Ann of Owlshire Posted April 16, 2018 Report Share Posted April 16, 2018 Dear Adventurers, there’s no more guesswork about it—sometime during this challenge I’m going to give birth to my child. It could happen in the zero week, it could happen in the third. It doesn’t seem like the time to make challenges, but I fear if I take a month off I may get swept away and never return…. As much as I want to lie around (and likely will do so quite often), I still need to take care of myself, my gardens, and my home and hearth. Adventures… well, they’ll be more of the “exploring new experiences” variety than “exploring new locations”—at least for this challenge. Most tasks are stated in the “before” timeframe. What happens “after” is yet to be determined, but there will likely be spillover. Note: I tend to find life unpredictable, and I’ve found a lot of success in the “spirit” of a goal rather than the cold, hard, and often arbitrary, metrics. As such, for each goal I put down, I’ll put down example tasks that fulfill it, but I will remain open to new and altered ideas that fit the spirit of the goal. Keep on Wandering: This has certainly been a struggle of late, I don’t expect it to improve before. I will continue to get in as much daily movement as I can without overdoing it. This includes short walks, local errands, caring for the house, and other light physical activities. And I will rest when I need to rest and not feel guilty about it. Home and Hearth: Compile a list of one-time home tasks that need doing. Create a list of regular maintenance tasks to keep the house comfortable and functional Create a household task calendar based on this list 15 minute daily tidies Cooking: bettering and expanding my menu Decorating/the photo project Inviting people over/fostering community Alter all of my household plans to incorporate a baby when reality hits me Tend My Gardens: Protecting My Psychic Landscape: There are outer worlds and inner worlds. Psychic landscape (or sometimes psychic space) is how I view my inner world. Sometimes, I let it get too cluttered with rampant-growing bindweed from the outside world. Sometimes I’m better at controlling this. I want to be consistently better. Journaling/developing nonfic projects Revisit my fiction project, brainstorm, add to it Reading Minimizing screen time (including computer, internet, TV, etc.) In the outer world, my “garden," is more literal. We don’t have much gardening space available to us in our London home, but we have some: a left-to-wild edging around our back patio (which, sadly, gets no light), and a shared garden (ornamentals) with a neighbor. I prefer growing food to flowers, but in past 2 years I have enjoyed being able to take cuttings for the table in the spring/summer. (Also, we have a tar seepage issue in our area that doesn’t thrill me about trying to grow edibles straight in the ground.) But I miss growing edibles, so I’m focused on creating an edibles garden on our tiny balcony, which gets the most sunlight. I have seedlings for strawberries, sweet peppers, mint, parsley, and basil already going that need continued nurturing and eventual transplanting into pots. We already have a flourishing batch of rosemary, and a bay tree that somehow keeps on going despite our neglect. I can’t do much about taming the patio or shared garden until “after” as I’m just not bendy enough I’d like to get another batch of seedlings going, particularly with the strawberries Pick out pots from our pile on the patio Acquire potting soil (I don’t drive; will probably have to order it) Begin transplanting the seedlings to pots and acclimating (“hardening”) them to the outside world Once I have those sorted, I will decide if there’s room on the balcony for more Consider fairy lights for the patio to make it more magical to sit in in the evening Check in and storytelling: Check-ins once or twice per week, experiment with narration. If I vanish for longer you can guess why…. This is a really long post for a token challenge >_> 8 Quote Sometimes you have to wander to find your way home… 🇺🇸 Adventurer 🇬🇧 🌳🦉🌳 Epic Quest: Tales of Owlshire Link to comment
Ann of Owlshire Posted April 16, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2018 I actually had a great walk today. My tube line was having shenanigans, so I ended up getting off at a stop about 2 miles out and sauntered my way home in the sunshine. It was slow going, but I managed it, and I didn't feel wrecked when I got home. Granted, that's not how this sort of thing usually goes lately, but I'm glad to have had it, especially with the nice spring weather finally arriving. 3 Quote Sometimes you have to wander to find your way home… 🇺🇸 Adventurer 🇬🇧 🌳🦉🌳 Epic Quest: Tales of Owlshire Link to comment
annyshay Posted April 17, 2018 Report Share Posted April 17, 2018 7 hours ago, Ann of Vries said: Consider fairy lights for the patio to make it more magical to sit in in the evening Fairy lights are always a good idea. Your challenge is lovely and so well adapted to the transitions ahead. Here for support! 1 Quote Love as thou wilt. Link to comment
Ann of Owlshire Posted April 17, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2018 2 hours ago, annyshay said: Fairy lights are always a good idea. I think they'd look nice in the back garden patio, but currently there's a lot of clothes line criss-crossed over it. (They are bright red and look like lasers trying to keep out ninjas and cat burglars.) My tall Mr of Vries already has to try to not garrote himself when he goes out there XD So I'm wondering if I can realistically hang more wire out there or if it'll just get more silly. Maybe I'll do little tea light lamps or something I can keep on the table or suspend from the existing anti-ninja lines instead. Hmmm..... 2 hours ago, annyshay said: Your challenge is lovely and so well adapted to the transitions ahead. Here for support! Thank you! I'm moving away from the Hobbit themes and going to try to move more into a folklore/fairy tale/mythic theme, although I'll get more into that for the next challenge. I did seriously consider doing an Ent-themed one, though, since I sometimes call baby the Enting. (His early prospective names list was mostly based on types of trees. We like trees.) 2 Quote Sometimes you have to wander to find your way home… 🇺🇸 Adventurer 🇬🇧 🌳🦉🌳 Epic Quest: Tales of Owlshire Link to comment
PettyMort Posted April 17, 2018 Report Share Posted April 17, 2018 Whee, so exciting. Awesome goals. Following for the mini Vries. 1 Quote Level 1 Dwarven Ranger STR 0 | DEX 0 | CON | STA 0 | WIS 0 |CHA 0 Battlelog | NF Character Sheet Template 2.0 (stats system) | NF Character Sheet Template v3.0 (XP system) (File > Make a Copy), enter your own details, track everything in one place. Please PM me if you have any questions or ideas. The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible. - Arthur C Clarke Link to comment
annyshay Posted April 17, 2018 Report Share Posted April 17, 2018 7 hours ago, Ann of Vries said: I think they'd look nice in the back garden patio, but currently there's a lot of clothes line criss-crossed over it. (They are bright red and look like lasers trying to keep out ninjas and cat burglars.) My tall Mr of Vries already has to try to not garrote himself when he goes out there XD So I'm wondering if I can realistically hang more wire out there or if it'll just get more silly. Maybe I'll do little tea light lamps or something I can keep on the table or suspend from the existing anti-ninja lines instead. Hmmm..... Thank you! I'm moving away from the Hobbit themes and going to try to move more into a folklore/fairy tale/mythic theme, although I'll get more into that for the next challenge. I did seriously consider doing an Ent-themed one, though, since I sometimes call baby the Enting. (His early prospective names list was mostly based on types of trees. We like trees.) Maybe wrap them around the balcony? I did that at one apartment and liked it. That's adorable. Tiny of Vries will remain Enting in my head. 3 Quote Love as thou wilt. Link to comment
WolfDreamer Posted April 17, 2018 Report Share Posted April 17, 2018 Yay baby! Following for the inevitable news and adorable baby pictures. 1 Quote Who am I? -- My NF Character Current Challenge: WolfDreamer Springs Forward Past Challenges: Spoiler Winter is Coming, Wolfen Strengthens His Heart, Body, Mind, and Spirit, Wolfen Becomes One of the People, Wolfen Strengthens His Chakras, Wolfen Welcomes Summer and Gets Primal, Soulcon and Spartan, Wolfen Develops Mental Toughness, Wolfen Joins the Wander Society, Soulcon, Spartan, School, and Stranger Things, Wolfen Becomes a Warrior Elite, Wolfen Goes Here and There and Back Again, Wolfen Becomes a Soulcon Warrior Elite, Wolfen Returns to His Roots, Wolfen Wanders in Soul, Spirit, and Body, Wolfen Owns the Day, Wolfen Searches for His Wild Heart, Wolfen Runs for His Life, Wolfen Hits the Trails, Wolfen Becomes an Explorer and Joins the Resistance, Wolfen Goes Back to the Source, Wolfen Begins the Hero's Journey, WolfDreamer Returns to the People, WolfDreamer Pushes Back, WolfDreamer Prioritizes, Burpees, Books, and Brainwork, Burpees, Books, Brainwork, and Bodywork, WolfDreamer Masters the Four Elements, WolfDreamer Continues to Master the Four Elements, WolfDreamer Returns to Sparta, WolfDreamer Returns to Middle Earth, WolfDreamer Continues His Middle Earth Adventure, WolfDreamer and the Fall, WolfDreamer Forges His Own Path, WolfDreamer Has Hope, WolfDreamer Returns to Middle Earth, WolfDreamer Reads Harder, Breathes Harder, and Journals More, WolfDreamer Embraces His Wild Poet, The Mad Poet Becomes Supernatural, WolfDreamer, The Mad Poet, Becomes Superhuman, WolfDreamer Elevates, WolfDreamer Becomes IronBorn, WolfDreamer Wakes the White Wolf, The Mad Poet Recovers by Keeping it Simple, WolfDreamer Clears His Mind to Find His Wild Heart, WolfDreamer Resets, WolfDreamer Strives to Become an Eminently Qualified Peaceful Warrior “I'd rather sing one wild song and burst my heart with it, than live a thousand years watching my digestion and being afraid of the wet.” -- Jack London “I wanted movement and not a calm course of existence. I wanted excitement and danger and the chance to sacrifice myself for my love.” -- Leo Tolstoy "I feel love rising in my chest again Rising like a burning sun into the day..." -- Gungor, "Hurricane" "...wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." 2 Corinthians 3:17b Link to comment
athousandwords Posted April 17, 2018 Report Share Posted April 17, 2018 Following along because you are an amazing rockstar momma and I can't to hear about the new little Entling! 1 Quote Level 13 Ravenclaw Rebel "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." --Michael Pollan COMPLETED CHALLENGES: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 13.5 2022 CHALLENGES: 14 | 15 Link to comment
Chris-Tien Jinn Posted April 17, 2018 Report Share Posted April 17, 2018 18 hours ago, Ann of Vries said: Maybe I'll do little tea light lamps or something I can keep on the table or suspend from the existing anti-ninja lines instead. Hmmm.... On my never ending "to do" list is the task of finding a way to do solar fairy lights for trellis. If I have success, I'll let you know. 1 Quote Level 4 Human Ranger/Paladin "We are better than we know, if we can be made to see it, [then] for the rest of our lives, we'll be unwilling to settle for less." - Kurt Hahn STR: 9 | DEX: 10 | CON: 14 | INT: 13 | WIS: 14 | CHA: 13 Link to comment
Ann of Owlshire Posted April 18, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2018 7 hours ago, Chris-Tien Jinn said: On my never ending "to do" list is the task of finding a way to do solar fairy lights for trellis. If I have success, I'll let you know. You know, I was thinking about this exact thing last night. We have some underused trellises in our garden.... Great minds! Fairy lights here are sold on strings, so it's just a matter of weaving them through. But I think I've seen some standalone solar lanterns.... Quote Sometimes you have to wander to find your way home… 🇺🇸 Adventurer 🇬🇧 🌳🦉🌳 Epic Quest: Tales of Owlshire Link to comment
lucky fire dragon Posted April 18, 2018 Report Share Posted April 18, 2018 wow, what an exciting time and how awesome that you will share this very special time a bitty with us. Following for Entings, little trees and all the shiny fairy light 2 Quote Level 18 Wood-Elf Assassin battle log: counting the good things current challenge: something, nothing, all the things previous challenges: 25, 24, 23, 22, 21, 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 How cool is it that the same God who created mountains and oceans and galaxies looked at you and thought the world needed one of you, too Link to comment
Chris-Tien Jinn Posted April 18, 2018 Report Share Posted April 18, 2018 17 hours ago, Ann of Vries said: You know, I was thinking about this exact thing last night. We have some underused trellises in our garden.... Great minds! Fairy lights here are sold on strings, so it's just a matter of weaving them through. But I think I've seen some standalone solar lanterns.... Yes! As soon as I left this forum, I checked in at Amazon and found lots of cute solar powered fairy light strings. I do have a few solar lanterns at the edge of our gardens currently. They add a nice touch on warm summer evenings ..... 4 Quote Level 4 Human Ranger/Paladin "We are better than we know, if we can be made to see it, [then] for the rest of our lives, we'll be unwilling to settle for less." - Kurt Hahn STR: 9 | DEX: 10 | CON: 14 | INT: 13 | WIS: 14 | CHA: 13 Link to comment
oromendur Posted April 22, 2018 Report Share Posted April 22, 2018 You may be moving on, but you'll always be part hobbit to me Hooray for fairy lights and Entings!! 1 Quote hröa Periano, sanar Eldaro, fëa Núnatano (body of a Hobbit, mind of an Elf, soul of a Dúnadan) Memories of a former Age [ 1 | 2 ] ~ Return from Mandos [ respawn ] Recent sojourns in Middle-earth { 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 ] [ Current: spreadsheets all the way down ] ~ [ Tracking spreadsheet ] ~ [ Instagram ] The warrior and the artist live by the same code of necessity, which dictates that the battle must be fought anew every day. ~ Steven Pressfield, The War of Art Link to comment
Ann of Owlshire Posted April 22, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2018 A new challenger has entered the game! Rowan of Vries was born on April 21st by an urgent induction necessitated by complications discovered at a late pregnancy check-up. He is healthy and wiggly, Ann of Vries is pleased and recovering, and Mr of Vries is an utterly magnificent advocate, partner, and new father. My goals will be more or less staying the same as they were for this challenge while I recover, but I should be fully back in action for the next one. Hills, here I come! 7 Quote Sometimes you have to wander to find your way home… 🇺🇸 Adventurer 🇬🇧 🌳🦉🌳 Epic Quest: Tales of Owlshire Link to comment
Stronkey Kong Posted April 22, 2018 Report Share Posted April 22, 2018 Congratulations! 1 Quote ===================================================================================================== --Stronkey Kong-- Link to comment
oromendur Posted April 22, 2018 Report Share Posted April 22, 2018 1 hour ago, Ann of Vries said: Rowan of Vries was born on April 21st by an urgent induction necessitated by complications discovered at a late pregnancy check-up. He is healthy and wiggly, Ann of Vries is pleased and recovering, and Mr of Vries is an utterly magnificent advocate, partner, and new father. Oh! OH! OHMYGOODNESS! THE ADORABLE ENTING EVEN HAS A TREE NAME!!!! Quickbeam definitely approves Many congratulations! Welcome to the little one! Glad to know you are all right, little of Vries is wiggly, and Mr of Vries is there. You are amazing. Now that your family's exciting adventure has begun, soon you'll be on the hills together. Good luck! 3 Quote hröa Periano, sanar Eldaro, fëa Núnatano (body of a Hobbit, mind of an Elf, soul of a Dúnadan) Memories of a former Age [ 1 | 2 ] ~ Return from Mandos [ respawn ] Recent sojourns in Middle-earth { 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 ] [ Current: spreadsheets all the way down ] ~ [ Tracking spreadsheet ] ~ [ Instagram ] The warrior and the artist live by the same code of necessity, which dictates that the battle must be fought anew every day. ~ Steven Pressfield, The War of Art Link to comment
Chris-Tien Jinn Posted April 22, 2018 Report Share Posted April 22, 2018 Welcome, Rowan!!! And now, @Ann of Vries, your progressive weight training begins ..... 4 Quote Level 4 Human Ranger/Paladin "We are better than we know, if we can be made to see it, [then] for the rest of our lives, we'll be unwilling to settle for less." - Kurt Hahn STR: 9 | DEX: 10 | CON: 14 | INT: 13 | WIS: 14 | CHA: 13 Link to comment
annyshay Posted April 22, 2018 Report Share Posted April 22, 2018 1 hour ago, oromendur said: Quickbeam definitely approves YAYYYYYY!!!! Welcome little Rowan. Well done new parents of Vries. 1 Quote Love as thou wilt. Link to comment
PettyMort Posted April 22, 2018 Report Share Posted April 22, 2018 Yaaaaaaaaaay! Congratulations and welcome to the world, Rowan! 1 Quote Level 1 Dwarven Ranger STR 0 | DEX 0 | CON | STA 0 | WIS 0 |CHA 0 Battlelog | NF Character Sheet Template 2.0 (stats system) | NF Character Sheet Template v3.0 (XP system) (File > Make a Copy), enter your own details, track everything in one place. Please PM me if you have any questions or ideas. The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible. - Arthur C Clarke Link to comment
Sylvaa Posted April 22, 2018 Report Share Posted April 22, 2018 Congrats! 1 Quote Sylvaa's BattleLog Sylvaa's Tracking Spreadsheet Link to comment
CallunaTook Posted April 23, 2018 Report Share Posted April 23, 2018 Congratulations on the little treeling! Glad you all are healthy and well. 1 Quote Link to comment
athousandwords Posted April 23, 2018 Report Share Posted April 23, 2018 Congratulations! He is beautiful! I'm sorry to hear about the complications and emergency induction, I'm sure it was scary and I hope you are surrounded by love and comfort as you recover. The fourth trimester can be mentally and physically trying - I wish you all the best as you bond with your baby! We'll be here whenever you get back - until then, I hope you enjoy some serene moments with your darling boy. And if the weather cooperates, hopefully you and Rowan can enjoy spending some time in your garden! I loved taking my baby outdoors for walks or just to sit and enjoy the sunshine - it always calmed him down. If you ever need someone to talk to about your birth experience or those 3 a.m. cluster feedings, reach out! I know we don't really know each other, but I'm happy to lend an ear. <3 1 Quote Level 13 Ravenclaw Rebel "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." --Michael Pollan COMPLETED CHALLENGES: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 13.5 2022 CHALLENGES: 14 | 15 Link to comment
Ann of Owlshire Posted April 24, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 24, 2018 Thank you, everyone! On 4/22/2018 at 8:31 PM, oromendur said: THE ADORABLE ENTING EVEN HAS A TREE NAME!!!! That's why I called him the Enting On 4/22/2018 at 9:01 PM, Chris-Tien Jinn said: And now, @Ann of Vries, your progressive weight training begins ..... Seriously, last night I was like "why do my shoulders hurt so much?" and then I remembered how often I'd been holding a 7.x lbs weight lately. Mr of Vries had been commenting that I was probably on my way to the strongest arms I'd had in my life XD 18 hours ago, athousandwords said: If you ever need someone to talk to about your birth experience or those 3 a.m. cluster feedings, reach out! I know we don't really know each other, but I'm happy to lend an ear. <3 Thank you for the offer. NF is oddly one of the only "child-friendly" spaces I hang out on the Internet, so I fear you all may get the brunt of my new mumminess 5 Quote Sometimes you have to wander to find your way home… 🇺🇸 Adventurer 🇬🇧 🌳🦉🌳 Epic Quest: Tales of Owlshire Link to comment
Ann of Owlshire Posted April 24, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 24, 2018 Day 3 in Adventures with a Newborn: Mr of Vries (a project manager in personality and in career): Okay, we need to have a strategy and a plan and we've with some calm, rational steps we can-- Me: --WE ARE IN THE JUNGLE AND MUST DO WHATEVER WE CAN TO SURVIVE--!!! Granted, he's been getting more sleep than me (I'm on call 24 hours as the food source so it's inevitable), and I've been happy to let him get more sleep because someone needs to be able to navigate XD 3 2 Quote Sometimes you have to wander to find your way home… 🇺🇸 Adventurer 🇬🇧 🌳🦉🌳 Epic Quest: Tales of Owlshire Link to comment
athousandwords Posted April 24, 2018 Report Share Posted April 24, 2018 4 hours ago, Ann of Vries said: Mr of Vries (a project manager in personality and in career): Okay, we need to have a strategy and a plan and we've with some calm, rational steps we can-- This was my husband! He made a task board using post-it notes to keep track of what we needed to do and I was just like... how do you have the energy?? Being the food source is hard work! I always made DH get up with me for the nighttime feedings - I needed the moral support. He'd often get the baby and bring him to me in bed so I could rest a little longer. Though admittedly, when the baby was cluster feeding I'd leave the room and watch TV to stay awake, since it could be hours... I hope you both are able to find a balance - and that he's letting you nap as much as possible!! 1 Quote Level 13 Ravenclaw Rebel "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." --Michael Pollan COMPLETED CHALLENGES: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 13.5 2022 CHALLENGES: 14 | 15 Link to comment
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