first, a Forever haiku for Classics Lover is now posted. I will not be posting to either LJ or DW on a daily basis, but will post a final summary at the end of the month.  If you wish to follow on a day-by-day basis then you may like to subscribe to the work: April Poems

So far, with alternatives, I have 15 prompts, so there are still spaces if anyone else has a request.
smallhobbit: (Default)
My final craft challenge was also set by [personal profile] hardboiledbaby  .  This was to do some Hardanger.  Not a craft I'd ever heard of, but I read up a bit and got myself a kit:
hardanger )
Simnel cakes )
smallhobbit: (Default)
For my final challenge in the year of challenges, I shall be looking for help from my flist.

[personal profile] moth2fic  wrote in my original challenge post "You enjoy writing and trying new formats etc. Have you tried poetry? Not everyone is the next Wordsworth (thank goodness) but something like haiku could be interesting to investigate - either as totally original reactions to the nature you see in your photographs, or as short responses to things in the lives of e.g. Mouselet."

So, flist, now's the chance.  Please prompt me with poetic form (and if you chose something very complicated you may well be disappointed, or I shall revert to doggerel) plus a subject, be it fandom, pairing, prompt words, or any combination.

The first verse will go up at the beginning of April and I'll see how far through the month I get.
smallhobbit: (Default)
If everything had gone to plan, this month I'd have been cooking something from a different culture.  But without being sure of a day when I could devote myself to the cooking, I decided to go with a different challenge and not one suggested by my flist.  As part of my birthday present from my son and his wife I was given an origami set.  So I decided to attempt origami, after all, it satisfied the terms of the challenge, being to try something new.  I managed all but two of the pieces - those two the instructions were impossible to follow, so I threw them away.
pics )
smallhobbit: (Default)
Just a quick summary to record where I'm at with this year's goals:

Goal 1 - Write all the things

Having written almost 185,000 words last year, I'm settling back to my aim of 150,000 this year.  So far I've written 17,000 plus some for the Lewis casefic which I'll total at the end of the month, when hopefully it will be finished, which means I'm about on track.

My Grantchester SmallFandom Bang is written, although I need to do the editing following Okapi's helpful beta.  I wrote four Chocolate Box ficlets this time - assignment, pinch hit and two treats.  I'm continuing with [community profile] whatif_au  which is definitely a challenge, plus [community profile] story_works  which again takes me outside my usual writing sphere.  And I've started writing for Harry Potter drabble communities, again as a change.

I don't feel as driven to write at the moment, but am enjoying the variety and therefore can claim to still be writing 'all the things'.


Goal 2 - Write a monthly pastoral assistant post

I will continue to write these for the rest of this year (ie the last one will be in April), after which I think it's unlikely I will continue.  I've had less involvement over the last couple of months, due to personal commitments, but also I know I'm putting myself forward less.  At the moment I'm not inclined to push to do more, and we'll see what transpires over the coming months.


Goal 3 - Try twelve new things

This has been amazingly successful.  I shall be writing about my current challenge later this month.  It's not one suggested by my flist, but something I chose as easier to achieve at the moment.

In the meantime, my cross stitch continues to grow:

cross stitch )


Future Goals

In a couple of months time, when I finish my current year I shall be looking at goals for the next one.  Goal No 1 will remain - I find keeping track of how much and what variety of writing I do very helpful.  Goal No 2 will change.  And Goal No 3 will be complete, as I shall have tried twelve new things.  I'm thinking next year's goals should build on what I've achieved this year, with a continuation of something to do with craft - which I've thoroughly enjoyed - and also making more of art since I've scarcely done anything with my new pastels.
smallhobbit: (crochet Holmes)
The challenge to do some cross stitch came from  [personal profile] hardboiledbaby I bought myself a kit:
cross stitch etc )
smallhobbit: (Default)
This was a challenge suggested by Okapi and I finally got round to trying it out yesterday.  I'm right-handed, so I attempted to do things with my left hand, with varying degress of success.  I can brush my hair left-handed, but the tangles seem more resistant.  I can clean my teeth left-handed, but I went over them again with my right hand.  Some things it just depends which hand is available - carrying stuff downstairs, drinking tea (probably unsurprisingly I can use a mug in either hand - nothing is going to keep me from my tea).

I ate my porridge with a spoon in my left hand.  I slowly buttered bread with my left hand.  I used the normal hands for eating dinner, because swapping knife and fork would have been too much for my brain.  I washed up with my left hand.  I tried to pour tea with my left hand, but the teapot handle was hot so I reverted to the right for the sake of safety.

Some things are clearly easier to do if your dominant hand is your right hand.  I touch type so writing fic was no different.  I use a mouse with my right hand by preference, but I forced myself to use the left hand for one simple game.

It was an interesting challenge and quite a fun one.  Just remembering to use the other hand was at times a challenge of itself.

crochet )
smallhobbit: (Default)
And therefore time for another review of this year's goals.

Goal No 1 - Write all the things

My wordage so far this year stands at 168,000, which exceeds last year's final total, so yay!  Once again I've been considering Get Your Words Out, especially as this year there will be the option to pledge for number of days rather than total words.  After some thought, because it seems like a good idea, I've decided against signing up.  I already keep a writing diary in which I note what I've been writing on, plus the words written for a completed fic, so I can see if I've not written anything at all (even a blog post), because there's a blank space.  And I know why there are the occasional spaces, so I don't feel like signing up and giving myself unnecessary pressure, not at this stage.

I've written about 60% of my Small Fandom Big Bang, which this year is Grantchester.  And I've also written a significant part of the next Lewis casefic in my Oxford Tales series.  I've been regularly participating in whatif_au and finding I'm not that keen on AUs.  I've produced something for apocalyptic, time travel, magic and space, none of which inspire me.  I enjoyed the war AU (so many periods of English history to use) and spooky in October - the only time I write spooky.

I'm continuing with my usual challenges, and have written for Holmestice and Yuletide.  Only one new badge from fan_flashworks this time, but there aren't very many I'm working for at the moment:




Goal No 2  - Write a monthly pastoral assistant post

This is continuing.  The next one will be done next week and may well have various thoughts because I have been thinking.


Goal No 3 - Try twelve new things

I haven't managed this month's challenge yet, but maybe tomorrow ...

crochet )
smallhobbit: (adipose)
One of my flist suggested I try crochet, as their friend crocheted film characters, but I can't find who it was.  If it was you, please wave!

I bought myself a set of crochet needles:

crochet )
#####

Meanwhile, I have finished my sewing craft.  I was very pleased with the end result and my grateful thanks to Debriswoman once again for providing the kit.

sewing )
#####

Lastly, SM bought me a small Christmas sewing kit, so, although not technically one of this year's challenges, here's how it's going:

stocking )
smallhobbit: (Default)
This was suggested by Okapi as of benefit to some of the things I do in church.  Initially I thought about BSL, but then realised if I was intending to do this properly it would require more than a month, so I decided to learn some Polish instead.  There is a significant Polish contingent in our area, so it seemed logical.

I signed up for Duolingo and began the first lessons.  But after nearly a fortnight I realised I wasn't going anywhere, although I had a large list of vocabulary.  I have nothing to hang the language on, in that there's no similarity to any of the other languages I have a smattering of.  And nothing was going in.  I decided to admit this wasn't working and stop, rather than battling on for another week.  On the plus side, I now have a certain feel for the language when it's spoken.

To the replace this, I've been watching a youtube video with basic BSL greetings, which means I might at least be able to sign 'welcome' which would be welcoming.

I haven't even done much of my sewing.  We were away or out most of the weekend, and this week I've been sorting odds and ends for our holiday and have generally been feeling uninspired.  All I've done is sew one button, which I think helps to pull the appliqué together better for this square:
pics )
smallhobbit: (Default)
Well, it is if the year begins in April, which is when I set my current goals.  So how are they going?

Goal No 1 - Write all the things

Wordage for 2017 is now at 130,000 which remains ahead of both last year, and my target to date.  I wrote less over the last couple of months, but I'm still pleased with where I'm at.  There's been a drop in the things I write regularly, which has partially accounted for the fall in words, but I've taken part in ACDHolmesfest, Stage of Fools, and Spook Me.  (All of which I have to thank Okapi for beta-ing for me).  This year I've signed up for Holmestice, and I've just got my Yuletide assignment, which I'm happy with.

I've also achieved four more Fan Flashworks badges, including my 200 posted works, which can't be bad.

         


Goal No 2 - Write a monthly pastoral assistant post

This is continuing, although interesting I doubt I will be continuing to post as regularly next year.


Goal No 3 - Try twelve new things

I visited the Sky Garden in London back in August, and last month I began a sewing craft, which is still ongoing.  I've also started something else, of which there will be more next week.  In the meantime here are some more of my craft photos, beginning with the final quilting, to which I added some chain stitch because it seemed to be missing something:

Craft photos )
smallhobbit: (Default)
This was the suggestion of Debriswoman who then extremely kindly sent me a kit complete with all the necessary materials and full instructions.  The idea is to make a simple basket, using various different techniques along the way.

I'm enjoying the challenge, although my stitching is decidedly wobbly.  It's not complete, because there have been days when I haven't been able to add anything to it - either from tiredness (sewing is not easy then) or other activities (yesterday the daughter visited and she graciously allowed me to take her shopping, before we went out for a meal).  But that's okay, because I shall carry on.  And in the meantime, here are some photos of my progress:

Sewing craft )
smallhobbit: (Default)
This was [personal profile] complicatedlight  second suggestion of something different to do in London.
Sky Garden )

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