I really enjoyed having a reading challenge in 2018 and decided to put together another for this year. I thought I'd use the Bookshelf Scavenger Hunt as inspiration for prompts. As I want to buy fewer books this year, using my TBR pile as my hunting ground seemed like a perfect idea. Here are 23 prompts that should make a significant dent in my bookshelves.

Find an author’s name or title with the letter Z in it
Big Magic, Elizabeth Gilbert

Find a classic 
Any one of my Jane Austen collection.

Find a book with a key on it
I currently have nothing on my shelves. I'm thinking that I can read Moving by Jenny Eclair, as when you move you get a new set of keys. It's the best I can do without buying a new book! That said, I can always rely on Andy to buy a book or two for my birthday...

Any recommendations gratefully received.

Find a book with a girl on the cover
Before I Fall, Lauren Oliver

Find a book with a boy on the cover
The Last Wild, Piers Torday

Find a book that has an animal on the cover
When Bad Things Happen in Good Bikinis, Helen Bailey

Find a book with a male protagonist
How To Stop Time, Matt Haig

Find a book with a female protagonist
The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood

Find a book with only words on it
The State of Grace, Rachael Lucas

Find a book with illustrations in it
The Shock of the Fall, Nathan Filer

Find a book with gold lettering
A Weekend in December, Sebastian Faulks
Given my most recent reading challenge was to read a book with the month in the title each month, I can't help but feel I have to read this in December.

Sleigh Rides and Silver Bells at The Christmas Fayre, Heidi Swain
And as this is obviously a Christmas book, I'll be saving this for December too.
  
Find a diary (true or fictional)
This Is Going To Hurt, Adam Kay

Find a book written by someone with a common name (e.g. Smith)
Two O'clock Boy, Mark Hill
The Red House, Mark Haddon

Find a book that has a close up of something on it
A Wedding in December, Anita Shreve (another one for December. I hope December 2019 isn't going to be too busy, I'm going to need plenty of time to read!)

Find a book on your shelf that takes place in the earliest time period
The Diary of Samuel Pepys, 1660


Find a teal/turquoise colored book
I have four options for this!

Find a book with stars on it
When God Was a Rabbit, Sarah Winman

Find a non YA book
Call of the Wild, My Escape to Alaska, Guy Grieve

Find the longest book you own
The longest book I own is in the Twilight series. I've read the first two, and a bit of the third...

Find the shortest book you own
If Cats Disappeared From The World, Genki Kawamura

Find a book with multiple PoVs
The World According To Bertie, Alexander McCall Smith

Find a shiny book
Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell
Ink, Alice Broadway

Find a book with flowers on it
She Dies at the End, November Snow, Book One, A. M. Manay
1,001 Ways to Save the Planet

Of course I've already started reading. I've finished two and am almost at the end of the third. 

Have you read any of these?

I read this scavenger hunt tag over on Confuzzledom and knew before I'd finished reading that I'd take part. I don't normally keep many books once I've read them, preferring to pass them on to be read and loved by someone else. But last year I kept all the books I'd read as I'd planned to take a photo of myself standing by the pile for my Books of 2017 post. And then I forgot.

I'm using this pile as my main hunting ground, so it's kinda relevant. Here's the photo, complete with a grumpy cat. Now I can get books back to their rightful owners and donate the rest.


Having looked through the books again I'm feeling rather nostalgic about most of them, passing them on one by one is easy, but to get rid of a huge pile all at once feels really hard. I am keeping a few, but I don't have space to keep them all, and even if I did I probably wouldn't read them again anyway. I've always thought that a book that is read only once is a sad thing indeed. That's probably why I prefer second hand books, well, that and the price saving.

Anyway, I tried to find out where this tag originated, it's possible it started on YouTube, but I failed to find the author, however in my search I did find a few more items for the list.

Here goes...


Find an author’s name or title with the letter Z in it
I though this would be tricky but as it turns out I had five in my pile. I enjoyed all of these books, having a Z in your name obviously makes you an interesting and imaginative person, ha!


Find a classic 
Why didn't I read this sooner?


Find a book with a key on it
This is in my TBR pile.


Find something on your bookshelf that’s not a book
There aren't many things on the shelves that aren't books. This little fella was given to be by a friend years ago, he's survived four house moves, and makes me smile as he sits there silently guarding my books.


Find the oldest book on your shelf
Oliver Twist, this belonged to my Dad, he was going to give it to charity but I snagged it from the box without him noticing.


Find a book with a girl on the cover
The Girl With All The Gifts. Excellent book. Now I just need to see the film. Do I get extra points for having the word 'girl' in the title too?


Find a book with a boy on the cover
I read a review by Char and was delighted to find it on one of my charity shop jaunts soon after. It's funny, uplifting, informative, and touching. Such a good book.


Find a book that has an animal on the cover
I like a bit of post-apocalyptic fiction.
 

Find a book with a male protagonist
"It follows a teenage boy named Seth who, after drowning in the ocean, wakes up alone on a desolate suburban English street in what he believes to be hell" classic Patrick Ness.


Find a book with only words on it
The Road was an exhausting read, it was so good. I was genuinely worried for the main characters at times, sometimes I had to read way past my bedtime to find out what happened next, other times I had to stop reading for fear of something awful happening. I wouldn't say it's an enjoyable read but one that, once started, you have to finish.


Find a book with illustrations in it
This is The Power by Naomi Alderman. It's peppered with illustrations throughout. This was given to me at Christmas, and was recommended so fervently that it was one of the first books I read this year.


Find a book with gold lettering
Another on my TBR pile.


Find a diary (true or fictional)
The Diary of Samuel Pepys. I remember learning about the Great Plague of London, and the Great Fire of London in primary school, and being fascinated. I don't often read non-fiction but I'm really looking forward to getting stuck into this.


Find a book written by someone with a common name (e.g. Smith)
Brown is the best I can do. This has been on the TBR pile for ages, it was recommended to me but I didn't get into it after reading the first chapter, I have too many other books vying for my attention, but I hope to get to it one day.


Find a book that has a close up of something on it
Close up of a face. This book was so interesting, it made me want to visit Guernsey.


Find a book on your shelf that takes place in the earliest time period
Set in 1527, in Rome and Venice, I really enjoyed this tale of a sharp-witted dwarf and his beguiling mistress.


Find a hardcover book without a jacket
Cute cover, and lovely illustrations throughout. I often dip in and out of this.


Find a teal/turquoise colored book
This is another on my TBR pile, isn't it a beautiful cover? I'm saving this for winter, and it'll probably take me that long to read everything else also on my TBR pile!


Find a book with stars on it
The Forgetting Time. I picked this up for 50p purely because I liked the cover. I know you should never judge and all that, but it was an enjoyable and interesting book.

Find a non YA book
Having visited the Elephant Sanctuary in Nairobi I wanted to read this autobiography by Daphne Sheldrick about her amazing life in Africa surrounded by and caring for animal orphans. Such an absorbing read.

And these are the additional categories I found

Find the longest book you own
Based on the number of pages this is the longest on my bookshelf. I have the Twilight series but I think I've only read the first three books. I can't remember, it's so long ago. I keep them because I feel I should read them all, but I might need to go back to the beginning and start again.


Find the shortest book you own
Unboxed by Non Pratt is the shortest book on the shelves. I read it in one sitting and it was utterly delightful. It has a lovely cover too.


Find a book with multiple PoVs
The story alternates chapters between Zak's story and Ana's. It's a lovely YA read, sweet, funny, utterly enjoyable. And the book itself is deliciously floppy, I like that in a book. I dislike stiff spines that need cracking in order for you to be able to read the pages comfortably.


Find a shiny book
It's hard to tell in the photo but the blue bits are metallic.

Find a book with flowers on it
This is Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver, the sequel to Delirium, the flowers aren't obvious on the cover but that's why I like it. It's a good series, the first and second books are the better of the three but all worth a read.

Let me know if you take part in this tag, I'll pop over and have a read.

My winter list was a simple one, with just ten things to tick off. As always some things didn't get completed but it just means I can add them to another list for another day, another season. Here are the ones I did complete.

Read 12 books
I ended 2017 reading The Christmas Mystery by Jostein Gaarder, a book I picked up in a charity shop to read for Rosalyn's Instagram prompt #AdventToShare. In January I kicked off my reading challenge with The Two Faces of January by Patricia Highsmith, and since then I haven't been able to resist the urge to read in colour order, just like last year.

Plan my greenhouse growings
I have seeds ready and waiting to be planted out soon, starting with rainbow mix carrot, spinach, and radish. A bit later a lettuce mix and baby leeks will join them. My brother has given me some strawberry plants. I'm also growing some marigolds from seed for my Dad, and for me I'm planting as many dahlia tubers as I have pots for. Sophie tells me they're easy to grow and need minimal care, so I've got high hopes, and visions of vase upon vase of colourful, fluffy dahlias come the summer months.

Mend
I set myself the task of completing half the pile one weekend in March. I did pretty well, even if I didn't get to the half way point, but I did mend the things that I was most likely to wear. I think some things in my mend pile will end up in the charity bag, thus saving me the bother of altering them. But the pile is definitely smaller. Progress.

I was going to list everything mended here but I might do a separate post instead?

Donate to a food bank
My local Tesco has a collection point and I've started to add 'food bank' to my shopping list to remind me to pick something up each time I go in. I don't go in to the store very often as I have my groceries delivered but, as they say, every little helps.

Get into the woods
In late December we went for a walk to blow away the Christmas cobwebs. The following weekend we planted our small Christmas tree and chopped some wood for the fire. Winter is when Andy has the most free time for such activities, it might be cold but when you're chopping wood or carrying armfuls of it to the truck you soon warm up.

Go to the beach
I took part in my third beach clean organised and run by Adnams in Southwold. It's something I really enjoy, it's very therapeutic, and I'm always amazed by how much we pick up.

Turn off the TV and do a jigsaw puzzle / play a board game
This is how we spent New Year's Eve. We didn't fancy going out, but I didn't want to sit in front of the TV, just like almost every other night of the year, so we played games. And at midnight we swept the hallway, opened the door, swept out the dust, and welcomed in the new year.

How was your winter? What did you get up to?

Whilst I am utterly useless at writing book reviews I wanted to share all of the books I read in 2017. The above montage is what I read each month. I read just 17 books the year before and so I made more time to read last year. I racked up 46, and read everything that was on my bookshelves at the beginning of the year.

I refilled the bookshelf by buying 53 books throughout the year, but that just gives me another challenge for the year ahead.

I've imposed a ban on book buying (excluding books needed for my reading challenge), but I find it so hard to read a book review, and not immediately want to read the book myself. I'll have to be restrained. I don't hold out much hope, but I might surprise myself!

Last year I spent £104.03 on books - mostly second hand - so perhaps I can incentivize myself? Maybe if I succeed on my book buying ban I can treat myself to something pretty, perhaps of the paperback variety in early 2019?

Anyway, the books, I'm here to talk about the books.

I accidentally fell into a habit of reading books in colour order when I read a pile of blue books in March. I carried it on from there, with the odd deviation, but it helped me to narrow down my choice of what to read next, I'm normally so indecisive (I know I'm not the only person to do this). I was able to walk up to my bookshelf and take the next book without having to give it any thought. It was a good system, despite the odd look my brother gave me when I explained it to him. And who doesn't want to spend some time organising their to-be-read books into a pleasing rainbow on their bookshelves?

If I had to pick a favourite of them all it would be the Sylvia Jorrin books, I particularly enjoyed the first one, so if you're going to hold me to picking one favourite Sylvia's Farm would be it. With The Improbable Shepherd being a very close runner up.

I loved Sylvia Jorrin's writing style, and the way she talked about farming really resonated with me. Not that I'm a farmer, but when you live in close quarters with one, you get to understand the lifestyle. Because it is a lifestyle, it's not a job, it's not something you can walk away from at 5pm, switch off from at weekends, and take two weeks holiday away from each summer.

But more than that I loved the way she lived, how she organised her time, how she strived, each day, to make small improvements towards a larger plan. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I know I'll read them again.

I also enjoyed the Rosie books by Graeme Simsion - funny, sweet and insightful, A Boy Made of Blocks by Keith Stuart - heartbreaking and heartwarming, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Brown - interesting, informative and thought provoking, made me want to visit Guernsey, The J.M. Barrie Ladies' Swimming Society by Barbara J. Zitwer - heartwarming, feel good, made me want to try wild swimming, and call all my best friends, The Improbable Theory of Ana and Zak by Brian Katcher - sweet and funny, and Goodnight Mr Tom by Michelle Magorian - heartbreaking, tear jerking, heart warming, and feel good.

To make time for reading, I read for a little while first thing in the morning which is something I've never done before. I'd take note of how many pages the book had and worked out roughly how many pages I needed to read each day in order to read a book a week. It didn't always work but it was fun to keep track and see my-books-I've-read pile start to grow. I also tried to read in the time after I finished work for the day and before Andy arrived home. I used to just switch on the TV but I get a lot more from reading than watching yet another repeat of the Big Bang Theroy or The Goldbergs.

I used to think that I read more in the winter but it's actually the warmer months when I get through the most books, I love being outside with a book, or if it's a little chilly I sit in my greenhouse to keep warm.

So this year I have a bit of a challenge ahead, I need to read even more than last year. I have 54 in my to-read pile, which is everything I purchased last year, plus some books I have been given as gifts. And I need to get my hands on 7 books to be able to complete my reading challenge for this year - a challenge within a challenge, that's not like me (yes it is). Which means I have to read 61 books. Yikes, for me that really is a challenge.

The question is, what the hell am I doing sitting here writing this when clearly I should be reading!

1. Read 12 books
I did a lot of reading in 2017, but I also purchased a lot of books, mostly from charity shops, and yet I still managed to spend £104.03 on books over the course of the year. So once again I want to read as much as possible, not just over winter, but throughout the year. I'm on a book buying ban (except for books needed for my reading challenge) until everything on my shelves has been read. I have 46 books on my shelves, so I know it's achievable.

I find winter the best time to get cosy and get lost in a book. You can light the fire, make a huge cup of tea, grab a blanket, and a cat, and happily stay that way for a few hours. Bliss.

2. Plan my greenhouse growings
I want to grow a few veg more veg this year, and want to improve on my soft fruit - this year's efforts were pitiful, although lettuce leaves were in plentiful supply! I just need a plan...

3. Try a new restaurant
Because there are so many new restaurants locally, some that have been around a while that I just haven't visited yet. I might even see if I can tempt some friends along...

4. Mend
I still have a number of items that need altering or mending - an afternoon spent working my way through this pile would be an afternoon well spent, and give me a few more options for my capsule wardrobe.

5. Donate to a food bank
I always say I'm going to but so often forget. I think doing it after Christmas might be a good idea. I have a feeling donations go down after the festive period.

6. Veggie meals
Try 3 veggie recipes. I started well with this in early 2017 but it did fall a bit by the wayside by the end of the year. I did however find one recipe that's become a regular in my meal plan - Hummus Paste, it's delicious and so easy to make. A few more recipes like this one would be most welcome.

7. Put all posters / pictures / paintings I have into frames and get them on the walls!
This is on my Day Zero list. Winter seems like a good time to do such a thing.

8. Get into the woods
We have some woodland here on the farm and last year we cleared some fallen trees and had a bonfire, we took a picnic and it was a lovely way to spend an afternoon. Whether we do this or simply take a walk through the trees I don't mind, it's just good to get out into nature.

9. Go to the beach
There is something uplifting about being beside the sea, no matter what time of year it is. The breeze may be bracing but it's delightfully crowd free and what better time to scoff some hot salty chips with a mug of sweet tea?

10. Turn off the TV and do a jigsaw puzzle / play a board game
As much as I like mentally switching off and losing myself in a good programme or boxset, I think it's important to step away from the telly box once in a while to interact with those around you.

What do you do with your time over winter?

I've set myself a little reading challenge for 2018 as part of my Day Zero Project. I want to read a book each month with the name of that month in the title, and I'm in need of your recommendations.

I have four books sorted already.

The Two Faces of January by Patricia Highsmith is on it's way to me via Father Christmas (aka my Dad, he has a white beard, so ...)

I found March by Geraldine Brooks in a charity shop earlier this year. This has a good review from Karen Joy Fowler, author of one of my favourite books The Jane Austen Book Club, so I have high hopes for this.

For August I have The Courtyard in August by Janette Griffiths. This has no reviews on Amazon and three stars on Goodreads, but again no reviews, so I'm not sure what to expect from this one. It sounds interesting.

Lastly, I saw on Instagram that Sophie had a book called December in her TBR pile and asked if I could borrow it. What did you think of it Sophie?

Do you have any month-in-the-title book recommendations (even if I they cover the months I already have)?

I'm looking forward to hunting for books in charity shops, I'd love to get as many as I can second hand.

Thank you!

Hello! Have you had a good week? It's been a tad disappointing weather wise, but it's been a productive and sociable week nonetheless. With three birthdays - Andy, his Mum, and my Dad - we've had a lot of family time that included a no-bake Malteser cheesecake, a Chinese take away, and several sirloin steaks.

I planted my hanging baskets. I waited weeks for my winter flowering pansies to stop looking so lovely and alive, so that I could declare them 'done'. I was finally able to do so this week, and turfed them out for some lovely trailing plants. I did love the pansies though and have decided to grow them from seed to plant in my hanging baskets in the autumn.

I made Elderflower gin. I can not wait to taste it in a few months time. I wanted to make some cordial and perhaps some elderflower delight too, but the recent wind and rain scuppered any chance of picking any decent flowers. I'll just have to wait and harvest the berries for more gin instead #everycloud

I voted

and I found a source of free books on my way home. The telephone box in our local village had been turned into an Info Box, and in it are a few shelves and a sign saying 'Please feel free to take a book', so I did. I'll return it, along with a few others, when I've finished reading it. I love that this sort of 'honesty box' mentality still exists, it really made me smile.

I ate an awful lot of lettuce. I planted too many seeds and now we have a more plants than we really know what to do with. I've given away one tray, and we're eating a huge amount of lettuce every lunchtime, and for supper too. Andy has had some for breakfast on a few occasions, I can't quite bring myself to do that. I love it, eating something I've grown myself feels like a little victory. I can't wait for the spring onions to be ready. And at least I'll know not to make the same mistake next year.

And now I'm looking forward to another Sunday cinema date with Andy, a craft and vintage market in my local town hall, trying a granola recipe, and indulging in some serious reading time.

What has been the highlight of your week?

Greenhouse pottering
I've spent a lot of time in my greenhouse this week, it's old and and in need of some serious TLC but I love it. I'm growing numerous things but sometimes I just sit in there with a cup of tea, sometimes with a book. It's warm, my cats love to join me in there and at this time of year, when the weather can be a little chilly, it allows me to be outside without having to brave the elements.

Knitting
Every once in a while I get the urge to knit. I love knitting Monkey Moo, he knits up super quick and is always loved by his recipient.

Baking
A slightly out of date jar of lemon curd inspired me to pop on my pinny and make some Lemon Curd Thumbprint Cookies (I wasn't about to let a use by date cheat me out of the lemony goodness). They're utterly delicious! It's left me with a hankering to bake more often, perhaps some banana oat cookies...?

Reading
My current read is charming, and one I found via Yarn Along - Sylvia's Farm: The Journal of an Improbable Shepherd by Sylvia Jorrin. I'm really enjoying the short chapters, each a stand alone story of the farm. It leaves me a desire to make the most of each and every single day, to do just one more thing to work towards a goal, and to be happy and grateful with my lot.

Changing my routine
I decided to change my working hours in an attempt to have a little more routine to my days. Now I work in the mornings, I'm at my desk by 8am and finish some where between noon and 1pm.

The afternoons are mine. This is when I get my housework done, or I potter in the greenhouse, maybe read for an hour, write my meal plan, bake, go for a walk. It feels nice to know that after lunch I can ignore the emails and focus on everything else that life entails.

Before doing this, I had a 'just quickly' mindset, where I'd just quickly pop some washing on, just quickly run the vacuum around, just quickly nip outside and water the plants. I found that I'd 'work' a full day but rarely get more than half a days work done.

If I need to work into the afternoon then I do but I find this way I can concentrate on the task in hand. I feel like I'm achieving more each day. Multitasking has it's place but day-to-day I'm finding it's better to focus on one thing at a time.

Also
Having a bit of a bee moment. Thanks to Instagram I was alerted to a rather delicious sounding coconut and pear lip balm, it's limited edition and for each one sold 5,000 wild flower seeds are planted. Isn't that lovely? I purchased three (they're as nice as they sound), and gave one to my Mum.

I also uploaded a #SelflessSelfie via the Burt's Bees website, they add flowers to your selfie and with each one uploaded a further 5,000 seeds are planted.

Meanwhile in my own garden I've been planting bee friendly plants and made a bee bath, but that's for another post...

What have you been up to this week?

Usually Photo An Hour lands on a day when I have no plans and spend the day reading, pottering and doing very little. But this month I had a blogger meet planned with Sophie and Kezzie for a charity shop rummage and a spot of lunch.

Sadly my phone battery died half way through the day but Kezzie kindly let me use her camera so I could continue to document the day until I got home and back to a charger.

Every time we get together for a charity shop rummage we all always find loads of stuff, I wonder if we encourage each other a little too much...?

7am - The day started as it usually does with a cat sleeping on my dressing gown, looking too cute to disturb. But I did - ha! (it was chilly).

8am - The usual rituals of getting ready for the day

9am - Breakfast of kings - snap, crackle and pop.

10am - Sophie arrived and we bundled in to my car to collect Kezzie from the station.


11am - A quick coffee in a rather sweet cafe in Ipswich - Applaud Coffee - after the one I was going to go to had shut down (this happened to me last time Sophie and Kezzie came to visit too). But I think I like this coffee shop better, so not such a bad stroke of luck after all.

12pm - We're all already a handful of purchases in. I bought a fab Laura Ashley midi skirt in here and the first of what would turn out to be many book purchases.

1pm - Fed and watered we venture on. We still had seven charity shops to rummage in.


2pm - Straining under the weight of our numerous bags. I had to buy a bag as I'd filled the one I'd taken with me.

3pm - Four charity shops still to explore...

4pm - I lost track of time about now but with all the shops visited we were in great need to a cuppa and a cake. Red velvet for me, Victoria sponge for Sophie and Kezzie.

5pm - Having left Kezzie at the train station, and deposited Sophie back to her car I was at home admiring all my purchases. Socks took an instant like to my new tote bag and slept on it for the next few hours.


6pm - I'm always shattered after a charity shop romp so a cuppa and a bit of a lay down was much needed.

7pm - Having bought 12 books, been given another two by Sophie, and remembering I'd purchased two others last week I thought I should crack on with reading my current book.

8pm - Popcorn appetiser. We didn't get around to the main course. I was asleep before 9pm.

A lovely, lovely day.

Thanks to Jane for hosting, it's always good fun taking part, and I really like looking back on these posts to see a day in detail.

With the arrival of spring it's time to look back over winter, but first a quick digression - when did meteorological seasons become a thing?

It's only over the past few years that I've been hearing about meteorological seasons (it's not wholly beyond the realms of possibility that I've just had my head in the clouds for years  - no pun intended - and just not noticed).

I've always followed the astronomical seasons and for some reason become disproportionately annoyed when people say 'hello spring' on March 1st.

It's. Not. Spring.

I can't imagine many people get annoyed by such a thing, but it niggles me. Isn't it nicer to be guided by the stars than by the weatherman?

Anyway, for winter I set myself a few goals, incorporating some of my resolutions. Winter was very much about taking it easy, staying home, hibernating and planning.

1. Read 12 books
I'm pleased with the amount I managed to read over winter. When I originally typed '12' I thought it was unlikely that I'd succeed. In the end I read 14 and I'm almost half way through my 15th, which means I'm nicely on track to meet my target of 29 before my next birthday.

2. Plan my greenhouse growings
I have packets of spring onions - two varieties, salad leaves - two packets for staggered planting, garlic chives, thyme, and climbing peas waiting to be planted and nurtured (and in the case of the peas, picked and eaten straight from the plant - pod and all).

3. Make home improvements
This didn't really happen. I've done a lot of decluttering but no actual DIY. I do have lots of plans for the spring though - which is a much better time of year to tackle home improvements.

4. Mend
With a sewing pile on the verge of toppling over I decided to dedicate a weekend to making alterations but got side tracked by a book. I have a hankering to wear my maxi skirt again so I'm certain I'll get the sewing machine out soon to repair the hem.

5. Felt
I spent a pleasant afternoon teaching my friend the basics of needle felting. I started her on a pumpkin, which is the first thing I ever made too. Within days she'd posted a picture on Facebook of a hare kit she'd bought and felted. She's hooked just like everyone else who gives it a go.

6. Veggie meals
I earmarked a couple of meals that took my fancy and added them to my meal plan - Lentil Chili, Spinach Lasagna, and Veggie Burritos. The Lentil Chili was much nicer than I expected it to be and I've already cooked it three times. The lasagna was rather dull, every mouthful was the same and I couldn't help but think that it would be vastly improved with the addition of some beef mince. The Veggie Burritos were delicious, full of flavour - something that I'll definitely be cooking again.

7. Do stuff
This was simply a promise to myself to make plans for my weekends instead of drifting through them, feeling like I was doing nothing much at all. It's worked well, some weekends have been full of going out, doing things, ticking things off my to-do list, others I planned to simply relax with a good book. Either way I feel like I'm making more of my weekends.

How has your winter been?

8am - not a bad time to be woken up by a hungry cat wanting some food.

9am - Breakfast

10am - showered, dressed, face in progress

11am - I couldn't make up my mind about what to do, so much on the to-do list but I sat with a cuppa and read a little instead. Time spent reading is always time well spent. In stark contrast the following day I'd ticked off several things on the list before 10am.

12pm - Doing something less interesting but more productive. Ironing. Blurgh.

1pm - After lunch I got back to it, almost done though. If I didn't leave the ironing pile to get so big it wouldn't take so long, but this is something I never seem to learn.

2pm - I gave up trying to be productive and hit the sofa with my book and a snack. I'm going sugar free at the moment to treat an allergy to sugar beet. But so many products have sugar in (basically anything not made from scratch in your own kitchen), I think I might starve. Dates give me a (natural) sugar fix, but I can't stop thinking about chocolate.

3pm - still reading.

4pm - Finished.

5pm - trying a new recipe Spinach Lasagna. Not bad, if a little soggy, it was actually much tastier when reheated for supper the next day. As with most veggie recipes I felt it could be improved with a little ham... (and I would've done so if one of the ingredients used to roast the ham wasn't sugar).

6pm - waiting for supper to finish cooking, stuck under a cat.

7pm - Tinker managed to make me spill an almost full cup of tea on my lap, so I was early into my PJs.

8pm - Fire roaring, cats snoozing, husband home, The West Wing boxset (again).

9pm - New book selected. One that's been on my shelf for years. Loving it so far.

Saturday February 18th - Photo An hour arranged by Louisa and Jane - thanks ladies!