My Bountiful Life…

While I didn’t do everything on my list, I still consider this a resounding success. So much so, that now that this round is over, I’m going to do it again. :)

I’ve read lots of 101 in 1001 blogs and it seems some people have a hard time coming up with 101 Things they want to do. I had the opposite problem: I had a hard time narrowing it down to only 101.

I saw this as an opportunity though. Prolonged illness had left parts of my life in bad shape. When I first made my list, I was finally on the road to recovery and I decided to concentrate on those items that would improve the parts of my life that had suffered, and those that would bring me joy and wellness. In the back of my mind I have begun a second list just in case I decide to do this all again when this round is finished.

I broke my list down into sections. The Body, The Mind, and the Spirit contains items that I hope will be bring me better health and joy. In my mind, those things go hand in hand. The Home Fire is a list of goals to make our home a more comfortable place to be. The Bounty lists goals for my vegetable and herb gardens while The Involvement is a list for giving back to the community. In The Books, I set goals for reading, something I missed terribly while I was sick. And hopefully, the goals listed under The Money will bring us closer to financial independence. I’ve put things that I want to try or see under the heading The Experience. The Peace of Mind heading is for things that will make my life more organized and with less clutter. Items listed under The Record will help me catalogue, protect and track information that I don’t want to lose.

The Body, The Mind and the Spirit

1. yoga 3x a week for 6 weeks
2. take 25 early morning walks Did 10/25
3. meditate 3x a week for 6 weeks
4. [private item] DONE!
5. write 12 personal letters – Wrote 2.
6. build a snowfort
7. watch 10 sunrises – Watched 4… not really a morning person ;)
8. watch 10 sunsets DONE!
9. floss every day for a month DONE!
10. 3-day juice fast 3x
11. ice skate outside 20x
12. send 20 thank you notes – Sent 11
13. host a Solstice dinner DONE!! Dec 05
14. build a snowman 3x
15. complete all courses and qualifications to become Chartered Herbalist Began, but had to withdraw when I was scheduled for surgery :/
16. walk dog in rain 15x DONE!
17. private item DONE!
18. use elliptical machine or skier 2x a week for 8 weeks
19. take vitamins every day for a month DONE!! Apr 05
20. [private item] DONE!
21. spend a week at a cottage 2x – Week and a half total
22. long bath and reading in bed 1x a week
23. develop habits to reduce Real Age by at least five years – 2 years

The HomeFire

24. design and build patio
25. print, frame and hang 10 family/friend pictures
26. plant trees in yard: birch, nut, evergreen, pussywillow
27. redecorate J’s bedroom DONE!!
28. eat in dining room, on good china 2x a month
29. dinner as a family at kitchen table 3x a week for 3 months DONE!!
30. find interesting and varied stone for walkway
31. build games room
32. build root cellar
33. buy new sofa DONE!! Autumn 05
34. save for and buy new kitchen table and chairs DONE! Dec 05
35. make new curtains for family room DONE!!… well… redecorated, decided we don’t ned them :)
36. make new cushion covers DONE!!
37. make big pillows for window seats DONE!!
38. Have a 40th bday party for Mark DONE!!! Dec 04

The Bounty

39. make 3 herbal remedies from plants in my garden DONE!!
40. draw garden layout for herb garden
41. build a hose system for the vegetable garden
42. have a vegetable garden every year
43. build steps beside herb garden

The Involvement

44. knit or crochet 10 hats for charity – Did 4
45. write 6 letters to politicians – Wrote 2
46. collect and process data for Nature Challenge
47. read up on GMO issues
48. collect relevant contact info: food security etc

The Books

49. read 20 books in twelve months DONE!!
50. read 21 books from BBC Top 100 list (to bring total read to 40)
51. find a good version of the Arthurian Legends and read it DONE!!

The Money

52. pay down all debt, except mortgage DONE!! Oct 05
53. go another year (to Oct 2005) with one car DONE!! Oct 05
54. create financial plan to buy a cottage
55. take inventory, including serial numbers and photos for insurance
56. build up a 6 month emergency fund $$
57. go a month without buying a cup of coffeeDONE!!! Dec 04
58. write business plan

The Experience

59. make tofu
60. camp at Algonquin Park
61. make a patchwork quilt
62. see Citizen Kane
63. get map software for my GPS
64. become proficient with my GPS
65. go to the ballet DONE!! Dec 05
66. see Messiah concert DONE!! Dec 05
67. (re-)learn to canoe DONE!!!
68. walk the Burlington stretch of the WaterFront Trail
69. make my own Christmas/Solstice cards
70. make beer or wine
71. drink mead DONE!!
72. go to Lilac Festival at RBG
73. visit butterfly conservatory
74. go to an outdoor classical concert
75. see a play at Stratford
76. go on a wine-tasting tour
77. see a movie at Movie Palace
78. go to ROM members preview and lectures 3x
79. see an art exhibit 3x DONE!!
80. go to the zoo
81. learn how to start a business
82. have a skating party
83. take an art class DONE!! Spring 05

The Peace of Mind

84. sort all print photos by year and month
85. have all film scanned to cd
86. de-clutter 50 trash bags (or equivalent) (for garbage or charity) DONE!!! Jun 05
87. 50 more DONE!! Nov 05
88. bring filing up to date
89. sort, declutter and organize craft/needlework supplies and tools Not finished, but made good headway
90. copy papers and take originals to sdb
91. clean out and remove big cupboard from kitchen DONE!!! Nov 20 04
92. declutter and reorganise bookshelves DONE!!
93. label all books
94. get passports for me and for J

The Record

95. create online galleries of digital pictures
96. create and maintain a garden/food blog DONE!!!! Nov 04
97. create and maintain a 101 Things blog DONE!!! Nov 04
98. Set up Nature Challenge web page
99. create webpages w GMO info
100. build spreadsheet for garden totals
101. create photo disks by month – 2 copies each, put one copy in sdb