Musings & Miscellany

Fall Bucket List

And Summer Bucket List Scorecard…

Happy almost fall, reader dear!

And welcome to another seasonal bucket list! Last year sometime, the lovely Leslie of Once Upon a Time Happily Ever After invited me to play bucket list with her and her friends. Just like on the playground as kids, it’s lovely in the blogging community to be asked to play! I’m still a bit confused, because the whole link-up party thing is beyond me… I’m sure I’ll figure it out one of these days, but bandwidth, folks. And regularity. If I was doing this every two weeks, I might finally figure it out, but it only comes up every three months, so I forget about it in between. Some days I feel like Dory…

Rambles aside, I was dreading looking back to see how I did on summer, assuming that it was a total loss. Imagine my surprise when it wasn’t quite the train wreck I expected. I’ve decided to keep the same categories for my Fall Bucket List, but instead of three line items, I’m going to focus in on only one. That way when I fall off the wagon, I have less fuss about what to do next, I just pick up and get back at it!

Health

Summer Plan?

  • Keep progressing through the NHS Couch to 5K. I started last week, and have completed all the weeks in past years. The gym is still out for me and I need to get moving more. Done. Setback from below, but I am feeling more fit and the hills aren’t nearly as pant-inducing.
  • Go for a bike ride each weekend. (Weather permitting.) Mr. CP wants to train for a triathlon, and was kind enough to check my bike over a few weeks ago. We’ve gone for a ride one morning each weekend, and I’ve enjoyed the time together away from the house and the fresh (fresh-ish) air! YES! This we managed to do until I crashed a few weeks ago, but I’m healing and took a short ride last weekend!
  • Measure my portions! I need to recalibrate my eye (and tummy) by measuring and weighing what I eat. I’ve been eating more than I need, as evidenced by the tightness around my waistband and in the thighs of my jeans… Ugh. I never appreciated my metabolism in my 20’s, 30’s or even 40’s. I need to start appreciating the one I have here in my 50’s before my 60’s get here! Total fail. If anything I’ve been eating more than usual… At least I’ve been loving the baking I’ve been doing? And I know exactly what’s in the treats I’m eating.
  • FALL 2020: Move. Every. Day. It might be big, like a long bike ride, or small, like 20 minutes of yoga. Just keep moving.

Home

Summer Plan…

  • Declutter one (1) item daily from the garage. This is going to be a challenge. There’s old paint, and other items I will have to research before disposing of… There are also oodles of goodies we haven’t touched in years but belong to Mr. CP, so I can’t magic them away. Not even close. It was so miserably hot and wet that moving boxes around in the garage was the last thing I wanted to do. On the positive side, I made more inside decluttering progress!
  • Keep up with my weekly cleaning routines, start zone cleaning. I was great about my routines! But no headway on zone cleaning. Forgot all about it.
  • Finish painting the kitchen cabinets and drawers. This, too, fell away due to the weather. It’s hard to paint outside when there is rain almost every day, and the non-rainy days are so hot and humid that you don’t want to take spray paint outside…
  • FALL 2020: Declutter one item from each zone daily. If I can’t find an item, I’m not looking hard enough! Then it’s time to head to the garage. (That’s where I can declutter one item each Saturday and Sunday.)

Garden

Summer Plan:

  • Work on the gravel. I know that sounds weird, but we have a brick area to our patio, and a gravel area with a fire pit. The weeds in the gravel need evicting, so every few days I need to do some weeding out there. This was one place the wet was helpful! It made the weeds easier to pull. Thanks to Linus for pulling weeds the day he came to play!
  • Enjoy that fire pit. The pit was an anniversary gift from our sons, and we’ve not spent any time outside at the fire since last fall. Nope. Hot. Wet.
  • Waterseal the playset in the backyard. It’s past time. We have the sealant. WE just need to get the project moving. Nope. Hot. Wet.
  • FALL 2020: Spruce up our planters front and back. They’re looking leggy and bedraggled after this soggy and hot summer. I need to research some happy cooler weather crops that are patio planter happy, and choose something to put behind our daisies in the front to help them transition into fall. That and they need a good haircut!

How about you? Do you make a seasonal to-do or bucket list? Are yours practical, fun, or a combination of the two? I think for winter, I’m going to put purely fun and entertaining items on my bucket list… Do let me know what you’re thinking. I love to hear from you!

Stylishly yours,

2 Comments

  • Nancy F.

    I’m a list-maker – there’s no two ways about it. But I don’t make seasonal lists, monthly lists, or even weekly lists. That’s not to say I don’t have goals or long-term projects… I just handle them in different ways.

    Projects typically have their own folder or notebook and I review/update them as the project progresses.

    Personal goals are different – I begin, and it may progress in fits and starts (and pauses); but because it’s important to me, it’s always in the back of my mind, and I’ll move forward again.

    Home and garden tasks are different as well. Home’s the one place I give myself permission to be ad hoc when I want to. I make calendar entries for important tasks that need to be time-boxed, but everything else is considered and added to my To Do list for the day. If I don’t get to something on my daily list, it’s the kind of thing that can slide to the next day and I’ll be sure to tackle it then. I love and value that my husband understands this about me. It’s a running joke that I’ve probably reorganized or rearranged something while he was gone (and that wasn’t on my To Do list at all).

    Hope you’re having a fantastic day!
    –Nancy

    • Liz K

      Thank you for visiting, Nancy! This sounds so like the you I’ve come to know! I’m a list maker as well, and kind of a policy and procedures girl. If it’s not part of my routine or in my calendar, it’s not going to happen… I really struggle with the home projects, because the unexpected always pops up. You go to paint the trim and discover it’s degrading and needs to be replaced. And that takes a trip to the store. And more supplies. I need to get better at shuffling and regrouping when a task goes awry! I have the skill. I do it with so many other parts of my life. I just need to adapt it to home and garden! Have a fabulous weekend!

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