This project is done. For a recap/review of it, see here.
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Day Zero, home of the 101 Things in 1001 Days list
I’ve managed to brainstorm 100 items for this list. I’m a planner, a worrier, so I have many, many more things on my mind, but I wanted this to be a To Live list rather than a To Do list. To be added to the list an item had to be inspiring, a little frightening, or make a stride toward a particularly important goal.
“You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.” Mae West
Begins Tuesday, January 16, 2007 and ends Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Bold means it’s done. Italics means it’s partially completed.
48 of 101 completed = 47%
14 partially completed
Wordy
- read 3 Dickens novels (Tale of Two Cities, May 07, Christmas Carol, Dec 08)
- reread all Jane Austen (finished in Germany)
- read a Govenor General Award winner
- read a Booker Prize winner
- read Opa’s book
- read the book that goes with this opening: “I joined the baboon troop during my twenty-first year. I had never planned to become a savanna baboon when I grew up; instead I had always presumed Iwould become a mountain gorrilla.” (A Primate’s Memoir: A Neuroscientist’s Unconventional Life Among the Baboons)
- read “The Scramble for Africa”
- read “A People’s History of the US”
- read “Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed our World”
- read one book from Well-Educated Mind (out of my comfort zone genres)
- do NaNoWriMo
- write a letter to someone I admire
- write a letter to Lindt about going fair-trade
- write a thank-you letter to someone in an under-appreciated job (snow plow crew)
- write a thank-you letter to someone in an under-appreciated job (mall cleaning staff)
- write a letter to the local level of government (funding for wellness centre)
- write a letter to the provincial government
- write a letter to the national government
- re-read all the children’s stories I’ve written
- submit one for publication (so what if I’m sick of being rejected?)
- read “Citizens” by Schama on French Revolution (June 07)
Family
- go to the Rockies
- downhill ski lessons
- weekend backpacking together
- snowshoe 4 times together (twice)
- sisters’ weekend with Katie
- bike to and from Mom and Dad’s house
- phone Oma 1/month (better than before but not on target)
- phone Gramma and Grampa 1/month (better than before but not on target)
- get photo albums up to date
- live in Germany for at least 2 months for Rainer’s sabbatical – not just stay with relatives. Our own place. Our own grocery budget.
- visit at least 8 provincial/national parks in this province (Riding Mountain, St. Mallow, Bird’s Hill, Grand Beach)
- tell Sandra why I’m doing this list (to live this one life fully, without burdens of fear)
- have a handmade/buy nothing new Christmas
Greeny
- plant 3 trees in our yard (2 trees and 5 bushes count)
- plant a red-leafed bush in our yard
- explore fair-trade teas and switch to one I like
- hand out fair-trade chocolate at Halloween or other appropriate treats
- weigh garbage and recycling for a month (May 07, recycling 17.g kg, garbage 8.7 kg)
- reduce both by ¼ for 3 consecutive months
- visit every second-hand store in town (Value Village, Mennonite, hospital,)
- learn what our optimal tire pressure is and how to measure it
Healthy
- go a month without artificial sweetner
- run 5 5k races (1. Y Run in May 07, 2. triathlon relay Rdg Mnt Park, 3. Minneapolis in Oct 07, Y Run 08, Platten, Germany 08))
- run a 5k race under 30 minutes (triathlon relay 25:40)
- run 2 10k races (May 2008, May 2009)
- achieve Lifetime at Weight Watchers (June 07)
- yoga 3x week for 6 months
- eat only unprocessed foods for a month
- learn CPR
- make 6.0 my base running speed on the treadmill
- run the half-marathon in Budapest
Knitty
- knit 10 pairs of socks for me (5 done)
- toe-up
- on 2 circular needles
- fair isle sock
- cable sock
- mosaic sock
- Pomatomus
- publish a knitted design
- knit lace
- RAK twice at Knittyboard or elsewhere (once)
- learn to knit right-handed
- knit colour work
- knit with beads
- learn to steek
- buy Koigu
Artsy Craftsy
- do at least 2 projects for each period of Project Spectrum 2.0
- do at least 4 projects per period of P.S. 2.0 with the kids
- learn new craft for P.S. 2.0 – (foil engraving)
- learn to make artsy and appealing cards for P.S. 2.0
- sew a retro chic dress for me
- sew a skirt for me
- sew historic garb for me
- sew historic garb for Rainer
- sew historic garb for Tias
- sew historic garb for Sandra
- learn to handwrite in a funky style
- earn 3 Artscouts buttons
- learn to ID 8 kinds of trees (oak, lilac, poplar, willow)
- draw their leaves in my art journal
- make an alphabet book (Christmas ABCs)
- take watercolour painting class (fall 07)
- paint in Vienna
- do a blind contour drawing
- sketch the inside of a European church
- sketch all the places we sleep in Europe
- do Project 365
- embroider one of my sketches from Europe
Etc.
- girlfriends’ day out in Winnipeg – Brushfire, Kafe Kohler, Ram Wools
- budgetwise: write down all purchases
- budgetwise: save for Rockies vacation
- train new LLL Leader
- paint trim inside house
- learn to identify 4 constellations in each season (summer done, fall too)
- paint fence and garage creatively
- donate all housecleaning earnings from one month to Stephen Lewis AIDS foundation
- watch all of “Canada: A People’s History”
- attend a city council meeting
- eat Thai food in a Thai restaraunt for once! I’ve only been wanting to for 12 years.
- fill up the rest of this list- – done!
Handmade Homeschool 
This list is really inspiring. You seem to be doing really well with them!
Oh my, Sarah, this is such a great thing to do, but also, so much commitment! Wow! More power to you! It’s really the 1001 days that’s getting me. I have no idea what will be happening in my life over the next 1001 days, so it is so hard for me to plan to far ahead! You go girl!!
Kathleen, I know what you mean. I really do. I think what inspired me to do this was the sense that I would be prompted to live life now, rather than always saying, “Oh, I’ll do that someday.” I won’t likely finish the list in time, but already I’ve done things rather than putting them off, already I’ve turned the tv off to do things that inspire me. The list in some form will probably keep staying with me, morphing and yet still motivating.
you can probably identify maple trees as well.
and that sisters weekend – any chance of us making it happen in April, after my last exam and before you go away???
Hmm – I doubt it. “Money, money, money, it’d be funny in a rich man’s world…”
I am in love with this idea!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And super congrats on achieving lifetime at WW!!! I hope to get there too, but I’ve still got quite a bit of losing to do before I do. They are a super supportive group of people though!
Hello Sarah
I am a friend of Katie’s – she recently recommended your blog to me after I started writing my own.
I am enthralled by your idea. My partner, 2 boys and I are living in the UK, and have been for the past 3 years. We have another year and a half to go before returning to Ottawa, and the time is flying without us doing half the things we wanted to.
So Project 48 in 480 begins here….. Now I just have to think up the ‘to do’ list!
Thanks for you words here
Kate
Hi Sarah–I’ve started my own list. Thanks for the inspiration!
Re: Tire Pressure – there’s now a gauge in your glovebox, so that should help. Also, the appropriate pressure is written on the tire itself.
Re: Girls weekend – if we’re doing it while I’m still in the Big City, we’ll prolly have to do it after Dec 15, which is the date of my exam.
And, sadly, Cafe Kohler might not be any more. Kyle called to see if it was open so we could go there for breakfast, and it was under new ownership. 😦
Can’t wait to see this updated after your Germany trip!!
Absolutely impressive….but I’m not surprised! You are one incredibly chick my dear…I love you to bits. I’ve got one for you to add and one we can do together to scratch off your list. To add: Road trip to Portland where we can eat Thai food together in a delicious restaurant.
I’m cheering you on to a satisfying finish!!
Creating a list like this would be first on my list.
The Thai food in a Thai restaurant can be tied in with our sisters’ weekend. Tho that might happen in your town now that I don’t live in the Big City any more…
Oh, and Cafe Kohler is officially no more. 😦 Very, very sad about that!!
I can also teach you about tire pressure the same weekend. We can strike off a few things on your list in one go!!!
This post inspired me to write my own “list of 100 things I want to do”. I also had my kids do some dreaming of their own and compile a list of 50 things they want to do/make/see…
I’m doing this. Thanks for the idea!