16.

this has been sitting in my drafts folder for quite a while now, finally posting it. note to self : do not leave posts in the drafts folder for months on end …

16. Visit, photograph and blog the tourist attractions in my area.

when i first wrote the 22 things i wanted to do this year, i really wanted to visit and photograph the tourist attractions in our area and give each of those places an individual blog post. but, i have come to realize that –  that is probably never going to happen (there is still time, i know.) however, over the past few months we have visited a few tourist attractions / popular places to visit. so, a blog post with a mish-mash of photos from the places we have gone to and i am crossing no.16 off the list.

we took an afternoon drive a few weekends ago and went and looked at the geothermal power station.

we then drove a bit further and had a look at the hydro station and were able to watch the water release. i love that we can show the kids two renewable energy sources - both in one afternoon.

02

02. Knit the kids a hat each for next winter.

as promised, the hat i knitted for biggy-boo. i used yarn that i had left over from a scarf (uh, will blog that soon?) – Sidar Click, Chunky with wool. and the pattern was Shandi’s Flat knitted hat (on Ravelry).

just like little miss’s hat, the knitting went fine, but it was the seaming i struggled on (maybe time to get some circular needles?) 02. has been crossed off the list - yah!

02.

02. Knit the kids a hat each for next winter.

i was worried about this one on the list, thinking it would be too difficult for me but, it turns out, knitting the kids hats, wasn’t as hard as i thought it would be!

my sister came to stay with us in her holidays and she had a beanie on, that her boyfriend’s mother had knitted for her. i loved her hat and figured it looked simple enough for me to handle, so she wrote out a pattern similar, to fit little miss and off i went to buy wool. i ended up buying sidar hug (on ravelry), mainly because the colour reminded me of candy floss!

the actual knitting of the hat went fine (except for the part where i made it just a tad too small and had to frog back), it was the seaming i had trouble with. i eventually got the hang of it, and im sure i will get better! i am yet to get a photo of little miss actually wearing the hat – she takes it off as soon i bring out the camera *sigh* but hopefully i will be able to get a photo of her wearing it when she isn’t looking! and tomorrow … the hat i knitted for biggy-boo!

19.

Write a handwritten letter.

i crossed off no.19 back when i did a progress update on my list, but now i have photographic proof that i did write a handwritten letter (actually more than one letter!) and i even managed to mail them!

17.

Buy and paint a large canvas – just paint.

no. 17 can now be crossed off the list. i decided instead of buying a new canvas, i would just paint over one i had done a few years ago. i never liked the painting and had no desire to hang it up anywhere, so instead of it just collecting dust in the cupboard, i re-used it. the canvas wasn’t as large as i would have liked, but it did the trick and i’m happy with the finished product. it felt good to not think about the painting ~ no sketching or planning. just painting.

happy.

“The purpose of our lives is to be happy.” ~ Dalai Lama

Listen :: Peace, Love, Happiness – G Love

A New Year

A New Year. The beginning of new projects (more to come on this soon), the finish of other projects and a time for New Years Resolutions for some. This time I have decided not to go with any New Years Resolutions, since I had already made my To-Do list a few months ago for my birthday. So I thought I would re-cap and see what on the list I have done, or, well, not done.

1. Make a coffee table book with my favourite photos. I downloaded Blurbs Booksmart software. So, I guess, that’s a start?
2. Knit the kids a hat each for next winter. Not yet started, but its still Summer … plenty of time …
3. Practice Yoga at least 3x a week. Not so much. Some weeks its more than three, others none at all. But I have been walking a lot more now that it’s Summer. And for me, both yoga and walking help me become more healthy in mind, body and spirit – just in different ways.
4. Take 100 Out Of Focus shots. So far I have taken 20 shots for this mini project. I have only posted 17 so far, but hope to catch up over the next week.
5. Make a mini album. Soon. Maybe. I am currently cleaning out all my scrapbook supplies, I only occasionally pull it all out to scrapbook. I am trying to finish unfinished projects first (see no.13) before starting new ones, but hope that I will sit down and make a little mini one weekend when feeling inspired.I am a little bit sad to be putting all the scrapbook stuff away, but I just don’t feel inspired to scrap. I wish I did, but I don’t. And that’s okay. It does change a few things on this list though…
6. Buy and fill a moleskine notebook. Another that will happen soon. I have though, bought Wreck This Journal, by Keri Smith and am enjoying the structured, but not structured journaling and creative time I am having with this book. It has inspired me even more to go and get a moleskine.
7. Take time to journal each night before bed. Not always at night, but I have been journaling almost everyday – more of a reason to go and get that moleskine!
8. Make a photo wall in our home. So far, not yet. I have been gathering enlargements I want on this wall, as well as photo frames I find on special when we go shopping.
9. Start and finish the cross-stitch I received for my 19^th Birthday. Started! Yah! Making good progress too!
10. De-clutter our home – making a peaceful living space. In progress, another Yah! A few more spaces in our home to de-clutter and a few more storage bins to be bought to store the stuff we want to keep but don’t often use (like scrapbooking stuff).
11. Choose a new quote each week and make a small quote book. So far, so good. I have remembered (most weeks) to post the quote along with a song (no.15) here on the blog. The quote book – umm. I am thinking about writing them in the moleskine instead of making a quote book. Again, this goes along with putting away the scrapbook stuff.
12. Learn more about photography – buy and read Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson. I have been reading a lot lately, everything but this book. For my birthday I received a book about photography, specific to my camera. I am enjoying the book and am learning lots, not just about my camera, but about photography. So, even though I didn’t specifically get Bryan Peterson’s book, I would say no.12 is done.
13. Finished unfinished scrapbooking albums – Week In The Life 2009 and December Daily 2008. See no.5.
14. Bake my way through 50 20 muffin recipes from this book here. A little bit behind on this, but everyone got a little bored with muffins. I don’t usually eat my baking,and there is only so many muffins I can give Elliott and little miss for lunch each day! So, I am changing this a little – from 50 muffins to 20. Who knows? I might end up baking all 50, but for now I’m reducing it to 20. At the moment we are up to recipe 5.
15. Choose a new song each week and post it on the blog. So far, so good.
16. Visit, photograph and blog the tourist attractions in my area. Wondering now why I thought I wanted to accomplish so much in one year …
17. Buy and paint a large canvas – just paint. I can’t wait to do this one and it will be happening some time this month.
18. Make an effort to eat healthier. Check.
19. Write a handwritten letter. A few handwritten letters are sitting waiting to be posted, but I guess I can cross this off, since, it doesn’t say I actually have to post them, just write them …
20. Sort Photos. Get all the photos out of photo boxes – either scrapbook them, put them in albums, or send duplicates etc. to others. Ha. And I really thought I would do this? No, seriously, I haven’t done this. I have started sorting out digital files, but I think the printed photos may just have to wait until I have completed no.10.
21. Go fruit picking. Nope, not yet.
22. Blog more and Document 22 to 22. Check. I certainly blogged more in December and have been blogging progress with things like no.14.

As you can see, a lot on the list has not been done. But only three months into it, with 9 months to go, I am pleased with what I have started or completed. And since it’s my list, I guess I am allowed to change the rules and change a few of the things I had wanted to accomplish? And, I am totally okay with this. The scrapbooking ones (no.5, 13, and part of no.20), might get completed and they might not. Again, I am okay with this. I have changed, and I no longer feel inspired to scrap like I once did. (I even feel a little bit of a relief to be packing up all the scrapbooking stuff.)  I am more interested in photography, but more importantly, other areas of my life. I have chosen my One Little Word for 2010, and will explain more in another post about that. It feels good to be re-capping this list and checking a few things off. I think I may re-cap every three months or so until my birthday – this post has inspired me to try harder to accomplish the things I wanted to do (or most of them anyway).

What do you want to accomplish this year? Or do you already have a past list you are working on?

Better late than never …

Better late than never…this weeks quote and song. I will be back shortly with December Views…

Listen :: I will Do - Hollie Smith

“People grow through experience if they meet life honestly and courageously. This is how character is built.”

~Eleanor Roosevelt