54. learn to crochet
As it turns out, I had already purchased a crochet hook and I had some balls of wool as well, which is always a useful thing when learning to crochet.
I found some directions in a book I own on how to crochet. Last night I attempted to follow them. Attempting turned out to be the correct word to use because my chain stitch looked odd and then trying to do the next type of stitch resulted in a mess of confusion.
My next plan of action is following along with some Learn to Crochet videos on the Lion Brand Yarn website. The added complication that I initially thought wouldn’t be one (since I mastered knitting just fine), is that I’m left-handed. The other complication is that I’m pretty sure the crochet hook I purchased is too big compared to the wool I’m using. Wouldn’t hurt to find a smaller one when I’m out and about next.

94. work up to blogging regularly
Well I published three blogposts last week and because I didn’t do just one, I’m only challenging myself to publish another three this week. It would be nice to also have some drafts in progress but I’m not going to bust a gut over that for now.
I’m happy with my progress on this task, especially since I don’t feel stressed in trying to keep up with it. Let’s see whether that changes in the coming weeks.

22. get a stable vegetable garden going

So this is our chaotic vegetable garden. It’s been a bit neglected recently, and with the changing weather it’s all over the show. Our vegetable garden is set up as a grid of four gardens. The garden in the foreground is our “main vegetable garden”, simply because it’s the one we got going first. It currently has gherkin plants, aubergine plants, zucchini plants (there was meant to be a variety but only zucchini produced) and along the western boundary bean plants. The gherkin plant is ready to come out and the remaining zucchini, I mean marrow, need to be harvested. The bean plants are having their second wind and I need to harvest what has grown also.
Here are a couple of close ups from this garden patch.

Look at how lovely and glossy that Aubergine is. And if you click on the picture below you’ll be able to see a giant “gherkin” growing with the beans. Our gherkins grew too big for the most part (I’m not admitting to being too slow at harvesting), and so we’ve been eating them as cucumbers instead (seeing as they come from the same family).
So my task for this week is to harvest all the vegetables I can from this garden, remove the plants that are at end of life and then straw over the garden, until we purchase some green manure crops (if we even do this year). I need to also look into whether I need to lay some manure down under the straw if that’s better left til Spring.
I’d also like to remove the corn plants which are clearly at end of life, tidy up the garden they’re in and also get that one strawed for Winter.
I’ve got to keep the momentum up in the gardens as the recent rains have drenched the ground and the grass in the area will soon be more mud than grass which will make any work in the garden that much more difficult.
I have also been through our seed stash and there’s quite a number of options for Autumn sowing that can be done. I need to get out into the garden before I can consider those options further though.

Other
I realised last night that I have 2 tasks on my list that were meant to be updated on the 26th December 2010! Since I haven’t put any thought into what I could make of these tasks as yet, I don’t want to make a hasty decision and put the first thing that comes into my head. Instead I’m giving myself a week to thoughtfully consider what tasks I’d like to add to the 101 in 1001 list. Any suggestions?

5. be familiar with the location of the countries of the world
Work continent by continent
Find websites to help concrete information
Regularly doing quizzes
WIN = 80% accuracy in locating countries on a global rather than continental basis

11. create a recipe binder and/or book
Use my existing book as a starter
Regularly add recipes to existing book
WIN = Book filled with recipes I’m comfortable with, to the point I refer to it before other books.

19. finish cross-stitch and frame it
Regularly work on cross-stitch until complete
Purchase frame. Prep and frame cross-stitch.
WIN = Finished cross-stitch project hanging on wall

22. get a stable vegetable garden going
Harvest ripe vegetables and remove end of life plants
Empty beds covered in straw or sown with mustard seed.
Check out seed stash for possible winter growing options
WIN = regular planting and maintenance occuring for duration of 101 in 1001.

45. grow some mushrooms
Buy mushroom kit ($35 from Bunnings)
Setup and maintain.
WIN = Mushrooms grown

54. learn to crochet
Buy crochet hook (double check haven’t already)
Find directions on learning and a project I’d like to complete
Practise regularly until basic stitches are ingrained
Work on basic project
WIN = able to complete basic project

79. relearn calligraphy
Practise regularly
Work on calligraphy project regularly until complete
WIN = Calligraphy project complete

94. work up to blogging regularly
Start with writing drafts regularly
Move onto 1 blogpost per week and as successful adding 1 to the weekly goal, and subtracting 1 from the weekly goal each time I fail.
WIN = Steady at 4 blogposts a week for 3 months relatively sustained.

So the next step now that I’m happy with these goals is putting them into practise. Piece of cake! ;)

101 in 1001

The Mission:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).
Started: 16 Sep 2010
Finish: 13 Jun 2013
Days Left:
Completed: 0/101

1. attend a lecture or seminar
2. be confident doing medium difficulty digital image manipulation
3. be confident using my digital slr
4. be confident using our telescopes
5. be familiar with the location of the countries of the world
6. become fluent in a new programming language
7. buy a bike
8. buy a longterm item of furniture
9. buy/create and maintain a bonsai
10. create a painting and hang it up
11. create a recipe binder and/or book
12. decorate a cake that I can be proud of
13. enjoy a sunrise
14. enter a photography contest
15. entice birds to our garden
16. expand my recipe repertoire
17. fill a journal
18. fill a sketchbook
19. finish cross-stitch and frame it
20. fly a kite
21. gather together a complete emergency kit
22. get a stable vegetable garden going
23. get cpr certificate
24. get to grips with my family history
25. get first aid certificate
26. give geocaching a go
27. give meditation a proper chance
28. go antiquing (I know! I’m sounding old!!)
29. go camping
30. go hiking
31. go horse riding
32. go indoor rock climbing
33. go kayaking
34. go on a bike ride
35. go on holiday somewhere i’ve never been before
36. go on the train
37. go to a driving range
38. go to a play
39. go to an anzac dawn service
40. go to an art gallery
41. go to an orchestra concert
42. go to something on opening or release day
43. go to the beach and build a sandcastle
44. go to a quiz night
45. grow some mushrooms
46. have a traditional picnic under a tree
47. identify a bad habit and work to eliminate it
48. join a new face-to-face social group
49. knit something
50. learn how to draw
51. learn needlepoint
52. learn to bake specialty breads from scratch
53. learn to identify native trees and plants
54. learn to crochet
55. learn to play chess
56. learn to recognise the southern constellations
57. learn to sightread music
58. learn to weave flax
59. make a bag
60. make a habit of getting a haircut
61. make a scrapbook
62. make a snowman
63. make clothes for myself
64. make clothes for my daughter
65. make greeting cards
66. make regular exercise a habit
67. memorise a poem
68. memorise origami designs
69. participate in a book club
70. participate in a crafting challenge
71. participate in a mailed swap
72. participate in nablopomo
73. participate in postcrossing
74. participate in a sh1ft project
75. participate in the 365 project
76. purchase some art work
77. read non-fiction books
78. record daily gratitudes
79. relearn calligraphy
80. research and grow a herb
81. send handwritten letters to people
82. solve the rubic’s cube
83. sort my photos into albums
84. spend a day at a botanic gardens
85. spend a day going to garage sales
86. take a walk in the rain
87. take up an additional charitable work
88. take up archery
89. try out podcasting
90. try out vblogging
91. visit an observatory
92. visit the wellington zoo
93. watch movies from list
94. work up to blogging regularly
95. replace this with a task at day 101 (26/12/2010)
96. replace this with a task at day 101 (26/12/2010)
97. replace this with a task at day 334 (16/08/2011)
98. replace this with a task at day 334 (16/08/2011)
99. replace this with a task at day 500 (29/01/2012)
100. replace this with a task at day 668 (15/07/2012)
101. replace this with a task at day 668 (15/07/2012)

Each week I will do an update and expand on one task at a time so that each task becomes achievable through a measurable goal. This has not been done in advance due to some of the tasks having a reasonable amount of complexity. Other peoples lists I have observed often have a higher proportion of items which are to have a reasonable amount of money spent to achieve them and I have tried to minimise this without compromising the idea behind the list – hence the greater complexity of some of the tasks.
I guess that makes this task a bonus task :)

So here is the list so far (not word perfect):

1. be confident doing medium difficulty digital image manipulation
2. be confident using my digital slr
3. be confident using our telescopes
4. be familiar with the location of the countries of the world
5. buy a bike
6. buy/create and maintain a bonsai
7. create a painting and hang it up
8. decorate a cake that I can be proud of
9. enjoy a sunrise
10. enter a photography contest
11. expand my recipe repertoire
12. fill a journal
13. fill a sketchbook
14. finish cross-stitch and frame it
15. fly a kite
16. gather together a complete emergency kit
17. get a stable vegetable garden going
18. get cpr certificate
19. get to grips with my family history
20. get first aid certificate
21. give geocaching a go
22. give meditation a proper chance
23. go antiquing (I know! I’m sounding old!!)
24. go camping
25. go hiking
26. go horse riding
27. go indoor rock climbing
28. go kayaking
29. go on a bike ride
30. go on holiday somewhere i’ve never been before
31. go on the train
32. go to a driving range
33. go to a lecture or seminar
34. go to a play
35. go to an anzac dawn service
36. go to an art gallery
37. go to an orchestra concert
38. go to something on opening or release day
39. go to the beach and build a sandcastle
40. go to a trivia quiz night
41. grow some mushrooms
42. have a traditional picnic under a tree
43. identify a bad habit and work to eliminate it
44. knit something
45. learn needlepoint
46. learn to identify native trees and plants
47. learn to crochet
48. learn to play chess
49. learn to recognise the southern constellations
50. learn to sightread music
51. learn to weave flax
52. make a bag
53. make a habit of getting a haircut
54. make a scrapbook
55. make a snowman
56. make clothes for myself
57. make clothes for my daughter
58. make greeting cards
59. make regular exercise a habit
60. memorise a poem
61. memorise origami designs
62. participate in a book club
63. participate in a crafting challenge
64. participate in a mailed swap
65. participate in nablopomo
66. participate in postcrossing
67. participate in a sh1ft project
68. participate in the 365 project
69. purchase some art work
70. read non-fiction books
71. relearn calligraphy
72. research and grow a herb
73. send handwritten letters to people
74. solve the rubic’s cube
75. sort my photos into albums
76. spend a day at a botanic gardens
77. spend a day going to garage sales
78. take a walk in the rain
79. take up archery
80. try out podcasting
81. try out vblogging
82. visit an observatory
83. visit the wellington zoo
84. work up to blogging regularly
85.
86.
87.
88.
89.
90.
91.
92.
93.
94.
95.
96.
97. replace this with a task at day 101
98. replace this with a task at day 334
99. replace this with a task at day 334
100. replace this with a task at day 668
101. replace this with a task at day 668

12 more to go :)

These ones I have completed:
20. get a good haircut
I did this not long after my birthday last year. I even kept it up for several months beforethe holidays got in the road and I fell off the wagon so to speak.
23. get full license and become an organ donor
Well, I was hoping to get on top of this before I had to but I ended up partly procrastinating and partly on advice from friends and even the police, I sat my full license real close to the expiry of my restricted license. I really don’t know why I wasn’t already an organ donor but I sorted that out at the same time. I would be appreciative if the powers that be made the choice to be an organ donor an opt out option.
26. go camping
I did this on my own in April last year for 3 nights and as a family for almost a week in October/November. The first time was great except for the bitterly cold nights and the second time was great also as we were camped right next to the bush and had moreporks, kereru and even long-tailed cuckoo swooping around.
32. go on holiday somewhere i’ve never been before
We went on holiday to the East Cape twice and it was good to get to explore a new area. I would have liked to drive all the way to Gisborne but it made more sense to travel around the immediate area. We did get to spend a few days hanging out on the beaches, drove around the area, climbed up to the top of the East Cape lighthouse, did a bit of fishing, did some bush walks and got a bit sunburnt – Ouch!
40. go to an orchestra concert
I went along with Sam to two orchestral performances geared at children last year. The first one we went to we sat right up next to the stage and poor Sam couldn’t see over the edge of the stage unless she was sitting on my lap. It was a lot of fun anyway and it definitely made an impression. The second one we went to, we were seated up in the gallery (I’m sure I have the correct terminology wrong) and had a wonderful view of the stage albeit much, much further away. This time they identified all the instruments in their orchestra and some of the musicians came up to where we were seated to play up close to us. The second concert involved a lot more audience participation and I think Sam liked that part of it more.
43. go to a trivia quiz night
Well, I didn’t go to a trivia quiz night how I planned, but my local plunket committee which I’m a member of put one on so I did technically go to one. We held it in June last year right in the midst of the swine flu scare and it was a bitterly cold night – despite all the heaters going at the venue my feet were frigid. Nevertheless it was a fun night and I really wanted to join in on a team – instead I did the scores for the night. :)
50. knit something
I finally finished my first knitting project since I was a child in April. I made a pair of chunky legwarmers and if I ever do that again I will a) follow the directions on needle size and ignore salespeople and b) make them longer to fit my long calves (who knew!). I love them though – they’re sooo snuggly and mean I can wear a skirt and not get cold. They’re definitely not wearable outside – our friendly courier driver laughed at my getup when I answered the door wearing them once. :D
83. save spare change by putting in money box
I was doing great at this until the Palmerston North City Council put all their parking fines up and I couldn’t justify not paying for parking and accepting the occasional fine instead anymore. Now all my spare coin is carted around for the parking meters, buskers and charity appeals. :)
95. visit the auckland or wellington zoo
We went to the Auckland Zoo and a grand ole time in November – I remember it as a child as being much bigger with many more different kinds of animals and the dogearred catalogue I have from one of those childhood visits testifies to the variety of animals. However, times have changed and so have zoos, and I can see that with the space available to the zoo it makes more sense to provide an appropriate environment to the animals they do have. My daughter got to feed the giraffes which was a lot of fun and my husband got a great photo of one of the lions roaring (actually – it was yawning but you can’t tell the difference) :D

These ones I have attempted:
6. buy/create and maintain a bonsai
I purchased a NZ native bonsai last year at some point and it died while we were away on holiday. I’d be keen to try this task again!
21. get cpr certificate
Our local plunket committee ran a workshop on baby and child cpr that I attended which was useful. However, I don’t recall much of the specifics regarding puffs and chest compressions so I’d still like to get this properly embedded in my brain.
65. memorise origami designs
I received an Origami-A-Day calendar for 2009 and my sister gifted me one belated for 2010 also, so I have no excuses for attempting new designs. I’m up to June of the 2009 one and I haven’t even touched the 2010 one yet (sorry sis) so I’d like to change this task to practising designs and also identify and which designs I want to have memorised and then do that.
79. read 30 non-fiction books
I don’t know how many non-fiction books I have read since this 101 in 1001 started but it can’t be many. I’ve been having great difficulty sitting down and reading actual books since I lost my booklight to my husband and started reading ebooks on my phone instead. As a result I have read waaaay too much pulp fiction (mainly historical romances – ergh) and few brain-inspiring books. :( However, I now have a list of the non-fiction books I want to read and am on the lookout for a replacement booklight.

These ones I have little to no interest in and don’t know what I was thinking when I chose them:
37. go to an amusement park
45. have a professional massage
47. hold a games night
56. learn to juggle

These items need to have tasks:
97. replace this with a task at day 101
98. replace this with a task at day 334
99. replace this with a task at day 334

And the rest of the tasks – well, most of them need some form of tweaking; mainly rewording/clarifying so I am able to work out whether I have accomplished them or not. A couple, as they are written, are no longer relevant.

The list is:

Now I just have to remember to do this and submit my finds at the end of the month. Not sure yet whether to submit them to this blog as I go along or all at the end.

The Mission:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).
Started: 01 Jan 2009
Finish: 29 Sep 2011
Days Left:
Completed: 0/101

1. assemble a comprehensive family tree
2. become familiar with the specific locations of more countries
3. become more proficient at illustrator
4. become more proficient at photoshop
5. buy a bike
6. buy/create and maintain a bonsai
7. contribute to an open source project
8. create a painting and hang it up
9. develop better relationships with my family
10. donate to a foss project
11. enjoy a sunrise
12. enter a photography contest
13. expand my recipe repertoire
14. fill a journal
15. fill a sketchbook
16. finish all incomplete sewing projects
17. finish cross-stitch and frame it
18. fly a kite
19. gather together a complete emergency kit
20. get a good haircut
21. get cpr certificate
22. get first aid certificate
23. get full license and become an organ donor
24. get professional family portrait done
25. give geocaching a go
26. go camping
27. go hiking
28. go horse riding
29. go indoor rock climbing
30. go kayaking
31. go on a bike ride
32. go on holiday somewhere i’ve never been before
33. go on the train
34. go to a driving range
35. go to a lecture or seminar
36. go to a play
37. go to an amusement park
38. go to an anzac dawn service
39. go to an art gallery
40. go to an orchestra concert
41. go to something on opening or release day
42. go to the beach and build a sandcastle
43. go to a trivia quiz night
44. grow some mushrooms
45. have a professional massage
46. have a traditional picnic under a tree
47. hold a games night
48. identify 3 bad habits and work to eliminate them
49. identify 100 things that make me happy
50. knit something
51. learn a new programming language
52. learn how to use a camera properly
53. learn how to use a telescope properly
54. learn to identify native trees and plants
55. learn to crochet
56. learn to juggle
57. learn to play chess
58. learn to recognise the southern constellations
59. learn to sightread music
60. learn to weave flax
61. make a proper afternoon tea and eat it with friends
62. make a scrapbook
63. make a snowman
64. memorise a poem
65. memorise origami designs
66. outline a novel
67. participate in 26 things
68. participate in a mailed swap
69. participate in blog 365
70. participate in nablopomo
71. participate in nanowrimo
72. participate in project 365
73. participate in talk like a pirate day
74. participate in the blogathon
75. participate in a book club
76. participate in a crafting challenge
77. participate in postcrossing
78. purchase some art work
79. read 30 non-fiction books
80. relearn calligraphy
81. remember to use reusable shopping bags instead of plastic
82. research and grow a herb
83. save spare change by putting in money box
84. send a package to a friend i’ve been out of touch with
85. send handwritten letters to people
86. solve the rubic’s cube
87. sort my photos into albums
88. spend a day at a botanic gardens
89. spend a day going to garage sales
90. take a walk in the rain
91. take up archery
92. try out podcasting
93. try out vblogging
94. visit an observatory
95. visit the auckland or wellington zoo
96. write letters of thanks or praise
97. replace this with a task at day 101
98. replace this with a task at day 334
99. replace this with a task at day 334
100. replace this with a task at day 668
101. replace this with a task at day 668

As before, this is a duplicate list of the sidebar which I intend to update rather than this post.

I’ve been avoiding posting anything recently as I wanted to make today special since it’s the first day of the calendar year and a wonderful time to start afresh.
Over the past few weeks I’ve been slowly mapping out my goals for 2009 and I decided to restart my 101 in 1001 as well. There’s only a little overlap between my goals for the year and my 101 in 1001 list which I think is good. In my mind, the purpose of a 101 in 1001 list is to attempt things that you probably wouldn’t think to put on a goal listand not a replacement for one. I’ve been looking for inspiration to fill the gaps I’ve made on my previous list due to either completing the task or reevaluating how much I’m actually interested in doing the task. I surprised myself and actually completed 8 tasks despite not really concentrating on the list for most of the year. I completed: Buying a photo printer, Spending time by myself in a cafe, Getting digital photos printed and framed, Collect and grow my own seeds, Donate my time to a worthy cause, Eat a deep-fried moro bar, Go to a street fair or parade and Frame favourite photos.
I’ve decided against reviewing 2008 publicly and I’m shying away from doing it privately as well. The overall feeling I get is one of all-over-the-place-ness and that I lost a lot of time due to minor ailments. It would appear that I’m slow to recover from illnesses despite working hard on boosting my immune system and having normal (or even exemplary) test results.

So some of my goals for 2009:

November brings in the beginning of the 10th NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) which is an event celebrated by the feverish pounding of keys around the world. From a naming perspective, the opposite of the World Series I guess.
Don’t worry though, whilst doing NaNoWriMo is on my 101in1001 list, I haven’t given in to the insanity yet.
Instead, I’ve set my sights on a goal which is an offshoot of NaNoWriMo – NaBloPoMo (National Blog Post Month) in which people, like myself, attempt to post to their blog everyday for a month. For me this is attempt to jump back on the horse, as it were, since I have failed miserably at doing Blog365 (a blog post daily for a year, as you’ve no doubt surmised) and the similarly minded Project365 (taking a photo daily for a year) this year.

Other events inspired by NaNoWriMo starting this month include:

• NaPlWriMo – National Playwriting Month. Not to be confused with Script Frenzy
• NaPodPoMo – National Podcast Posting Month
• NaKniSweMo – National Knit a Sweater Month, in it’s third year :)
• NaSoAlMo – National Solo Album Month

I know there are many others including a photo related one which I can’t for the life of me locate right now. And of course there are other events like NaNoEdMo (National Novel Editing Month) in which people, you guessed it, edit their novels from November.

So there you have it, my first post in a long time, and the completion of Day 1 of NaBloPoMo 2008 for me! May the rest of the day’s posts occur slightly earlier but occuring at all is good :)