52 Week Challenge - week by week through 2013

[Sheneval]

Hazel,

Absolutely brilliant - many years ago the hill walking club decided to have a weekend outing to our bothy at Bridge of Orchy and climb Achallader the mountain behind the bothy and observe the Summer Solstice.

We duly set off from the bothy at 2100 to climb the mountain and got to the top sometime around midnight and settled down for the night - most of us had sleeping bags and bivvy bags but one guy had decided he would use his rucksack instead - I remember the leader had a world war two helmet - I'm sure I have a picture of both of them somewhere. More importantly, one had a flask of whisky and there was plenty of beer.

In any case it was a dull overcast night with very little sleep until the appropriate time when we observed the low cloud with little appreciation or sense of awe and wonder

We retreated down the mountain in disappointment and by the time we arrived in the valley below the clouds had lightened somewhat and we stopped for breakfast around 0600 or so and lay down in the heather for a nap, only to be woken at 0800 to blazing sunshine and a temp in the 70's so we had a second breakfast of whisky and beer.

One of the many memorable and unusual hill walks I enjoyed.

[Glutton4...]

Just a quick pop in to report an inch off the b**bs again this week. No losses elsewhere, but I was naughty and had CAAAAAAAAKE again this week.

[Sheneval]

VC - these drawers remind me of Hazel's car - why are you so obsessed with neatness and tidiness?

At the moment my floor is strewn with papers after I received a query from a historian in Australia about the Hunters in Prestwick via a local Golf Club - many of them were associates and relations of Old Tom Morris and Young Tom Morris for that matter and went to the USA and built golf courses there.

In any case a couple of Historians have written a book about Old Tom and his connection with them is mentioned, although they got the relationship/s wrong and these are now recorded as facts on an Australian website quoted by this Historian who is looking for more facts about these Hunters.

Should I enlighten him - the decision is yours - provided you tell me how to clean the car and tidy up the drawers

[Hazel at the Hill]

I'm ashamed to own up to my pathetic little challenge - but when you have done nothing else.........

You're wrong, VC - that is an excellent Challenge, and ticks all the boxes for the Challenge of 'do something different' (or 'do something that without a nudge you would otherwise not do').

And you can now find what your looking for at a glance (unlike Shen who will still be scrabbling though his papers all over the floor).

I'm not one for excessive tidiness (just the opposite, in fact - this place descends gradually towards sty-ness before I eventually snap and get a pitchfork out and clear everything up), so appreciate it in others when I see it. Well done.

[veggiechicken]

Who is the one who plants his front garden up in equally spaced rows?
I rest my case..............

[Tripmeup]

VC - these drawers remind me of Hazel's car - why are you so obsessed with neatness and tidiness?

At the moment my floor is strewn with papers after..........

Shen, Shen, Shen.....
Who are you trying to fool?
We have seen the pics of your house and allotment, remember ?

[Tripmeup]

My task/challenge this week is to tidy the workbench in my garage...It's a mess as I usually take stuff out and then leave it lying on the bench after I use it.....

[Sheneval]

Shen, Shen, Shen.....
Who are you trying to fool?
We have seen the pics of your house and allotment, remember ?

Trip,

You have seen the outside of the house - inside I have collected a large volume of papers, hundreds of books and DVDs over many years

Just to prove my point - I have just come home from an outing to Glasgow - herewith photo taken a few minutes ago - you have my word it was as I left it this morning and I have added and disturbed nothing.

However in fairness, despite the upheaval I could tell you everything in the pile without looking at it, from the various branches family trees to the Wills, Register of Sasines, Censuses, Valuation Rolls and Directories etc. etc. and I can make the pile disappear in minutes, but instead I will probably add to it, as upstairs I have records of transfer of the Freedoms of the Burgh from one generation to the next, which is essential to determine which John Hunter belongs to which leg of the family tree which currently extends some 15 to 20 feet if stretched along the living room wall.

Ignore the seed packets - they are a permanent feature

[Sheneval]

My task/challenge this week is to tidy the workbench in my garage...It's a mess as I usually take stuff out and then leave it lying on the bench after I use it.....

Don't we all

[bramble]

Sorry to say I fell of the wagon on last weeks challenge as I couldn't think of anything in time.
This week I will be planting and tidying up the graves of my relatives and loved ones.
Every year in the month of June a mass is celebrated in the cemetery for the deceased so I will be kept busy this week.

[Hazel at the Hill]

Sorry to say I fell of the wagon on last weeks challenge as I couldn't think of anything in time.

You should've asked, Bramble - I can always suggest a Challenge for people if they are stuck, ask VC! Dunno what it is, but I only have to come up with a couple of things - like 'cleaning the windows', for example - and it seems to get people's creative juices flowing so that they come up with something themselves! Amazing.

This week I will be planting and tidying up the graves of my relatives and loved ones.
Every year in the month of June a mass is celebrated in the cemetery for the deceased so I will be kept busy this week.

....but that's an excellent Challenge!

[Sheneval]

My challenge this week is to sort through all my Hunter ancestry papers to enable me to respond to the query by the Australian Historian - almost there - I had mislaid some very important burial records but have now found them

The heap on the floor is now double the size it was before and I am running out of floor to walk on

[Nicos]

Looks like my challenge for this week is getting these two hoglets to survive!

[Hazel at the Hill]

Week 26 Challenge

De-clutter the Wardrobe

You do have to be in the right mood and have the good level of steely determination to chuck clothes out.

I reckon that this is partly because you've paid good money for those clothes and now you are throwing them away! That's like throwing money away!

The other reason is that those lovely clothes have been part of your life; maybe seen you through a job interview, or to a dance where you met someone special, or shared the trials and triumphs of growing food from the soil...

So when I had the required level of ruthlessness earlier in the week, I opened the wardrobe doors, and started. When did you last wear it? Does it go with anything else in the wardrobe? Does it fit? Is it still in good condition? Do you feel good it in?

And an hour or so later (trying stuff on is a must, doing this job) I had a slimmed down wardrobe and a hanger full of items destined for the charity shop.



An interesting mix, this - including

• some black velvet long evening gloves (when would you possibly wear these?
• a heavy arran tunic with short sleeves (so you can roast your torso whilst your arms turn blue with cold)
• a leather lace up waistcoat (I have no idea why this ever seemed like a good purchase)
• a mustard yellow pashmina (given up with sadness - I bought it on the QE2, and it's beautiful but I'm not a 'wrap' person and it deserves better than to languish in my wardrobe)
• a soft viscose blouse (lovely to wear, but always makes me look scruffy and unkempt)
• a matching silky cream nightie & dressing gown (a nice idea, but I don't think I've worn these more than about three times)
• my brother's school tie (dating back 30 years no idea why I have this)
• the red and black sash from a black taffeta skirt (similar vintage to the tie - no idea what happened to the skirt)

and various skirts and a couple of tops that have just fallen out of favour.
All were bagged up and taken to the charity shop - I hope they all find a new lease of life.

Before:



After:



So that's my week 26 challenge - done!

[veggiechicken]

Well done Hazel. That's a Challenge I know I should take but keep deferring it out of laziness
My Challenge this week was a bit feeble - since many of the Grapes have already done it!
I've "made" some nettle and some comfrey fertiliser just to prove to myself that it smells as bad as everyone says it does - and I want to know which smells the worse. Ask me again in a couple of weeks