Permaculture studies: Permaculture Fundamentals, notes on lectures 1 & 2

A while ago I stumbled across a free permaculture design course here: http://www.permaculturedesigntraining.com/ . I've always wanted to attend one of these but have never felt comfortable with spending so much money on myself with so many other demands on the purse. I'm going to give this course a try, I'm not going to promise to complete it but it will be interesting to see how far I get. To help keep me accountable I have decided to share some of my notes and thoughts about these free lessons here. Please note that I actually watched these over a month ago but have delayed posting this as I wished to finish some further reading on the subject.

Nanowrimo

Writers block?

I mentioned in my monthly review post that I would be attempting National Novel Writing Month. Whilst I have been enjoying this experience it has been so hard. I've barely even started! My biggest issue has been that I have become caught up in my novel, it has become too important to me and I now have writers block. So, in order to keep on writing I have started a second story with the help of some inspiration dice that we made a while back out of old wooden blocks. These have been a great way to get going again.

I'm not sure where I am going to go with this after November is over but so far it has been an excellent exercise on getting me working in the evenings again and I am surprised at just how much I am enjoying the process of writing. If only I could let go of my perfectionism it would all run a bit more smoothly.

Home Education

playing with bubbles

This is a subject that I have shied away from here as I felt that it had little to do with the reason behind my creation of this blog. But it is a large part of my life and it makes sense to me now to start sharing a little of what we do. It's unlikely to become a regular feature, I don't want this to turn into a home ed blog but as it is a daily part of our life it does seem silly to continue to exclude it.

Tarot: Getting to know the cards with Galaxy Tarot

Galaxy Tarot Android App



I love this little app!

Tarot - choosing a deck

'The fool' from the Shadowscapes tarot. ©Stephanie Pui-Mun Law

There are so many wonderful designs for cards out there it is very hard to choose which one is for me. I already have an old tarot deck knocking around but I've always found it a bit too garish for my tastes. I wanted something that is more visually appealing but, as I discovered, there are a lot of different decks out there.

Why Tarot?

I have always been attracted to fortune telling but my scientific nature has stopped me from exploring this field though I couldn't resist a second hand pack of tarot cards that I picked up many years ago in a charity shop. I have played with these on and off over the years but not truly put in the time to understand them. It has taken me a long time to be settled in my own mind about my mixed feelings towards the cards.

Why do I write this blog?

 

When I first started this journey I pulled together a folder and just let all of the ideas I had flow within it's pages. I've not picked up that folder for several months now. Perhaps I should.

 

This blog has become that folder. The routine of posting allows me to regularly keep on top of ideas and how I am progressing. I'm not posting for fame, there are no regular readers as far as I'm aware. I have not advertised this blog. But I do enjoy writing it.

 

I also enjoy making it look attractive and pleasing to my eye. I want it to be relaxing. Hence lots of photo's of clouds.

 

I don't share much of my family here, my eldest doesn't want to be shown and my youngest is too young to choose. This is also why I do not share my whole name and face. Am I protecting my family or just using this as an excuse to hide myself? I'm not sure, I hope that I'm not hiding. Perhaps I will be more open in the future.

 

What I didn't expect when I started this was to rediscover how much I enjoy writing. The blog format helps to prevent me from being too wordy and going on and on and on. Usually.

 

I also find it hard not to use emoticons, I sometimes feel that these help better express when I'm being ironic or feeling happy.  But when I use them I feel that I'm being lazy in not bothering to find the words to express how I feel. Sometimes using the correct word is hard.

 

I enjoy writing this blog. When that enjoyment ends, so will this blog.

 

 

Long term goals

Since investigating Candlemas the idea of well planned goals has been ticking over in my mind. All those new years resolutions that I've made over the years really haven't helped me towards my goals. Because resolutions, without the work, don't add up to much. I've dreamed of being able to do many things over the years, even worked towards some for a while, but overall I've made very little progress.

I wish that I could:

Play the piano - I'm not worried about being an expert but I do enjoy piano music and would love to shift my skill level on from Grade 1.
Play the guitar - I'm actually wondering if this is a dream I should let go of. I can play chords, I was even pretty good at arpeggio for a while but am now sorely out of practice. I really don't know if I'm interested in doing all the practice needed to recover where I was let alone get any better!

Speak a foreign language - I've dipped into both French and Spanish in the past, I did German at school but have never revisited that particular language so far. I am currently interested in Welsh but in order to pursue this I need to set up a base where I can settle for a few minutes each day, I genuinely feel that I don't have the space for this at the moment.

Be slim - It's been many years since I've worn a size 12, I want to rediscover how good this feels.
Run a marathon - I would like to achieve this just once. I don't want to become a regular long distance runner as I'm not convinced that putting that much stress on your body on a regular basis is a good idea but I would like to complete just one marathon.
Touch my toes - I'm not even going to admit how long it's been since I could touch my toes with straight legs. I've never been very flexible, even as a child when I did gymnastics, but the older I get the more important I realise flexibility is.

Having written this list I'm slightly surprised at how short it is. There are other skills I've wanted over the years but they are generally related to fitness one way or the other. It is really uplifting reading through this, it is all very achievable. Not over night though!

Re-discovering music: keyboard

Time for practice

So much to study but so little time.

I have such a long list of things I would like to do but instead of applying the scattergun approach and not getting anywhere I have decided to focus on one skill. This month it is playing the keyboard.

As a child I always had access to an out of tune piano and self taught myself to play. Lessons were never an option and I never progressed beyond grade 1 (does it count as being self-taught if I'm still at this lowly level?) but I had fun. As an adult music has been pushed so far to the side lines that I usually only have a go about once a year, before Christmas, with an easy carol book. And each year I get frustrated with how my minimal ability is deteriorating.

However, I do enjoy playing music so my goal, for the month of January, is to practice on the keyboard at least 5 times a week. No limit on time, 5 minutes is enough on a busy day though I will try for half an hour on average.