Six new things every month for a year! January

This is what I've taken on, my challenge to myself, to try seventy new  things in a year means at least five, and probably six every month. Most of them will probably be small, everyday things. Anything can feel like a challenge if you have never done it before!

Like making your own birthday cake. In my family we always divided up household jobs according to skills. Everybody did their part, but I have no aptitude for cooking. So there were always birthday cakes, many of them homemade, but it was somebody else who baked them, not the person with the birthday.

This year I was going out to a regular meeting on the evening of my birthday, and had promised to bring cake with me in the spirit of Pay It Forward. My first attempt was an apple cake which was a little soggy. "Never mind," I said, "I'll make custard and we can eat it as a pudding." When it came to buying milk to make the custard I picked up some cream as well. Decided to make the custard thick enough to set, poured Bailey's over the cake layer to add more interest, and the result was trifle!

(I made another cake for the group meeting which came out better - practice makes perfect?)

Yes, I've made trifle before, but never for myself on my birthday. So that's number two on my list. Number one was creating this blog.

There was another new foodie experience this month. The car broke(!) and we looked for somewhere to eat while deciding what to do next. The nearest pub serving food was in Old Langho Village off the A59 in Lancashire, which I'd never visited before (#3). And The Black Bull was a real find! What a menu! I tried Pithivier (#4) which, I'm told, was made by contestants on The Great British Bake Off on TV not long ago. With chestnuts inside and roasted hazelnuts, pomegranate seeds and melon in the accompanying salad, it was a vegetarian's dream. (Not sure what you think of people who post actual size pictures of their food, I'll try not to make a habit of it.)

Number five was seeing a Little Owl flying. I have seen Little Owls before but always resting on tree branches. This one took off while we were watching. It's a pity I was driving at the time and so couldn't take a picture. The owl flew ahead of the car for a few yards then turned aside across a field.

I suppose at least some of my 70 new things will be beyond my control, pure serendipity.