The Conqueror Challenges | 1000 Fields of Roses

On The Way To The Stars

Another house we really wanted, but it went to someone else…
discouraging, but we have a couple of others to possibly have a look at.
This year seems to have been galloping on so far. We’re past the middle of January and it still seems vaguely “after Christmas”. We can’t know what this year will bring, but it seems it will bring it a bit more quickly than we might be anticipating 😆

I bought myself some virtual challenges as a Christmas/New Year present to myself, and a couple of weeks ago also received the medal for my 2022 challenge.

Front…

Back – the moon comes off, and you can wear it as a pendant.
“Per aspera ad astra” means “through adversity to the stars”.

It opens up as well, and above the medal is the back of the pendant.

I have had a few good weeks this year – I’ve even managed to get to an in person church service every Sunday this year! I feel like my joyous gallivanting has caught up with me a bit 😆 I’ve noticed that when I do too much, I can come down with a flu like thing (sore muscles/joints, cough, feeling like a balloon is swelling behind my face), which is where I’ve been this week. We stocked up with covid tests before the free ones were stopped, so I’ve done a few of those lately (covid test says “no”!).
We did manage to get out last week for a cuppa at the cafe, and a talk about the year ahead. Nice cake as well…

And while I’m thinking about flowers, here are some lovely ones I got at church this Sunday ❤

This year is still a mystery…
good thing I don’t have to worry!
🙂

Published in:

on January 18, 2023 at 11:17 pm Leave a Comment
Tags: All Sons & Daughters, The Conqueror Challenges

Galloping Round The North Coast

…of Scotland, that is.
Perhaps “galloping” is too…energetic…a word.
The latest medal for my virtual marathons came the other day. I’ve been waiting for this one! It’s a 500 mile walk through the Scottish Highlands. Thankfully I got it finished before the “Covid interlude”. I wasn’t really powering along beforehand, but 500 miles would be a bit beyond me at the moment.

Here’s the front.

Look who turns up when you move the thistle!

Here’s the back – my favourite bit 🙂

Complete with an inspiring message from Scotland’s National animal…

There are many more walks I’d like to do – the company has just put out a collection of Lord of the Rings challenges, and I’ve been wanting to do the Camino de Santiago – but a combination of (lack of) money and ability has put those on hold for a while.

I no longer have Covid, but I have had a couple of courses of antibiotics lately, and seem to have some sort of cold at the moment. My goal for the time being is to be able to go into town at some point for an hour or so, and be able to get the bus home. Such excitement! 😆

In the meantime, I’m catching up with a Creative Christianity Summit that I got a ticket for last year. I need to watch the interviews and workshops so I’m ready for this year’s summit. It’s been interesting and inspiring – all sorts of creative people and possibilities – everything from lettering workshops, to theatre companies that put on Passion Plays, to excitable vicars giving Bible studies. I’m signed up for this year – if you’re interested, there seems to be a free ticket option available.
Come along and join in! 😀

Published in:

on May 28, 2022 at 6:48 pm Leave a Comment
Tags: Creative Christianity Summit, Paul Blackham, Saltmine Theatre Passion PLay, The Conqueror Challenges

Medals, Ukraine And Hidden Books

I am enjoying a bit of cool weather at the moment, while listening to a CD of lost songs of St Kilda (the island, not the suburb/team…). We’re apparently in line for storms later on, so I’ll enjoy having the windows open for as long as I can! The heat we’ve been having has knocked me around a bit – I’ve generally felt like a weary, expanding ball of inflammation. I have not been able to do too much, so I was pleased to receive some more medals from the virtual races I’ve been doing. These were for shorter routes, which I used for various exercise activity.

Here are the backs –

And the bits that come apart –

At the moment they’re doing a Ukraine challenge. This one has no medal, so that all proceeds can go to help NGOs that are already working there.
I’ve also just signed up to another GISH (mini)Hunt, with proceeds once again going to Ukraine. It’s also a “book bash” hunt, a scavenger hunt for readers and writers – yay! 😀

What about the hidden books, I hear you ask?
I’ve been doing a bit of tidying and rearranging, in fits and starts…
For some reason this place gets dusty pretty much as soon as you look at it. I’ve tacked up some curtains over my bookcases in the bedroom. Hopefully that will keep the dust off my books for a bit. They hide my books, but they’re pretty. 🙂

I’ve got some hospital procedures next week that I’m (not) looking forward to. There are various preparations involved, but one of those will be making sure I have a substantial stack of (non-dusty!) books within easy reach during recovery. I’ll have to get to the library soon, and there’s a whole lot of books I’ve acquired recently but not had the time to read.
What more could I want?
😀

Published in:

on March 9, 2022 at 11:01 am Leave a Comment
Tags: GISH, The Conqueror Challenges

Proclaiming The Bling

I’ve got my first two medals from the virtual challenges I signed up for a few months ago. Basically, you sign up for a particular challenge, then log your walking/running/otherexercise on the app. You also plant a tree (or remove plastic from the ocean) every 20% of the distance along the way.
I have been using the challenges as motivation to move, in some way, each day – there are ways to convert things like shopping and housework into distance.
My first two challenges were the Trek To Petra, and the Flower Route through the Netherlands. Part of the fun is looking around the various places via Google maps, and you receive (virtual) postcards along the way.
Here are my beautiful new medals!

Here are the fronts – the bronze bit slides out of the Petra medal, and the windmill turns on the Flower medal.
Here are the backs.

I took advantage of the New Year sales to get some more.
There’s a 2022 “choose your own” challenge, which I’ll use to track my creative endeavours through the year. That’s adjustable, so I can add more “miles” as I go.
I chose two shorter routes for actual exercise – the Amalfi Coast, and the Berlin Wall. I’ll use various forms of movement and exercise to convert into miles.
My last choice is longer, and one I’ve wanted to do for a while. It’s a longer walk around Scotland. I held off on it because I didn’t know how I would manage the distance, but I’ve decided to use this one to track Bible reading (one chapter = one mile).
My first two were measured in kilometres, but I had to do this one in miles… the length of the challenge is 500 miles. And of course, each time I log distance for the day, this is what I’ll be singing in my head…

😀

Published in:

Health
Music

on January 7, 2022 at 10:35 pm Leave a Comment
Tags: The Conqueror Challenges, the Proclaimers

Lifting The Heavy

There’s been some beautiful heavy rain today. It’s made it easier to do the housework that’s needed doing – cooler days make the heavy work bearable.
The end of the school year means doing the more in depth cleaning that doesn’t get done so regularly (although much more often than once a year!) At least I can use the conversion chart that came with my virtual races to add some more distance to my challenges… the housework I’ve done today converts to around 10km. This gives me a sense of achievement, but I can also say that I felt every one of those kilometres!

Sweet Bean is embarking on his new adult life. Today was spent changing various accounts over to their adult versions, and was also the day to start applying for jobs. It won’t be too long before I have to start doing that as well, but I have a couple of weeks yet.
Everything is new and fresh, for the moment.
That sense of accomplishment is satisfying. Unfortunately, there is always more to do…

I shall bask in satisfaction until then, and enjoy my soundtrack for today!
😀

Published in:

on November 23, 2021 at 12:32 am Leave a Comment
Tags: Ellie Holcomb, Hillsong, The Conqueror Challenges

Challenge!

The days are getting hotter – there have been a few when I’ve felt on the verge of spontaneous combustion…
so of course, what better time to sign up for a virtual marathon or two? 😆

I’ve been working on a couple of races from The Conqueror site. I’ve chosen some smallish ones – a Trek to Petra, and the Flower Route through the Netherlands.
The initial plan was to increase my walking, both in distance and frequency, but the heat hasn’t made that easy. I haven’t made it back to the pool yet this season. I did find out, however, that the daily walk to the mailbox and back is about 400m, so that helps. I’ve worked out distances for walks I do regularly, whether around town, or to and from bus stops. The real help, though, comes from the handy conversion chart that is on the site – both housework and grocery shopping can be around 500ish metres every 10 minutes!
So far I’m about 30% along each route. You get virtual postcards as you go, and a tree is planted every 20% of the route.
I see some pretty things in my actual walking…