DTL&#x27;s Summer Bucket List 2020

Original post by DrawTheLine

Yoohoo!

After I had so much fun doing my Three Week Lockdown blog, I'm joining in with this summer's bucket list challenge too! :yeah:

I've been on furlough for the past 4 months and will be going back to work part-time next week, so I've had lots of time to figure out goals I want to achieve, and will still have lots of time to achieve them! So here is my 2020 summer bucket list:

•

Become conversational in Finnish! I am half a Finn, and have tried many times to learn the language but it is one of the most difficult in the world. :dong: I know approx 300 words and have been using Duolingo for the past 3 weeks. :yep:

•

Learn more cake decorating techniques. I love baking, it's my favourite hobby. Now that I have the time, I really want to focus on my skills to make beautiful looking cakes! :cake:

•

More hand-lettering! I fell in love with hand-lettering in lockdown and although I am not good by any standard, I am alright. :daydreaming:

•

Read 1 book a week. I have over a dozen books gathering dust, so I'd like to start getting through them a bit more.

•

Cook new dishes! I looove cooking too. However, I live with one very fussy person and another person who doesn't care for "fancy" food, so this goal will be challenging. :grumble:

•

Finish clearing out the house! The fathership is a H O A R D E R and has loooads of junk. We moved in 12 years ago and still haven't fully decorated, so I'm going to apply a bit of pressure and bribe them with cake to finally sort things out. :judge:

•

Achieve at least 6k steps per day, 1 day a week is allowed to be under (for self-care purposes). :bath: This could be going for a walk or doing some activities on the Wii Fit (yes we still have one and use it!). :dumbells:

•

Do a few crafty bits! I loved doing cross-stitch and all sorts of other bits in lockdown so I'm hoping to continue this now that I've moved back from from uni. I need a trip to Hobbycraft. :ahee:

•

Watch some more films that I probably should have already watched! In lockdown I caught up on all the Star Wars films and watched things like Dirty Dancing and Ghost. Any more films in the "must-see" category? :beard:

Wow, I've realised that's quite a list! :eek3:

If you don't know this already, you soon will - I waffle a LOT! Feel free to skim read. :yep:

Tagging a few people who have been interested in previous blogs who may be interested in this. I can have a tag list if you'd like, but if you'd rather not continue to be subjected to my waffles then no hard feelings. :colondollar:

Have a great summer! :flower2:

Spoiler

yass this is going to be awesome :woohoo:

so excited to see some more of your beautiful cake creations + creative ventures :crazy:

you know I forgot to tell you but I made a cake recently - tried out a chocolate buttercream for the first time and oh my word - it was gorgeous!!! It used real melted chocolate in and it was sooo worth it :coma:

Reply 2

OP

Original post by CheeseIsVeg

yass this is going to be awesome :woohoo:

so excited to see some more of your beautiful cake creations + creative ventures :crazy:

you know I forgot to tell you but I made a cake recently - tried out a chocolate buttercream for the first time and oh my word - it was gorgeous!!! It used real melted chocolate in and it was sooo worth it :coma:

yesss using melted chocolate instead of cocoa powder in choc buttercream/cakes is wayyy better! :coma:

have you discovered the beauty that is chocolate ganache?

Reply 3

jemima0103

18

Original post by DrawTheLine

Yoohoo!

After I had so much fun doing my Three Week Lockdown blog, I'm joining in with this summer's bucket list challenge too! :yeah:

I've been on furlough for the past 4 months and will be going back to work part-time next week, so I've had lots of time to figure out goals I want to achieve, and will still have lots of time to achieve them! So here is my 2020 summer bucket list:

•

Become conversational in Finnish! I am half a Finn, and have tried many times to learn the language but it is one of the most difficult in the world. :dong: I know approx 300 words and have been using Duolingo for the past 3 weeks. :yep:

•

Learn more cake decorating techniques. I love baking, it's my favourite hobby. Now that I have the time, I really want to focus on my skills to make beautiful looking cakes! :cake:

•

More hand-lettering! I fell in love with hand-lettering in lockdown and although I am not good by any standard, I am alright. :daydreaming:

•

Read 1 book a week. I have over a dozen books gathering dust, so I'd like to start getting through them a bit more.

•

Cook new dishes! I looove cooking too. However, I live with one very fussy person and another person who doesn't care for "fancy" food, so this goal will be challenging. :grumble:

•

Finish clearing out the house! The fathership is a H O A R D E R and has loooads of junk. We moved in 12 years ago and still haven't fully decorated, so I'm going to apply a bit of pressure and bribe them with cake to finally sort things out. :judge:

•

Achieve at least 6k steps per day, 1 day a week is allowed to be under (for self-care purposes). :bath: This could be going for a walk or doing some activities on the Wii Fit (yes we still have one and use it!). :dumbells:

•

Do a few crafty bits! I loved doing cross-stitch and all sorts of other bits in lockdown so I'm hoping to continue this now that I've moved back from from uni. I need a trip to Hobbycraft. :ahee:

•

Watch some more films that I probably should have already watched! In lockdown I caught up on all the Star Wars films and watched things like Dirty Dancing and Ghost. Any more films in the "must-see" category? :beard:

Wow, I've realised that's quite a list! :eek3:

If you don't know this already, you soon will - I waffle a LOT! Feel free to skim read. :yep:

Tagging a few people who have been interested in previous blogs who may be interested in this. I can have a tag list if you'd like, but if you'd rather not continue to be subjected to my waffles then no hard feelings. :colondollar:

Have a great summer! :flower2:

Spoiler

I know exactly how you feel when it comes to books. I have about 20 that I have either bought or have been given in the past year, and some of them are half read, but the rest are just untouched which is stupid, because I genuinely want to read them.
Baking is really fun. I love decorating cakes, but my parents always complain that I make too much mess

Reply 4

Original post by DrawTheLine

yesss using melted chocolate instead of cocoa powder in choc buttercream/cakes is wayyy better! :coma:

have you discovered the beauty that is chocolate ganache?

yes I have :yy:

I am not much of a fan of it though :colondollar:

I find it too rich
so I make it for family/friends but don't touch too much of it myself :colondollar:

Reply 5

OP

Original post by jemima0103

I know exactly how you feel when it comes to books. I have about 20 that I have either bought or have been given in the past year, and some of them are half read, but the rest are just untouched which is stupid, because I genuinely want to read them.
Baking is really fun. I love decorating cakes, but my parents always complain that I make too much mess

Yeah some of mine I've had for 5+ years and they've never been read! I'm not allowing myself to buy any more until I've read these ones.

I am such a messy baker lmao. :rofl:

I do the baking when nobody is home so nobody can see my mess

Original post by CheeseIsVeg

yes I have :yy:

I am not much of a fan of it though :colondollar:

I find it too rich
so I make it for family/friends but don't touch too much of it myself :colondollar:

I agree it is a bit rich! I personally use it mostly for drips or coatings on things like eclairs. Apparently it can be whipped up and used like buttercream, which is on my list to try

Reply 6

Original post by DrawTheLine

Yeah some of mine I've had for 5+ years and they've never been read! I'm not allowing myself to buy any more until I've read these ones.

I am such a messy baker lmao. :rofl:

I do the baking when nobody is home so nobody can see my mess

I agree it is a bit rich! I personally use it mostly for drips or coatings on things like eclairs. Apparently it can be whipped up and used like buttercream, which is on my list to try

ooo

If you do try it, let me know how it goes! Sounds very fancy haha, here I am yet to separate an egg :colondollar:

hehe

Reply 7

OP

Original post by CheeseIsVeg

ooo

If you do try it, let me know how it goes! Sounds very fancy haha, here I am yet to separate an egg :colondollar:

hehe

I wanted to try it for my brother's birthday next week, but I'm under strict instructions to produce a "plain" cake with minimal icing :colonhash:

Reply 8

Original post by DrawTheLine

I wanted to try it for my brother's birthday next week, but I'm under strict instructions to produce a "plain" cake with minimal icing :colonhash:

do an aeroplane one :rofl:

Good luck DTL! :hugs:

Some very cool goals on there :yep:

Reply 10

Reality Check

Original post by DrawTheLine

Yoohoo!

After I had so much fun doing my Three Week Lockdown blog, I'm joining in with this summer's bucket list challenge too! :yeah:

I've been on furlough for the past 4 months and will be going back to work part-time next week, so I've had lots of time to figure out goals I want to achieve, and will still have lots of time to achieve them! So here is my 2020 summer bucket list:

•

Become conversational in Finnish! I am half a Finn, and have tried many times to learn the language but it is one of the most difficult in the world. :dong: I know approx 300 words and have been using Duolingo for the past 3 weeks. :yep:

•

Learn more cake decorating techniques. I love baking, it's my favourite hobby. Now that I have the time, I really want to focus on my skills to make beautiful looking cakes! :cake:

•

More hand-lettering! I fell in love with hand-lettering in lockdown and although I am not good by any standard, I am alright. :daydreaming:

•

Read 1 book a week. I have over a dozen books gathering dust, so I'd like to start getting through them a bit more.

•

Cook new dishes! I looove cooking too. However, I live with one very fussy person and another person who doesn't care for "fancy" food, so this goal will be challenging. :grumble:

•

Finish clearing out the house! The fathership is a H O A R D E R and has loooads of junk. We moved in 12 years ago and still haven't fully decorated, so I'm going to apply a bit of pressure and bribe them with cake to finally sort things out. :judge:

•

Achieve at least 6k steps per day, 1 day a week is allowed to be under (for self-care purposes). :bath: This could be going for a walk or doing some activities on the Wii Fit (yes we still have one and use it!). :dumbells:

•

Do a few crafty bits! I loved doing cross-stitch and all sorts of other bits in lockdown so I'm hoping to continue this now that I've moved back from from uni. I need a trip to Hobbycraft. :ahee:

•

Watch some more films that I probably should have already watched! In lockdown I caught up on all the Star Wars films and watched things like Dirty Dancing and Ghost. Any more films in the "must-see" category? :beard:

Wow, I've realised that's quite a list! :eek3:

If you don't know this already, you soon will - I waffle a LOT! Feel free to skim read. :yep:

Tagging a few people who have been interested in previous blogs who may be interested in this. I can have a tag list if you'd like, but if you'd rather not continue to be subjected to my waffles then no hard feelings. :colondollar:

Have a great summer! :flower2:

Spoiler

Thanks for tagging me in :smile:

- I'm going to be following this! The most difficult one must be learning Finnish - as you say, it's pretty damn difficult, and it would be a good achievement. Do you have Finnish-speaking relatives in the UK you could practice with at all? I promised myself I'd brush up on my French this summer (not having been over there this year), and it's happening very, very slowly!

Reply 11

OP

Original post by Reality Check

Thanks for tagging me in :smile:

- I'm going to be following this! The most difficult one must be learning Finnish - as you say, it's pretty damn difficult, and it would be a good achievement. Do you have Finnish-speaking relatives in the UK you could practice with at all? I promised myself I'd brush up on my French this summer (not having been over there this year), and it's happening very, very slowly!

I have my mum who has been helping me out. I'm struggling with pronunciation, specifically rolling my r's. She finds it hilarious when I try, apparently I sound like a cat purring. :laugh:

It's quite difficult to learn without being immersed in it. Do you normally go to France every year?

Reply 12

Reality Check

Original post by DrawTheLine

I have my mum who has been helping me out. I'm struggling with pronunciation, specifically rolling my r's. She finds it hilarious when I try, apparently I sound like a cat purring. :laugh:

It's quite difficult to learn without being immersed in it. Do you normally go to France every year?

Yes, I can imagine it's a language which really needs immersion. Still, good luck with it - I think it's a great goal. We keep a house in France (more like a shed than a house) and try to go over several times a year - this year things have obviously been quite different. We're going in August for a few weeks, and then again in October. Can't wait, to be honest!

Reply 13

Chronoscope

Volunteer Section Leader

21

Good luck! :hugs:

really enjoyed reading your lockdown challenge btw, I'm sure you'll smash all your goals :h:

Reply 14

OP

Update 1 - 23/07

I'll do this blog like I did my lockdown one, by updating with the previous day. Might be daily, probably won't be because there's a good chance I will forget especially if I'm at work most of the day. :colondollar:

Learning Finnish

I passed the second "section" on Duolingo, idk what the proper name is for it. You know when you do a certain number of topics and you have to pass a "test" to unlock the next section? I finished the second one of those. :yeah:

So according to that, I should have a pretty decent understanding of the basics, but I am doubtful. Finnish is very confusing. :confused:

There are up to 15 different ways to end a verb depending on who you are talking to and if you're making a statement or asking a question. For example, "siivoamme", "siivoaako", "siivoaa", "siivota", "siivoavat", "siivoatte", "siivoat", "siivoan", "siivoatko" all refer to cleaning, but they are so different. :eyebrow:

I have a set of 307 flashcards on Quizlet so far just of vocabulary and I'm constantly going over them and practicing on Duolingo to make sure I don't forget. I'll be writing flashcards by hand for full sentences and take these to my mum so she can test me on them. Pronunciation is soo difficult as they roll their r's and pronounce every single letter. "Siivoamme" is pronounced see-vo-am-meh which is different to English pronunciation. But I'm determined and I'm doing a little bit each day! :yep:

Cake decorating

I have loads of plans, but unfortunately it will take a while because I don't have many people around to give my bakes to! :rolleyes:

I have plans to make a striped cake, a pineapple cake (shaped like a cute lil pineapple) and just a bunch of new flavours, including cupcakes. I also want to make macarons, and eclairs again as my first attempt needs improving. I'll be making Mini Egg cupcakes this weekend, and then next week I'll be making just a bog-standard Victoria Sponge for a family birthday but I'm not allowed to decorate it very much, hmph. :colonhash:

Hand-lettering

I probably won't make a start on this until next week, but do you have any good short-ish phrases or quotes you really like? I need inspiration for what to write. :moon:

Here's a pic of something I did during lockdown. Like I said in my first post, I'm not good at it but I enjoy it and I aim to improve.

Reading

I started a new book earlier this week, called The Corpse Bridge. I'm about 7 chapters in and so far, a body has been found at the Corpse Bridge and they're investigating it. :cookie:

According to the blurb, I can expect more bodies to turn up. I aim to get this finished by early next week, which will be quite a challenge.

Cooking

I'll be making pizza this weekend! :pizza:

I've only made it once before many years ago and it was awful, so it's time for round 2. Pizza is something the fussy one will eat so it should be a success.

Decluttering

This goal will be restricted to the weekends, and luckily it almost is. :ahee:

I want to fill a good 2-3 more boxes full of stuff to take to charity this weekend to clear out a bit more of the house. We have a few bookshelves/cupboards that we want to get rid of and are currently just holding the junk we don't need, so I want to get those cleared off and possibly even dismantled to take to charity/the dump. Massively depends on the motivation of dad though, so fingers crossed.

Stepping

Yesterday was 5351 steps, annoyingly. :grumble:

I genuinely thought I had done 6k otherwise I would have walked around the house a bit more. Hmph. I did 30 mins of "cycling" on the Wii Fit, doing over 20km. It's actually quite a good workout and quite fun too.

Crafting

I'm hoping to go to Hobbycraft this weekend and get a few bits. I want more cross-stitch kits, maybe a jigsaw, some diamond art perhaps. Just have a little mooch and see what I can find to keep me busy for a few weeks as I currently have nothing crafty! If I'm watching TV on an evening I like to be doing something with my hands, so cross-stitch really is quite perfect.

Films

No plans for films yet, I need to look through Netflix and add a few bits to my list. The most recent film I watched was the Eurovision one and I just loved it, captures the cheese of Eurovision so well. :groovy:

But I'm specifically looking for those "classic" films that everybody seems to have watched e.g. Grease as I know I haven't watched a lot of those, meaning I never get the references when people mention them.

Hopefully not every update will be as long as this because I won't be doing every goal every day, but I'll definitely be doing the stepping, Finnish and reading one every day.

Happy Friyay! :flower2:

Mini egg cupcakes :coma:

send some over pls!

Reply 16

absolutelysprout

21

keep me tagged please :smile:

Reply 17

OP

Update 2 - 24/07

- 8912 steps yesterday. :danceboy:

Went on a nice long walk around the lakes, saw lots of ducks and geese :chicken:

- Did about 30 mins ish (total guess but sounds about right) on Duolingo. Mainly practicing some of the earlier topics, but I did start on the new one called "know how", which is already confusing, but I'll get there. :confused:

- Read about 40 pages of my book. No new bodies yet, but they're finding clues! :hmmm:

- Spent some time doodling. I did 2 of them, but will only show the decent one as the other one just looked weird. :wtf:

The word "friend" ended up looking like "fuiend". :rofl:

Trying to condense my waffles so they don't become essays. :colondollar:

Till next time! :hello:

Tag list because I forgot to put it on my last one:

Spoiler

Reply 18

claireestelle