24 Write a blog for the summer

So I actually managed to keep this blog going which I am very pleased about as I wasn't sure I would! but then I have surprised myself with how many of the things on the list I have ticked off. 

I haven't got them all but I am inspired to carry on and create a new list for the winter so keep an eye out for that....

41. Watch my favourite film (The Great Escape)

It was great to watch this again! A great film about a great story and all the more poignant this week as the world lost the great Richard Attenborough who stars in this as Big X!

32. Send a post card to post secret

Its on the way!

18. Write a letter to myself for when I am 40

Not much to say on this one really.... I will just have to wait and see when I get there! 

But hopefully it will be a great journey!!!!

21. Make a piece of art

It's simple and I have done better in the past but as I am not an artist really I am pretty pleased with it! It is painted with odd bits of paints leftover in my parents garage which was interesting and hard at the same time lol

37. Help my Grandad C with something

So I found this harder than I thought and I wasn't able to help my Grandad with anything but I did help my Nan with downloading a program to create photobooks which I will be more than happy to help her use when the time comes! 

50. Cook a new recipe

A new recipe for curry with a twist.... 

chorizo 

mushrooms

courgettes

celery

peppers

dopiatz sauce

served with cous cous

Bring on healthy September!!!

38. Go on evening walks once a week

We have had a great summer this year and it had made going out for a walk in the evening a real pleasure! I even combined it with planting seeds around Market Harborough one week!

15 Get rid of people I no longer like on facebook

As it turns out I am pretty selective who I am friends with on facebook as I only got rid of 10 people.

47. Try at least 3 new foods

1. Blueberries

2. Romanesco (a cross between broccoli and cauliflower

3. Blonde beer

So I liked two out of the three but I just can't get on beer of any type, think I'll stick to cider or southern comfort!

40 Have a good clear out of stuff over a weekend

I had a good clear out a couple of weekends ago and I took three bags of stuff to one of the charity shops in town.

36. Read The leaving of Liverpool

I was given this book by my Nan just because she thought I would like it, I love that I have a couple more to read as well! 

So I did like this story, the characters had a hard life but they managed to forge a better one for themselves through thick and thin. At one point I wanted to give up on the book which is very unlike me but I stuck with it and I'm glad I did because it had a good ending.

33. Go a whole day without spending money

I spent a few days without spending any more, some at work others at the weekend. It's harder than you think these days. Everything costs something but hey there is a lot of fun to be had!

29 Geocache

I've heard of this before and was really keen to do it so much so that I signed up for the year once I had the app!

I've been out three times in the last couple of weeks, once with Vikki, once with my parents and finally with my mum! on two occasions I found caches but on the third occasion there were too many muggles about to get close!

This is the first ever cache me and Vikki found!

This is the second one we found which is 'in full view' when you know where to look.

And this is the third one I found when I was out with my Mum and Dad.

If you want to get involved head along to http://www.geocaching.com/ and join the fun!

11. Save every 50p from now until 31st August

So I got about £10 in total plus a few other silver coins.

3. Celebrate an obscure holiday and go all out

For this one of the list I had to do a bit of research to find a holiday and I couldn't believe it when I found this day as it is perfect...

13th August is International Left Handers Day! (it is an actual day, here is the website to prove it: http://www.lefthandersday.com/)

And I am left handed! so it couldn't have been more perfect!

This morning I made some decorations (I do have to say they were make shift but the best I could do as I nearly forgot and it added to the fun) and took them into work and announced I was celebrating today!

At lunchtime I gave them some interesting facts about left handed people, some of the best are below:

• Recover from strokes faster
• Draw figures facing to the right
• Make up between 5% and 10% of the population (depending on who you ask)
• 4 of the 5 original designers of the Macintosh computer were left-handed
• 1 in 4 Apollo astronauts were left-handed – 250% more than the normal level.

And then when I visited the gym this evening I did some exercises just with my left hand

 And finally I celebrated with a cream scone and a cup of tea!

35. Go to a gig of a new/unknown band

I actually did this a few weeks ago when I cycled out to the Foxton Locks festival, I saw a number of bands on the afternoon of Saturday 21st June.

I have no idea of their names but they were all good and I had a great time just enjoying the weather, people watching and an icecream!

44. Spend the day with my Dad

My dad is a little harder to pin down for the whole day but I did it on Friday 8th August. All three of us when shopping in Grimsby, had lunch in Louth which was flooded in areas and we went out for dinner in the evening! 

5. Read George Owell's 1984

I really enjoyed 1984, it was a really good read and I can't believe some of the things he thought about back then which have happened but in a slightly different way.

I found it easy to get into which I wasn't expecting because other people had said it would take a while but I think as I was reading it during my week of no telly I was able to give it more time than I might have done.

Definitely recommend it because it is a classic!

48. Go on a picnic

When I spent the day with my mum with took a light lunch and drinks to Hubbard Hills to have as a picnic. The weather was lovely and we even saw a little rabbit who was bold enough to come out of the under growth.

43. Spend the day with my Mum

On Thursday 7th August I spend the day with my Mum. She got up early to go for a blood test and I then met her in town for breakfast which we had in a lovely little cafe in Louth. We had wonder around before making our way to Hubbard Hills just on the edge of town. It is a valley which has a river running through it and it is a favourite spot for families to go on sunny days.

We packed a picnic and went to find a quiet spot to relax, read and in my mum's case have a nap.

46. Go on a Road trip

Lydia, Mimi and I drove all the way down to Woolacombe bay, Devon after work on Friday 25th July for a weekend away at the beach! It took 4 and a half hours and we arrived just before midnight! 

It was a long way but it is a beautiful part of the world and I can see myself spending a lot more time down there! 

My little car Nevile enjoyed all the winding hilly roads as well, much to Lydia's enjoyment on the Saturday!

6. Learn a new skill

Whilst I was away in Devon we went to Saunton Beach and rented a stand up paddle board for the day and me, Mimi and Lydia all had a go at it.

It was great fun and we all managed to stand up and paddle around in the seas which was pretty calm.

34. Give up TV for a week

For some reason I decided that I was going to give up TV for a week. I wanted to see if I could live without it and what I could get done in that time and I was surprised.

I did the following:

- dropped into Hanging Houghton on my way home to tick it off the alphabet (1)
- turned a pair of old jeans into shorts ready for the weekend
- packed for camping
- finished my letter to the unknown soldier (4)
- read a lot of 1984
- went camping
- went on a roadtrip to Devon (46)
- learnt to paddle board (6)
- did loads of ironing
- trained three evenings
 and quite a few other bits

28. Send postcards to my family

It is always nice to receive a postcard from someone you love when they are away, it is a reminder that you mean something to them and they want to share a moment of their holiday with you... this is the reason why I wanted to send them to my family.

And I sent them via an app called Touchnote which is really easy to use and they are not expensive either! and the best thing is you are using your own photos so each one is personal.

Here are the photos I took and used for my postcards:

4. Write a letter to the unknown soldier

As I am sure you are well aware it is 100 years since world war one started, it is hard to believe the suffering and sacrifice that was endured by people at the time but we can be grateful for their sacrifice and try and learn from the mistakes of the past.

A project was launched to commemorate in a unique way... they are better at saying it so find out more here: http://www.1418now.org.uk/letter/about/ 

So I changed my list slightly as I was going to write a letter to Ellen but I felt this was more worth while and I wanted to be a part of something bigger.

Follow the link below to read my letter and many more... 

http://www.1418now.org.uk/letter/emma-silvester/

20. Take my parents out for dinner

On Friday 8th August, I took my parents out for dinner in their and my favourite Indian restaurant which is called Bollywood Fusion and it is located in my home town of Louth. We had a lovely evening and as we are regulars in this particular Indian we actually got a free nightcap which was nice! 
My parents was very surprised when I said I wanted to take them out which was nice because it made it special.

39. 12 Years a Slave

I have now read the book and watched the film. I really enjoyed the book from start to finish, it was really well written and I don't mean in a way that I was surprised, I mean it was a good book and I really enjoyed it and it was great it was told in such a true way! It did leave me thinking what a difficult place it was to live and still can be for people who are different, not just black people. 

31. Write a note and leave it somewhere for someone else

So I went cycling around Pitsford Water during my first week at my new job (which I am loving in case you wondered) and a guy came up to me and asked which was the best way to run as he hadn't been before so I told him and off he went. I got my stuff together and set of a few minutes later. I passed him 10 minutes later and waved and he waved back so I thought interesting.
So when I stopped to take a photo as the sun was shining on the water and it look amazing (see picture below) and he passed me so I smiled, he smiled and I continued with my interested thought. I passed him again as I carried on cycling and decided that he was the person to receive my note which is below. So when I got back to my car I wrote the note and left it under his windscreen.

To date no response so in the office we have concluded he is married or in a relationship! (i do think maybe the note blew away... who knows?)

27. Complete Tough Mudder

WOW what a day!!! Sunday 13th July was Tough Mudder day, it came round quickly but I trained hard and I was ready for it! We went round as a team and we did it in 4 hours! I was and still am so pleased with myself!

Here are some photos from the day:

And here are the bruises and cuts I got from the course, which did mean a trip to the hospital for a tentis shot but all in a days extreme challenge fun!!!

And when I went to go get a bite to eat, who do I know as been watching... none other than Uncle Scott! He would be proud!!!

22. Plant Seeds in Random Places

I went out on an 'evening walk' a couple of weeks ago and scattered some sunflower seeds in places around Market Harborough which were missing some colour. I chose please that would be seen and the weather has been a good mixture of rain and sun that hopefully they will have found there way into the ground.
Below is a picture of all the places I dropped some seeds so if you see sunflowers let me know: