52 Week Challenge - week by week through 2013

[Hazel at the Hill]

Week 36 Challenge

Get Serious About Running

I am a reluctant runner. When I am out plodding the streets with my wet weekend face on, mothers hide their small children on my approach; old people hurry across the road; builders hold their wolf-whistles, and stare in silence at my passing.

I hear of a 'runner's high', but I have no idea what it is - the nearest I get is 'thank goodness THAT'S out the way', when I stop. It is true, the hardest step is the one out of the front door - I am the queen of prevarication, and the number of times that my 'lunchtime run' has morphed into 'afternoon teatime' is without measure.

So why have a started an 8wk virtual 10k training course at Up & Running | Running e-courses for women | Stop dreaming, start running!

For one thing, I am doing it for the 'running = cake' reason - I love my grub, and I love a glass or two of red or white, or beer; I'm in my mid-forties, and want to avoid becoming the size of a barn.

I am hoping that the this course will change my attitude to some degree - I know it can't possibly brainwash me into wearing an 'I LUUURVE RUNNING!!' vest any time soon, but I am looking forward to seeing how I feel at the end of the course.

My big brother is another factor. He fascinates me, as he is a natural athlete, he loves running, he goes a bit funny if he can't get out and run. I do wonder how come we are related sometimes, I really do. But he has encouraged me every scowly-faced, ploddy-step of the way. He is my biggest cheerleader, and I'm touched that he SO wants me to get as much out of running as he does, and I guess that I am flattered that he is Taking An Interest in what his little sis is up to - I feel included in his and his friend's hobby, and that's a good thing.

What I am looking forward to is learning the technique of running - I know that at the end of the day that it's just putting one foot in front of the other; but I want to be like my bro when he is running - head up, confident, in charge of his body, powering through!

The alternative look is what I saw when I ran the Great Midlands Fun Run in June - I observed the group of (mostly) women who I was more or less with through the whole route, and sneered at their red-faced, big-bummed waddles and shuffling gait - how uncomfortable they look! How inelegant! When the penny dropped that I BET THAT''S WHAT I LOOK LIKE, I very nearly stopped dead in my tracks there and then.

I do not want to be a waddler or a shuffler, I want to be A RUNNER.

And that's why I've taken it to the next level - and my week 36 Challenge is done!

[veggiechicken]

Week 37 - September 9th - 15th

What are you going to do this week Challengers?
I'm hoping mine will come out of the blue - like last week

[Nicos]

Last week I made chocolate plum jam- it's really yummy!

This week- aw heck, we're really busy. Maybe get all the ironing done?
Either that- or an idea out of the blue too!

[Tripmeup]

My challenge last week crept up on me too ( or grew up on me, accurately).I had a lot of cucumbers grow last week so decided to make some jars of pickled cucumber....Result?...doesn't taste too bad at all..

[Sheneval]

What are you going to do this week Challengers?
I'm hoping mine will come out of the blue - like last week

VC my challenge for week 37 will be to complete the clearance of weeds from and dig over all the cleared beds in my plot 18A - Today I finished clearing the pea/broad bean bed, the potato bed has only 3 shaws left, the onion/carrot and beetroot bed is already clear, so of the rotational beds only the Brassica bed remains untouched. I also have a fruit bush bed and 4 clumps of rhubarb to tidy up.

I have three quarters filled my compost bin with broad bean, pea, beetroot and turnip foliage plus the straw left over from last winter. I just need to add some cardboard & paper and top it all up with some manure and leave it over winter.

[Sheneval]

VC my challenge for week 37 was to complete the clearance of weeds from and dig over all the cleared beds in my plot 18A.

I have cleared 3 beds and dug manure into next year's potato bed - the Brassica bed still has Brussels sprouts to grow on and be harvested.

I confirm Week 37 challenge has been completed.

[PyreneesPlot]

This week (and on-going) I'm clearing out photos as my Dropbox is full. Do I really need twenty pictures of tomatoes? The same tomatoes? Which look just like the ones from last year. Sigh.

[veggiechicken]

There are Challenges you can talk about here and some that you wouldn't mention in public. So let us say that my challenge this week has been to set up email on my mobile phone and synchronize it with my computer. I know that is simple stuff to you geeks but for me, its been like flying to the moon without wings.
I've also just realised that the emails I was gleefully deleting from the phone are also deleted on my computer I thought I was decluttering the phone only
I'm not really sure why I'm bothering as I'm too fumble fingered to type an email on that tiddly little keyboard anyway Bring back the quill pen and the abacus..........although the abacus may be a bit too complex!!
So Week 37 completed - sort of

[Hazel at the Hill]

Week 37 Challenge

Grow a Plant for Seed

Normally, when I grow beans and peas, I save a few pods for drying, and they can be used in stews over winter, and for sowing next year. Easy peasy.

What is rather more unknown territory is seed saving from other types of veg. So this season, I have let one of my radishes sprout a big old flower stem in order to let it go to seed and collect the seeds.

It's been quite a surprise, and I've learnt a lot:

• firstly, given that radish goes from a seed sown to eating a radish in about 6 weeks, the whole going to seed business has taken AGES - over 4 months from flowering plant to seed pod gathering.
• Also, a radish grows into quite a sizable bush - certainly 2'-3' in diameter.
• I found that the bees and all manner of insect love the little white flowers, and have been all over it all during the summer.
• The flowers lead to pods, which I think are edible - although I missed a trick there and didn't think to try them.
• And finally, you don't get many radish seeds to a pod, and they are really fiddly to extract from the papery membrane inside.

Give that radish seeds are about 29p for a packet of 1,000, I don't think that I'll be doing this particular plant experiment again, but I've learnt plenty, and that's my Challenge done!

[veggiechicken]

I'm doing the same with a pack of rainbow radish, Hazel. The flowers are so pretty, purple, lilac and white - like little Virginia stock - and the insects and butterflies love them. Better still, the pods are edible - peppery like radish. I'm going to collect the seed and throw it around any bare patches to self seed for years to come

[veggiechicken]

Week 38 Challenge September 16th - 22nd

What will you do this week? Will it be fun, easy or difficult? The choice is yours - just do it!!

[Hazel at the Hill]

The flowers are so pretty, purple, lilac and white - like little Virginia stock - and the insects and butterflies love them.

Bingo! I couldn't think when I posted of the name of the plant that the flowers reminded me of, but it's night scented stock, of course!

[Nicos]

I'm going to go to a Pilates class this evening.

I had a taster class 20yrs ago to see if I wanted to train up to teach it, but chose to teach Tai-chi instead!
This time the Pilates should be fun...it'll all be in French

Will give it a couple of goes and see if me old bones are still up for it!

[Sheneval]

VC - My week 38 challenge will be to collect as much seaweed as I can to cover the bare earth on the beds on my plot to suppress the weed growth from now to next spring.

After yesterday's storm the seaweed free beach has now a partial cover.

[Hazel at the Hill]

VC - My week 38 challenge will be to collect as much seaweed as I can to cover the bare earth on the beds on my plot to suppress the weed growth from now to next spring.

After yesterday's storm the seaweed free beach has now a partial cover.

Great idea - I wondered how you were going to treat the beds over winter.