Update to 101 things to do in 1001 days

At the beginning of 2010 I posted a list of 101 things to do in 1001 days. I posted a couple of times with updates but that was ages ago. Today I dug out that old post and had a review of what was on it. Many items no longer have relevance to me. Quite a few others have been completed. Here's what it looks like now.

1. Write a letter to myself to open in 10 years
2. Go vegetarian for one month - I've been vegetarian for over a year now - can tick this one off.
3. Walk the Milford Track - we're booked to do this in December this year
4. Spend a holiday exploring the top of the North Island (everywhere north of Auckland) - had a couple of trips to Northland which is a great start but also have a vague plan to continue with this item in the future.
5. Visit the Coromandel - not yet
6. Visit Tauranga - not yet
7. Make a quilt - not likely - craft work just isn't on my horizon these days.
8. Go to 3 music concerts - Womad twice and the Joe Cocker concert - done!
9. Invest in a decent sound system - have a functioning stereo setup - done!
10. Downsize my house and my mortgage - sold the house, have no mortgage, am renting - done!
11. Blog at least once a week - a bit of a fail on this but maybe on the improve
12. Have a massage once a month - not so important to me anymore
13. Declutter my house - I did that when I moved. This is an item that needs to be executed on a regular basis
14. Clean out garage - as per #13
15. Stick to my budget - I threw the budget out when I sold my house. This hasn't resulted in any issues for me and I'm saving a decent amount per month and have no debt.
16. Track all expenses - nope, see #15
17. Try 50 new recipes - I won't try list all the new recipes I've tried but I reckon it would be getting close to 50. Going vegetarian and needing to cook gluten and dairy free regularly ensures I try new recipes often.
18. Listen to one new musician / band every month - fail! But I also don't feel this is important to me anymore.
19. Buy a piece of art - this is also not important to me anymore. I'd rather be out looking at the great outdoors which is the best piece of artwork around.
20. Find a great cupcake recipe - I've finally decided that cupcakes are overrated so this is off the list!
21. Replace my lounge suite - nope.What I have is perfectly functional so won't be replaced anytime soon.
22. Make new cushions for the lounge - nope. The cushions I have are just fine.
23. Increase mortgage payments - no mortgage anymore.
24. Go skiing - done!
25. Compile my favourite recipes - all my favourite recipes are in a folder in the kitchen. Done!
26. Give blood regularly - I give as regularly as I can. It seems that blood donation time often coincides with me getting a cold sore or a cold.
27. Become a volunteer for the Samaritans - nope. This is still in the back of my mind to do but not a priority right now.
28. Go sky-diving - hmmmmmm. Why is this on the list? It can stay for now but it seems doubtful I will rush out and do this.
29. Only buys clothes / shoes for replacing existing items - this is pretty on course. The exception is specialised clothing for outdoors / alpine environment etc as I am still building up what I need for that.
30. Take 3 cooking classes - I did one and now my cooking classes tend to be via youtube.
31. Complete Christmas shopping by October - hahahahaha. Whatever.
32. Attend a yoga retreat - maybe I will do this one day but I would rather be climbing a mountain or camping by the beach than doing this.
33. Eat less red meat - done! I eat none.
34. Eat more fish - done! I eat fish on a regular basis.
35. Donate $10 to charity for each task I don't complete - Will do this.
36. Go camping - yes. Often.
37. Go on an unplanned road trip for a weekend - I do end up doing quite a few last minute trips into the outdoors. Road trip? Not likely.
38. Put together an emergency kit - I've done this although I think all emergency kits need regular review and updating.
39. Take a dance class - nope. It's possible I might try swing dancing though.
40. Do yoga three times a week for a month - I probably got close to this a year or so ago. Now it's more likely to be three times a year.
41. Go to a live comedy show - done! Have been to several.
42. Buy fresh flowers once a month - nope. Not important to me.
43. Make 25 different cocktails - nope. But I've tried lots of different pinot noirs and a fair few whiskeys. Does that count?
44. Try out a new restaurant once every two months - nope. Eating out isn't a priority. I'd rather cook something different at home than pay through the nose for mediocre food.
45. Make a winter dress - nope. I don't need any more clothes and when I do it is likely I will go buy something rather than make it.
46. Spend a rainy day with someone in bed - still working on this one. There's always so many other things to do.
47. Sleep under the stars - done!
48. Read a science fiction book. Really? Why did I put this on here. I am so far behind on my reading these days it's unlikely I will force myself to read a genre in which I have no interest.
49. Prepare and have a romantic candlelit dinner at home. I might have to do this sometime. This can stay on the list.
50. Read at least one non-fiction book a month - like I said above, I am very behind on my reading. When I do read it does tend to be non-fiction these days.
51. Complete a sudoku every day - I have been doing this recently as it helps keep my brain active.
52. Go to a wine and food festival - this can stay on the list but not sure if it will be achieved.
53. Go to 10 plays - since the list began I have probably been to 2 plays. I'd like to see more though.
54. Go white-water rafting - done!
55. Menu plan every week - nope. This can come off the list. I am now into planning each meal around what we have in the fridge and cupboard. I buy a ton of in-season fruit and vegetables every week and this forms the basis of what we eat.
56. Reduce grocery spend to $70 / week. I'd have to look at this. I'm not too focused on cost at present, more interested in quality.
57. Review goals once a week. Oops. Once a year maybe.
58. Make soap. Maybe one day.
59. Take a bubble bath every month. I jump in the spa on a regular basis so this one is replaced by "Soak in the spa.".
60. Build something out of wood. Really? Like what? What was I thinking?
61. Buy a "round town" bike for running errands. Since moving into a house on the hill it makes more sense to stick to a bike with good gears. I tend to just use my road bike.
62. Set up spare room as a real guest bedroom. Nope. Off the list.
63. Go on holiday to Japan. That would be great but I think there are other countries that would come before Japan. Would be cool to go to Nepal. Malaysia.
64. Donate 100,000 grains of rice on freerice.com. I did do this for a while. Not sure where I got up to. Might have to look into this and get back into it.
65. Create a cleaning schedule. hahahaha Cleaning happens when it happens. Usually not often enough.
66. Take a class and learn something new. youtube is my classroom. I learnt how to make homemade corn tortillas that way. :)
67. Donate food to the local food bank once a month. Nope. Hmmmm. Will think about this.
68. Do a random act of kindness once a month. Haven't kept track of this. Seems doubtful. Although I do think I do acts of kindness often anyway.
69. Knit something. I have been thinking about doing this. I wonder if it will get past the thinking stage?
70. Make a loan through Kiva. Nope. Have to look into this further.
71. Go see a 3D movie. So not interested in this.
72. Keep in regular contact with my brother. I think I fail with this one although it's easier these days with him being on Facebook more often.
73. Sew Christmas stockings. Nah!
74. Go to an art gallery every month. Not every month. Need to do more of this.
75. Get involved with local Transition Towns group. Nope. Can't see that happening.
76. Take a pole-dancing class. Done!
77. Assemble a first aid kit for the car. Great idea! Need to do this.
78. Have a productive vegetable garden year-round. I wish. I did notice that my broad beans have sprouted over the last few days which is a progress.
79. Complete a scuba diving course. Let's replace this with "Take up rock and ice-climbing."
80. Learn to garden organically. Still to do.
81. Reduce food wastage. I would like to think I've done this but I think I still fail as I find containers in the fridge with yucky stuff in them.
82. Visit my parents twice a year. Big fail. I never seem to have any annual leave as I'm always off on outdoor adventures.
83. Write an “if anything ever happens to me” letter. Need to do this.
84. Clean out and organise my filing system. Still to be done.
85. Check my car's oil and water every month. hahahaha Once a year perhaps!
86. Change the oil and oil filter at least annually. Oh. Did this. Once in the last 4 years is ok right? Plus, apparently the bung in my sump is.... um.... bung and can't be removed easily so may never happen again. I am sure the car will die before it needs to be done anyway.
87. Once a month meet a different friend for lunch. Not doing too badly on this.
88. Clean out the dreaded box of cables. Nope. It sits in the corner glaring at me. One day.
89. Swim in a lake, a river, the sea and a pool. Done!
90. Wear matching underwear at least once a week. hahahaha I reckon as long as I wear clean underwear then that is good enough.
91. Put $10 in a jar for each completed task. Not done.
92. Try geocaching. Nope. Maybe.
93. Donate to one new charity each year (ongoing). Nope. I am rethinking charity donations.
94. Take more photos. Yes!
95. Take an art class. I did this!
96. Visit a waterfall I haven't been to before. Done!
97. Write a positive thought down every day for a month. Nope. But I do think positive thoughts every day.
98. Kiss in the rain. Done!
99. Mid-winter swim. Done!
100. Write my name in the sand and take a photo of it. Done!
101. Bake bread once a month - new recipe each month. I now bake bread several times a week. Same recipe every time because I found a gluten free recipe that works and don't want to go back to producing bricks.

Not bad I reckon. I wrote this list at a time when I needed to figure out some direction to go in. These days I am so happy with the life I have and enjoy what I have got and what I am doing, that I don't know that I need a list anymore. I reevaluate life often and I think that's the key.

More trip details and photos - the Nun's Veil

My last post described our walk up to Sefton Bivvy before Christmas. The rest of that particular trip to the South Island was pretty uneventful. The day after the walk up to Sefton Bivvy we headed north and spent a night at Hanmer Springs (of course, there was a stop on the way to pick up salmon!). We had the obligatory swim at the hot pools at Hanmer Springs the next morning. It was a super hot sunny day so the cooler pools were more sought after than normal. After a couple of hours in the pools we headed over Lewis Pass to Tophouse where we stayed at the historic Tophouse hotel. Actually we spent the night in one of the newer chalets they've developed. The hotel boasts it has the smallest bar in New Zealand. I can well believe that - it's tiny!

Christmas was low-key but very enjoyable. We had a really nice seafood lunch on the waterfront in Petone - prawns, squid and oysters. Delicious! We spent the evening at Alex and Kerie's house and had a yummy bbq dinner on the deck of their new house. That was a very relaxed and fun evening!

On New Year's Day Simon and I headed back down south to Aoraki Mt Cook. We caught the 8:45pm ferry to the South Island and then drove right through the night to Aoraki Mt Cook. We drove via Molesworth Station which made the trip a little more interesting as it's a dirt road and quite rough in places. We arrived at Unwin Lodge mid-morning pretty shattered so spent the afternoon getting settled in and planning what we would do for the rest of the week.

On the Tuesday morning we headed off to climb the Nun's Veil. To achieve this we would need to get across the Tasman River (apparently uncrossable on foot) so the preferred approach is to cadge a ride across the Tasman Glacier Lake with the operators of the glacier lake boat tours. We had hoped to get an early ride across but this was not to be. By the time we got across the lake we started walking at about 10:30. The first part of the walk was straight-forward - walking on relatively flat ground to the exit point of Gorilla Stream.

From the bottom of the stream it is a long slog up the stream bed to the bottom of the Nun's Veil. The walk is pretty rugged. The first part is a scramble through the bush where I learnt how vicious matagouri is. Ouch! After that part it is just a long walk over boulders, etc to get to the bottom of the scree and snow. See if you can spot me in the following photos. :)


After a long hot walk we finally got to the bottom of the real climb. Here's a picture of some of that climb up to our camp site for the night.


The following is a picture of our bivvy site for the night. It was just at the top of a section of rock we had climbed and we dug a platform out of the snow. We got to this site at about 7pm - so only eight and a half hours of walking for the day.


I would have to say, needing to pee in the night is not fun in these sorts of circumstances. A few steps into the snow in bare feet cooled my feet down considerably! The next morning the real climbing started. We crawled out of our sleeping bags at 4am to get dressed and have breakfast. We experienced a wonderful sunrise the next morning.


This was to be my first real climb since completing two Alpine courses which taught me the theory needed. I found it a challenge - some of the challenge was due to feeling quite unwell with the overwhelming urge of vomiting close by. Unfortunately I didn't make it to the final summit - a short hop (20 feet or so) over rock with a sheer drop of hundreds of metres put me off that. I made the call to stay where I was while Simon went up to the summit. I only missed it by about 30 metres. For me, the point I got to was a huge achievement and I don't regret my decision for a minute. At my stage, climbing up rock with crampons on and no rope is not something I am comfortable with. In fact I couldn't watch Simon climb that part. Here are some photos of the climb and the view from the summit.




After we had descended back down to our bivvy site we packed up and started to head back to the Tasman Glacier Lake. We were due to get the last boat of the day back across the lake at 5:00pm which had previously sounded very achievable. Sadly heavy packs and a hot day meant we had no show of getting there on time. Once we had realised that we slackened off the pace and tried to enjoy the walk back out. We had a refreshing swim in the stream partway down - that certainly helped restore our spirits and chill down the chafing and bruising that was forming from our packs.

We had an awesome view of Mt Cook as we walked back up to the lake.


We eventually reached the lake at 10pm at night and setup camp on the sand by the lake. After our 4am start we were both shattered by now and just wanted to sleep. Even eating was put aside for a good sleep.

The final photo for this blog post shows the summit of the Nun's Veil - it's the snowy peak towards the right hand side of the photo.

New Year resolutions?

I've never been one to make New Year's resolutions and this year is no different. But, I have to say I have been pondering recently on what I expect this year to bring me.

I think that I am more uncertain than I usually am due to needing to sell my house. Until that is completed a lot of other things are on hold. My bike accident has given me time to think (too much time!) but that has been quite beneficial.

One thing I know for sure is that I want to be fitter and stronger and take any opportunities that come my way to get out and about. I joined a tramping club before my accident with the intention of tagging along on some of their trips. As soon as my finger has healed sufficiently I will be putting that into action. I've been trying to get out walking as much as possible to retain some level of fitness. Today's walk was up Mt Climie - a 12km walk with a 615 metre climb. Here are a couple of photos taken from the top.



I intend to do a lot more tramping plus I have a season ski pass for the upcoming winter so want to get a lot more skiing in. Fingers crossed for a good snow season.

I've also recently read a book entitled Prevent and Revers Heart Disease by Dr Caldwell Esselstyn (no, I don't have any heart problems - I heard an article on the radio about it and was curious). The premise of the book is that by following a plant-based diet with virtually no added oils and fats heart disease (and other illnesses) can be prevented. That's made me think seriously about my diet so I intend to head towards vegetarianism if not veganism this year. Yesterday was the first time since Christmas Day that I slipped from being entirely vegetarian - I had fish for lunch. I'm not missing meat at all and am enjoying trying out new vegetarian recipes. So I will see how this goes. I figure it certainly can't hurt - I'm eating loads of beans, etc to provide the nutrients I need.

I have a simmering feeling that I'd like to travel this year - I have no specific destination in my mind at this stage so will need to mull over it a little more.

So that's it on my subject of resolutions. There's an underlying one of sorting my finances out but that depends on the house sale so I'm letting that one slide for now - apart from being as frugal as possible in the meantime.