New Year's Resolutions

My 2010 Goals were:

*  Read 100 books - DONE

*  Read Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking - not so much done.  I have started it, and there was that boiling bacon episode for boeuf bourginon.

*  Finish 100 knitting and/or sewing projects - DONE.  This is actually the biggest surprise, as this was by far the craziest goal.  But as of right now, I have finished 115.  Score!!!

*  Be able to swim a mile before I turn 40 - this one got waylaid by the arm problems, which are STILL going on.  Somehow I have made it worse again, I think because of pulling myself around so as to not hurt the broken toe.  What a sad little state of affairs I am right now!  Sheesh!

*  Do 10 lessons in my serger workbook - DONE.  I actually did 20, though I am never going to get the blind hem with the serger part.  I can barely do that with my sewing machine!

*  Try 5 new bread recipes - TOTALLY forgot about this one!  Whoops!

And I had listed at the end to shake the cold that had been plaguing me for a month, but I think that was a joke.  So, I did pretty well, but not 100%.

So....ON TO 2011!!!!!

This year my goals are:

*  Read or listen to 100 books (I love this one)

* Complete 10 lessons in the serger workbook (I still need to figure out 2-thread and cover stitch options)

*  Finish 111 sewing and/or knitting projects (I know, I'm insane)

*  Read 2 chapters of Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking.  (This seems a bit more realistic.  Maybe I'll read the aspic chapter just for fun)

*  Read the copy of Vogue Sewing I bought.  It's an older book, so it goes into a lot more detail than the more recent sewing books I've seen.

*  Do 12 sourdough bread experiments.  I have had a sourdough starter for years & make a pretty mean sourdough-honey-oatmeal bread from a recipe I've developed over the years, but the "52 loaves" book that I couldn't get through got me thinking about how simple bread really should be in many respects, so the idea is to attempt 12 loaves of bread without using a recipe.  


*  Use up 100 yards of fabric from my stash without buying more.  Those of you who have seen my sewing room will understand that one.

*  Write 100 letters.  (anyone notice that I like nice, round numbers?)

Andy and I have a project for 2010 as well:  once a week, we're going to attend a free or nearly free event.  I hadn't ever really noticed how many lectures, exhibits, talks, displays, etc. there are around town.  We went to most of a train lecture series put on by our community library and loved it, even though I hadn't even ridden on a train until I was an adult.  We are scouring library events, coffee shop schedules, university calendars, clubs, farmers markets schedules, events--and the rules are we can only use each event once (no going to the downtown market every Saturday and calling it good).  Frankly, this little project sounds like WAY more fun than no processed foods--though we're still trying to do that as well, but a bit less militant.

Bring on 2011!

New Year's Resolutions

I am a HUGE fan of new year's resolutions.  Not the traditional "lose weight," "exercise more" type--nothing hard to measure so vague.  But I always make a list of things to be done during the year.  Besides the "Year of No Processed Foods" experiment, there have been years devoted to trying a new recipe every week, being a tourist in my home area, exploring musical composers, etc.  Things that are new, interesting, and can be accomplished. 

As it is January 1, it's time for this year's list:

1.  Read 100 books
     Okay, sort of a repeat of last year, but reading used to be one of my favorite things to do, and somewhere along the way, it had ceased to be that important.  Last year was good for me--I read lots of interesting things, much more "mind popcorn" mystery books, and just anything that struck my fancy.  It was great fun, and I intend to read (or listen to) 100 this year.

2.  Read Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking
     Ever since I heard of the Julie & Julia Project, I have been curious about Julia Child's book.  While I am an adventurous person, I make beef gelatin for no one, so cooking my way through the book is out of the question.  But I think I will learn a lot by simply reading it--and trying a few recipes that don't completely repulse me.

3.  Finish 100 knitting/sewing projects
     This is more for the knitting blog, but it's a resolution.  I have such a long list of things I want to make--maybe this will give me a jump start on them.

4.  Be able to swim a mile before I turn 40 in September. 
     Note to self:  look up how many laps that will be.  (January 1 is not the date for details)

5.  Do 10 lessons in my serger workbook
     I bought my serger 3 years ago, and bought a workbook with it that very nicely explains how to do all sorts of different things.  I have used the serger quite a bit, but still have yet to do a single lesson, and I'm thinking it would be nice to move past my current 2-stitch repertoire.


6.  Try 5 new bread recipes

7.  Shake this dang cold!

Happy New Year!!!!!