Big goal achieved!

Yes, my house is finally on the market. It has taken longer than expected to get everything finished and the house in a state I was happy with. I spent a few hours yesterday morning coming up with the words for the ad. Luckily the weather was shockingly bad so I didn't feel like I was missing out on anything by being tucked up inside with my laptop.

If you'd like to see the ad here is a link : http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-me-property/Residential-property/Houses-for-sale/auction-343491677.htm

Of course now the hard work begins - actually getting someone interested, working through negotiations on price, etc.

Again, I'd like to thank all who have helped me get this far. Being temporarily one-handed has not made the preparation for this easy at all. Without the kindness and hard work of friends and family I wouldn't have managed to get to this stage.

Strange dinner

Coping with one hand sometimes means it is difficult to cook for myself. Luckily I had a huge binge on soup making over the winter. Yesterday I grabbed a container of "something" out of the freezer. As it turned out it was pumpkin soup. I had the brilliant idea of cooking up some brown rice and mixing that with the soup. Some fresh chopped coriander was added and that was dinner. Did you want photos? Too bad - I ate it all before thinking of taking photos. :)

Update on 101 things to do in 1001 days

As promised, here is an update on my 101 things to do list. While working through the list it's made me realise how I have lost my focus over the past few months - time to get back into this!

1. Write a letter to myself to open in 10 years
2. Go vegetarian for one month
3. Walk the Milford Track - this may well happen in 2011 - in fact the plan is to walk it twice out of season (walk it in one direction then turn round and walk back)
4. Spend a holiday exploring the top of the North Island (everywhere north of Auckland)
5. Visit the Coromandel
6. Visit Tauranga
7. Make a quilt
8. Go to 3 music concerts
9. Invest in a decent sound system - complete - bought a second hand amp and surround sound system
10. Downsize my house and my mortgage - I'm heading towards this goal with my house going on the market within the next couple of weeks
11. Blog at least once a week - I've not done so well with my blogging but hope to get this back on track from now on.
12. Have a massage once a month - not doing very well on this but it's become less important to me these days
13. Declutter my house - this has been going well but of course there is always more
14. Clean out garage - this is almost complete - one more load of rubbish should finish this off.
15. Stick to my budget - not doing very well here but working on it
16. Track all expenses
17. Try 50 new recipes - I need to do my sums as I am certain I am progressing well on this one
18. Listen to one new musician / band every month
19. Buy a piece of art
20. Find a great cupcake recipe
21. Replace my lounge suite
22. Make new cushions for the lounge
23. Increase mortgage payments
24. Go skiing - done! Went up skiing twice during the winter and it was fantastic!
25. Compile my favourite recipes
26. Give blood regularly - I've been struggling with giving blood. I couldn't give a couple of months back as I was suffering from cold sores. Now I can't give for three months due to the surgery I had on my finger.
27. Become a volunteer for the Samaritans - this is one to look into in the new year - have to find out when the next intake happens
28. Go sky-diving
29. Only buy clothes / shoes for replacing existing items
30. Take 3 cooking classes - I did my thai cooking class but the other two classes I had enrolled on were cancelled so I need to find some more.
31. Complete Christmas shopping by October - totally failed this year - I haven't done any Christmas shopping yet
32. Attend a yoga retreat
33. Eat less red meat - this is going very well
34. Eat more fish - with the reduction in red meat I have been eating a lot more fish.
35. Donate $10 to charity for each task I don't complete
36. Go camping - done! Many times!
37. Go on an unplanned road trip for a weekend
38. Put together an emergency kit
39. Take a dance class
40. Do yoga three times a week for a month
41. Go to a live comedy show
42. Buy fresh flowers once a month
43. Make 25 different cocktails
44. Try out a new restaurant once every two months
45. Make a winter dress
46. Spend a rainy day with someone in bed
47. Sleep under the stars
48. Read a science fiction book
49. Prepare and have a romantic candlelit dinner at home
50. Read at least one non-fiction book a month
51. Complete a sudoku every day
52. Go to a wine and food festival
53. Go to 10 plays
54. Go white-water rafting
55. Menu plan every week
56. Reduce grocery spend to $70 / week
57. Review goals once a week
58. Make soap
59. Take a bubble bath every month - hmmmm, I removed my bath when the bathroom was renovated so this isn't happening. I am in the spa at least once a week and usually more.
60. Build something out of wood
61. Buy a "round town" bike for running errands
62. Set up spare room as a real guest bedroom - I had completed this one but I had only borrowed a bed which has now gone so have to start this one again
63. Go on holiday to Japan
64. Donate 100,000 grains of rice on freerice.com
65. Create a cleaning schedule
66. Take a class and learn something new
67. Donate food to the local food bank once a month
68. Do a random act of kindness once a month
69. Knit something
70. Make a loan through Kiva
71. Go see a 3D movie
72. Keep in regular contact with my brother
73. Sew Christmas stockings
74. Go to an art gallery every month
75. Get involved with local Transition Towns group
76. Take a pole-dancing class - done!
77. Assemble a first aid kit for the car
78. Have a productive vegetable garden year-round
79. Complete a scuba diving course
80. Learn to garden organically
81. Reduce food wastage
82. Visit my parents twice a year
83. Write an “if anything ever happens to me” letter - complete although I am planning to do this at least once a year to ensure things are up to date
84. Clean out and organise my filing system
85. Check my car's oil and water every month - doing well on this one (surprisingly)
86. Change the oil and oil filter at least annually
87. Once a month meet a different friend for lunch - doing well on this one
88. Clean out the dreaded box of cables
89. Swim in a lake, a river, the sea and a pool - river, sea and pool all done. Hoping to get the lake one out of the way later in the year
90. Wear matching underwear at least once a week
91. Put $1o in a jar for each completed task
92. Try geocaching
93. Donate to one new charity each year (ongoing)
94. Take more photos
95. Take an art class - complete - totally enjoyed my basic drawing skills class
96. Visit a waterfall I haven't been to before
97. Write a positive thought down every day for a month
98. Kiss in the rain
99. Mid-winter swim
100. Write my name in the sand and take a photo of it - complete
101. Bake bread once a month - new recipe each month

One-handed posting

I've been feeling guilty in recent times that I have not been posting as regularly as I've wanted to. Apologies for that.

Sadly I now have a decent reason / excuse for being slack. Actually there is a chance I will post more regularly but the posts themselves may be a little shorter than usual. And the reason for this? Well, I came off my bike 10 days ago and have damaged my right index finger putting my right hand completely out of action for a couple of months. I'll not make you ill by posting a photo of the damage I did but basically I cut through the tendons on the underneath of my index finger as well as losing 90% of the nail and some flesh from the fingertip. An ambulance to the hospital was followed by loads of waiting, xrays (no broken bones!) and finally plastic surgery the day after the accident. Now I am in a splint for 6 weeks and have a lot of therapy ahead of me but will hopefully end up with full use of the finger in the future.

Anyone who knows me well will understand how frustrated and bored I am currently feeling now that I am down to one hand. I will be off my bike for a couple of months and, post-surgery, my energy levels are lacking. My house is nearly ready to go on the market - as soon as the photos are ready the ad will go on the internet. Luckily my sons and their girlfriends have been helping me out big time to get everything ready to go.

So, that's my news. For once I have plenty of time but this injury means I can't really take advantage of that free time. My usual sunny attitude is being sorely tested but is still (surprisingly) there most of the time.