17 in 2017

So, another calendar year as begun and the fresh, crisp start to it quickly slipped away leaving me wondering where I could start again here. After reading through a few of my favorite blogs I found this post from The Snail of Happiness which seemed a fitting way to start again… From what I can gather ’17 in 2017′ is a list of 17 goals or challenges for the year a head

#17 – meals made from homegrown / produced food (bar seasoning)… this year I really want to get to grips with homegrown food again, for many reasons including taster food, health and my growing uneasy with ‘the system’. 17 meals might sound like a lot but with bits of cultivated land dotted around, a cow and goats for diary. chickens and ducks for eggs it shouldn’t be too tall an order, even if I just spend the summer eating omelette and salad.

#16 – plants passed on to other from my seed stores… This is something I have seen on other peoples 17 in 2017 lists and I like it. During last year I lost a large mount of my treasured seed collection, it was heart breaking, but also made me realise how much locked up energy and life I had been sitting on, a little like smaug on his pile of gold. Time to start using up what I have and sharing the excess.

#15 – minutes each day spent studying. I’m now in year two of my homeopathy course and I still feel like I have a lot to learn, not just about homeopathy though, there are lots of things I want to learn more about, some that have branched off from my college days and others resulting from the world around me, and just 15 minutes each day will take me far with this I’m sure.

#14 – car free days. I would really like this number to be much higher but this number seems very achievable.

#13 – trees / fruit bushes / hedging plants planted at the field. We already have a number of trees and bushes waiting to be planted out so some time dedicated to this during the coming year will be well spent

#12 – New blog posts. Self explanatory really

#11 – completed craft projects. I have two bigger projects that I would like to make this year but as with my seed stores I’d like to start using up some of the craft materials I have stashed away and also brush off / polish some of the skills I have but don’t use regularly

#10 – screen free days. As with car free days I would ideally like this to be a much higher number but 10 is achievable.

#9 – days out with family and/or friends.

#8 – packet of seeds sown from my stash. This should start to get some of the stored up energy flowing.

#7 – photos printed and put up. Some months ago I was reading an article about the difference between happy, positive people and those that aren’t so happy or positive about their life. One of the things that has stuck with me from it is that researchers found the those who where happier were more likely to have photos of loved ones and special days displayed around their homes. This has really struck a cord with me and makes a lot of sense that people who have regular built in reminders of what they have to be happy and grateful for will in turn be happier and more positive.

#6 – books read from my ‘read and pass on’ pile.Over the Christmas and New Year break I have started another declutter, this goes along with that but also being more mindful of the space I am using up with ‘stored energy’ such as unread books, boxes of seeds or stashes of craft materials.

#5 – minutes spent most days diarying / recording / planning. Like with spending time learning everyday this is something I would like to set up as a habit, hopefully it will free up some mental energy as not only will it help me ‘off load’ it will also mean I am not trying to remember everything all the time

#4 – allotment beds up and running. Last year I tried to take on the WHOLE of my long neglected and over grown parish allotment plot and it was just too much. This year I am going to try to be more measured and take on a small patch and work outwards from it.

#3 – designs written up. I have now been signed up to the Diploma in Applied Permaculture for a year and so far have not made much head way with it…

#2 – hours, at least, spent on ‘personal admin’ per month. Last year I made a big push to sort out some of my banking and not only saved a load of money but was also able to claim quite a bit back. I think with a bit of work on others areas I can be more organised and effitive with other things too and make better use of time and resources instead of letting jobs pile up

#1 – new cake baked. For a few years now I have made a New Years resolution to make or bake a new cake of some sort, it feels like a little bit of a tradition now. This year I think I will try maybe a lemon drizzle cake perhaps?

#0 – allopathic medicine taken. The further into my homeopathy course I get and the more things I read on the subject of ‘modern medicine’ the more uncertain of the risk to benefit balance there is. In the past few years I have suffered some very nasty side effects of seemingly innocent medicines, part of the reasons behind my choosing to study homeopathy, and am aware that there are probably many more side effects that are not yet understood or known about. I would like to ‘detox’ from these and work with my body to build my immune system instead of bypassing or taking shortcuts to obtain ‘health’. That being said if I found out I was seriously ill or had a serious accident tomorrow I’m not ruling anything out…