One Hundred Things

I started this list of "100 Things That Make Me Happy (Besides Money)" about 5 years ago after selecting it as something that seemed simple enough when I first joined 43 Things. Last November, I added it to my PeGeStuDoMo list, again thinking it was a simple task. When I finally got to number 75 in the last week of January, I decided to commit time to it every day until it was done -- even if I just added one item. I finished it on February 2nd.

Parts of this list have been blogged before but here's the list in full:

1. Walking alone in shaded woods or gardens.
2. The sound of moving water in nature (ocean waves; streams and rivers; winter runoff or waterfalls).
3. Observing nature, with or without a camera in hand.
4. Finding something “hidden” in plain view.
5. Identifying plants, bugs, and animals.
6. The smell and taste of a well-made cup of coffee.
7. Smooth dark chocolate melting in my mouth.
8. Walking into a house filled with the smell of baking or cooking.
9. Teaching my daughter cooking skills.
10. Making soup!
11. Sunrise or sunset on a slightly cloudy day.
12. A warm, purring cat in my lap on a cold day.
13. Reading a story that makes me laugh out loud or cry.
14. Getting (positive) feedback on things I’ve written; especially if I have made someone smile, or laugh, or think.
15. Sharing a book I’ve “discovered” with someone else.
16. watching trashy TV without feeling guilty
17. watching great TV without feeling guilty
18. digging into a big bag of fresh popcorn
19. sharing a big bag of fresh popcorn
20. pulling together a meal out of whatever’s on hand and having it turn out to be a new favourite
21. planting vegetables and helping them grow
22. eating fresh vegetables that I have grown
23. seeing a great photo or other piece of art—especially in unexpected settings
24. seeing a deer from the bus or an eagle fly over a schoolyard
25. bopping along to ridiculous songs in my earbuds
    
26. scraping batter from the bowl or licking the beaters
27. biting into a cookie still warm and soft from the oven
28. the smell of fresh baked bread
29. the taste of a fresh strawberry
30. clipping herbs from the garden to use in a meal
31. picking fresh fruit from a tree
32. making pickles, jams and other preserves
    
33. judging a book by its cover and being right
34. finding a new author and going back through their whole catalog
35. reading e-books while waiting for the bus
36. reading a free newspaper on the morning commute
    
37. wandering through the library just browsing
38. curling up in bed with a graphic novel
39. watching full-length animated movies
    
40. window shopping
41. zipping downhill on my bike
42. all the memories that rush back when an old favourite song is played
43. the first rain after a dry spell
44. the smell of the ocean on an overcast day
45. the sound of a train whistle or horn in the distance
46. the sounds of a steam train
47. taking an afternoon nap
48. realizing I can still learn things, at any age
49. that a-Ha moment when a concept becomes clear
50. explaining a concept to someone else then seeing that a-Ha moment
    
51. the smell of wet leaves in the fall
    
52. the sound of rain on a tent when I'm inside
53. building and stoking a real wood fire
54. the sound of rocks being pulled over each other by receding waves
55. reading and re-reading poetry
56. writing poetry, especially haiku
57. taking on a writing challenge and finishing it, even if it doesn't get me anything
58. crossing things off lists -- in general -- but especially things that have been a long time coming
59. finding a new use for something
60. using something I have repaired
61. watching my daughter sleeping
62. going to bed the night before I know I don't have an alarm set to wake me
63. waking up before everyone else and having a quiet house to myself
    
64. mushrooms and onions sauteed in butter -- it's always the start of something yummy.
65. seeing someone wearing or using something I've made
    
66. making something without a pattern
67. following a pattern and succeeding
68. finding a great tip and sharing it
69. fancy printed book endpapers, especially marbled ones
70. holding old books and thinking about all the people who have turned the same pages
71. marveling at the intricacies of nineteenth century prints from etchings
72. the peace of walking through a graveyard
73. trying to unlock how an artist made a given piece of work
    
74. playing silly computer games
75. playing sudoku now that the trend has faded
    
76. going out for a date with my husband
77. fresh-baked apple crumble made without a recipe -- different every time
78. watching a show on Canadian TV, without bleeps or re-edited dialog and sometimes even with unpixelated nudity
79. browsing through Etsy and eBay at all the amazing, weird and banal things that people sell
80. finding and sharing useless trivia
81. being challenged on a useless fact and being able to find and show proof I was right
    
82. looking at architectural details and learning how to identify an architect's style
83. writing reviews and sharing my opinion
84. getting results from a strongly worded letter to a company, government body, or other corporation
85. watching a production line in action whether it is human or mechanical -- I always think of the Looney Tunes "assembly line" music (Oooh! Useless trivia moment, that music is called "Powerhouse" by Raymond Scott.)
86. rainbows
    
87. the idea of unicorn chasers, even if I don't particularly like unicorns
88. getting lost on the web by link-hopping (easiest on sites like Wikipedia)
89. watching clouds moving and shifting
90. watching dew turn to steam on warm summer mornings
91. having a job that allows me to wear sassy t-shirts and jeans and pays more than $8 per hour.
92. watching our cat play like a kitten
93. catching up on tv shows with marathons of a season in a week.
    
94. realizing I know enough about a given program to get the result I expect when I am using it
    
95. the smell of laundry that has dried in the fresh air
96. breathing deeply on a crisp, clear morning
97. standing on the deck with a mug of coffee, just listening
    
98. finding the answer to something particularly tricky
99. imagining what cats are really thinking
    
100. finishing this list and realizing there's a lot more I could add.

And, after crossing this off my list, I smiled thinking about item #58.

contrary logic.and random thoughts

Apparently, I had PeGeStuDoMo all wrong. I shouldn't have told anyone what I was doing and that is why I failed. (Actually, I figure I failed because I am a gold medalist** in procrastination)

* * *

Kiddo has requested all vegetarian meals this week --perfectly doable but it's making me crave steak and click on every link that mentions food -- which meant I found this curiosity (that would be great if I liked peppermint lattes) and this wonderful tale of determination not to waste food.

* * *

Finally, just for fun, here's a great ad from LG -- more or less a PSA asking people to think before they text, "Give it a ponder." There is a whole series of these. They make me smile.



**hey, here's hoping VanOC doesn't come after me for saying "gold medalist."

Getting stuff sort-of done.

It's halfway through the month so I thought an update on PeGeStuDoMo was in order. The book project is somewhat stalled at the moment. I thought I had a plan to deal with one issue but am not sure that I can make it work.

On the other hand, I did finish the one specific craft challenge -- a first attempt at catnip nunchucks!* -- and have written the specific tutorial (for reusable produce bags) but it needs some editing before I publish it. I have also made headway on the first of the three articles in the B section of the plan and published one of 6 FrugalVictoria articles (another 5 are in various stages from notes to ready to go).

I am not feeling very positive about my progress but I am still making progress so I suppose it's all good. We have some busy nights ahead (this week includes the Jan Arden concert and our Sooke Harbour House do-over) and I also have to squeeze in some prep for an upcoming craft fair... so the jury is out on how much I will finish!

*my only regret with the nunchucks was using a dark brown fabric -- it is unfortunately the same shade and shape as a kitty accident on the floor. Eww.

Scientific tangent

I am making progress on PeGeStuDoMo -- yesterday I spent several hours adding content to the book and I have been puttering toward the other goals too -- but this post is not about that. It's about science.

Specifically, this tangential post is about chemistry and the periodic table. Kiddo has expressed a keen interest in chemistry (currently "chemist" is her answer to what she wants to be when she grows up) or possibly biochemistry (she has also showed a lot of interest in how medicines are created). However, that's not how we got to today's "awesome time-sucking and deceptively educational site of the day." We got to that site by way of a smoke detector.

The battery had started to bleat, so I pulled it down to change the battery (it's a model that clips into a base that is attached to the wall -- I like this design because I don't have to change the battery while standing on a chair or ladder). While it was down, Kiddo noticed the radioactive symbol on the side. I said it contained a tiny amount of radioactive material called, according to the label, Americium 241.

In the quest to find out more about how the smoke detector uses ²⁴¹Am, we came across the Los Alamos National Laboratory's Periodic Table of the Elements pages and spent an hour clicking and learning wonderful chemical trivia.

I read the page about Platinum (Pt) which got me curious about the precious metals market wherein I realized that I clearly have not been paying attention to the news**. Gold (Au) closed at about $1100.00 per oz this week! It reminded me that for years I thought I should be buying gold but never had enough cash. Look at this chart of the past 10 years. Crazy. And in case you are curious, compare this to Platinum, which closed the week at about $1350.00 per oz and Silver (Ag) (clearly the "poor cousin") which closed at about $17.50 per oz.

Oh, and all of this also reminded me that I totally want a periodic table shower curtain.





**However, this does explain the proliferation of scam artists entrepreneurs buying "your old gold" by mail.

November plan

I have identified 5 areas where I want to get stuff done during PeGeStuDoMo (Personal Getting Stuff Done Month):

a. A non-fiction book I've been working on for just over a year -- slated to be an e-book I just need to finish and publish it on Smashwords (basic version) and Lulu (deluxe? edition).

b. Unfinished documents -- I've identified 3 documents that need to be finished; one tied to a 43 things goal and two tied to (potential) apps that Hubby may work on.

c. Craft projects -- one specific item, one specific tutorial, and some Etsy maintenance fall into this area.

d. Preparation and planning -- here the goals are a little more shady; to identify (and write?) 4-5 tutorials and to write 6-8 articles for Frugal Victoria. I have a few ideas for each but they are not well-formed yet.

e. Other -- for lack of a better term, these are other web-based goals; replacing all the short reviews on my Victoria Guide that were leftover from the upgrade, and writing two specific reviews that will take some careful thought.

Can I do all of that inside a month? Unlikely, but I can give it my best shot. I got a couple of books out of the library to help with inspiration and motivation and I have a good supply of coffee and tea in the house.

Falling back and such

Since we still haven't solved that whole Daylight Savings nonsense, tonight we'll be changing a bunch of clocks (and the rest tomorrow). Right now, I am making the most of what is left of Halloween by watching Practical Magic. I stayed home to hand out candy while Hubby took Kiddo around the neighbourhood and then off to Oak Bay to see the bonfire.

She loved her costume this year -- Ahsoka, from Star Wars: the Clone Wars -- but was frustrated by how often she had to explain it. She had more fun earlier when she tried on Hubby's V for Vendetta mask:

(BTW, I saw several people wearing that mask yesterday among the many protesters in Centennial Square (some of whom later caused enough of a ruckus that the route for the Olympic Torch Relay had to be adjusted to avoid them).)

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Bonus: linkdump!

• Supernatural Collective Nouns by Wondermark -- I immediately bookmarked this for future reference and amusement.
• Star Wars zombie art -- yeah, I think I am over zombies now... but this is still an amusing set.
• Cell size and scale -- if you haven't already seen this, go look, play with the slider, and break your brain a little. Then show your kids. It's edutastic!
  

Oh, and if any of you are on Google Wave, let me know. I can't invite others (yet?) and I'd like to see if more people would make it suck less. (Right now, it seems kinda sucky and pointless.)

Starting tomorrow, it's PeGeStuDoMo!

PeGeStuDoMo

There's a buzz among friends and followers on Facebook and Twitter... it's time again for NaNoWriMo. However, I will not be participating. I tried, a while back, and it was ... painful. I'd been inspired by Star who had been so supportive of my writing and had suggested that I try it. I did, but life derailed the writing. As with so many of my projects, I lost interest and put it aside for a couple of weeks. I picked it up again at the start of December and thought, reasonably, that even if I didn't meet the challenge of NaNoWriMo, the story was still salvageable. I planned to email Star to tell her I was still working on the story but I didn't get the chance. I've tried revisiting the story a few times but I still can't quite approach it.

However, just because I'm not doing NaNoWriMo doesn't mean I can't set a goal or two... so I introduce to you PeGeStuDoMo -- Personal Getting Stuff Done Month. It's been a while since I really looked at my/our Big List o' Projects and it bears revisiting and revising. There are a few things near the top of the list that just seem to hover and I am determined to finish them even if it means (gasp!) turning off my computer for a few hours -- or at least disconnecting from the net. I am proclaiming November my PeGeStuDoMo because I still have sewing to do for Halloween costumes and other committments in the next week.

If I drift off tangent next month, please feel free to give me a virtual kick in the pants.