delete all the junk emails that have been languishing in my inbox

catch up on reading all my favourite blogs

make a significant dent in my mend pile

peel off all the sticky tape from the paper used to wrap my birthday presents for recycling

finally get loads of items listed on ebay

enjoy a little more sunshine before autumn takes over

make a new art purchase

discover that sunflowers come in other colours besides yellow

eat breakfast with my husband

eat supper with my husband

remember put the bin out the evening before collection

get really good feedback on a piece of work I was worrying about

drop off donations at my local charity shop

paint our front door 

 

What would be on your feel good list lately?

January 14th 2020, the final day of my Day Zero Project. I'm not at all surprised that I didn't do them all, but I am surprised that I didn't do some of the easier ones. Never-the-less it was fun to compile the list and slowly tick them off.

Here is a roundup of all the ones I completed. You can see the full list here.

001. Read 101 books
I read book no.101 at the end of December.




004. Decorate the kitchen
I went from a magnolia sort of colour to one called Natural Hessian, which is an equally pale shade of beige. Most people didn't noticed the change, but I prefer it, it looks fresher and really suits the kitchen.



005. Decorate the entrance hall
After lots of sanding, the removal of a door, turning murky brown walls green, and lots and lots of gloss work, the hall has been transformed. I just need a coat rack (and plans are afoot) and new doormats and I can call it finished.



006. Decorate our bedroom in a gorgeous deep bluey green
I deliberated over the exact shade of bluey green for ages, and then when I revealed the final choice to Andy he was less than enthusiastic. So we went for pink. It took me a while but I love it now it's done.

012. Kondo the cupboard under the stairs
This was only recently ticked off the list. We cleared out loads of old crap, some left by the previous owners, and now I have a cupboard I can actually walk into! The cats aren't impressed as there is a lot less to climb on and explore.



013. Sand and repaint the side entrance door
The difference this makes is amazing, we had a dark wooden door before with a tiny window, it's lighter and brighter, and just looks much more inviting.

017. See a ballet / opera
In May 2019 my Mum and I went to the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden to see three short sequences - Within The Golden Hour, Medusa, and Flight Pattern. They were very different from each other and was a perfect introduction to ballet.

021. See a psychic
I had a one-to-one reading with a chap called Ryan Gooding early in 2018.



027. Visit the Forbidden Forest at Warner Brothers studios
October 2018 saw me step foot into the Forbidden Forest for the first time. It was dark, misty and I swear the floor was moving beneath my feet. Thunder and lightening accompanied us as we met Buckbeak and Aragog. To see it all close up was fascinating.



028. Go on a picnic
My sister-in-law organised a picnic for my birthday in 2018 at Framlingham Castle.

029. Grow something edible in the greenhouse
I've grown mixed lettuce leaves, lambs lettuce, 2 varieties of spring onions, garlic chives, cucamelons, and a few raspberries and strawberries. Also spinach, radish, and rainbow carrots, lettuce leaves, tomatoes, and potatoes.



033. Sell something I’ve made
This happens regularly, I make things to sell at Cake & Craft sales that I help to organise at our local hospital. I was delighted to receive this photo from a lady who purchased one of my first batch of pom pom wreaths.



034. Go on a boat
A day on the Norfolk broads on one of the hottest days of 2018.



038. Read a book every month with that month in the title
I really enjoyed this challenge. My favourite book was Sunflowers in February, I wouldn't recommend March, or July's People, as I found both really hard going, but the rest are definitely worth a read.



041. Find and master a dessert recipe that will become my signature dish
I found a recipe for Malteaser cheesecake on Pinterest and made it for Andy's birthday, I got up early so it had time to set and smuggled it over to his parents house later that day. It was delicious!

I made it for a family gathering on Christmas Eve, and then again when visiting my brother and his family a few months later.



042. Make elderflower cordial and gin
I made gin one year and cordial the following year. Both were delicious. Neither lasted very long.



047. Create a bee friendly area in my garden
This will be an ongoing project as I intend to keep adding bee friendly plants and shrubs, but I have started by creating an area with a bee bath and lavender to entice the bees to a sunny spot.

048. Bake and decorate a chocolate cake for Andy's birthday
Having discovered that Andy isn't actually that keen on chocolate cake I decided to make him the Malteaser cheesecake instead, which also gave me the opportunity to tick two things off the list.



050. Find seaglass
I picked up my first bit on a beach clean in June 2018, and since then I've found a good handful.

052. Get a tattoo
I got three, all on the same day. It's not as drastic as it sounds, they're all tiny.



054. Take part in a beach clean up
I've actually done this three times now, the first of which you can read about here, and the third time here, as part of a Photo An Hour day.

058. Climb a tree
In my garden, so it's a bit of a cheat but I'll keep my eyes peeled for another good climber. The problem is a lot of low branches are cut off to stop such activity!



059. Go camping
In July 2018 I camped at Cliff House in Dunwich with a group of friends. It's a superb campsite right on the cliffs with easy access to the beach. The weather was perfect for camping, allowing us to sit on the beach until the early hours, before being lulled to sleep by the sound of the waves.



060. Photograph the same landscape across 12 months (and make it into a calendar)
You can see all the photos here. I didn't make a calendar as I received two for Christmas.

065. Find a lampshade and curtains for the landing
Lampshade yes, albeit a really dull one, curtains no. It would look more finished with curtains but as we're not overlooked we don't really need them. It might be one of those things that never actually gets done...

068. Create a gallery wall in the dining room
It's still a work-in-progress but it has been started and has plenty of room to expand.

070. Make five more loans via Lend With Care
1. Ol Pol, Cambodia
2. Luis Enrique Morales, northern Ecuador
3. Carmen Cecilia Nero, southern Ecuador
4. Naseem Bibi, Lahore
5. Robina Kousa, Lahore

077. Write a letter to myself to open in 10 years
Done. The question is where do I put it so a) I'll remember it and b) I won't lose it?

078. Answer the 50 Questions That Will Free Your Mind
I can't say my mind feels freer, but some of them did make me stop and think, my answers, if you'd like to read them, are here (at the end of the post).



081. Watch 26 movies I've never seen starting with each letter of the alphabet
I wouldn't recommend Certain Women or Queen of the Desert, and it was hard to watch Jake being such a weirdo in Nightcrawler. I loved Fantastic Beasts, La La Land and Mr Right, Passengers and Sully. In fact I think Sully was the best of them all.

083. Spend a day at the beach
In the summer of 2019, I spent a day on Aldeburgh beach, swimming, digging holes, and making sand castles with Andy's family. I haven't been swimming in the sea for years!



086. Read a book set in my hometown
A friend of mine used to live on Britannia Road, so I know the area well. It was really enjoyable to be able to picture the house and garden, and the town being described in the book.



087. Visit a lavender field
I couldn't believe my luck when I found a lavender farm in Suffolk, so I went along and it was charming. 

089. Create a new family tradition
Every year I force my family to submit to a Christmas family photo, and I hope it's something we continue to do. It takes a little cajoling, and the same people moan every year but everyone likes the resulting photos, so I ignore their protests, and refuse to feed them until they submit to my will.



091. Make and decorate biscuits with my niece
We made fridge magnets instead.

I share all of my charity shopped clothing purchases in my Buyer's Archive posts, but I rarely share all the other things I find. There's a wealth of loveliness to be found on the charity shop shelves.

Here are a few items that came home with me recently.



Stoneware Pot
When we moved in and realised we didn't have a single drawer in the kitchen I purchased a wicker cutlery holder to put on the worktop. After eight years of daily use the base was broken and full of holes. I had a rummage in the pantry to see what I could use as an alternative.

I found a utensils pot that once belonged to my Mum and Dad, I think it was one of their wedding presents, and a large stoneware pot that I'd sometimes use as vase (purchased from a charity shop some time ago). Both were perfect for larger cutlery items but my teaspoons needed somewhere to live.

My next charity shop rummage offered up this ideally sized little stoneware pot, decorated with a rather attractive looking cow. To keep them all together I put them on a round wooden tray we'd been given on our wedding day. I rather like the overall effect.



Teddy
I'm not really a teddy bear kind of person, I just have two soft toys from my childhood, and a giraffe that Andy gave me for my 40th birthday. But this little chap just looked like he needed to come home with me, he cost all of £2.00. He sits in my office, surrounded by books. He seems happy.



Glasses Case
I lost the case I'd been given free by my optician, I wasn't too bothered as I'm not known for putting my glasses away anyway, but on occasion I do need something. I picked up this pretty zipped case for just £1.50. 



Ceramic Bird
At the beginning of the summer I went to The Suffolk Craft Society Summer Exhibition with my Dad. A collection of these little birds by ceramic sculptor Mary Wyatt were on display, and I so very nearly parted with £25.00 to bring one home with me. A few weeks later I spotted this one on a low shelf in a charity shop for £5.00. Needless to say I didn't think twice.

What have you found recently?

1. See the bluebells
Aim: get outside and do nice things
Every year Andy and I take some time out to visit the bluebell woods near us. Here are some photos from our visit this year.

2. Finish decorating the bedroom
Aim: focus on one thing at a time
I had three painting projects that needed doing before I could call our bedroom 'complete'.
1. Stain the mirror frame
2. Paint the freestanding shoe shelf
3. Paint the chest of drawers

I did none of these things! I have all the paint, primers and brushes required, just not the inclination. Other things just seem to have taken precedence over this.
 
3. Finish decorating the downstairs loo
Aim: keep up the DIY momentum
1. print to frame and hang
2. loo roll and towel holder to be fitted
3. track down a nice soap dish

I might've failed to finish the bedroom but I did make progress here - the towel rail and loo roll holder have been fitted. It's amazing how much more finished the room feels with just these two little additions.


4. Hit the beach
Aim: do nice things, get some me time
Andy and I went to North Norfolk for a few days and went to both Heacham and Snettisham beach. The tide was out but it didn't matter, we could still fill our lungs with sea air and take a brisk walk along the sandy, pebbly beach.

5. Mend my old jeans
Aim: reduce the mend pile
I had two pairs that needed repairing again. And I still have two pairs that need repairing. I've been following #visiblemending on Instagram and I now want to unpick the mending I've already done and start again...

6. Have a wardrobe cull
Aim: declutter and get organised
I was feeling overwhelmed by the sheer volume of clothes in my possession, so I knew it was a good time to get rid of what was no longer serving me. It feels really good to have more space and a clearer picture of what I own.



7. Attend an exhibition
Aim: do nice things
Whilst away Andy and I visited Houghton Hall to see an exhibition of Henry Moore's sculptures. They didn't disappoint.


8. Plant up the hanging baskets and sow seeds in the greenhouse
Aim: get outside!
I planted up the hanging baskets in late March, kept them in the greenhouse to protect them from frost and hung them up in April. I went for a purple flowers this year and they're looking really pretty.


The seeds I planted are doing well. I have lettuce leaves, spinach, and potatoes. I've planted a pot of cat grass for Socks and Tink, and some violas, forget-me-nots and nasturtiums for colour and prettiness. And I have some marigolds for my Dad.


My brother gave me loads of strawberry runners that are doing well, some of which are in a hanging basket by the back door. He also gave me some tomato plants and some cucumber, neither of which I've grown before - any tips for these would be welcome.

9. Eat the pantry
Aim: declutter and reduce waste
I had no idea that I'd amassed so many baking ingredients! And I have no idea why I thought we'd need five tins of pineapple chunks. I've managed to reduce the amount of food we had sitting in there, and now that I write a meal plan every week it shouldn't, in theory, fill up again with items that we don't need or use.

10. Carboot or ebay
Aim: declutter
I put aside a morning in my diary in April to get as much listed on ebay as possible, I continued listing items throughout May and into June. I also have boxes full of stuff waiting to go to a carboot sale one day soon. The stuff to sell pile is going down, our takings are going up...

Last year I wrote a post about the small changes I'd made to be a little more eco-friendly. Lots of small changes add up and since then I've continued to seek out more alternative ways of doing everyday things.

My most recent change came after reading a post Vix wrote about mindful laundering, with a link to an article about fabric conditioner that had me ordering several bottles of white vinegar.

Long story short - fabric conditioner is not good for your clothes, use white vinegar instead.

Simply mix 500ml white vinegar (it has to be white, no alternatives) with 30 drops of an essential oil of your choice. To use, shake well and fill up to the line on your fabric conditioner drawer.

I used Star Anise essential oil as I love the scent, and had been given a bottle (thank you Sophie) a few days before reading the article, so it seemed to me that it was meant to be. As the (glass) bottles of white vinegar I ordered were just over 500ml, I simply added the oil to the bottle.

The outcome? I love the scent, although I know liquorice won't be to everyone's taste, my laundry feels great, just as good as with a regular fabric conditioner. In the long run using this will help my fabrics last longer, and save on plastic packaging.

Other changes I've made are;

Soap instead of shower gel.
A while ago I switched my regular shower gel for soap to cut out the plastic packaging. My memories of using soap as a child included a horrid tight, itchy feeling to the skin after using it and so I'd avoided it for years. I picked up a Dove beauty bar with it's 1/4 moisturising cream, and so far so good, not a dry itchy patch of skin in sight. I don't use it on my face but for the body it's really nice. It's 80p bar lasts a lot longer than any bottle of shower gel I've ever used, and it comes packaged in a cardboard box.

Bamboo toothbrushes
I've switched to a bamboo toothbrush, and it's just as good as any plastic toothbrush I've used. A recent scroll through my Pinterest feed threw up this article on how to dispose of them properly.

Carry a drink
I asked for a Chilly's water bottle for my birthday last year and received a gorgeous flamingo design that now goes everywhere with me full of tea. Who says a water bottle has to be used for water? I haven't purchased a bottle or carton of drink for months.

Bake instead of buy.
We don't often have sweet treats. We have no self control and eat them at an alarming rate. It's best that I just don't to buy them in the first place. But sometimes a cake or some cookies are called for so I pop on my apron and get baking. It avoids plastic packaging often used for biscuits and cakes, and I can avoid additives and preservatives added to shop bought baked goods.

Going off topic for a moment, I found a lovely recipe for Banana and Oatmeal Cookies. They're perfect for using up aging bananas (which I buy intending to eat as healthy snacks and then don't), it avoids the waste and they're delicious! These Healthier Banana Honey Muffins also look good, and contain less sugar. I'll give these a try next time I buy bananas with good intentions.

Secret Santa
At Christmas we had a Secret Santa with my side of the family, which cut down on packaging (we're a family that shops online), cut down on the use of wrapping paper as we had far fewer gifts each, and cut down on clutter - none of us need more stuff.

I'm planning on making reusable fabric gift bags in cute festive material this year, if I can spread them around my family they'll reuse them in the coming years. There's a Japanese fabric wrapping technique called Furoshiki that I'll be referring to, here's a guide.

Recently Kezzie wrote a post on all the ways she succeeds and fails in this area. I love posts such as this as they are a great source of inspiration, and got me thinking once again about what else I could be doing.

A breadmaker.
We eat a lot of bread and I've been pondering this for a while. Everyone who has one says they'd never go back. I don't know what I'm waiting for really.

Reuseable cotton rounds.
Thanks to my awkward skin I've gone back to using a liquid toner but didn't want to use cotton pads. I'm using up the cotton pads that I had in my drawer but want to switch to reuseable cotton rounds when they're used up. I like the look of these from Peace with the Wild, a company I found through Instagram. Or I could make my own.

Period Pants.
I've been hearing a lot about period pants, and have read some good reviews. I'm definitely intrigued. They are expensive, £20 - £27 approx for a pair of pants depending on the brand, and obviously more than one pair is needed. The cost caused my eyebrows to raise, but if they last you can make your money back ... eventually, and no more sanitary waste. Brands are Thinx or Modibodi. Wuka or Flux. I'll keep you posted, unless that would be too much information?

Just as an aside, all these websites use diverse images of women, different sizes, with stretchmarks, cellulite and lumps and bumps. It's so refreshing, we need to see more of this.

Friendly washing
Using a Guppy Friend Washing Bag to catch synthetic fibres and prevent them from being released into seas and oceans during a washing cycle. Do you use one of these? What do you do with the fibres that are caught?

Hoping and waiting
I'm hoping for a bulk buy shop to open up locally so I can take my own containers to buy store cupboard staples. I've been finding paper or cardboard packaged alternatives for food and household items as much as possible but there is still room for improvement.

Do you have any other tips you can share?

I've now got less than a year to go on my Day Zero Project, it ends on January 14th 2020.

I have 25 completed, here are the ones I've completed since my last update:
005. Decorate the entrance hall
After lots of sanding, the removal of a door, turning brown walls green, and lots and lots of gloss work, the hall has been transformed. Just need a coat rack and new doormats and I can call it finished.

006. Decorate our bedroom in a gorgeous deep bluey green
I deliberated over the exact shade of bluey green for ages, and then when I revealed the final choice to Andy he was less than enthusiastic. So we went for pink. It took me a while but the decorating part of the process is done.


013. Sand and repaint the side entrance door
It looked lovely for a few weeks until it got scratched again, so when the weather improves I'll be sanding and painting it again...


027. Visit the Forbidden Forest at Warner Brothers studios
October 2018 saw me step foot into the Forbidden Forest for the first time. It was dark, misty and I swear the floor was moving beneath my feet. Thunder and lightening accompanied us as we met Buckbeak and Aragog. To see it all close up was fascinating.


034. Go on a boat
A day on the Norfolk broads on one of the hottest days of 2018.


038. Read a book every month with that month in the title
I really enjoyed this challenge. My favourite book was Sunflowers in February but I enjoyed most of these books. I wouldn't recommend March, or July's People, I found both really hard going, but the rest are definitely worth a read.


042. Make elderflower cordial and gin
I made gin one year and cordial the following year. Both were delicious. Neither lasted very long.

052. Get a tattoo
I got three, all on the same day. It's not as drastic as it sounds, they're all tiny.


059. Go camping
In July 2018 I camped at Cliff House in Dunwich with a group of friends. It's a superb campsite right on the cliffs with easy access to the beach. The weather was perfect for camping, allowing us to sit on the beach until the early hours, before being lulled to sleep by the sound of the waves.

060. Photograph the same landscape across 12 months (and make it into a calendar for the next year)
You can see all the photos here. I didn't make a calendar as I received two for Christmas, but I can always create one for 2020.


081. Watch 26 movies I've never seen starting with each letter of the alphabet
I wouldn't recommend Certain Women or Queen of the Desert, and it was hard to watch Jake being such a weirdo in Nightcrawler. I loved Fantastic Beasts, La La Land and Mr Right, Passengers and Sully. In fact I think Sully was the best of them all.


086. Read a book set in my hometown
A friend of mine used to live on Britannia Road, so I know the area well. It was really enjoyable to be able to picture the house and garden, and the town being described in the book.

With less than a year to go I know there will be things that I won't tick off, but that's fine. I'll have fun trying.

I tend to think of January as the buffer between the new year and the previous year. It's a time I spend recovering from the chaos of the festive season, a time I slowly ease myself into the new year.

I spend January looking back over the year just gone, and deciding on what I want the new year to bring. Come February the looking back stops and the new year, with all my good intentions, has my full attention.

I read somewhere that by the time January 5th rolls around most people have failed or faltered at their New Year's Resolutions, I had to chuckle as I was still pondering mine.

I don't feel the need to make huge changes in my life. Life is pretty good, but I do think there is room for improvement. So I thought about the ways in which I'd like life to change, it didn't matter how small these changes were, I considered anything that would enrich or improve life in some way, big or small.

I came out the other side with a word for the year. And that word is Better.

Better at:
(in no particular order)

meal planning

making plans to see friends

cooking from scratch

keeping on top of the housework

finishing projects (and doing one thing at a time)

listening

taking care of myself

meditating regularly

regularly practicing yoga

money management

decluttering

gardening

parallel parking

reversing

forgiving

communicating

asking for help

sticking to a routine

not buying books

resisting impulse purchases

using less single use plastic

remembering birthdays

focusing on one thing at a time

getting something out of the freezer for supper the next day

being grateful

The plan is to come up with ways to make these changes stick, to implement new routines, set aside time for specific things. I'll tackle each one, and try to find a better way of doing things.

One of my stumbling blocks is that I crave routine, but when I get it I get bored and want more freedom and flexibility. That's when things fall by the wayside, routines get forgotten, stuff doesn't get done, and then life feels hectic and I feel like things are getting on top of me.

I need to learn to rest and not quit. It's an on going thing. Can anyone say "I don't need to change anything about myself or my life. I'm perfect"? Except, of course, every cat that ever lived.

Here's how, I hope, I'll be spending my summer...

1. Eating
I want to eat in a restaurant every day for seven days, be it for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner.

2. Camping
I have a day ticket for Latitude again this year, and I'll be camping at a local campsite on the Friday and Saturday night.

3. Going Coastal
Spend a day at the beach, I'm talking 9 to 5 - ice cream, fish n chips, a morning stroll on the promenade, and an afternoon nap on the beach.

4. Hosting
Afternoon tea for friends. I have the enthusiasm and a cake stand, what more do I need?

5. Reading
I want to read 12 books, hopefully more over the summer months.

6. Decorating
The bedroom has been at the planning stage for about two years now...

7. Exploring
I want to give Geocaching a go, there are a few sites locally that I'm going to seek out first.

8. Attending
Visit the local Flower Show, the one I've said I'm going to visit each and every year since we moved here seven years ago.

9. Concocting
Make lemonade from scratch.

10. Utilising
Get a book from the Library, I joined last year and have yet to take out a book.

What are your plans for the summer months? Is there something you look forward to doing every year?

I'm 365 days into my Day Zero Project with 636 days remaining.

Writing the list really made me think about things I'd like to do. I felt energised after I'd written it, and ticking things off a list is something I always find immensely satisfying.

This list helps me put together my seasonal to-do lists, and has pushed me to do things that I would otherwise put into the 'one day' category. For example No. 92 Sleep in an overnight train, and No. 82 Attend the midnight premiere of a movie are the kind of things that I'd say 'we should do that' but never make a plan to actually do it. Now I think about the how, when and where.

No.85 on the list is to Visit seven restaurants in seven days and I've decided that's how I'm going to celebrate my birthday in August. I'll rope in my friends and family to help. I'm looking forward to it already!

I have several goals in progress, but here are the ones I've completed since my first update.

004. Decorate the kitchen
I went from a magnolia sort of colour to one called Natural Hessian, which is an equally pale shade of beige. Most people haven't noticed the change, but I prefer it, it looks fresher and really suits the kitchen.

021. See a psychic
Psychics fascinate me, I swing between believing it and thinking it's total bunkum. I had my first psychic reading when I was 30 and it blew me away, the lady told me so many things that were either true or came true over the next few months.

Anyway, this time I had a one-to-one reading with a chap called Ryan Gooding. It'd been booked for months and I was a little hesitant, but I needn't have been. I won't go into details but I was impressed.


028. Go on a picnic
My sister-in-law organised a picnic for my birthday at Framlingham Castle, we had Buck's Fizz, smoked salmon and birthday cake - complete with candles. And my nephew H made a heart shaped cheese scone especially for me.


029. Grow something edible in the greenhouse
I've grown mixed lettuce leaves, lambs lettuce, 2 varieties of spring onions, garlic chives, cucamelons, and a few raspberries and strawberries. This year I've got spinach, radish, and rainbow carrots sown, and have lettuce leaves, baby leeks and sweet peppers to sow (and soon!). On a side note, the greenhouse is about to receive a bit of a make-over - replacing broken glass and new benches.

041. Find and master a dessert recipe that will become my signature dish
I found a recipe for Malteaser cheesecake on Pinterest and made it for Andy's birthday last year, I got up early so it had time to set and smuggled it over to his parents house later that day. It was delicious!

I made it for a family gathering on Christmas Eve, and then again when visiting my brother and his family a few months later.

048. Bake and decorate a chocolate cake for Andy's birthday
Having discovered that Andy isn't actually that keen on chocolate cake I decided to make him the cheesecake above, which also gave me the opportunity to tick two things off the list.


050. Find seaglass
I picked up my first bit on a beach clean in June last year, and since then I've found a good handful.


054. Take part in a beach clean up
I've actually done this three times now, the first of which you can read about here, and the third time here, as part of a Photo An Hour day. I'll be doing another one in June.

087. Visit a lavender field
I couldn't believe my luck when I found a lavender farm in Suffolk, so I went along and it was charming. 

Completed: 13
In progress: 17

What's on your list of things you'd like to do?

My Day Zero page