Z - A Challenge 2022

Oops, I seem to have fallen a bit (ok a BIG bit) behind with this challenge so here is a big catch up!

Starting with:

U - Unique to my blog.

Well I think my use of Alice is different although not unique.  (Find out more about Alice here.) 

Over the years I have tried to include different things e.g. for a while I made use of "10 things you didn't know last week" which was a regular post on the BBC website but that was discontinued.  I also tried writing about 5 news items each week and for a while I made Wednesdays into Wendysdays but......the familiar theme here is inconsistency.

I'm not great at sticking with things.  This challenge is another example of that.

However......

T - Ten Year plan

Ha, I often don't have a 10 minute plan let alone a year or ten.  After the last couple of years we've had with the pandemic I'm not sure anyone might bother with a ten year plan, especially with the state of our country's politics and economics.  

S - SMART GOALS

I know all about SMART goals.  It was something that was covered when I was doing the School Business Manager's qualification.  In a work environment they can be quite useful.  In my life not so much.  When I was crazy enough to give myself a list of challenges for the year (19 in 2019, 20 in 2020 etc - see above) I tried to make my goals SMART but (hmm supposed to be sticking to Zero excuses in this challenge) the pandemic threw a big spanner in the works and I didn't even set out a list for this year.

R - Recommend

If you're wondering what this is all about I recommend you check out the A-Z site here and the blogs of the organising team.  They put such a lot of hard work into the A-Z challenge every year.

Q - Questions for visitors

Hmm not sure visitors coming to my blogs would expect to get a grilling from me.  Of course it might be useful to find out how they landed here or what they think of my blog.  Maybe I could adapt my comment box to try and address this.

P - Priorities

Well clearly my blog hasn't been a priority lately!  My priority is definitely my family which now includes 6 grandchildren.  We also have a large extended family so keeping up with them is another priority.

O - Open

I think I'm quite an open person and what you see is what you get.

N - Never blog this

That's a tricky prompt.  Of course there are some things I wouldn't include in my blog - graphic images and real life horror stories spring to mind.  Other topics (e.g. politics or religion) can be contentious but I believe in free speech and the right to express our opinions.  

M - Motivating

I am often lacking in motivation.  Sometimes I think I need a good kick up the backside.  I have good and bad spells but battling anxiety can take a lot of energy.  

Phew that's brought me up to date with the prompts from the challenge!

Hopefully I might summon up enough motivation to keep on track from now on but don't hold your breath lol.

Variety - Z-A Challenge - 6/10/22

Click here for more info on this challenge.

Do you realise it is almost 2 months since you allowed me anywhere near your blog Wendy?

Yes I have spotted that Alice.  But it has been a little bit busy during that time, a week away with family, then a week away with friends in Ireland and of course all the Grandsitting and so on.

Hmm that doesn't account for all of the time.  As usual I'm feeling very neglected.  And I see that you've added a lot of books to your "Read" list on Goodreads.  I'm beginning to think you care more about this "Frieda Klein"* than you do me.

Oh but Alice that was such a good series and I just had to keep reading the next instalment.  But I've read them all now so I'll probably slow down a bit with reading again.

Yes and take up making poppies instead!  I've seen the pattern printouts and the crochet hook being resurrected.  

Well that's part of being in the Knit and Natter group.  And the poppies are quick and easy to do.

Easy to do?  Wendy it took you 3 attempts to get started last night in the pub. It should be called the Natter group because not much knitting was going on.  Well the others there seemed to be busy but you were definitely not concentrating!  The wine probably didn't help.

Oh the wine definitely helped Alice.  I'd had a long day with Grandson Vinny yesterday.  Starting with an 8 am pick up, coping with early morning traffic and then Granddaughter Ella was here in the afternoon too.

And that justifies the wine how exactly?

I needed to unwind.

Well you were unwinding the crochet that's for sure.

Crochet's not as easy as knitting is to do without concentrating.  Or without looking at it.  But at least I'm trying to do something different.  And I've generally been quite productive this week.

Well you've been trying to get rid of things.  I've seen you putting things on Marketplace or booking collections for things.  Not sure why that's productive.  I think the clue is in the word Wendy.

Perhaps proactive would be a better word.  I've got rid of one piece of furniture we didn't need.  Hopefully the other item I've listed will go too and I've booked a collection for the old freezer.  I've also investigated upgrading our alarm system and today I tried to sort out the issue with the Tax Credit office.

That went well.  Didn't appear to get you very far.

No well the ball is back in their court Alice.  You'd think that after 14 years of doing nothing they could write off a debt that they can't even show is the right amount.

Well I think the fact that they started chasing it after 14 years of inactivity shows they're not going to write it off anytime soon!

Maybe not.  We'll have to wait and see.

Anyway Wendy, how is this post linked to the prompt Variety.

You're my variety Alice.  A change from my usual posts.

Hmm, I'd much prefer it if I was your usual or regular sort of post.

Unfortunately we can't always have what we wish for Alice.

Well that's actually a good thing Wendy or you wouldn't be writing this at all.

Alice!

* Frieda Klein is the main character in a series of books written by Nicci French.  For more details see my Goodreads page.

Why blog? Z-A Challenge 4/10/22

Click here for more info on this challenge.

Ha!  One of the reasons I enjoy a blogging challenge is that it keeps me blogging.  Well I'm behind again on this one as this should have been posted by the 4th October.

Why blog?  

My cousin got me into blogging back in 2006.  I've been on various platforms but my first post here on Blogger was 12th August 2012.

Wow I missed my 10 year anniversary.  Surprising considering that blogging gives me a way of keeping a record of my life.  One of the main reasons I blog.  I also enjoy the interaction with other bloggers.  Not that I have a huge following but there are definitely some regular visitors who I consider virtual friends.

I like to think blogging stretches my intellectual capacity.  (Having lost my Mother to Alzheimer's my constant fear is that my brain will to mush if I don't keep it stimulated and exercised.)

That said you won't find a lot of deep and meaningful things here on this blog.  It also has its ups and downs.  Following a challenge does keep me posting more often but then when a challenge is over it's easy to let my posting dwindle for a bit.  Life circumstances also have a big effect on how regularly I post.

What I'm definitely not is a) a writer, in the sense of trying to become a published author and b) someone looking to make money out of blogging.

In a nutshell, I blog for me but I do appreciate people taking the time to read my posts.  Thank you for your support.  

Xenodochy in blogging - 3/10/22

Click here for more info on this challenge.

"Xenodochy in blogging" is the team's prompt for today.  Someone clearly went through the dictionary to find a good X word and no doubt most of us taking part will have had to resort to the dictionary to learn the meaning:

Reception of strangers/hospitality 

So applying that to blogging I like to think I'm receptive to strangers and hospitable.  I usually try and visit back anyone who comments on my blog.  Of course that's not always possible and the Blogger platform doesn't make it easy to get a thread going on comments.

However sometimes comments are just spam or trying to get you to visit sites that are really set up for commercial purposes.  Those will get deleted.

It can also be a bit tricky sometimes when the blog you visit holds no interest for you but I would still try and politely leave a comment to show I'd visited where possible.

I like to think I'm a hospitable person - my mantra for real visitors is "take me as you find me but I'll always put the kettle on or open a bottle of wine" even when I have my grumpy face on!

Yearning - 1/10/22

Click here for more info on this challenge.

This is my second post for this Z-A challenge and I'm using the team's prompt for Y which is Yearning.

Right now I am yearning for chocolate.  It's my downfall.  I made the mistake of ordering a box of Lindor chocolates with our shopping order that came yesterday and they are calling to me.

These ones.  Can you resist?  I am having great difficulty right now but I shall resist.

Now don't start thinking how good I am.  Well yes I am good but not when it comes to chocolate.  I've already had a Millionaire's slice today.  And this evening I had a Chocolate  Crunchy Cookies Magnum although in my defence for that it was a mini version not the full size one.

But of course this challenge started with the prompt Zero Excuses so I will continue to make no excuse for my lapses when it comes to eating chocolate but I will carry on yearning for the Lindor ones.  Well at least until tomorrow.  I'm off to bed now that I'm on track for this challenge.

Zero Excuses - 1/10/22

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Yes it's another A-Z challenge.  Less arduous (in theory) than the April challenge which involves posting everyday except Sundays, this challenge involves working backwards through the alphabet with only 2 posts a week required.  Following that timeframe will take participants up to December.  The fantastic A-Z team have even given us suggestions for prompts.  What could be easier?

Umm well as often is the case, I'm late to the party.  The first two posts were due by the 27th September.  The first prompt was Zero excuses so I'm not going to make any for my tardiness.

I'm not going to explain that I didn't read the A-Z post about the challenge on the day it was posted.

I'm not going to talk about having my Grandson Vinny for the day on Wednesday or how Thursday was spent shopping for our trip to Nottingham.

And the trip to Nottingham for our Grandson Miles's 2nd birthday is definitely not an excuse for being late to the party.  Although look at his beaming face.

Visit our Grandson v getting blog posts done - no contest.  Miles would win every time.

His brother Noah was pretty happy too.

Anyway I'm off the mark, out of the starting blocks, on my way.  I'm sure there will be other weeks when I'm not on schedule but as the prompt says, there will be Zero Excuses.