A list of activities that could potentially earn Grown-Up Girlies a badge – so far.
- Craft activities – knitting, sewing, crocheting, embroidery badges, BUT you have to make something useful and grown-up for each badge – knitting an iPod, quilting a laptop bag, for example.
- Nature activities – finding leaves from 5 British trees, drawing the footprints of three different animals, following the Hockley Woods trail.
- Cooking – coming up with a meal based on three main ingredients, designing a dinner party menu for six people where one is vegetarian, one is wheat-intolerant and one is on a diet (see, grown-up issues).
- Exercise – we’d have to be able to manage a minimum level in five different activities – running, swimming, lifting weights, skipping etc.
- Literature – reading a book, and then giving a three minute review back to the group. Maybe have a creative writing slot, where we have to write a 500 word short story in a certain genre.
- Work – all I can think of this is creating a 2-page CV that has no spelling mistakes or lies.
- Music – be able to identify 5 No. 1 hits from each decade since you were born. Go to an opera. Learn to play one tune on a musical instrument (and the recorder DOES count).
- Gardening – grow one thing in a pot from seed to ‘fruit’ (or flower). Pick up a worm. Cook a meal using something you’ve picked form a garden/allotment (if you don’t have any food/herbs growing, you can ask a fellow GUGAS member if you can pick something from their garden).
- Fashion – I want to have this, because I’d like to learn something, but I’m not sure what to do. Maybe it could involve the personal shoppers at Debenhams.
- Housework – how to clean things with green/eco products and very little effort. How to declutter without throwing away everything you won. How to persuade the other people in your house to do their fair share. Sorry, this one’s a bit dull, but I like the idea of a badge for this.
- School subject-orientated things – history, geography, maths and religion ?
- DIY
- Drawing, painting
- Fencing, indoor wall climbing, ice-skating
There, my list so far. N (work) and I were discussing whether drinking 1.5 litres of water a day should count as a badge-worthy activity – and as GUGAS is yet to be a proper organisation, and the rules are open to change, we decided drinking water should definitely be on the list.
Today for lunch, I’m trying bacon and Gruyere scones. While it sounds like a nice idea, I’m not really sure what you eat with it to make it a proper lunch. The greedy person in me says “LOTS of scones” but I’m wondering if baked beans or a salad will be good.
I blame the new brand of coffee. I had two cups of it one morning this week, and then on the train I came up with a world-shattering idea : a grown-up Brownies ! Obviously I can’t actually call it that, as I’m pretty sure the Girl Scout Association, or whatever it calls itself, might object, but it’s really the best way of explaining it to people (to a book publisher, my local council’s community project funding board, potential members…).
It’ll be a group scheme, where members do certain tasks in order to gain a proficiency badge. The tasks range all over (I’ll have to find the updated list for my next post) from arts and crafts, through exercise and sports, DIY and school-type subjects. Each badge has a certain number of tasks you have to complete at a certain level in order to gain the award. However, you don’t have to do all the different subjects, just the ones you’re interested in.
Someone mentioned it sounds a little like the WI, which is also an inspiration. However, my local WI is really a tad too old for me (actually, my REALLY local one meets in the middle of the day, it’s the next-but-one-local-one I mean) and I know that I could start up a new group, especially if it’s for a younger demographic. But would they let me do badges ?! The badges are REALLY important.
Will ponder more about this. Have people at work, home and ex-work giving me ideas, and I already have ideas for the patron of our organisation (torn between Cath Kidston, Jane Asher and Jane Brockett, with also yearnings for Ray Mears and Carol Klein for the outdoor stuff). More to come…
Can I blame work again, for how tired I’ve been ? Or just the fact that not going to the allotment has made me feel really guilty and I haven’t been in the mood to blog ? Anyway…
Had to stop with the compost making as we were invaded by fruit flies, drawn by the kitchen caddy. So, I haven’t been to the allotment for over a month now. It’s raining this week, so there’s not much point going to dig up beds, but that’s my next thing to do.
Have been very active on the knitting front. I am almost finished Notting Hill Vest (just the sides to sew up); finished the armband on my Veste Everest (now completed); darned my favourite work top (but not very well); darned my Lord of the Rings socks (again, not very well, it’s more of a patch rather than a darn); started and finished the Thuja socks from Knitty; and the WIP box looks better as a result. I still have four more days of leave, so I’m hoping to finish the NH Vest, finish a scarf I started today (moss-stitch in the last of the Rowan Polar I have) and maybe start a pair of socks in some Lorna’s Laces stuff I bought last week. I was also hoping to start a long-line cardigan but Angel Yarns have been a bit naughty, by advertising sale yarn that they don’t have in stock. Which is a pain, and not particularly trust-inspiring. So I’m unlikely to get the yarn while I’m on leave, which was the whole point of ordering it last week.
I got Nigella Express and have been making a few of the meals from it. We’ve had the mini meatballs (lovely) and the pollo cac-something-or-another. The green eggs and ham pancakes were delish but very filling. Today we’re having the naan pizza and for dinner, the mustardy pork chops, as seen in the first programme. Oh, I also made the sauerkraut dish but it was pretty heavy and I didn’t put in the juniper berries.
The job is better. I met my first befuddled scientist (his hair was disappointingly neat though) and I think I scared another one by telling her how I’d been known to burn books I hated – she’d been asking my advice on what to do with 30 year old textbooks, thinking they had a value of some sort. Rather than snort ‘Pshaw!’ in her face, I gently recommended the recycling service offered in the building, but even then, she didn’t want to know (because developing countries want out-of-date textbooks, and antique collectors quiver at the thought of getting their mitts on university textbooks ?). So, I told her what I’D done with unwanted books in the past… To be fair though, it was just the two, and I’ve never regretted it. I would never have read them again, and I didn’t want to inflict them on others.
And speaking of books, I seem to have started a book club at work. There have been 40 responses to my post about joining or starting one up, but luckily, someone else seems to have taken the helm with me. We just need to find somewhere that can cope with 40 people. The first meeting is in two weeks’ time and we’ll just be discussing books we like. I’ve just read “The Girls” which was a lot more fun than I expected. It didn’t make me cry though, so I was a teensy bit disappointed.
They are definitely in a bad state. It looks like blight, and although it’s not my fault as such, the planting out would not have helped matters. Certainly the rain didn’t. And having the plants becoming very bushy and watering from above…well, could I have made any more errors ?! Got a bit upset yesterday at the allotment as J said she has blight too, and that it might be airborne, and now I feel everyone on the allotment is going to blame me. And then I couldn’t get back up from taking a closer look at the fennel – dodgy hip – and got scared that I’d end up spending the night at an allotment that I was coming close to hating. I’ve dug up some of the worst affected plants (putting them in a rubbish bag) but the whole lot may need to go. After all that, the most successful tomatoes have been the Tumbler variety, grown outside my kitchen window in a hanging basket. They taste lovely, even to a tomato-hater.
Visited the new Waterstones in Lakeside today and saw a sorry sight.* There was a man sitting at a table, surrounded by books, but no people. It seems he may have been an author doing a book signing. But no-one was wanting a book. And then, when I saw a poster advertising the titles, I thought I knew why. What a rip-off of Lemony Snickett ! The books look just like the Series of Unfortunate Events. Compare this to these and be glad you didn’t have to read the blurb too.
*Why a sorry sight ? I thought about it and realised this guy has got his stories published AND his publishers are happy to support him on a book signing. Loads of people are probably really jealous of him. Maybe Lakeside just wasn’t ready for a book signing.
Have taken a colleague’s advice and went to the allotment to cut back some of the excess foliage on my tomatoes. Unfortunately, it might be a bit too late. A lot of the beef tomatoes I was growing have fallen prey to a brown stain, which affects part of the stem too. I cut away as much as possible, making sure I gave the rest of the tomatoes some sunny room, but it was a shame, throwing away lovely big tomatoes. At least they were still green, so it wasn’t as if I’d been planning on picking them any time soon. Still…
Have finally finished the sleeves on Gigi. I had to go back quite a way on the first sleeve, as I’d lost count of how many rows I’d done. Finished the second sleeve tonight, so I’m ready to cast on for the body (worked in the round, so I’ll be commuter-friendly, no long needles poking anyone sitting next to me).
Oh, in addition to the fab old knitting patterns, I also received a brand new knitting book, The Knitter’s Handbook. My ex-colleague got it for me for a pound, which makes me very happy (not that I paid, but it’s still nice to hear of someone getting a bargain). J gave me a crafts book once, which was also a real bargain. All that information for less than the cost of a magazine – and longer lasting.
Haven’t blogged about the new job yet, and won’t for a while, not until I get comfortable there. That might take a little while, longer than any job I’ve had since the Co-op, and that turned out to be very friendly in the end. I just can’t see that happening here, especially with my attitude at the moment. Latest bugbear – they won’t give staff time off to donate blood. And for those who know who I work for, consider the irony… Sometimes it’s more than money you need to give. I can stuff a fiver in every collecting tin I see, but if people need O positive blood, I think they’d rather have that than cash. It’s a bit petty, I know (on both my side, and the Organisation’s) but still, it irks.
ETA : I did get the time off in the end, but only after I’d sent an e-mail outlining how I was going to make up the hour in 10 minute increments. Petty on my part, no doubt.
I had my first tomato ! A cherry tomato from the hanging basket, and very tomato-y it tasted too. I’m hoping the sun will hold out for another week, but after seeing the weather warnings (rain, and lots of it) I don’t think the tomatoes at the allotment are going to be red for at least a week.
Just finished reading “One Good Turn” by Kate Atkinson. Oh so good ! It’s quite frustrating, as there are a number of interwoven stories and your brain leaps ahead, trying to connect the characters. The end is brilliant but one thing niggles me. The last line of the book is the second phone call. When was the first phone call made ? I can understand it was made, and it makes you want to read the whole story again, but surely there should be a little clue ? Maybe I’ll have a look if anyone discusses this on the internet.
Much better driving lesson today, I was allowed to do right turns again, the really difficult roundabout near me and 40 mph along a bit of new road. And all because I had my trainers on. See, I knew the last lesson was all down to impractical shoes.
Tomatoes are coming along lovely. The plants are really thick, so much so that I can’t tell if there are weeds underneath. The Tumbler variety is ahead of the others, presumably because it’s a cherry tomato plant, and doesn’t have so far to grow. If the rain ever stops, it would be nice to see some of the tomatoes changing colour. Can tomatoes get too much water ? I know they need a lot, but how much is too much ? If I’d known we were going to get this much rain, I would have planted my watercress !
Oh, it’s all a blur. I’ve started my new job, and I’m so tired. I can’t even think about what I want to do. Even reading seems an effort.
I’ve potted on the chilli plants and picked just the best three. I’m hoping the pots are big enough. Goodness knows what’s been happening on the allotment – I haven’t had the time or energy to go round this week. I’ll need to go on the weekend, probably both days.
Terrible driving lesson yesterday. I forgot to indicate, I kept my foot on the brake, I gripped the wheel so tight that I crossed my arms, I stopped very unexpectedly, and in the end, I was glad we didn’t do any right-hand turns, which I’d started last week, but was obviously not capable of yesterday.
Made what I thought was a lovely pasta sauce but the Young Chap hated it. Plum tomatoes, garlic, celery, sun-dried tomatoes and a generous dollop of red wine, all simmered down into a gooey sauce. Delish.
Filed under: Allotment
I can barely speak, I’m so excited. My tomatoes are coming up ! I’ve got about 10 little green buds in the allotment, mostly from the bush-type cherry tomato (Tumbler ?). I even made my allotment neighbour come and have a look. And later on, his next door neighbour too…
I used the basil I’ve been growing in a meal and was rewarded by the Young Chap saying that he really liked the taste (he who doesn’t like herbs normally). In a few weeks’ time I’ll be able to use my own basil AND tomatoes to make a pasta sauce. Maybe next year, I’ll have grown my own onions and garlic ?
The excitement is too much, I may need to lie down…
Filed under: Allotment
Lots of activity recently. I weeded my two beds, and potted on two healthy celery plants. While I was weeding, one of my fellow plot holders came over (I’d said hello to her when I came in, as part of my new friendly approach. I feel silly saying hello to strangers but there are only 16 plots on our site, so I’d get to know these strangers eventually anyway). Not only did she give me some courgettes from her harvest, she pointed out that my carrots and my FENNEL was coming up ! I didn’t think the fennel would take, but it has, and it looks very green and healthy. So, Best Friend, your birthday gift is sprouting !
Just went into the back garden to clear up rubbish that a fox decided to, well, ‘bathe in’ isn’t too strong a word and checked on my seedlings. Eek ! The cucumber has been either nibbled on or beheaded – the leaves are gone from half of the seedlings. The chives have keeled over and the cauliflowers are Not Happy. I’d assume it’s because they don’t get much rain, being in the mini glasshouse (door is open) but the hanging basket tomatoes look the same. Hmm. Have watered them but am hoping this rain that’s been forecast will come along soon. The plot veg look fine, it’s just the stuff in the garden. And I know it rained in the garden because all the rubbish was soggy when I collected it up. Urgh.
