Into 2021 We Go

Well 2020 wasn’t much to write home about was it? Let's hope 2021 is going to do a bit better.

I certainly have lots planned for 2021 - even if most of it is events I should have attended in 2020.

Liverpool on the To Return To in 2021 list

I have just started living with the Tier 4 restrictions, which is a tad annoying, as one of my goals for this year was to try and make sure I get out to do a walk at least once a week in the Peak District or similar that would appear on my website Peak Walker. Needless to say the 'Stay at Home' part of the Tier 4 restrictions means that is out. I may live in Derbyshire but I personally don't consider the 30 minute plus drive I would need to do to get to the start of a walk as staying at home - others may say it is fine, it is up to them to live with themselves if that is what they are happy to do. With a daughter-in-law who has being treating Covid patients since this pandemic began I don’t wish to add to her workload.

On the other hand it should give me the opportunity to catch up with publishing my website walks, as I am now nearly two years behind - not quite as bad as it may sound as that only puts me 13 walks behind. The birth of my grandson and becoming Chair of a camera club had a major impact on the amount of time I had to spend walking in 2019 and of course 2020's numerous Lockdowns didn't help either.

One of the walks soon to be added to my website

 

Despite all of that 2021 has started with a 5 mile walk, it is just around my local streets with lots of crossing of roads to ensure social distancing is maintained. In 2020 I managed to cover over 800 miles walking my local streets, it would be nice if this year that total was beaten but with one little alteration - most of the miles walked with my walking boots on rather than my trainers.

Away from Stitching

Although I have been able to pick my needle and thread up for the first time in ages I have also found time to do a few other things as well.

The other half and I have enjoyed a great walk along Derwent Edge, we were lucky enough to enjoy  a great day weather-wise and I took far too many photographs, but as I'm meant to be starting a landscape and food photography business that's no bad thing.

Ladybower from Whinstone Lee Tor

The Wheel Stones

The Salt Cellar

Ladybower from Pike Low

Although it appears that the business is going no-where just yet I have started researching shots and I'm currently busy starting to work on my portfolio for the food side of the business. This involves me acquiring some new Photoshop skills so time is also being invested in an online course.

We have also relaunched my Peak Walker website so it is now responsive and I'm currently trawling through the 382 walks trying to spot errors. I'm also considering rewording many of the walks to make them more SEO friendly so the website goes up the rankings. Anything to help build my profile.

I'm also starting to look into how I want to sell my images and should soon have a selection of cards that people can buy.

Lots of planning at this stage but hopefully it will soon be producing some results.

Goals

Exercise-wise last week should have started out on a good note as on Monday we headed out to Monsal Dale to do a 7 mile walk, but as the ground was so frozen we walked so slowly in terms of my fitness it made no difference what-so-ever. It was a bitterly cold walk but we enjoyed some great views at the start.

Monsal Viaduct

Looking towards Preistcliffe

High Dale

River Wye

The route and  more images can be found on my Peak Walker website which also had an upgrade this week and is now responsive, so it works on mobile phones etc.

Other commitments meant Tuesday and Wednesday were going to be difficult days to fit any exercise in so it was Thursday before I finally got to the gym. In the end although I was a 10 miles short of the total for the previous week I still managed 42 miles and remain on target for reaching the goal I set myself of covering 2018 miles this year. I also found a Facebook Group that comprises of a group of people who are aiming to walk 1000 miles this year, so I've joined that as well just to give me two goals to aim for, my 2018 goal includes time on the bike at the gym and swimming.

I've also been thinking about my stitching and have decided that rather than picking up Celtic Autumn, putting a few stitches in her and not getting any sense of achievement I would start working on some of the small projects I have on the go. On Thursday I put a few stitches in a PIF I was doing for someone and never finished. If  When I get it finished I will have to track them down and send them it. Whilst I was searching through my stash I also found a Travelling Stitching Pattern I appear to have never started, now I know that fell apart because I started my HNC just after my second cataract operation and found I never had time to pick my needle up. I aim to get that started and moving again. Stitching-wise that is properly enough to be going on with for now. Hopefully my next post will contain some stitching pictures, I just have to get back into the habit of taking before and after shots.

Of course the really big goal for this year is to build up my photography portfolio and start working as a freelance photographer which is quite daunting, but nothing ventured nothing gained and the worst I can do is fail.

Back

Well I tried using Wordpress but just couldn't get on with it and I miss blogging I thought why not see if I can get this blog going again, although at the moment stitching is a very rare activity.

Where to start - I could go on forever about 2017 but lets just say in too many ways it didn't go to plan and so by the end of the year I weighed a stone (14lbs for those who don't understand proper weights) more than I did at the start of the year. To be fair more than half of that went on in December which was a month that started with a haoliday where a lot of good food and wine was consumed and ended with Christmas.  The last three months of the year also saw me spending far too little time in the gym so a significant decrease in my fitness levels also accompany the gain in weight.

On a more positive note I passed my HNC in Photography with Distinction and was forced into launching myself as photographer, my son got engaged and my daughter has secured herself a new job.

So to 2018 - given there is wedding to attend in January 2019 the priority is too shift a lot of weight as I know exactly what style of dress I want for the wedding and it requires a figure to die for. With that in mind I have made exercise a priority for this month with the first goal being to get back to the pre-holiday weight and the second to be regaining some power in my legs and finding my stomach muscles again.

Since the 27th December I have been able to fir at least one sessions of exercise in every day and since the Sports Centre opened after the New Year Holiday I have been able to get both a walk and trip to the gym or pool in every day. So far THIS YEAR I have already lost 3lbs  4lbs, although I am realistic enough to know that the weight loss will slow down.

Since Christmas I have also begun to catch up on the backlog of walks from my website. The first walk was in October when John and I enjoyed a walk around the Goyt Valley taking in the ridge to Shining Tor Shining Tor walk details

Cats Tor from Shining Tor

The second walk was the one which marked the start of our November trip to the Kirkstile Inn in the Lake District. This time we enjoyed long distance views of the Pennines and Shap Fells thanks to the blue skies and a bitterly cold wind on that day Seat Robert walk details

Looking across Wet Sleddale Reservoir to Seat Robert

I need to get the website up-to-date as John has made it responsive and it needs to be relaunched so it makes sense to get all of the 2017 walks on the site before we launch the new version.

Sewing at the moment looks like being a none-starter , although I did briefly pick up my needle in 2017 and put some more stitches in Celtic Autumn, I would dearly love to finish her but she is so fiddly at the moment that I get fed up with only being able to put a few stitches in before I need to move to another section or change colour.

Here's to hoping 2018 will be a little more successful than 2017.

Catching Up

As my eyesight started to diminish  my ability to head out safely to the hills I loved also declined. As a result my enthusiasm for my walking website also declined and so I ended up with many of the walks I had manged to do in 2014 not making it onto the site. 

Since my first operation I have been able to head back out onto the hills I love and managed to fit three walks in-between my operations.

I have enjoyed an evening stroll through Wolfscote Dale

Finally got out by myself for a walk taking in Padley Gorge and Higger Tor

The day before my second operation I fitted in a late afternoon walk along Stanage Edge

When the eye patch came off after the first operation and I finally realised how bad my eyesight had got I set myself the goal of getting all of the missing walks from 2014 online. Today is the first day after the second operation that I get to head to the hills and this morning I published the final missing walk from 2014

Time to head out and reacquaint myself with all the places I love so much and haven't visited for so long.