Lunch with somebody new

Two of my coworkers sat a table over from me today so it was pretty necessary to have lunch with them. I had lunch with one of the young girls I never would have had lunch with normally. She seems sweet even if she has a penchant for musicals [nose wrinkle]. Oh, I'm such a snob.

So here's where we stand: BC, BE, CM, DM, DG, HB, FR, JH, JR, KM, KW, KB, LA, LN, LM, MG, MK, MG, NL, NS, PH, PM, PN, SS, SS, TM. People keep leaving so the attrition isn't entirely due to my "efforts"--and really, what efforts have I made? I keep getting dragged into these things...

#57 Holiday Comfort Lunch

On Wednesday, the boss took the team for Christmas lunch, and included our AA, NB, with whom I've never lunched. We went to Jones where the others guilted me into getting a sandwich. I had the tuna melt which was very good and talked the others into campfire craving for dessert. No one was dissatisfied; that dessert rocked.

More Wreaths, #48

Here it is the cheapest wreath yet! $2 for the form and $2 for the small metallic boxes. (I didn't use all of them.) The bows are either recycled or ribbon I had on hand, and the paper is what I am wrapping with this season, so I'm calling it a wash. The boxes are out of the recycling bin. They look a whole lot better on the door than they do piled by the curb!

Actually, the cheapest wreath is hanging on the lamppost, but since it's not a door wreath, I'm not counting it toward my goal. That one was $2.69 for the faux evergreen and $1 for the poinsettia stem. It looks perfect, and I avoided having to make a bow. You're going to sense a theme there...

I also wrote to my grandmothers last month. Oh, she's a goody two shoes.

#14 Read 16 Works of Fiction

1. How to Be Good by Nick Hornby. I don't think this book is quite as bad as people on Amazon are making out to be. It's probably not Hornby's best, but I really liked the idea of it. I kept thinking of that Chris Rock bit where he says you haven't been in love if you haven't planned your spouse's death...if you haven't brought the rat poison...if you haven't bought the rug to roll up the dead body in. I think if you don't like that joke, you won't get this book. I think so many people have thought about their spouse changing--not in truly substantial ways, but what would happen if, say, your husband started cleaning? It sounds good but we haven't thought it through to it's logical conclusion. I do believe this book reaches the logical conclusion, even if there's not that much logic sometimes. Anyway, it made me want to read more Hornby.

2. Motor Mouth by Janet Evanovich I read this in one go to take my mind off the pain (I just had bunion surgery). It's funny, but I just had the feeling that I was missing too much because I hadn't read the first book. I think there might be more of a character sketch in that book. As a series lover, I enjoy not having to read those few paragraphs where the characters are set up so that people who don't read the series can catch on. Selfish. Evanovich is a funny one so it wasn't just the percoset that made me laugh out loud while I read this one. It was a light bit of fluff, and I do think I meant books not like this when I set out to read 16 works of fiction.

#57 Part Six, Wherein, More Eatin'

I have just returned from lunch at Rangoon (Burmese) with LW, MM, LN, and NL. That's only two new people, but still it was fun. I had the North Burmese Noodles. It was supposed to be spicy, but it wasn't. I think I just don't like it there. 2 more down, 29 more to go...

#31 Write to my grandmothers monthly

I wrote to both my grandmothers in October to thank them for my birthday gifts. It shouldn't be difficult to keep this up for the next couple of months--I'll send a Thanksgiving card this month and a Christmas card in December. Maybe I should make a few cards to send them over the course of the next year. That will keep me on track!

#58 Have Lunch with 3 People Outside My Department

Yesterday I had lunch with someone from outside my department! We work together on a one of the colleges' publications. We went for dim sum. She wasn't picky. I might be on to #27 Make two new friends!

#46 Make 8 more wreaths

Here are two wreaths I have made.

The lighting is crap because, well, the days are shorter, but those flowers are purply-black, you can hardly tell. I need to take a bow-making class, clearly.

After Halloween, this one will take it's place. I also made a sunflower wreath which I forgot to photograph. It's in a box in the basement now. I have an idea for a Christmas wreath and I bought the parts for my winter wreath for January.

So far, I've spent about $25 on three wreaths. I may exceed my budget.

#57 Have lunch with each co-worker, Parts 3, 4 & 5

After my new boss started, she took the team to lunch, that's me and MM. While we were feasting at Cosi, JH plopped herself down and asked if it was okay to join us. I like her; she hates the decorating job in the bathroom too. And she's willing to say it, unlike the other girly-girls.

And did I mention that I went out with CP for salad? Well, there you go...three more down.

Today, I'm having lunch with my boss's boss. I wonder if I have to go for salad again...

The list shrinketh: BC, BE, CD, CM,DM, DG, PM, EG, FR, HB, JH, JR, KM, KW, KB, LA, LN, LM, MG, MK, MG, MG, NB, NL, NS, PH, PN, SS, SS, TM, TA. (Moved on: SS and DC, so no lunch with them.)

#61 Slovenia: From the Alps to the Mediterranean

Slovenia is a beautiful country. Here is a brief snapshot from the 200 photos we took.

Day One

Centromerkur (1903). Department store, Ljubljana.

In order to eliminate jet lag, we kept ourselves awake by taking a walking tour of the Secessionist (Art Nouveau) Buildings of Ljubljana (the capital).

Day Two

View from the grad (castle), Ljubljana.

More of Ljubljana. Today we visited the castle and the history museum in a beautiful park.

Day Three

Lake Bohinj, view of Ukanc.

We drove up to Lake Bohinj, in the Julian Alps. Hiked around the lake.

Day Four

Farmer scything grass, near Lake Bonhinj.

Hiked around Lake Bled, then took a boat tour of Lake Bohinj before riding a gondola to the top of Mt. Vogel.

Day Five

Boats in the Adriatic, the view from our hotel, Strunjan.

Started the day with a hike to Slap Savica (waterfall) before getting in the car and driving over crazy mountain passes so we could eat one of the particularly national foods, zlikrofi, in Idrija. Ended the day in Strunjan.

Day Six

Boats in Piran, view from the Maritime Museum.

Hiked from our hotel to Piran along a treacherous ocean-side path strewn with rocks and boulders. Basked in the Mediterranean glow of Piran.

Day Seven

Lipizzaner horses doing "light carriage work."

After a stop to see the Skocjan caves, we drove to Lipica to see the horses. Treated to a bunch of young women hoping to become Miss Hawaiian Tropics. They had to dress like that to show off their tans. Wondered that I was old enough to be their mother. Considered giving them a talking to about projecting the right kind of image.

Day Eight

Peppers for sale at the market in Vodnik Square, Ljubljana

Drove back to Ljubljana. Shopped. Had my 40th birthday dinner.

#92 Buy filing cabinet and file patterns in craft room

I've been neglecting you over here. I have been doing things on my list but I have been keeping them secret...

I have created a database and filed my patterns in the new filing cabinet for the craft room. I also put my scrapbooking scraps in there, organized by color.

Why Slovenia?

Cheryl asked.

The long and weird answer is that when I was five, I told my parents I wanted to ride the bus for my birthday. I was fascinated by the city buses but had never ridden one. This was my big chance. My parents, completely perplexed by my desire to ride a bus, thought big. My dad took me on a Greyhound bus to Boston so I could see the Lipizzaner horses.

Well, the Lipizzaner horses are from Lipica, Slovenia. So, it's like going home again. Except I get to ride in a big plane.

Other reasons include: it is the size of New Jersey, so we can see most of it in the week we have to travel. It has beaches, mountains, and an incredible cave system (karst). And I know a woman who keeps going back to Ljubljana because she's so in love with the place. She has me swayed.

You gotta love a city whose every "L" has it's own "j." I'm a woman of simple pleasures.

Leavin' On a Jet Plane

We bought tickets! We are going to Slovenia for my 40th birthday (pause here so you can argue that I am not really 40. Go ahead, everyone else does.) We go October 6 and return October 15.

I'm too excited to sleep!

#76 Remove carpeting downstairs

Well, we put the whole gang to work! On Sunday, my sister, cousin and her husband and two kids, came and helped the dude and I rip up carpet. We decided to cut the job in half, just taking the carpet out of the living room and dining room. I thought we could do more, but it turns out the dude knew exactly how much of this we could take.When we pulled up the carpet in the living room, the pad had stuck and left color and crap everywhere. We developed an elaborate system of swiffering and scrubbing on our hands and knees to get the stuff up. Fortunately, the job was a lot easier in the dining room which had the better quality mat.

The dining room also got the treatment from my cousin. While she was occupying the kids in the dining room so we could work in the living room (the one with the TV) she painted the window trim and then hung the blinds! So that's another thing off the list, but I didn't do it. Does that mean it doesn't count??? (photo missing)

Sunday we all went to Hershey Park. I rode the carousel and nearly barfed. I haven't been on rides in ages--I think almost ten years. Then I went on the SooperDooperLooper, the Great Bear, and the Claw. So I was back on form. Before we left, I painted the trim in the living room so we can put up the drapes tonight. It's like I got a new house.And aren't the neighbors glad it's trash day. We're bringing down the property values--that pile of crap has been in front of our house since Sunday. And it's not even all of it!

#84 Paint guest room, including trim

Shakes fist at self, why "including trim?" Well because I know if we don't do it soon it will never get done. Three walls are painted. We're wallpapering the fourth wall. But it's painted. Ralph Lauren "Arrow Wood" Suede. I'd show you a picture, but it just looks like this paint sample. Because the furniture isn't going back until we've completed the wallpaper.

#86 Buy chairs for dining room

I wanted to take a picture of the new chairs in the dining room because they look so great. These came in way under budget, and the dude only had to spend a couple of hours putting them together. Even better news, my job was to break down the boxes and get them ready for recycling, which was today. So it was like the chairs have always been there. No mess waiting for trash day.

We also got the new drapes for the living room. This weekend we are painting the guest room and picking up the paint for the living room and hallways. See, the dude promised me the carpet would be out by the end of summer. And he thinks we should paint before we pull up the rug. And summer's almost over. We have a very strict schedule so that the carpet comes up over labor day weekend. And suddenly, our house is our house

#88 Hang Maps in Guest Room

I know I've done this one ass-backwards. I want to paint this room, and I went and hung the pictures first. Here's the thing. It's hot as fuck in the master bedroom (even with central a/c) so we're sleeping in the guest room. And I hate the plain white walls staring at me. So I put up the maps. And curtains (#87). It's better, but it will really be improved when we get the walls painted.

Sorry for the poor picture.

I also went crazy online yesterday and bought blinds and a filing cabinet (#79, #81, #92). Now we're cooking with gas.

#30 Catalog books

I've started a catalog at Library Thing. Cataloging would go a lot faster if we had internet access at home. Maybe I should work on that.

Making Progress on the Home Front

This weekend I ran around to Ikea, JC Penney, Lowe's, and Joann's to start some of the projects from this list. At Ikea, I bought some curtain hardware and thought about getting something like this for the living room. We have this huge picture window which is currently dressed with vertical blinds. I hate them, but I haven't found anything I love yet. Something easy to open so that we do open them and something that will attain the level of privacy the dude is after. Penney's is having a huge sale, including the dining room chairs we so desperately need (#86). They didn't have the furniture on display, but we got a lamp and a giant picture frame. I mean giant--it holds 4x6 pictures 7 across and 5 down. This will replace the shelving we were going to get (#89). We only needed the shelving because we have a giant wall that we can't put any furniture on--it's in the traffic pattern. The only trouble was it's not the right color. At Lowe's I got spraypaint for the shutters (#97) and the giant picture frame. On to Joann's where I bought six 12x12 frames for the maps we have to hang in the guest room. We've chosen the maps and put them in the frames, but we haven't managed to put them on the wall (#88).

I've scheduled myself to complete a few of these projects during the week. We'll see...

#60 Understand my job well enough to set significant goals

I went to a CASE conference for communication and marketing people. (I'm a communications person.) And I've learned more about it in four days than I did in the previous 8 months of working with my boss. He was a real idiot. At any rate, now I'm full of ideas but lack the staff to carry them out... Soon, soon the group will double in size. Then the two of us will be able to do all kinds of things.

#15 Read 16 Works of Non-fiction

This past week as I traveled to Nashville and back, I read Joan Didion's Where I was From. I enjoyed it. It was an interesting mix of history, memoir, genealogy, and sociopolitical analysis. I think it went a long way in explaining California (I lived there for 15 years). Her analysis of the Spur Posse, which was one of the notorious incidents I lived on tv, was the best and most sophisticated that I have read.

What does that mean, lived on tv? It's something more immediate than seeing it on tv. I saw the planes fly into the World Trade Center on tv, but in speaking to friends in New York and Washington, I just didn't experience the event in the same way. I would say there is a sense of the local that is missing, of not quite understanding the social context. I also lived the '92 riots, the '94 earthquake, and the '95 slow speed chase. It's not that I don't think outsiders can't understand it, there's just something missing in the analysis. Anyway, Didion got it right. And it was particularly fascinating to find out what happened to some of those boys. It would be even more interesting to me to find out what happened to the girls, but they've never been the center of that story...

#34 Finish current WIPS

WTF is a WIP? WIP is cyberstitcher (as in needlework) jargon for "work in progress." Some projects take so long, or are put aside in favor of other projects, that they can be "WIPS" for years. TakeToy Gatherer for example. I started stitching it in 1995, but it got put aside often so that I could stitch the 100 or so projects I have completed in the past ten years. I just have to add beads and charms to this one. I'll definitely finish it this year.

Some of the other projects I am working on this month (see below), include Hardanger Napkin Rings (sorry, these are white on white and don't photograph well) which were started at a class in 1997--this is now my official travel project, so I will get some good time on these; Treasured Tulips also a class probably later 98? or 99?, this project has about 20 hours left on it; Enchanted Alphabet will be finished soon, but I did start it in 2000 when my niece, a kindergartner, was a fetus; and Anna's Bird which is a fairly recent start, but gets put aside during the dark months because of the black fabric.

#96 Plant something in the pot by the front door

One upped: got rid of the fading old plastic pot that the previous owner left on the lawn and hung a basket of fuschia on a shephard's hook. Nice.

#57 Have Lunch With Coworkers, Part 2

When I first started this woman who was also new invited me to have lunch with her. Last week, I finally reminded her. (I've been here for 9 months.) We went to El Azteca. It was okay. I lived in Los Angeles for 15 years and I don't expect to get the kind of Mexican food here that I could get there. It was completely adequate.

My coworker's boyfriend had been admitted to the hospital for an irregular heartbeat, and in the middle of lunch he called to say he was being admitted for surgery. So she was a little distracted. But we've done the thing. 38 to go...

#25 Find Out How Much a Combine Costs

You may think this is a weird item to have on my list. I'm a writer; I do fundraising for an academic medical facility in a major American city. Why the hell would I want to know how much a combine costs? How do I even know what a combine is?

I'll tell you, it is a weird one. In 1998, I went to teach English in Poland; I was in a small mining area south of Gdansk. One night I was at a bar with some of the other teachers, when this guy excitedly calls us over, "In America, how much does a kombajn cost?" We look at each other agog; there are a lot of questions about America that we can answer, but this is not one of them. Some of us don't even know what a combine is. We're all urbanites, none of us even lives near a farmer. We explain this. The poor man was crestfallen. So I decided I should know how much a combine costs, in case I'm ever asked again.

Now, asking how much a combine costs is kind of like asking how much a car costs: what make? what model? what features are you looking for? how much horsepower? how many acres are you harvesting? new or used? how used?

Since I found it difficult to get a quote on a new combine without calling someone, and since I am so not interested in owning a combine (I think they're bigger than my back yard), I just found what I could find on the internet. Used combines range in price from about $80,000 to $225,000.

But it's the shipping that really gets you.

#57 Have Lunch With Co-Workers

Yesterday, I was eating lunch at the local salad place when two of my coworkers invited me to join them. (I never said I had to instigate these lunches.) We had a lot of fun talking about living in New York which we all have done at various stages, our job offers out of college, and the town I live in, which happens to be the hometown of the new girl. I had to run to get to my 1:30 meeting, but it was worth it.

Two down (LW and LW), 39 to go (BC, BE, CD, CN, CP, DM, DC, DG, PM, EG, FR, JM, JH, JF, JH, JR, HB, KM, KW, KB, LA, LN, LM, MG, MK, MM, MG, NB, NL, NS, PH, PN, SS, SS, SS, TM, TA). (Just because I love a list.)

#1 Go to One Cultural Event Per Month for Three Months

Last night, we went to see Itzhak Perlman at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts. We had lawn tickets, which is my first experience with that--despite the fact that I always got my tickets to the Hollywood Bowl free. We ended up surrounded by two Hispanic families (kids about 8-14), an old couple, and a group of multicultural urban sophisticates. Who was the worst behaved? Yup, the urban sophisticates, one of whom thought hitting her boyfriend with a piece of cardboard while Itzhak Perlman played was a good idea. People! I tell you. They did manage to shut up proving music hath charms to soothe the savage breast beast. Here's a tip for them though. When they say it begins at 8:00, they mean it. So, if you're going to sort out your picnic and gabble, arrive before 7:55. The old people came in second, because that's just how old people are. They know that they could die at any moment so it is terrifically important to talk when they get an idea in their head. They had the sense to whisper at least. Of course, the old guy got up in the middle of the last piece to go to the bathroom and then provided minutes of entertainment as he wandered around looking for his seat in the dark. And his date helped, by squirming about, trying to think of a way to attract his attention without shouting, "hey, over here." Which was really quite kind of her.

I don't think I can do the performances justice because I am pretty lame in the music department. My parents weren't really into music, and for some reason I didn't take the easy-A music appreciation class in college. The dude, who has heard quite a bit in his day, and even plays the clarinet, did exclaim, "That bloke can fiddle!"

But he also thought the Italian tuna sandwich I brought for dinner from Carmen was the "finest tuna hoagie in Philadelphia, and thus, the world!" He was exclaiming a bit last night. But I do think he was right about the hoagie.

The fireworks were really great too.

Once Every Ten Days

In order to complete this 101 things in 1001 days, you have to do something every ten days. That's really why I signed up. I can go for months without doing anything at all.

So I took some baby steps. I ordered some magazines, checked out where I could learn CPR, and scored some free tickets to the Mann Center for the Performing Arts. Unfortunately, they're on the lawn. So we're supposed to go tonight. If it rains, I'll just have to find another cultural event to drag the dude to. (Actually, he's the one dragging me.)

AFI's Greatest Movies

I have said that I want to watch all the AFI's 100 Greatest Movies. Here's the list. I've struck the ones I've already seen. You can see from this list, I'm not one for war movies. I do like Westerns, though I guess I've just seen all the "wrong" ones.

They've been added to the Netflix list. Bring 'em on (at the rate of 1.5 per month).

1. Citizen Kane (1941)
2. Casablanca (1942)
3. Godfather, The (1972)
4. Gone with the Wind (1939)
5. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
6. Wizard of Oz, The (1939)
7. Graduate, The (1967)
8. On the Waterfront (1954)
9. Schindler's List (1993)
10. Singin' in the Rain (1952)
11. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
12. Sunset Boulevard (1950)
13. Bridge on the River Kwai, The (1957)
14. Some Like It Hot (1959)
15. Star Wars (1977)
16. All About Eve (1950)
17. African Queen, The (1951)
18. Psycho (1960)
19. Chinatown (1974)
20. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
21. Grapes of Wrath, The (1940)
22. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
23. Maltese Falcon, The (1941)
24. Raging Bull (1980)
25. E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
26. Dr. Strangelove (1964)
27. Bonnie & Clyde (1967)
28. Apocalypse Now (1979)
29. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
30. Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
31. Annie Hall (1977)
32. Godfather Part II, The (1974)
33. High Noon (1952)
34. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
35. It Happened One Night (1934)
36. Midnight Cowboy (1969)
37. Best Years of Our Lives, The (1946)
38. Double Indemnity (1944)
39. Doctor Zhivago (1965)
40. North by Northwest (1959)
41. West Side Story (1961)
42. Rear Window (1954)
43. King Kong (1933)
44. Birth of a Nation, The (1915)
45. Streetcar Named Desire, A (1951)
46. Clockwork Orange, A (1971)
47. Taxi Driver (1976)
48. Jaws (1975)
49. Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
50. Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid (1969)
51. Philadelphia Story, The(1940)
52. From Here to Eternity (1953)
53. Amadeus (1984)
54. All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
55. Sound of Music, The (1965)
56. M*A*S*H(1970)
57. Third Man, The (1949)
58. Fantasia (1940)
59. Rebel without a Cause (1955)
60. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
61. Vertigo (1958)
62. Tootsie (1982)
63. Stagecoach (1939)
64. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
65. Silence of the Lambs, The (1991)
66. Network (1976)
67. Manchurian Candidate, The (1962)
68. American in Paris, An (1951)
69. Shane (1953)
70. French Connection, The (1971)
71. Forrest Gump (1994)
72. Ben-Hur (1959)
73. Wuthering Heights (1939)
74. Gold Rush, The (1925)
75. Dances with Wolves (1990)
76. City Lights (1931)
77. American Graffiti (1973)
78. Rocky (1976)
79. Deer Hunter, The (1978)
80. Wild Bunch, The (1969)
81. Modern Times (1936)
82. Giant (1956)
83. Platoon (1986)
84. Fargo (1996)
85. Duck Soup (1933)
86. Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
87. Frankenstein (1931)
88. Easy Rider (1969)
89. Patton (1970)
90. Jazz Singer, The (1927)
91. My Fair Lady (1964)
92. Place in the Sun, A(1951)
93. Apartment, The (1960)
94. Goodfellas (1990)
95. Pulp Fiction (1994)
96. Searchers, The (1956)
97. Bringing Up Baby (1938)
98. Unforgiven (1992)
99. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967)
100. Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)

I Am Basically a Follower...And I Love Lists

I love listmaking. Often to the detriment of doing the items on the list. But I'm going to join up.

I saw Annette's List which led me to Triplux.

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 your part).

Begin Date: June 16, 2006
End Date: Tuesday, March 12, 2009

1. Go to one cultural event per month for three months
2. Find my local library and get a library card (and get a Philadelphia library card)
3. See a Broadway play with the dude
4. Take nieces to New York City
5. Visit Elfreth's Alley once in the summer and once in the winter
6. Visit the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts
7. Visit the Rosenbach Museum
8. Visit the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology at Penn
9. Visit the Morris Arboretum
10. Visit the Athenaeum
11. Visit the Frick and the Cloisters
12. Go to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
13. Watch the 49 films on AFI's Top 100 films that I have not already seen
14. Read 16 works of fiction
15. Read 16 works of nonfiction
16. Read Bill Bryson's work that I haven't read before
17. Attend three ethnic celebrations in Philadelphia
18. Subscribe to the Atlantic Monthly and the New Yorker. Read them.
19. Go to Camden Yard
20. Watch an Eagles game at Lincoln Field
21. Ride in a hot air balloon
22. Contribute additional $$ to retirement
23. Consult a financial advisor
24. Write a will, including all the attendant documents
25. Find out how much a combine costs
26. Be less bossy—so the dude notices; this item will be complete when he says something about it, without prompting
27. Make two new friends
28. Meet up with blogging stitching friends
29. Host an open house each December
30. Catalog books
31. Write to my grandmothers monthly
32. Host a dinner party
33. Go one week without tv--in season
34. Finish current WIPS, including Elizabethan Rose, Toy Gatherer, Hardanger Napkins, Alpine Garden, Treasured Tulips, St. Basil's Cathedral, Watercolor Geraniums, majestic rooster, Dolly Mama's Freebie, Enchanted Alphabet, Anna's Bird.
35. Finish 6 FUFOs as wall hangings
36. Finish 3 FUFOs as pillows
37. Finish 2 FUFOs as flatfolds
38. Frame 10 FUFOs
39. Send four needlework items to be professionally finished
40. Take a sewing class
41. Take a finishing class
42. Go to the Main Line stitch n' bitch three times
43. Go to EGA Meeting at least once
44. Finish 4 scrapbooks currently in progress: 1999, Alexa, Mackenzie, and the 1998 Poland trip
45. Make albums of nephews
46. make 8 more wreaths so I can change the front door wreath every month. Don't spend more than $75 on this project.
47. Create cards for each relative's birthday, a couple for the lesser holidays, and some sympathy cards.
48. Get tested for celiac
49. Have bunions removed
50. Exercise three days/week for 3 months
51. Stretch every day for one month
52. Lose 50 pounds
53. Learn CPR
54. Pick fruit at a UPick farm
55. Update my cv quarterly
56. Join a professional organization and attend three meetings
57. Have lunch at least once with each co-worker (41); group lunches count
58. Have lunch with three people outside my department
59. Get the Bulletin on schedule
60. Understand my job well enough to set significant goals
61. Visit Slovenia
62. Visit Iceland
63. Visit England just before Christmas
64. Visit four of the following states overnight: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, or Wisconsin
65. Visit the Biltmore Estate
66. Visit Newport, RI
67. Attend the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness
68. Visit Acadia National Park
69. Go to the Rockland Maine Lobster Festival
70. Visit Chesapeake Bay
71. Go whale watching
72. Go on a picnic
73. Install toe molding in bedroom
74. Repaint brown bathroom
75. Paint downstairs bathroom, including trim
76. Remove downstairs carpeting
77. Replace kitchen counter
78. Replace kitchen floor
79. Buy and install blinds and curtains in dining room
80. Install blind upstairs bath
81. Buy and install blinds in bedroom
82. Find curtains for living room
83. Paint living room to match curtains
84. Paint guest room, including trim
85. Fix couch in guest room
86. Buy chairs for dining room
87. Fix and hang curtains in guest room
88. Buy frames for and hang maps in guest room
89. Buy shelving and hang in dining room
90. Rip up carpet in craft room
91. Paint craft room
92. Buy filing cabinet and file patterns in craft room
93. Create a household inventory
94. Plant blueberry bushes
95. Buy a new front door
96. Plant someting in the pot by the front door
97. Paint shutters or buy new ones
98. Take the antenna off the roof
99. Hang the decorative bowl in the bedroom
100. Clear of the top of the dresser and keep it that way
101. Buy grill and patio furniture--and use it!