Summer Bucket List, The Epilogue

This was my first week back to work so that means that summer break is officially over. It is time to tally things up and see how The Summer Bucket List stands. Here are the totals…

1. Take one day trip per week (beach, park, museum, etc) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (out of 10)
2. Drive over a bridge. (c)
3. Volunteer for a cause (c)⭐️
4. Travel somewhere by train.
5. Take a train into the city (c)
6. Create one art project per week.⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️(out of ten)
7. Visit at least 2 museums⭐️⭐️
8. Paint the living room and the upstairs bathroom⭐️
9. Go camping
10. Go canoeing or kayaking⭐️
11. Reconnect with 2 friends with whom I’ve lost touch (c)⭐️⭐️
12. Go zip-lining (c)
13. repair the kitchen floor (it seems to be coming apart)⭐️
14. Have a picnic somewhere next to the water⭐️⭐️
15. Finish the trim in the kitchen and upstairs hall (I have completion issues)
16. Try one new food per week.⭐️ (out of 10😕)
17. Maintain my newly planted herb garden and use the herbs often (c)
18. Try drying some of the herbs for future use (c)
19. Reorganize the upstairs closet
20. Go to a drive-in movie (we actually still have one in the area)
21. Finish organizing our family photos.⭐️
22. Visit a local winery and enjoy a wine tasting.⭐️⭐️
23. Listen to some live music, preferably outdoors⭐️
24. Go dancing with my hubby⭐️
25. Have a “Lord of the Rings”/”Hobbit” marathon

Okay, so I out of 25 items I managed better than 50%. I’ll take it! You know why? Because this whole “Summer Bucket List” experiment was very enlightening. I learned a few things about myself and having a goal kept me focused even when there was no comfortable routine to keep me grounded.

Here is what I learned…

• Next year there will be no bucket list items having to do with food (#16,17,18). Except for baked goods, food and cooking are really not my thing. I love to eat out but not so I can try new foods. I just hate to cook!
• I should work on the more expensive items (#4,12,15) at the very beginning of the summer before I start worrying about money. Cost anxiety won out over my desire to cross things off the list.
• Don’t put things on the list that require someone else’s cooperation (#19) I couldn’t get Miss Dee to part with any of the stuff cluttering up that closet so it was impossible to organize it.
• Painting and drawing are much more fun than housework and since it was on the list, I still felt like I was being productive!

As for the some of the other items like “zip lining”, “train travel” and “LOTR marathons” there’s no rule that saying  I can’t do those things anyway. Maybe I should make another list? Hmmm..?

How about you? Did you accomplish a lot this summer? Did you feel productive?

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Quick, Catch the Summer! It’s Getting Away!

How could it possibly be the middle of August already! I feel like I was just posting my Summer Bucket List yesterday! Now, according to the Audrey Hepburn calendar hanging in my kitchen, I only have about three weeks to finish it.  I can tell you, it ain’t happening. Still, I feel like I’ve made a pretty good dent in it and there are several new things in the works…

• Even though we were not able to make our annual camping trip up to Worlds End we are planning on spending Labor Day weekend at my brother-in-law’s vacation house in the mountains. The resort has a lake so I’m sure we will be doing some kayaking. (#1,#10)
• The weekend before Labor Day a dear old friend and her husband will be coming from Virginia to visit. Even though we keep in touch through e-mail and phone calls, this will be the first time we have been face to face since my wedding 21 years ago! Needless to say, we have A LOT of catching up to do! I’m really excited.(#11)
• Tonight, Hubby and I are meeting some friends at a local winery for a night of wine tasting and music. It will be outdoors near the vineyards. A very pretty area.(#22,#23)

Okay, so that will be four or five more things to check off the list. As far as what is left…the drive-in movie is out because the place we were going to go has, apparently, really gone down hill. Several friends have told me about the poor condition of the theater and how out of control the crowds sometimes are so I think I will pass on that. The rest we will see about. Pretty sure the whole zip lining thing isn’t going to happen, at least not this summer. Maybe I can trade it for a trip to the trampoline park. Miss Dee said its a lot of fun. What do you think?

So Audrey says I still have 25 days/9 hours to put this baby to rest.  The final count will be posted on September 8th. Wish me luck! 😊

Whittling Away the Summer Bucket List

Here I am with almost one third of my summer break under my belt so I thought I’d take the time to see how this whole “Bucket List” experiment was working out.

In the past I’ve found that the more time I have the less I seem to accomplish. During the school year I get stuff done because I know I need to seize the moment. In the summer, not so much. After the first week of break when the excitement of being able to sleep in and not worry about ironing clothes or making lunches wears off I tend to start wandering around aimlessly trying to figure out what to do with myself.

This year, though, I’m finding that my list has helped keep me focused. I can always find housework and laundry to do (who can’t, right?), but it also seems wrong not to work on checking an item off my list as well and those things are so much more satisfying!

So far the easiest item is #6 Create one new piece of art per week. My creative side has gone wild!! I recently discovered watercolor pencils and found out how much fun they are to use.

The item I’m having the most trouble with so far is #16 Try one new food per week. I thought it would be fun to experience some new tastes but I lack motivation to go out and find them. I’m not much of a foodie even though I love to eat out (really I just hate to cook)! Does anyone have a suggestion? A unique summer treat?

I’m pretty excited that I managed to check off two items on my challenge (c) list already…

#11- Reconnect with a friend I’ve lost touch with- I had a nice lunch with an old roommate from twenty years ago whom I connected with again via Facebook.

#3- Volunteer for a cause- Miss Dee and I spent our first afternoon today working at a local non-profit thrift shop that helps fund area hospice care. I will write more about our experience in another post.

I Still haven’t driven over that bridge or worked up the courage to go zip-lining . I also need to step up my game on the “day trip” front. We are a week behind but Miss Dee’s birthday is this week and she is making plans! There is a way to go. Still, I’m encouraged 😊

Summer Bucket List

So here it is summer break. I usually start out every June with a sackful of good intentions, things I want to accomplish or challenges I want to undertake. Sadly, September arrives and I find that all my good intentions have fallen short! Mostly I can’t figure out what the heck I did with my time! So here is the plan for this summer. I’m making a “to do” list and I am putting it here so you all can see whether or not I am staying motivated. The items marked (c) are things that make me anxious or take more motivation to accomplish and thus will be a bigger challenge. There are 10 full weeks in my summer break so the “per week” items need 10 stars to accomplish.

Let’s see how far I get! READY, SET, GO!!!!

1. Take one day trip per week (beach, park, museum, etc)⭐️⭐️⭐️
2. Drive over a bridge. (c)
3. Volunteer for a cause (c)⭐️
4. Travel somewhere by train.
5. Take a train into the city (c)
6. Create one art project per week.⭐️⭐️⭐️
7. Visit at least 2 museums⭐️
8. Paint the living room and the upstairs bedroom.
9. Go camping
10. Go canoeing or kayaking
11. Reconnect with 2 friends with whom I’ve lost touch (c)⭐️
12. Go zip-lining (c)
13. repair the kitchen floor (it seems to be coming apart)
14. Have a picnic somewhere next to the water
15. Finish the trim in the kitchen and upstairs hall (I have completion issues)
16. Try one new food per week.
17. Maintain my newly planted herb garden and use the herbs often (c)
18. Try drying some of the herbs for future use (c)
19. Reorganize the upstairs closet
20. Go to a drive-in movie (we actually still have one in the area)
21. Finish organizing our family photos.
22. Visit a local winery and enjoy a wine tasting.
23. Listen to some live music, preferably outdoors
24. Go dancing with my hubby
25. Have a “Lord of the Rings”/”Hobbit” film marathon (this is Miss Dee’s request) 😊

Yikes! I can feel the pressure to be productive starting already! Wish me luck!

What are you hoping to accomplish or experience this summer?