Resolutions for 2010

2010 has arrived!

It’s still cold, too.

I had my birthday on New Year’s Eve. I turned 27. It felt a bit strange. 27 used to feel like half a lifetime away to me, and here I am, creeping up on my 30s. The thing is, the closer I get to 30, the less I start to care about it. Age is just a number, right? I still feel quite young, so as long as I keep feeling like that, and the wrinkles don’t appear too soon, I reckon I should be OK.

I got lots of lovely little bits and pieces for my birthday, including a ceramic bee nester, plant labels, girly makeup, earrings and loads of smellies (bathroom is fast resembling an apothecary, I like it!), squishy slippers to keep my feet warm throughout the winter, a jumper, panes for my greenhouse (rejoice!), a half-moon edger to keep my edges in check, a bag, a chickeny pot, a shopping spree with Rich and a whole host of other lovely things. It’s very rare that I treat myself these days, so my birthday is a time when I receive things that I would otherwise neglect to buy myself. It also means that I have at least a six month supply of girly things. If I didn’t have them I fear I would end up clad in green wellies, a flat cap and holey, badly fitting bobbled sweaters.

No, it’s all about balance. And besides, nail polish hides muddy fingernails.

Anyway

Being the new year, I am, naturally, filled with hope and aspirations. And being the list-monster that I am, I have drawn up a plan for 2010 of all the things I would like to do, see, achieve and become. And here they are, categorised for convenience:

Smallest Smallholding

1. Grow loads more onions. Hercules (my favourite onion of them all), Stuttgarter and Red Baron are on the list.

2. Get better at composting, feeding and sustaining my crops this year. Last year I was rubbish and left a lot of my produce to its own devices. The soil here is poor and I have to pull my finger out and feed it up.

3. Plant more sunflowers. I had a good crop of sunflowers last year, which although got bent in the wind, looked pretty and then fed the birds. This year, I need to build on this mini success. Watch this space.

4. Plant a nectar bank. In theory I’d love the whole of the Smallest Smallholding to be one big nectar bank, but it ain’t gonna happen! So small steps - starting with one intensely planted bank of nectar-rich plants that I can manage properly.

5. Add to my woodland gardens. They’re so small they may aswell be microscopic, but if everyone had a mini woodland garden within a garden or outside space, the world would be a better place. So this year I need to plant them up, mulch where mulching is required, cut back where cutting back is required and plant some splendiferous woodland plants and make it wonderful.

6. Use my greenhouse to its full potential. Last year the greenhouse was a dumping ground. This year it will be repaired to restored to its former glory. Think Heligan on a teeny tiny scale. And lots of chillis and peppers and other tasty delights.

7. Have an outside eating area. We started this last year, but we hope to complete it by this year. It may include gravel, a tricky planting scheme (one side in perpetual shade, other side fried in summer) and some furniture building.

8. Dig an asparagus bed. Technically, this is Rich’s project, but no doubt I’ll be roped in. Not that I’m complaining!

9. Grow veg in hanging baskets. Self explanatory really. Making the most of small amounts of space!

10. Grow a variety of food that I will actually eat. I was surprised that I ate the runner beans last year. They’re really so much better fresh. So I’ll continue in that vein and try planting a wider variety of nommy-nom-nom (that’s Lucy speak for delicious) foods. That’s if I have enough space after planting all my onions and garlic. Oh geesh, maybe this should also include a number 11 for squeezing in another few veg plots!

Non-Smallest Smallholding

1. Learn to relax. This is a major downfall of mine. I’ve had about 8 years of constant stress. But although last year started badly, it turned out all OK. I need to learn to let go and stop worrying so much.

2. Explore Britain. I think with all the animals it’s difficult to get away for long periods of time. So I hope that this year Rich and I can do a few UK-based mini breaks and explore this wonderful island of ours a bit more.

3. More autonomy. I won’t harp on about this just yet, but yes - more autonomy. That is all I will say for now.

4. LOSE WEIGHT - OK! I know! Typical woman. But seriously, I need to do this. If I don’t do it now I’ll just descend into the realm of big bottomed middle ageness and I’m not going there. I’ve already started by signing up to jazzercise. That’s exercise to music. So to shame myself into regaining good health and a good figure, I shall be tracking my weight on this blog. So I feel that I have someone to answer to. It’ll just be a little tag at the bottom of each post. You can ignore it if you’re not interested.

5. More self sufficiency! I failed miserably last year, but the deal is that with less days at work, I can put aside some time to learn how to use my sewing machine. I still need to run up some curtains. Self sufficiency is great. I just like to be able to make things for myself, if I can. That way I know how they were made, where they were made, what went into them, what the quality really is like and I can make things exactly as I want them, be it a jar of jam, a cushion cover, a bird table, or a dress. I’m an arty person and I miss being tangibly creative. I need more of that in my life.

6. Write more and Blog more. I love writing but I don’t do enough creative writing. And I need to blog more regularly. Keep it on topic. The good life is still firmly in my sights.

7. Eat more greens. I’m a veggie and I need to expand my horizons, but I also need to eat good, wholesome food, and that includes green things. You know - kale, spinach etc. I need extra strength and nutrition. Healthy body helps to sustain a healthy mind, and all that.

8. Bake more. This conflicts a bit with number 4, but I can always give away whatever I bake. Plus, you have to live a little too. A slice of chickpea lemon cake isn’t going to make me go up a dress size. I like baking. It’s a very palpable thing to do. Very relaxing. It’s a mixture of science and art. I like that.

9. Walk more. I like walking. I like being outside. I need some walking shoes.

10. Books! As much as I love Harry Potter, there are other books that I need to consume. Recommendations welcome (although, please note, I don’t do horror, nor do I do tragedy. Not right now).

So… there we are. We’ll see how I go. I always feel better having them written down, because invariably in three weeks I will have forgotten what I wanted to achieve.

Tags: new year's resolutions 2010 birthday