Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Looking to the Future

I was recently inspired by a friend to create a list of goals, or to-dos, if you will, to accomplish by the time I turn 40. My version of a 40x40 list is as follows:

40x40

1. Take a two week trip to Ireland

2. See Scotland

3. See Paris and the Eifel Tower

4. Visit all 50 state capitol buildings

5. Become a mom

6. See the Grand Canyon

7. See Citizen Kane

8. Visit all presidential libraries/museums

9. Make a French baguette from scratch

10. Have all four sides of my house be the same color

11. Have no credit card debt (or less than $1,000)

12. Weigh 50 pounds less than I do now

13. Take Michael to Mackinac Island

14. Take a trip to South Carolina, eat in that French restaurant Michael loved

15. Camp again at Pictured Rocks

16. Vacation in Charlevoix

17. Eat crab/crab cakes on the East Coast

18. Eat Coney dogs in Detroit

19. Eat at Michael Symon’s Roast

20. Get my map of Ireland framed and hanging up

21. Repaint the kitchen

22. Repaint the living room

23. Have a “Happy Birthday House” party

24. See the Northern Lights (trip to Alaska!)

25. Get a tattoo (maybe)

26. Ride a horse

27. Make my own homemade mozzarella

28. Drive Route 1 in California

29. Try fencing

30. Throw pots

31. Keep up a blog on a regular (at least once a week) basis

32. Learn to knit

33. Practice yoga at least once a week

34. Make another quilt

35. Take a photography class

36. Eat at the Knight Cap

37. Rescue an Irish Wolfhound

38. Start a nonprofit/charity

39. Attend Westminster

40. Learn how to drive a stick shift

Friday, July 29, 2011

Back to the basics ...

Life in the 21st century can be a bit overwhelming, to say the least. That just about sums up my reason for starting this blog. I agree, it's somewhat ironic that I'm taking to technology to rail against it and the other pitfalls our society has encountered in the past 100 years, but here I am nonetheless.

Gosh, I hope this isn't coming across as an anti-technology manifesto. By all means, I love my laptop, modern medicine, indoor plumbing, motorized vehicles, etc., but, I feel that most of us allow technology to separate us from the simple joys in life: talking to a companion face-to-face, instead of via text messaging; working on a handmade craft project; or laboriously making croissants rather than resorting to the pitiful ones you can buy at your local mega-mart. In exchange for saving time, we are disconnecting ourselves from what really matters: true experiences and connection to the world around us.

In a nutshell, I'm a married, 30-something Michiganian who loves old music (the Blues, Jazz, bluegrass and so on ...), restoring my 95-year-old house, quilting, baking from scratch, film photography (I do admit to having a DSLR for convenience), and vintage T-shirts.

I hope you join me on this journey, as I explore getting back to the basics and making all sorts of things from scratch.

Welcome!