Halfway through the list! So far, I’ve learned some things require patience more than motivation to get done. Some things, just not super important to me. Others, I still really want to do, and am keeping them on the list. Thanks for hanging in there with me as I evaluate!
- Take a metalworking class. Not Done. Just couldn’t find a class that was what I was looking for. I would like to do some casting, and learn to set stones. There were a couple of classes that would have been working with metal, and thus I could cross something off my list. However, I didn’t create these goals just to cross items off my list. I created them to help urge me to do some of the things I’ve been meaning to do. So, I wait so I can learn what I really want. It’s definitely still on my grand to-do list.
- Get somewhere on the genealogy of my paternal grandmother’s family (at least two more generations) Not done. I’ve tried, to no avail. My grandmother was a character. I presume I am a lot like her, though she passed when I was pretty young, so I can’t officially confirm that. She kept some secrets and maybe fibbed now and then. Thus, it’s hard to track down those whom she descended from. I know I’m related to Charlie Chaplin. I suspect I’m related to circus folk. That’s not super helpful per se. I really want to know more, and I believe that as the world becomes smaller due to technology expanding, I shall. So, I am still at it!
- Go to Ghent, Belgium. Not done. This is much like the Wales trip I mentioned earlier. However, this one is a little more personal, since my family comes from here. I somehow feel very close to this place, despite never having been. So, I need to get there. I made it to Ghent, MN, though that is not quite the same. Still on the list, and it is getting closer!
- Put away six months of income in savings. Done! I began to put away a chunk of my paycheck via direct deposit. It’s so much easier to not spend money you don’t ever see. So, I specified an amount to go straight into savings. Easy peasy. I do have to come clean, though. While we saved a large chunk this way, we didn’t save it all this way. We were fortunate enough to get an unexpected windfall which padded the amount a bit. The thing that is nice is that if something happens (excuse me for a moment while I knock on some wood) we will be okay for a while. I want to keep saving, as I don’t ever want to rely on credit ever again for anything. We pay cash, or we don’t get it. We were able to buy a car this way, so I know we can do it. I imagine it will feel amazing one day to pay cash for a dwelling.
- Visit the MIA (Minneapolis Institute of Arts) Done! I’d lived here since 1998 without having visited! Crazy, right? I did not have a good excuse for not visiting, other than living around here and taking it for granted. So, I put it on the list to light that extra fire under my booty! I was running out of time, when I saw that they were having a special exhibition of artifacts from China. I’d long thought the terracotta warriors were fascinating, and here was a rare chance to see them outside of China. On top of that, a local paper ran a two-for-one coupon. Now, I’d grown up in the area of the Detroit Institute of Arts, and often found reasons to check it out. I’m not trying to belittle anyone’s art collection, but somehow the MIA just doesn’t inspire the same awe in me that the DIA does. I will try to go back to see more of their collection, and I am amazed by the donations that the Dayton family made to the MIA. It could be the special bond I have with the DIA, but I just don’t see myself building that same bond with the MIA.
- Divide and move my perennials. Done! This was a condo goal. Over my time in our unit, my sister helped me establish quite the garden. I hit up annual plant sales, took divisions from friends, from my sister and found some great finds via Craigslist. As we went, I learned what plants would benefit from. For instance, the chartreuse colored hostas that multiplied easily, but were cooked in the sun just as easily? Those would be great under the trees that kept sun from hitting the soil. The super hardy irises? Those would be great in that area where nothing will grow. The hen and chicks that the squirrels dig up? A bug tent designed to protect food on a picnic table could keep those safe until they established. It was really easy to make these decisions in my mind, but more difficult to actually do anything about it. Luckily, the last full summer I lived there, my sis and my nephew helped my divide and divide and divide my plants. We planned, and rearranged. While there isn’t much I miss about living in a condo, I do miss seeing all those wee plants poke up as Spring would approach and develop into Summer. Seeing what would bloom when, seeing how quickly things would spread, and how they all looked together. I must admit, Spring isn’t the same without the garden. However, Winter is better without the shoveling and Summer better without the mowing!
- Enter an event at the MN State Fair. Not done. I did at least decide on an event, though! I just haven’t been able to pin down a subject. I don’t know that once I complete it, I will want to do more, so I want to make this one count. Probably to the point of overthinking it. It’s totally on my list, since I just can’t resist the thrill of the State Fair. Although, with the speed this year is shuttling along, I don’t know that 2013 will be my year.
- Get at least $1K in donations for the ADA. Not done. We’ve long had a tradition of participating in the ADA walk each year. It is a little selfish, I admit. Since the hubs has diabetes, it is a charity near and dear to our hearts. I would love to make a killing just one year. However, they changed the weekend they do the walk, and we’ve been out of town for the last two years. I will totally do it soon. It is important to me, and to the organization. So, know that I will be hitting you up later this year!
- Find the perfect armchair for the living room. Not done. So close, yet so far. I found a perfect chair on Craigslist. Fuchsia tufted velvet. Unfortunately someone beat me to it. It worked out, since that chair wouldn’t be so cute in our current living room. I know I must own a Phillipe Starck Louis ghost chair and an Eames shell rocker in white, but I would like a unique tufted velvet chair that requires hunting. Probably in a rich grey. I know it’s out there, and will come to me when the time is right. It’s not really something I can put on a calendar, since that sort of thrifting/shopping karma is on its own calendar.
- Spring clean every nook of the house. Done! I’d already started when we decided to move. However, getting every darn thing out of the house is immensely helpful to doing this.