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.
Had a brilliant driving lesson yesterday, everything was pretty smooth. I did stall the car, but I know why (had a car up my arse, and then another car pulled out in front of me and then just stopped there. I stopped nicely but then tried to get started in a hurry and … stalled). I’m hoping that by the end of August, we’ll have started doing new things, as I’m starting to feel more and more comfortable with things like braking, turning left and right at junctions and roundabouts big and small. I even picked my own route home at the end of the lesson. I really love my lessons, I haven’t had an upsetting one yet, though there have been incidents obviously. I can’t wait to get a car, I’m really looking forward to it. I watch traffic all the time now, when I’m on a bus, or crossing the road. I wish I could have more lessons but it’s not really practical at the moment.
Am coming along with Gigi. I’ve started decreasing for the waist, and it was coming along luvverly, until a fellow traveller decided to fall asleep next to me. He snored, he wobbled, his head fell forwards and backwards…very off-putting so I’ve put it away for the day.
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.
Today I received a bag full of knitting patterns from an ex-colleague. Some of them date back to 1962 ! They’re actually quite wearable except for a few of the 80s ones. What happened to knitting in the 80s ? It looks like it was all shoulder pads and mohair and geometric colour schemes. My ex-boss pointed out the socks with individual toes, which I am so tempted to make. They’d be horrible for wearing inside shoes, but I could wear them about the house, pretending I’m being photographed for a feature in “Jackie” circa 1978. Oh goodness, I could even make each toe a separate colour !
And back to reality… I got hit by another car in my driving lesson yesterday. I’ve never been in a car accident before, it was less intense than I thought. The other driver was very apologetic and my instructor was fine, not blaming me. Still, a horrible thing to happen. We then got caught up behind a lo-o-o-o-ng trail of taxis, on their way back to London after giving some children a trip to the seaside. I imagine it was a charity event, and they looked very cheerful, all the taxis were decorated. I got a chance to practice stopping and starting, cruising at very slow speeds, all valuable lessons for if I ever travel in London.
Saw this :
It’s one of the web projects from the latest issues of Knitscene (link goes to the list of Fall 2007 projects). After my bad luck with tank tops, I obviously am not going to be knitting this for myself. The Young Chap and Step-pa don’t wear tank tops. I have a very nice uncle who seems as if he’d wear this sort of thing. Shall I ? He is VERY nice. And I’m going to make it anyway…
Filed under: Knitting
With the news that I’ll be starting my new job soon, I decided I needed to finish all those craft projects I had on the go. So, on Friday I went to The Sewing Box and bought some buttons for the Fairly Easy Fair Isle cardi. It’s miles away and it ended up taking me 10 times as long to travel there and back as I actually spent in the shop. But it’s a little treasure trove – they sell everything you’d expect of a decent haberdashery, and it’s all crammed in. They even sold 7mm double pointed needles, which was very tempting (I’d like to make one of my cousins some thick socks to go snowboarding in) but I decided against.
Anyway, I’ve sewn one of the buttons on and it makes the cardigan seem quite girly (the buttons are pink china/plaster roses) but it was going that way anyway, with the pastel colours. Today I also finished off the Lucky wrap. I am not happy with the way it falls off my shoulders, but I think I can resew the edging on and tighten it up a bit. I also finished the skirt I’ve been fretting about for weeks. Well, to be frank, I also only really just started it, the fretting involving nothing more than cutting out the material and then leaving it on the floor for three weeks. My first zip ! I could do it a lot better next time, and I used the wrong stitch to put the ribbon trimming on, but it’s a learning process. I might wear it tomorrow for my driving lesson. That way, it’ll be like dipping my toe into the water – I’m wearing it ‘out’ but not so that everyone can see it. I might even be brave enough to wear it to pick up the Young Chap from the station.
So, that’s all my nearly-finished pro…no, damnit, it isn’t. Have just remembered, I have a grey tank top I’ve been meaning to finish off for months.
It looks awful on me, so I haven’t been inspired to finish it, but it’s going to make a fabulous present for someone (or hey, I could lose weight and reduce the size of my chest by, ooh, eight inches). Oh, and there’s my stripy socks and the Gigi jumper… it never ends. Oh well, I’ll need something to do on my commute to work, I suppose.
ETA : that’s obviously not me in the photo, I just wanted to show how good the tank top is supposed to look. Mine looks very similar, as I used a grey tweedy wool for it.
Filed under: Knitting
Forgot to mention – there’s a new issue of Knitty up. It’s the summer one, so not very interesting but if you like summer knits, go and look. They have socks…
Planted the last of my tomatoes on the allotment today so I’m all ready to start preparing that third bed. The second bed has root veg growing in it : swede, turnip, carrots, Florence fennel and parsnip. I’d like to add my celery and possibly the leeks, but there has been some advice regarding the leeks in this bed, so I might not do them just yet, while I ponder.There was a small snail on one of my tomato plants, as I removed the tray of seedlings from the mini glasshouse. I didn’t see it at first and then {insert title of post}. I then checked VERY carefully before I removed anything else, but it looks like there was just the one beastie. Something took a nibble at my cucumber seedlings, as there’s a leaf half-chewed in one of the pots, but one out of 12 isn’t bad, and the seedling itself still looks healthy. The chilli seeds MAY be sprouting (the second wave of celery seeds certainly are) but it’s a little early to tell. I hope I get at least one plant out of the six I’ve planted – it would be so cool to grow my own chilli peppers ! I’d have to hope for a pretty warm summer though.
Bought the yarn for the Fairly Easy Fair Isle cardigan and am about halfway through. Had to start the first sleeve almost from scratch again, as I’d forgotten to do the increases. I still managed to mess it up the second time, but I’ve seen how, and it’s not that big a deal, so I’ve written myself a set of directions, so that I can ‘mess up’ the second sleeve in the same way.
I read “Gods in Alabama” at the weekend, while ill in bed, and have also started “Sleeping Arrangements”. Both good, but unfortunately, I didn’t like “Fat Girl : A True Story”. It’s a pity, as I thought it would be absorbing, but it wasn’t. Maybe being on a diet that’s proving fairly successful has skewed my mindset a bit, but I didn’t like the main character/author and she seems really keen to show all the disgusting things about being fat, things that I find aren’t necessarily true, just those things you think when you’re in a really bad mood.
Toad in the hole for dinner again. It makes me so happy to know that that’s what I’m having, even on a day which is muggy, and even when the Young Chap is going to be home late. Mmm, toad in the hole with slightly undercooked batter, gravy and sweetcorn and broccoli. And a Fruit Pastille lolly (on special offer at the mo, even without Antoine de Caunes advertising it) for afters.
Driving lesson update – managed to confuse the accelerator and the brake pedals twice. But no-one died and my instructor says I’m doing very well. I even had a pedestrian wave thanks at me for slowing down at the zebra crossing – my first wave !
