"41 before 42" — three months in

Inner Alchemy Cards photo credit Kirsten Akens July 2015

Three months and counting on my 41 before 42 birthday list. Part of me feels like I haven't done much, and part of me is pretty excited about the things I have completed. Read on.

• 41 Before 42 • 

  1. Choreograph a country line dance (and see if Barb will teach it at Cowboys)
  2. Plant and grow garlic
  3. Watch every episode of MASH — G's watching with me, and we've finished the first season.
  4. Try aerial yoga and/or aerial silks — Done! Blog post to come. 
  5. Plan my next trip to France (perhaps running a retreat at Little French Retreat)
  6. Attend a Switchbacks match
  7. Try kayaking — Done. Not just once, but twice.
  8. Learn barista basics
  9. Plant flower bulbs this fall
  10. Take a birding and/or bird banding class
  11. Continue to reduce my wardrobe, a la Project 333 — Progressing slowly.
  12. Take French language lessons
  13. Read at least 75 books — Even though I feel like I've been constantly reading, I'm a little behind. I've read 15 books, re-read one, and in progress on seven.
  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
  17. Get will and living will in order
  18. Have a bouquet of flowers in the house, fresh once a month — Had a bouquet here in April, and again in July. 
  19. Attend a fest in Telluride
  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
  25. Attend the Santa Fe Opera
  26. Be involved with a stage show in some way
  27. Bake a fruit pie, with homemade crust, from scratch
  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, where the photo above came from. 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.
  29. Watch one new-to-me movie and one classic film a month — Saw Pitch Perfect 2! (Laughed and cried.) Otherwise really behind on this.
  30. Play Settlers of Catan — Found friends who have the game and want to play.
  31. Stay at the Beaumont Hotel in Ouray
  32. Take an oracle card-making class — I'm currently wrapping up the Inner Alchemy Fire Cards class, taught online by Mindy Tsonas. (Photo above of two of my cards.)
  33. Research and read more about walking the Camino de Santiago
  34. Travel (again) with a girlfriend — Travelled to Santa Fe with two girlfriends. So much fun. Visited Brush Creek Ranch with another friend. 
  35. Fly a kite
  36. Send postcards to friends once a month just because — Doing.
  37. Try fly fishing — Ah! Done! And loved. Blog post to come.
  38. Visit Shambhala Mountain Center
  39. Do a Georgia O'Keeffe tour around New Mexico (Ghost Ranch, Abiquiu, etc.)
  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.