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jojomakesdoesclimbs

Climbing and creative blog

One woman (and her dogs) making things, doing things, and climbing things.

Apr 14, 20224 min read

The Happiness of Pursuit

I've set myself a little quest that will hopefully involve not too much suffering, minimal blisters, and make everyday a bit more meaningful

Mar 24, 20223 min read

Photos of a Cute Dog

I've had a cold and words have failed me. Here's some cute photos of my dog instead. Her name is Amber. She is a galgo (Spanish greyhound).

Mar 3, 20221 min read

A Stuck Key Letter Puzzle Poem

A key on my laptop is stuck so I've written this piece without it. It's a poetic puzzle. Can you spot the missing letter?

Feb 10, 20222 min read

Thighs of the Climber

I've started cycling 11km to work and back. My weak as heck climbing legs cannot cope. Here, I re-work Eye of the Tiger to express my pain!

Nov 18, 20216 min read

A Hard Water Stream of Consciousness

I moved house and my brain has given up on complex thoughts. This week's blog post is a random string of thoughts about tea, toast and sofas

Oct 28, 202112 min read

40 Hopes for my 40 Year Old Self

It's my birthday (almost!) and, although I'm not turning 40 this year, I've been thinking about how my life might be in just under a decade

Oct 7, 20218 min read

I've Always Been Wordy

I let my 17-year-old self take charge this week. We're exploring some of my early attempts at creative and vaguely coherent writing.

Sep 16, 20218 min read

The Problem With Minimalism

Do you need a house full of stuff? Can minimalists help you form a better relationship with your possessions? The short answer is maybe!

Aug 26, 20216 min read

One Year as a Failed Blogger

I've been a blogger for a year. According to the numbers the blog is a total failure. But it's been successful in more important ways.

Aug 5, 202113 min read

My Top 8 Sporting Memories

I love watching sport! With Olympic fever in the air, I walk down memory lane and recollect on my favourite moments from competitive sport.

Jul 15, 20217 min read

Is Ambition Always a Good Thing?

I discuss my own experiences of achieving and failing to achieve my ambitions and how this has shaped my current perspective of ambition.

Jun 24, 20217 min read

7 Quotes to Cheer You Up

I'm having online banking issues this week so I've turned to other people's witty words to cheer me up!

Jun 3, 20218 min read

8 Lessons Learned as a Part-Time Pole Dancer

I attended pole dancing classes for about a year. Here's what I learned from the experience. Failures, successes, and injuries included!

May 13, 202112 min read

“If I could time travel, where would I go?”

Get to know me a little better as I answer some questions about time travel, identity, goal setting, and favourite hobbies.

Apr 22, 20219 min read

Backstage at Geneva Airport

This is the story of how Husband poisoned us both while on holiday in Switzerland, leading to an eventful trip through Geneva airport

Sep 19, 20227 min read

Women's Bouldering Festival 2022

I recently attended the Women’s Bouldering Festival in Fontainebleau. It was an experience unlike any I’d had before and I wanted to get...

Apr 2, 20225 min read

The Balance of Power

I've been thinking a lot (possibly too much!) about the role of power in climbing and what getting stronger means to me as a climber.

Mar 10, 20229 min read

A Guide to Types of Rock Climbing

Trad. Bouldering. Lead. Speed. Crack. It's all climbing but slightly different. This guide will help you understand it all!

Feb 17, 20225 min read

Learning To Fall

In this re-posting of my first article in Beta magazine, I explain why learning to fall is a crucial step when learning to climb.

Jan 27, 20224 min read

Advice for New Climbers

The idea of taking up climbing can be exciting but scary. Here's a list of useful tips and information that might tempt you to give it a try

Dec 16, 20219 min read

To Spray Or Not To Spray? That Is The Question

In this post I discuss the gnarly topic of beta spraying. What is it? Why is it an issue? Should you ever do it? Let's find out!

Nov 25, 20216 min read

Setting (Another) Personal Climbing Goal

I've been feeling a little confused about what my next climbing goal should be. Join me as I try to figure it out in this week's post.

Nov 4, 20219 min read

Training Plans: The Good, The Bad, and The Hip Flexors

I've been following a training plan for 6 months. Here's what I've got right, what I've got wrong, and why hip flexor conditioning sucks!

Oct 14, 202112 min read

My Top 8 UK Bouldering Gyms

I've been to a lot of climbing gyms in my time. Here's a few of my favourites from across the UK and some memories from my visits to them.

Sep 23, 202110 min read

Climbing My First 7a Boulder

I achieved my goal of climbing a 7a boulder before the end of 2021! In this post I take you through the boulder and how I climbed it.

Sep 2, 20217 min read

Repeating the 9c Strength Test

Have I got any stronger in the last six months? In this post, I discuss my second attempt at the 9c strength and what the results suggest.

Aug 12, 202113 min read

Review of Climbing's First Olympics

Climbing made it's Olympic debut last week and it was amazing. In this post, I'll tell you all about who won and how they did it!

Jul 22, 202112 min read

A Guide to Climbing at the Olympics

This guide explains the format and rules of sport climbing at the Olympics, featuring all three disciplines: speed, bouldering, and lead

Jul 1, 20218 min read

Meet My Current Boulder Project

Allow me to introduce you to my current boulder project. In this post I'll tell you all about it and go through the best moves in detail.

Jun 10, 202110 min read

10 Things I Learned on a Home Climbing Wall

I made a homewall to keep me strong through lockdown. Here's what it taught me about route-setting, my climbing and my father-in-law's mind!

Oct 14, 20229 min read

House Update

Husband and I have been busy doing some DIY and decorating this summer. Check out the fruits of our labour in this post!

Dec 23, 20218 min read

Household Makes and Restorations

Since moving into our new house we've painted some things, sanded a lot of other things, and not done too much terrible DIY!

Dec 2, 20215 min read

Tour of my New Sewing Studio

After two weeks of living in the new house, my sewing studio is organised enough for a public viewing. Come and look around my new studio!

Nov 11, 20215 min read

Boning, Frogging, and a Pounding Block

I've not had a lot of time to sew lately. Instead of sharing my latest creations I'll share some sewing related words I find mildly amusing

Sep 30, 20218 min read

Favourite Clothes I've Made

I haven't made much over the last few weeks so let's take a walk down memory lane and explore some of my previous creations.

Sep 9, 20215 min read

Remaking a Home Climbing Wall

We're moving house soon so the home climbing wall is coming down. Join me as I replace some of the pieces with better versions of themselves

Jul 29, 20215 min read

Creatively Practical or Practically Creative?

In this post I discuss the relationship between creativity and practicality and the value we place on these two qualities.

Jul 8, 20217 min read

How To Reuse Old Bedding

How to rescue your old bedding from landfill for a little longer by turning it into new soft and squidgy things!

May 27, 20219 min read

Clothes Are Stupid, But I Love Them

People have worn some ridiculous clothes over the years yet we keep coming back for more binding, impractical, and outlandish clothing!

Mar 25, 202112 min read

From the Lily Pad - the Unexpected Sequel

A behind the scenes glimpse of an Edinburgh Fringe show through the eyes of The Costume Fairy and the characters who wore her creations.

Mar 4, 202112 min read

Hospital Style (and a rant about pockets)

What do an angsty teenage version of a Shakespearean comedy and a WW1 exhibition have in common? Me and costumes for hospital settings!

Jan 21, 202110 min read

Things We Made For Our Wedding

The dress. The cake. The decorations. The flowers. Here's how my friends & family and I made our wedding unique with homemade/grown touches.

Oct 29, 20209 min read

Making Treasure From Trash

I made a dog snood from an old fleece and it looks so cute! Read on for more reasons why making new things from old things is great and fun.

Sep 17, 20208 min read

Making Clothes For Myself

I often do a terrible job when I make myself clothes from scratch. In this post I explore the process of making a waistcoat to find out why