Midweek Linky-Bits

I couldn't find anything that seemed appropriate so you get nice trees instead

Here's a little collection of nice & interesting things I've come across around the interwebs:

• Sarah Rooftops has made a list of 33 things she learned before turning 34. She's a wise and thoughtful lady and I'll be trying to take them in. To Ms Rooftops herself: Happy Birthday!
• Interesting musings on social media from Ashley. The phrase "I think part of what I love so much about travel is that it gives me an opportunity to be me in a completely new context." definitely strikes a chord with me. I think finding my own identity and being confident in knowing what I like and want is important as my sense of self-determination can get confused sometimes. Striking out on my own gives me a chance to clear both my head and my heart. That's not to say I don't want the company of others ever, or that I want to escape from my current life, but it's refreshing to do something on my own and just for me every once in a while.
• Ashley also wrote about "purging" - getting all those swirling thoughts down on paper and spring-cleaning your mind a bit. I like the sound of this and even managed to do it this week. I kept thinking of little things about my new flat and bits of organisation we should do and it was getting in the way of other things I was doing. I made a Google Doc and just allowed my brain to vomit house-related thoughts into it, then I tidied it and shared it with my new flatmate so we can both add-to and develop it. It also helped me get an idea of the scale of things I needed to do and what needed to be done when, which has reduced the stress and confusion involved.
• Speaking of my new house, I've been pondering the question of furnishing. I've got the luxury of my parents' living nearby and the limitation of my continued project work so it's not my number one priority or a dreadful rush... yet. I really like the idea of having a large-ish table for eating/working/sewing at  - there's no obligation to buy something that's specifically a desk or a dining table and there's more potential for future adaptation. I thought this looked like a possible winner.
• Zoe expressed her frustration with gentrified charity shops, as well as a fear that donations might be getting filtered to meet the perceived tastes of customers. I don't know if it's to do with the type of shopper I am (hate being hassled by over-zealous sales assistants - let me browse in peace!) but I really enjoy hunting through the treasure trove that is a traditional-style charity shop. Over-done boutique-style ones leave me cold - would you pay £10 for a new set of teacups that's one saucer short? No? Then why would you expect someone to pay that for secondhand chipped ones?
• These chocolate-raspberry brownies  sound lovely. They might even tempt me away from my go-to brownie recipe, or possibly just inspire an adaptation.
• I've also seen a few naan recipes about recently & quite fancy making some.

25 Before 23 - October Update

25 Things

1. Finish my final project -Re-submitting 03/01/2013
2. Get a job - Planning to go & talk to university careers advisors
3. Move to Bristol - Still at home. I have a future flatmate but no plans as of yet.
4. Sew a dress - Hoping to start Simplicity 2451 skirt soon
5. Make 10 of my recipe bookmarks / pins - 3/10 Courgette crisps , sesame & ginger green beans and Delia's caramelized apple flan (cheaty tarte tatin)
6. Send parcels to far-away friends - Gal & Maiyan, Amber, Steph
7. Go to Southwold at least once
8. Get rid of my Flickr backlog - in chronological order. Currently: film - July '11, digital - January
9. Get a grip on my finances
10. Sell my eBay pile, swap my swap pile - 0/? 0/?
11. Mend & alter my mending & altering piles - 0/? 0/?
12. Read a newspaper regularly - reading The Week while I'm at home, i on trains
13. Weekend away by train - Went to Plymouth for a friend's birthday.
14. Buy good shoes - Need interview/work shoes & winter boots. Clarks? Hush Puppies?
15. Crochet 3 items from stashed wool - I have plans
16. Get a new phone - Currently awaiting delivery!
17. Read 3 good/classic books - Stormed this one. The Great Gatsby, The Catcher In The Rye, The Hitchhikers' Trilogy (of 5), Fear & Loathing In Las Vegas, Dry.
18. Print more photos
19. Watch 3 good/classic films - The Big Lebowski, This Is Spinal Tap, Quadrophenia. I've also seen Role Models which was entertaining but probably isn't going to go down in history.
20. Exercise regularly
21. Scrapbook - my pile is getting more organised
22. Have a picnic
23. Visit a city farm - St Werberghs and/or Windmill Hill?
24. Visit my sister at university
25. Cycle from Bristol to Bath - need to buy a helmet

25 Before 23 - Update

25 Things

1. Finish my final project -DONE!
2. Get a job - this is #1 priority now
3. Move to Bristol - goes hand-in-hand with 2
4. Sew a dress - I've, erm, bought a skirt pattern. It's not *un*constructive.
5. Make 10 of my recipe bookmarks / pins - 0/10
6. Send parcels to far-away friends
7. Go to Southwold at least once - Unfortunately this was for my grandmother's funeral, the sad news I referred to a while ago. There's not much more to say beyond that I hope this won't be my last visit there. The overwhelming feeling I have is that of love and thankfulness for having had such a wonderful person in my life. I absolutely know that she will never be forgotten by anyone who had the great fortune of knowing her.
8. Get rid of my Flickr backlog - film has now reached mid-July, digital January '12 is still to come. It's had a little break recently due to circumstances but I'll be back on it soon.
9. Get a grip on my finances - I've made myself a spreadsheet which I intend to update periodically with current balances. Keeping tabs on spending is something I find hard as I either over-document or forget completely.
10. Sell my eBay pile, swap my swap pile - 0/? 0/?
11. Mend & alter my mending & altering piles - 0/? 0/?
12. Read a newspaper regularly - I've bought the i a few times and am now back home with The Week
13. Weekend away by train
    
14. Buy good shoes - Bought more cheap shoes in a hurry, need to try harder!
15. Crochet 3 items from stashed wool - 0/3 but sister blanket approaching completion
16. Get a new phone - Need to work out how many texts I send per month
17. Read 3 good/classic books - 0/3 but I know I want to read The Great Gatsby, just need to find it amongst my parents' bookshelves
18. Print more photos
19. Watch 3 good/classic films - 1/3 I've seen The Big Lebowski which left me mostly confused as to the point of it. I'm not sure I was even particularly entertained. I've decided that it counts as I've encountered (and missed) many references to it and the Cohen brothers are "a thing". I've also seen Role Models which was more entertaining but not really one for this list.
20. Exercise regularly - Shhh.
21. Scrapbook - 0 boxes/books out of ?
22. Have a picnic - M & A and I think we might take the Boy for one when he's finished writing his thesis
23. Visit a city farm - I've walked past Windmill Hill so I know exactly where it is now. Progress?
24. Visit my sister at university - She's not there yet!
25. Cycle from Bristol to Bath - Bike has a new tyre now. Need to buy a helmet.

There's some definite progress being made here and that's despite spending most of my working hours on #1. I think having written these things down helps me get them done - when I'm wondering what to do today I can think of my list and find something to do which will help towards one of my goals. I wonder if this is how "cosmic ordering" actually works? (when it does)
Here's to the next month and hopefully managing a few more bits from this list!

25 Things To Do Before I'm 23

Completely co-incidentally I'd taken this photo a few months ago!

Yes, I'm jumping on board the blogger bandwagon and making myself one of these lists. It's less of a bucket list, more general life progress.
I think that generally speaking I lack focus and don't do terribly well at making progress on long-term projects & achieving goals, so I've made a list of little(ish) things I'd like to do and given myself a timeframe.
If I want to do these things then I may as well declare that, rather than putting them off to an unspecified  point in the future as vague wishes. Also having selected specific things to do will help me pick what to do with my time, rather than being overcome with the possibilities and just doing nothing.
I want to have more moments where I feel that "this is me" and I like what I'm doing, I'm enjoying myself and I'm finding things I like and doing them. One thing that I know makes me feel like that is being safely ensconced in a train with something nice to eat/drink, writing postcards and watching the countryside going by. More of that please.

25 Things

1. Finish my final project - this has its own deadline but I'm putting it in anyway
2. Get a job - after #1
3. Move to Bristol - I'm currently living at home with my parents, this is not where I want to be for #2
4. Sew a dress
5. Make 10 of my recipe bookmarks / pins - I can notch up progress on this one quickly
6. Send parcels to far-away friends - specifically Gal & Maiyan
7. Go to Southwold at least once
8. Get rid of my Flickr backlog - I'm currently uploading film from last June and digital from December, this is not how I want it to be but I do want it to remain in chronological order
9. Get a grip on my finances - I should keep track of what I spend properly
10. Sell my eBay pile, swap my swap pile - cleaning out my room has made these massive
11. Mend & alter my mending & altering piles - as above
12. Read a newspaper regularly - we have The Week at home, I might start getting the i on Saturdays
13. Weekend away by train - so many UK cities & towns to see. London, Brighton, York & Sheffield are top of my list
14. Buy good shoes - I tend to spend ~£10 on flimsy flats, they won't cut it at #2 or for #3 in winter
15. Crochet 3 items from stashed wool - I have so much I CBA to stash it officially on Ravelry
16. Get a new phone - I'm currently using the boy's old one and it's not ideal, rather temperamental
17. Read 3 good/classic books - Hardy, Dickens, ? I've been doing so little reading that 3 may be a lot
18. Print more photos - they're so nice to look at, why don't I?
19. Watch 3 good/classic films - the answer to "Have you seen ...?" is probably "No"
20. Exercise regularly - even if it's just walking around, it's not hard and it's important
21. Scrapbook - I have multiple "to be scrapbooked" boxes, this is not good
22. Have a picnic - Me, friends, a blanket, a hamper, and somewhere picturesque
23. Visit a city farm - Bristol has two!
24. Visit my sister at university
25. Cycle from Bristol to Bath - my Dad just bought me an amazing old bike, I'm a little bit in love 

So there we go. I'll try and do an update on this at the start of every month. My birthday is at the end of March so I've got seven and a bit months to make a dent in my list. I won't be upset if I don't manage it all and I imagine I'll beat my target on some of them, it'll be interesting to see.