"41 before 42" — at the half-way point

Above the Clouds I, by Georgia O'Keeffe, photo credit Kirsten Akens 2015

Happy half-birthday to me!

I could panic a little about how much I've not accomplished on this list for being at the half-way point, but instead I'm just going to celebrate everything I have done. (And I'm going to start contacting some of you who I know can help me with some of these things. <grin>)

Notes added and italicized where I've started or completed an item. Read on.

• 41 Before 42 •

  1. Choreograph a country line dance (and see if Barb will teach it at Cowboys) — I've picked the song I want to use. Time to start working.
  2. Plant and grow garlic — Gotta get on this over the next month.
  3. Watch every episode of MASH — G's watching with me, and we've finished the first season and much of the second.
  4. Try aerial yoga and/or aerial silks — Done!
  5. Plan my next trip to France (perhaps running a retreat at Little French Retreat)
  6. Attend a Switchbacks match — Ugh. Missed out because I wasn't paying attention to the calendar. Next year!
  7. Try kayaking — Done. Not just once, not just twice, but three times. I've learned how much I love water sports.
  8. Learn barista basics — Done! And I wrote a story about it too. Will post when it prints.
  9. Plant flower bulbs this fall — Gotta get on this along with the garlic.
  10. Take a birding and/or bird banding class — Pitched a story on this, so hoping for it to happen in early spring.
  11. Continue to reduce my wardrobe, a la Project 333 — Progressing.
  12. Take French language lessons
  13. Read at least 75 books — I read a ton over the past month, and I feel like this goal is within reach if I can keep that pace up. To date: 35 books done, re-read one, and in progress on six.
  14. Take classes on how to use the manual functions on my DSLR camera — I'm actually looking at purchasing a new, much smaller and lighter camera to use on my travels, so this goal may shift some over the year.
  15. Have at least one item of clothing tailored to fit
  16. Learn to bake croissants — Set to do this next week with a baker friend.
  17. Get will and living will in order
  18. Have a bouquet of flowers in the house, fresh once a month — The mums from last month are on their last leaf, so to speak, so planning to pick up something new this week.
  19. Attend a fest in Telluride — I had this on the calendar and then we had some family issues that meant I had to cancel. Perhaps in the spring...
  20. Take performance driving lessons
  21. Add a piece of original art to my collection from an artist I have not yet met
  22. Stay up once all night until sunrise
  23. Perform at a poetry slam/open mic
  24. Learn to bake French macarons — My croissant-baking friend is going to help me with this as well. Lots of baking this winter!
  25. Attend the Santa Fe Opera — Going, again, on the not-gonna-happen list. Missed the summer season. Sigh. Next year.
  26. Be involved with a stage show in some way
  27. Bake a fruit pie, with homemade crust, from scratch — See #24.
  28. Visit at least one new-to-me museum — Visited Taliesan West in Scottsdale. Absolutely beautiful. Also, visited the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe. Visited the Portland Museum of Art in Maine; Ministers Island in New Brunswick; the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 in Halifax, Nova Scotia; the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax; and the Sherbrooke Village Museum in Nova Scotia. Also the Pinball Museum and the Taubman Museum of Art in Roanoke, Virginia.
  29. Watch one new-to-me movie and one classic film a month — Saw Pitch Perfect 2! (Laughed and cried.) Tomorrowland, and Mr. Holmes. Also watched Frances Ha. At the Santa Fe Independent Film Festival earlier this month, I viewed the classic A Woman Under the Influence, as well as a bunch of New Mexico shorts and the documentary The Seventh Fire.
  30. Play Settlers of Catan — Found friends who have the game and want to play.
  31. Stay at the Beaumont Hotel in Ouray — Hoping to do this in conjunction with the Ouray Ice Festival in January.
  32. Take an oracle card-making class — Took the awesome Inner Alchemy Fire Cards class, taught online by Mindy Tsonas.
  33. Research and read more about walking the Camino de Santiago — Picked up a few books and planning to watch the movie, The Way.
  34. Travel (again) with a girlfriend — Travelled to Santa Fe with two girlfriends. So much fun. Visited Brush Creek Ranch with another friend. (Watch for a story on this in the next issue of Springs Style Magazine.)
  35. Fly a kite
  36. Send postcards to friends once a month just because — Doing.
  37. Try fly fishing — Ah! Done! And loved.
  38. Visit Shambhala Mountain Center
  39. Do a Georgia O'Keeffe tour around New Mexico (Ghost Ranch, Abiquiu, etc.) — No tour yet, but I did get back to the O'Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe (which included the stunning-in-person "Above the Clouds I" pictured above), and saw a great O'Keeffe exhibit at the New Mexico Museum of Art.
  40. Do a not-just-head-shot photo shoot (with Becky)
  41. Get off my ass already and pitch the nun story to Oprah Magazine

Other accomplishments not on this list: Tried archery for the first time. Played paintball. Rode a horse. Stayed at a dude ranch. Learned to stand-up paddle board. Indoor rock-climbing weekly. Hiked a chunk of the Appalachian Trail. Learned to make tortillas with Chef Mica at the Santa Fe School of Cooking. Sat a few rows away from George R.R. Martin as he honored Gena Rowlands at the Santa Fe Independent Film Festival.

What's on your to-do-that-you've-never-done list this month?