Midlife Rebel

This is just a quick post to give a little update on my Rebel Badge Club journey. This month, I have completed the Diarist badge and also the Reader badge, hurrah! I also signed up to the Big Kid Summer monthly badge.  I am continuing on with my diary each day still and hopefully will manage to keep it up for the rest of the year. It's not a detailed diary, I just keep a brief note of what I have done each day.  The Reader badge took me a long time to complete so it's nice to finally finish it. Here is a link to my book list  if you are interested in finding out what I read. When the Big Kid Summer monthly badge was announced, I immediately thought of my sister so I signed her up for the badge too. So far we have played crazy golf together at The Hole in Wand in Blackpool (a wizard themed mini golf course) and blown some bubbles (with liquid soap). The golf was good fun and I was awarded a hole in one pin badge even though I didn't manage to get a hole in one! We both lef...

At long last I have finished reading a fiction book for the Reader badge for Rebel Badge Club. Initially I made good progress with the Reader badge but my progress has slowed right down since I decided to read an actual hard copy book rather than listening to an audiobook. I chose to read Ann Sei Lin's debut novel Rebel Skies as I was drawn to the artwork on the cover and the name of the book! The reviews I read beforehand were also highly positive. Although it took me a while to get through the book due to other priorities in life, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was very different to anything I have read before. I recently read a review about Rebel Skies which said "The story definitely gives off Studio Ghibli vibes." This is my thought on the book exactly. Rebel Skies is a very imaginative book and would be visually stunning if made into an animated film. One can only hope! The same reviewer also comments that the story is told from two main perspectives: Kurara, the main ...

I have been a fan of Van Gogh's artwork since visiting the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam four years ago. By creating this set, Lego have enabled me to make my very own masterpiece of The Starry Night. I spent many relaxing hours on taking my time to build this set from 2316 Lego pieces. Well, I say 2316 pieces but that's not quite true because to my surprise my set had a piece missing! So here is The Starry Night composed of 2315 Lego bricks. Happily though, Lego customer service are sending me the missing brick in the post. I love the colours of the bricks used for the sky in this set and I also love the little church and houses. In the foreground you can see Van Gogh himself painting the scene. Upon completing The Starry Night, I have now completed the Builder badge for Rebel Badge Club. It's just as well because as enjoyable as Lego is, Lego is a rather expensive hobby! I am now ready to crack on with some other badges :-)

It was such a joy to build this Lego Vespa! Last month I celebrated my 40th birthday in Sorrento with my husband so an Italian themed Lego set was the perfect antidote to ease those post holiday blues. The Lego set was a birthday present from my mum and stepdad. It's a lovely gift which will continue to make me smile and is a great addition to my collection. I have now completed four Lego sets so technically I could claim my Builder badge from the Rebel Badge Book (Volume Two) but I will hold off for now as I also got another Lego set for my birthday from my husband's mum and stepdad. Before my holiday in Sorrento, I made a start on the Linguist badge by learning some Italian. I have been using the Duolingo app and have also listened to a few episodes of the Coffee Break Italian podcast. I didn't make as much progress with my Italian speaking skills before I went to Italy as I was hoping. Work and health issues have interfered with my badge progress the past couple of month...

This week I have completed my Writer badge! I have kept this blog for six months and have enjoyed it so much that I will be continuing on with it. This blog has been a great way to record and share my Rebel Badge Book activities. This month I have also started the Linguist badge and the Craft badge. I am going to Sorrento next month for my 40th birthday so I thought it would be a good time to learn some Italian. Last week I attended a modern calligraphy workshop therefore I have made a start on the Craft badge. My calligraphy skills need a lot more work though. I have worksheets and a workbook to practice with so once I have something worth showing I will share it on here. I hope you have all had a lovely weekend. 

I am Groot! Here is Marvel character Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy 2 made from of 476 pieces of Lego. This was another enjoyable set to complete and put towards the Rebel Badge Club's Builder badge. Earlier this year I completed the Hedwig Lego set and now I have Groot to add to the collectio n.  Also earlier this year I made this orchid from Lego which looks rather realistic. I've kept real orchids for years but this one won't require any watering or repotting. It makes a lovely display piece in my home. It's my birthday next month so I am hoping for one or two more Lego sets as gifts so then I can complete my Builder badge.

I bought my first two Momiji dolls in 2007 from a gift shop in York whilst on a short holiday. I did not start collecting Momiji though until 2017. To put it simply, Momiji dolls make me smile. That's why my collection has grown over the years. They bring me joy and I believe they also keep me young. I love colour and anything kawaii. They are fun to display around my home even though my husband refers to them as dust collectors!  I often rearrange the way I display my Momiji dolls. Sometimes they are all together like a little army and at other times they pop up in random places. At the moment I have just got my favourite Momiji dolls on display as I have a lot of stuff (even though I did a lot of decluttering last year!) and sometimes things start to look too cluttered. My Momiji collection has begun to slow down a bit now as I don't have room for more. I'm not saying I won't buy any more Momiji dolls but I do need to be mindful of how many things I own. I think I may...