The Beginning of a New Year -or- A Recipe for Disappointment

It's the end of 2010. The beginning of 2011. New Years. Reflection of what has occurred, and anticipation of what is to come. It is when we are able to turn over a new leaf, wipe the slate, and begin to further better ourselves and our surroundings........blah. blah. blah.

Yeah, I'm a New Year's humbug. I've never really enjoyed it. Making resolutions I've never had any real intention of keeping (and it's always the same ones.....pick up after myself. exercise more. etc.) It's a nice thought, but after the first two weeks, it's just not going to happen.

The actual eve of New Year's isn't much better either. I think it's all the hype that ruins it. The pressure to have epic plans at some raging, completely private A-list party.....Whether you go out or stay in, it's all just a setup for disappointment.

If you stay in, you start to think "Gosh! What am I missing! I should be out celebrating and having a grand ol' time with everyone else!" And then you can't enjoy the rest of the night because you are thinking that if you had gone out you'd be having so much more fun.

If you go out, you are just surrounded by people you don't know and could care less about ringing in the new year with, and either you are too drunk to know you are having fun (in which case you wake up with a terrible headache and can't, for the life of you, remember why you wanted to go out in the first place), or you are not drunk enough and can only focus on the fact that you don't know a single drunken idiot that is around you. Your favorite watering-hole is packed full with every hermit in a 50 mile radius who has decided that New Year's Eve is the one night a year they will venture from their cave, so not only do you not recognize a single face, you also can't even shoulder your way up to order a drink.

Either way, you aren't enjoying the moment of celebrating the things that are to come, but are instead far more concerned that you aren't having the fun you think you ought to be having, which, in turn, makes your night even less fun, so then you start to concentrate on the fact that it's New Year's Eve and you aren't having any fun. Then something happens which causes you to miss the count down, and then not only are you not having fun, but you've also  completely missed the beginning of the New Year! Now, your night is ruined, the end of your year is ruined, and the beginning of the new year is already off to a bad start. It's a terribly vicious cycle, and it happens every year.

So if you are wondering if there is something wrong with you because you can't even enjoy a simple night, like New Year's Eve, the answer is no. Everybody is disappointed on New Years. It's the way it works.

Living the Dream

Big Sky, Montana, in an apartment the size of a shoebox (maybe 400 sq ft), less than 10 minutes (walking) to the lifts, and skiing every day. I really don't think it gets much better than waking up to this every day. Ok, maybe waking up to this and 15" new powder would be better.

Fall in Review

So here it is, mid-November, two weeks away from Thanksgiving. I've spent the majority of the Autumn feeling essentially homeless; all of my belongings strewn about between three different locations and not having a place to call my very own. My computer kicked the bucket, I had a dog for a week (which is a slightly short story for another time), I went on a hike or two, and I've traveled between Whitefish and Edmonds to Eugene and back to Edmonds to Whitefish to Bozeman and Big Sky and then back to Whitefish and down to Portland, back to Edmonds to Whitefish, and finally I have been able to settle down in the little shoe box I can now call home at Big Sky (ski resort), Montana.

Since arriving at Big Sky, I have done twice as much hiking as I was able to do this summer, got a new computer (well, technically it isn't mine, but I get to use it), the snow has started to fall, and I was able to cross a few things off The List:

#45: make an earring holder

# 46: knit a sweater #55: finish knitting my pink blanket

#58: learn to knit socks

and, most importantly

#89: see a moose

Success!

The lids sealed, the jam set, and it's delicious (but, what wouldn't be with six cups of sugar in it?).

#7: Learn to Can Foods

Status: in progress

I don’t have a canner. I don’t have access to one either. Nor do I currently have the funds to go out and purchase one. However, I am now out of the woods and I do have access to a kitchen. So naturally I thought today would be a good day to attempt to make and can some huckleberry jam.

In theory, canning seems to be quite easy. All you need is the fruit, some jars, and pectin (oh, a canner too, but that’s just a minor detail). I followed the directions in the pamphlet from the pectin box; mashed up my berries, added the lemon juice and water, boiled everything, and added the six cups of sugar (yes. six.), boiled again, then jarred and lidded. (I was told, from a trusted source, that it isn’t completely necessary to do the water bath with jam) Now…..I’m waiting. In less than 24 hours I may (or may not) have some deliciously sweet, sweet huckleberry jam. I may also be able to cross an item off of my list.

Huckleberries

Huckleberry pancakes,

Huckleberry pie.
Huckleberries in jam,
My, oh my.

Huckleberry milkshakes,
Huckleberry tarts.
Huckleberry cobbler,
Where do we start?

Huckleberry muffins,
A huckleberry sauce.
Huckleberry smoothies,
And huckleberries for your boss.

Huckleberry ice cream,
Huckleberry wine.
Huckleberries in my mouth,
They taste oh so fine.

Huckleberry cheesecake,
Huckleberry crisp.
With huckleberries in everything
You just can’t miss.

Huckleberries on cereal,
Huckleberries in beer.
With huckleberries in the freezer,
You can have huckleberries any time of the year!

My Project

Some time ago I received an email from a friend who was doing a “Mission.” The mission was to do 101 different things in 1001 days. Kind of like a “Bucket List.” I thought the idea was nice, so I filled out my own mission. I had a range listed from things I’d always wanted to do to things that would improve my health to things I wanted to learn. However, after writing it down, I mostly I forgot about it. Every now and then I would come across it and cross off the few things that I had done, but I never really set out to actually complete the list (plus I think I had put down a few things that were slightly unobtainable at the time).

Fast forward a few years……..I still think the idea is a good one, and, with the very recent and extremely tragic and unfortunate loss of one of my best friends, I feel that now, more than ever, I should be enjoying the novelties of life and completing the things I have always wanted to do, before it is too late.

So here is my new project. 101 things to do. All to be completed by the time I turn 30 (which is less than four years away……**shudder**). There is no specific order in which they need to be done, and I will comment as I complete each task. It will be a journey and an adventure with challenges and obstacles, and a sweet sense of satisfaction and self-worth when I am done…..and hopefully, maybe, someone else will be inspired as well.

101 Things to do before I turn 30

1. Read “BBC’s 100 books to read”
2. Memorize my favorite poem
3. Learn about mushrooms
4. Learn about bees & how to harvest honey
5. Apply/enroll in school for Masters degree
6. Learn a language
7. Learn to can foods
8. Learn to tie different knots
9. Be able to identify 30 types of different birds
10. Be able to point out over 30 different wildflowers
11. Learn the different arts of bonsai
12. Run a half marathon
13. Have a body fat % of 20-25
14. Enroll in yoga class
15. Have cholesterol in lower end of healthy range
16. Omit anything with partially-hydrogenated oils/corn syrup/MSG/artificial ingredients from diet
17. Don’t drink soda for over a month
18. XC ski for exercise in winter
19. Hike the Pacific Northwest Trail
20. Go sky diving
21. Visit (at least) 2 new countries
22. Go shed hunting (and find some)
23. Go mushroom hunting
24. Visit 30 out of 50 states
25. Hike 100 miles in Glacier
26. Start an annual “girls only” trip
27. Ski 10 different mountains
28. Visit 10 different National Parks
29. Organize camping box
30. Be able to fly fish on my own
31. Donate hair
32. Volunteer 300 hours
33. Purge clothes closet
34. Learn to make the bed everyday
35. Learn to put my clothes away after I take them off
36. Move/organize everything out of parents house
37. Begin writing again
38. Buy my own car
39. Buy a house
40. Save $5,000 in my savings account
41. Donate blood
42. Send a letter to everyone I love
43. Learn to paint
44. Learn to draw
45. Make earring holder (10.25.10)
46. Knit a sweater (10.18.10)
47. Learn to sew
48. Sew a dress
49. Make scrapbook for Costa Rica
50. Make scrapbook for Iceland
51. Learn to quilt
52. Make a quilt
53. Learn to make stained glass
54. Knit a skirt
55. Finish pink baby blanket (10.7.10)
56. Finish wildflower notebook
57. Work on full-meal recipe book (30 pages)
58. Learn to knit socks (9.28.10)
59. Make a t-shirt quilt
60. Put India pictures together on a CD
61. Organize all arts & crafts stuff
62. Buy a panoramic lens
63. Buy a wide angle lens
64. Buy a telescopic lens
65. Photograph another wedding
66. Buy clear sleeves for cards
67. Set up stock of photographs (cards, prints, etc)
68. Sell photographs
69. Get a new computer
70. Get an external drive for all my pictures
71. Organize pictures on said drive
72. Learn to use photo editing program on computer
73. Set up a website for my photos
74. Subscribe to an art/photo magazine
75. Submit photos to the RMSP monthly newsletter assignment
76. Write an artists statement
77. Brew my own beer
78. Go wine tasting
79. Cook 30 meals I’ve never cooked before
80. Send out Christmas cards
81. Have a real, hard-copy address book
82. Watch top 10 most influential movies of all time
83. See Shakespeare in the Park
84. Get a dog
85. Learn to whistle
86. Grow a garden
87. Get a new tattoo (sorry, mom)
88. See the northern lights in full color
89. See a moose (11.2.10)
90. Own 5 bras (at once) that (actually) fit
91. Work in a book store
92. Work in a yarn shop
93. Mend all holey jeans
94. Own 3 pairs of jeans (at once) without holes
95. Get all broken watches/jewelry fixed or get rid of it
96. Ride a rail snowboarding
97. Learn switch snowboarding
98. Be equally proficient at both skiing and snowboarding
99. Watch a meteor shower
100. Subscribe to National Geographic
101. Wake up early just to watch a sunrise