Life List Update

According to the calendar, summer isn't quite over.  But school starts next week.  This morning, JT and I head off for our last summer 2010 adventure.  So seasonal change is upon us and that always gets me thinking.  I spent a good portion of my summer thinking about my life list and doing some of the things on that list (completed items are in bold).  And in June, I added some things to my list.  While I am by no means close to completing the whole list (and that's the point, actually), I am still very proud of myself for thinking ahead. 

1. Have my own hot tub.
2. Hold my grandchild.
3. Take a cruise.
4. Visit all 50 states; current total: 43.
5. Find the perfect quilt for my bed.
6. Drive across country.....with JT behind the wheel.
7. Take JT to Europe.
8. Get a new bicycle.
9. Share my love of the Little House books with my child.
10. Have a front porch so incredible it could be on the cover of Country Living magazine.
11. Live in the South (again).
12. Throw terrific parties again…..I've gotten a start with dinner parties.
13. Train a vining plant to grow on a trellis in my backyard.
14. Learn to make a tasty white wine sangria.
15. Take a class in experimental philosophy at Rutgers University.
16. Finish the upgrade of the upstairs hallway....and then put up a cool wall decal from an etsy shop.
17. Teach JT to appreciate eating a variety of fresh fruits & vegetables.
18. Teach a course in American Foreign Policy (again....I taught it years ago, when I was a college professor).
19. Own a kick-ass black cashmere cardigan sweater.  Thanks KO!
20. Find the perfect dress. Wear it someplace special. Feel amazing.
21. Make (and eat!) a fruit pie made from apples and pears I grew myself.
22. Endow a scholarship at my alma mater, UCLA.
23. Clean up the boxes in the basement.
24. Visit Montreal, Canada.
25. Re-furbish the wood Adirondack chairs in the back yard.
26.  Acquire more plants for the back deck and then…..
27.  Clean out the useless computer in the study and turn the desk there into a place to winter over weather-sensitive plants.
28.  Re-model the bathroom.
29.  Take a new set of photos of JT to join the two black and white trios that hang in the stairway.
30.  Acquire a new sofa and chair for the living room.
31.  And while I'm at it, finding new comfortable chairs for the dining room would also come in most handy.
32.  All ceiling, all the time: Paint the kitchen, dining room, and bathroom ceilings.

It's been really nice to daydream about some things that might could really happen; things that would be very happy indeed.  And with that in mind, I'm adding a lot more items to my list. 

33.  Hike a portion of the Appalachian Trail.
34.  See more of Alaska……Denali, the Northern Lights…..you're on my list.
35.  Throw an old-fashioned English tea party.
36.  Truly heal my broken heart.
37.  Visit St. Petersburg, Russia
38.  Take JT to visit every ballpark in America.
39.  Index and organize my recipes.
40.  Take a weekend trip to New England in the fall.
41.  Wear some boots and feel stylish, not foolish.
42.  Replace the kitchen windows.
43.  Show JT Yosemite National Park.
44.  Visit Rocky Ridge Farm in Mansfield, Missouri
45.  Eat at Eno Terra restaurant in Kingston, New Jersey.
46.  See the Grand Teton Mountains.
47.  Visit Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
48.  Eat she-crab soup and then tour historical houses in Charleston, South Carolina.
49.  Choose my next car, get it bought, drive someplace fun.
50.  Plan and take a trip to Savannah, Georgia.
51.  Take JT to visit UCLA.
52.  Get caught up in my scrapbooks.
53.  Meet Smoky the Bear.
54.  Go to Williamsport to watch some College World Series games.
55.  Visit Cooperstown with the boy.
56.  Now that the elliptical is dead, turn the study into an actual study (so that all of JT's homework dreams can come true....ha).
57.  Wear a tank top to the gym without feeling dreadfully self-conscious.
58.  And on that note, live with less fear in my life.
59.  Find a way to enjoy Friday evenings again.
60.  Drive a Porsche on a very fast driving course.
61.  Attend a Country Living antiques fair.
62.  Find the perfect dresser for my bedroom.

Whew! This ought to keep me busy for a while.