50 Things Update.....

It's been almost a year since I posted the "50 Things to Do" in the year during which I turned 50.

(Prepositions really give me trouble. Could we just do away with them?)

Surprisingly, I didn't do all 50 things on my list. It's surprising because I'm mildly sort of extremely OCD about lists and goals and things like that, and I shocked myself by NOT killing myself to cross every single one of them off the list.

I'll post the ones I managed to complete, along with a link to the blog post explaining how and when I finished them.

3. Take a hot air balloon ride
6. Eat a new type of food
8. Get a massage
11. Take a yoga class
12. Take a spinning class
13. Take a water aerobics class
14. Knit something
15. Attend play at local theater
16. Take a kayak trip
18. Run/walk in a 5K/10K/half marathon
19. Run/walk the Peachtree Road Race
20. Become debt-free
21. Take golf lessons/play a round of golf
23. Perform random acts of kindness
25. Try vegetarianism for 7 days
30. Take a trapeze class at Canopy Studio
31. Have $______ in savings
33. Go to a UGA basketball game
34. Go to a UGA women’s basketball game
35. Go to a UGA baseball game
36. Go to a hockey game (Gwinnett Gladiators)
38. Ride my bike 2500 miles
40. Attend gymnastics Regional Championships
43. Be “overweight” on the Wii instead of “obese”
44. Ride bike in at least one of the counties in Georgia where I've not yet ridden
47. Ride local roads I’ve not ridden before
50. Go to the chiropractor


Now for the ones I didn't accomplish. Some of them are things I still have as goals; they just didn't happen this year. Some of them I've either lost interest in, or I just put them on the list to begin with because I needed 50 things. Full disclosure here.

1. Take a pottery lesson - I met a woman on the kayak trip in June who teaches pottery, and she has "clay church" at her house on Sundays. This one is still in the realm of possibility, but to be honest this woman ... and she's VERY, VERY sweet ... is one of those types who, if you show interest, will have you staying at her house for a week while she grooms all of your pets and has her mechanic look over your car and signs you up for a weeklong hike in the Adirondacks.

2. Take a photography class - I've kind of lost interest in this one. I have a so-so camera and what I consider a very nice camera, and with both of them I occasionally take (accidentally, you understand) some quite passable pictures. That's enough for me. I watch them scroll by on my laptop or my iPad, and the memories they provide are enough for me. I don't want to turn it into something I have to understand.


4. Visit a national park - I realized I had already done this one, although I wasn't aware it was a national park at the time. I dragged Hubby here on our way to Florida very early in our marriage, and he hasn't spoken to me since. It wasn't really on the way, and while it was fraught with history ... it was standing in the way of the beach.

5. Study a new foreign language - Well, at least I picked a language. I would like to learn some Italian, because I fully intend to take Hubby to Italy someday. He wants to see Rome, and I would love to see it too, since that's once place Sweet Girl and I didn't get to see on our trip to Italy. Oh, SWEET GIRL has since been to Rome (thank you, U.S. Navy), but I've never been. It's sort of cheating to choose Italian, since it has so many similarities to the little bits of French and Spanish (and teeny tiny bits of Latin) I already know.

7. Meet a blogger in person - Definitely still on the table. This one will be much easier to accomplish after retirement.


9. Learn more about how to play the hammered dulcimer - I don't know why I haven't approached this one yet. I have the book, I have the DVD, and oh yeah, I have the hammered dulcimer. And I would really like to do more than just pick out a tune on it. Still on the table, but obviously not a priority.

10. Take a formal art class - Have completely lost interest. I would still love to paint and perhaps do some watercolor work, but kind of like photography, I don't want it to be like "school."

17. Write some poetry - I have done this one. But the poetry is so bad (and so personal) that I'm not willing to offer it up as proof, so I'll just pretend I haven't done it.


22. Read 5 novels from the all-time list (I think it was published by Time magazine) - I'm wavering on this one too. Because reading a book because SOMEONE thinks I should is too much like school too. I'd rather read what I choose to read. For now.

24. Volunteer at a hospital/hospice/nursing home/homeless shelter - I'm not ready for this one. And that makes me just a teensy bit ashamed of myself. Those people probably weren't ready to be in those places either, and they don't get to choose.

26. Take ballroom dancing lessons - I was kind of cheating on this one. My intention was to wait until our next cruise and then either shame Hubby into taking a couple of lessons on the boat (doubtful and completely dependent upon the quantities of beer consumed) or go alone (much more likely). But I don't think we are going to take a cruise this year after all, and I'm certainly not going to sign up for 6 weeks of lessons by myself.

27. Visit the High Museum in Atlanta - Definitely still in the works. In fact, there's an exhibit at the High right now that I'd love to see, entitled Picasso to Warhol. In looking for this link I also discovered that they are also having an exhibit entitled The Art of Golf, which I may ... just may ... be able to drag Hubby to see. Have to catch him on a cold, rainy day.


28. Have a yard sale - Personally, I'd rather just donate my stuff to goodwill. It's much less trouble and I can feel good about contributing something to charity.

29. Ride a unicycle - I have taken steps toward achieving this particular item. I have a unicycle. I have been on it. And I've been off it. I haven't taken enough pedal strokes to constitute "riding" it, though, so I'm not ready to mark it off the list. When I can find a flat spot with pavement and a fence to hold onto and where no one can watch me, I'll give it another go.

32. Take pictures of places I’ve lived - I still want to do this one, too. The one place that is holding me back right now is the trailer park where we lived when I was about ages 5 to 10. It's a little bit scary now, and I'd be afraid to go in there alone. And if I start taking pictures, well.... Maybe I should just leave this one off and take pictures of the rest.

37. Go to the Tipsy Canvas - I still want to do this one too. I love the concept - take your own bottle of wine, get some lessons in painting a specific subject (would that count as a formal art lesson, I wonder?), and socialize with friends while you do it. Definitely a Warrior Princess activity. But we're going to need a designated driver.

39. Hike part of the Appalachian Trail - This one needs to be a day trip with Rozmo and Katydid, and perhaps Jenny Frog. It will require a drive of about 2 hours to get to the Georgia end of the AT.  The hard part is that any day that is fine enough to hike is also fine enough to ride bikes. Maybe we could combine them. Hmmmm....

41. Make something in filet crochet - I have a pattern, and I THINK I grasp the concept now, but my eyes and fingers are the problem. The crochet hook and thread are so fine that it causes me great frustration to try this one. Maybe I should find a pattern for a wall hanging and do it in regular yarn...

42. Join Friends of Yargo - I didn't realize that we already sort of do this when we buy our annual pass for Fort Yargo, which is the state park just across the road from our house. What I really meant was I intended to join the group of volunteers that pick up trash and trim the hedges and cut the grass around the park one or two weekends a month. Yeah, I'd just rather kayak and hike.

45. Write a book - I have the book in my head. Actually, I have 3 books in my head. And I've written a great portion of one of them. I may finish it. Them. Or I may not.

46. Buy and experiment with Photoshop - Just like the photography class, I've lost interest. I'll never have "actions" and I'm over it.

48. Ride the double-century to Anniston and back - Definitely still in the works, and I'm aiming for this year. It's easiest done during the week when the Silver Comet Trail isn't nearly so busy, so it's a nice post-retirement thing to do.

49. Write a will - We really, really, really need to do this one. When I put it on my list, I thought it would be easy, using one of those online services. Then someone told me those online wills weren't worth the paper they're not written on (I'm hilarious), so I discarded it. Plus I don't really have that many possessions anyway. Not that anyone would want.

So there they are, my 50 Things to Do or Not, Depending Upon How Capricious I Feel at Any Given Moment. (Is that a correct usage of the word "capricious"?)

I toyed with the idea of coming up with 51 NEW things for this year, but then I came to my senses. I will, however, strive for some new experiences this year, whether they are on the list or not. I may start with "suturing a wound myself" if the cut on my left hand does NOT stop bleeding soon. Apparently if the little foil tab on a bottle of wine breaks off, using a steak knife to cut the foil thingie off is not the best approach.