Finally finished!

I started knitting a lace baby blanket for Sophie when I was only a month or so pregnant. I finally finished it last week! It should keep her warm in her pram as we approach spring. There are crocuses out in our back garden now. I can feel the air getting warmer!

My next projects are a baby jumper for friends who are expecting a little boy in May, an easy colourful stripy blanket for Sophie's cot, and to finish the jumper that I started making for myself about two years ago. No more new projects until they are done!

Here's an utterly gratuitous new picture of Sophie!

101 in 1001 update

Since there is now less than a year to go until my self-imposed deadline for completing my 101 things in 1001 days, here's an update on my progress.

I've completed 44 out of the 101 tasks, and am close to completing several more. Not bad, considering I've changed jobs and had a baby during that time (not to mention the morning sickness and the unexpectedly early arrival!).

Some of the goals seem a little far-fetched now. Exercise (13, 14, 22)? Probably not. Concerted effort (3, 4, 18, 61, 62, 87, 87)? Hmmm. Foreign travel (64, 65, 70, 71, 75)? Difficult with a baby. Some might be repeated, whether for necessity or pleasure (30, 53, 92, 93, 94, 96, 99). In any case, I shall persevere in completing as many as I can. Then I can create a new, hopefully more realistic, list, because I only have one life, because I often think of things I'd like to do and forget them, and just because I love lists.

I'm still tracking my progress on my original post.

Personal
1. Read the whole Bible
2. Get a new job - completed December 2011
3. Read HeadFirst JavaScript
4. Read HeadFirst PHP
5. Have a super-simple month - pretty much every month since Sophie was born! Perhaps a better goal would be: Socialise!
6. Have a baby - Sophie Ann Louise Wu born 4 September 2012
7. Write to my grandmothers six times 5/6
8. Go paper-free on all bills and statements - completed
9. Get a facial
10. Save £10 for every task I complete (running total: £990)
11. Donate blood - completed 3 November 2011
12. Dye my hair
13. Run a half marathon
14. Run a 10K
15. Register for a course - completed September 2011
16. Learn to draw
17. Learn five new piano pieces 0/5
18. Learn the violin
19. Write a children's book
20. Create that website that I've been thinking about
21. Finish reading 'Getting things done'
22. Do the 100 push-ups challenge
23. Keep off facebook for a month - completed 14 September 2011
24. Get weight down to x - completed
25. Finish this list - completed 1 June 2011
26. Learn to play bridge prop

Food
28. Bake bread from scratch
29. Make a perfect pavlova - completed 29 April 2011
30. Make jam - completed 9 August 2011
31. Eat five things I've never tried before - completed 16 September 2011 (lots of new foods in Japan)
32. Make 20 new main course recipes 18/20
33. Make a birthday cake for someone - completed 28 September 2011
34. Learn to make sugar flowers - completed November 2011
35. Make chutney - completed 12 November 2011
36. Make 20 new cakes/desserts - completed 25 October 2012
37. Label my cake tins - completed 29 August 2011
38. Make three different flavours of creme brulee 2/3
39. Make a family cookbook

Garden
40. Build a rock garden
41. Grow and harvest 12 different fruits and vegetables 11/12
42. Get a peony for the garden
43. Have five different types of tulip in the garden
44. Clear the garden of debris

Home 
45. Paint our hall stairs and landing - completed 7 May 2011
46. Organise the attic
47. Paint the radiators in the kitchen and hallway - completed 1 May 2011
48. Make fitted cupboards and shelves in the living room
49. Make radiator covers in the living room
50. Paint the outside of the house - completed September 2012, organised by my lovely husband
51. Insulate the loft - completed 5 November 2011 (thanks, Nicolas and Eric!)
52. Get the boiler fixed - completed 2 June 2011
53. Get the damp chimney fixed - completed 22 November 2011
54. Paint the garden shed - completed 1 October 2011
55. Replace the door handles
56. Get a '21' sign for the house - completed 16 June 2012
57. Paint the kitchen - completed 10 July 2011
58. Clean the windows outside (or get them cleaned) - completed 18 October 2011
59. Get a frame for and hang the etching - completed 2 June 2011
60. Declutter the whole house
61. Revarnish the floors
62. Paint the banisters
63. Clear out and put new shelves in the pantry - completed August 2012 by Nick

Travel
64. Travel to four new countries 1/4
65. Go on a cruise
66. Go camping
67. Go to Scotland
68. Go on a girls only trip
69. Go on a road trip
70. See the Northern Lights
71. Go to the USA
72. Go on holiday with friends
73. Go on a winter holiday in the UK
74. Visit five British cities I've never been to before 2/5
75. Visit three European cities I've never been to before 0/3

Culture
76. Complete a 365 photo challenge
77. Go to an opera
78. Read 20 books 9/20
79. Watch five classic movies I've never seen before - completed 26 September 2011
80. See a Shakespeare play - completed 22 August 2012
81. Go to ten National Trust places 8/10
82. Go to a Prom - completed 20 July 2011
83. Go to the Tate Britain - completed 17 December 2011
84. Go to Portobello Market - completed 17 December 2011

Craft
85. Host a craft evening - completed 11 November 2011
86. Make curtains for the living room
87. Make a dress
88. Get a sewing box - found my childhood one!
89. Complete four knitting projects 3/4
90. Complete five cross-stitch projects 3/5

Fun
91. Leave a note in a library book - completed 2 October 2011
92. Complete a jigsaw - completed 8 May 2011
93. Go for a family bike ride - completed 8 October 2011 (Oxford to Tackley)
94. Host a neighbourhood party - completed 31 December 2011
95. Host Christmas
96. Swim in the sea - completed 25 June 2011 (at Highcliffe, Dorset)
97. Host a tea party
98. Go kayaking ten times 2/10
99. Go on a picnic - completed 31 July 2011
100. Go to a theme park
101. Go to a ball

Delicious lentils

We've been eating lots of lentils recently. There were several half-used packets in our cupboard, along with a bunch of other random bits and bobs of food, which I've been trying to use up. It turns out that lentils are really delicious and versatile. So far I've made a lentil and sausage hotpot which was a real hit, and a vegetarian lentil lasagne which will surely become a staple when we have veggies over for dinner!

Sausage and lentil hotpot
300g green lentils
12 pork sausages
1 onion, diced
4 rashers smoked bacon, cut into strips
2 carrots, cut into chunky pieces
4 sticks of celery, chopped
Dried thyme
1 litre chicken stock

Fry bacon in a large lidded casserole until browned. Add the onion and fry until soft (add a bit of salt to speed this up). Add the carrot and celery and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the lentils, stock, sausages and thyme. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 45 minutes.

We ate it with rice but I think it would go well with baked potatoes.