All The Plans 2026

A new year and new list of plans.  Some old and some new.  Because yes I can never have a enough to do or making enough list.  List Girl strikes again it seems.

 

As for the plans...

 

Reading

 

Do we really need to even ask?  Probably not.   Reading is pretty much my go to thing.

Gardening

 

Weirdly I've actually already started on this... and that's despite the crazy up and down weather we've been having.  So far the plan is to finish the weeding of which I'm about two thirds through already, lay down some compost, plant some more seedlings and cross fingers all goes well

101 Things In 1001 Days

 

Why yes I have actually started this.  Amazing as it is.  Still I've got a long way to go and only and few months to do it all in.  I'm getting tired just thinking about it all.

Writing

 

Still on the list.  Sadly all writing pretty much stopped this year.  But despite that I'm hopeful for this year.   I just need no distractions...

Get Fit and Healthy

 

Was going well until it wasn't but I'm determined to get back on track. 

Watching and Reviewing

 

One thing that is actually going well.  I just need to keep up the good work and finish watching about a thousand odd movies...

Moving On

 

One of those big plans.  The kind that involves packing up our lives and moving house.  Of course we need to find said house first...

A Birthday Ending In Zero

 

And finally the big one.  Or at least one of the big ones.  And since it's pretty much just me I'm planning all sorts of nice little things for a whole week of birthday celebrations.  Naturally cake and lots of presents will be involved.  Mostly because I'll be buying the cake and presents for myself.  Mmm that present list is starting to look just a tad long...

All The Plans 2025

You know the saying... man plans... and well disaster strikes derailing those plans big time.  And by big time I mean come to a complete stop.  All I can say is never break your leg in 3 places or break it so badly that you have to have surgery to fix it.  On the plus side I am now at least part cyborg courtesy of the metal rod that is now inside my leg.

 

But it's a new year and a new start so plans are once again on the table. We'll just ignore the year that was 2024 and yell out yay for 2025.

And the plans are...

Reading

 

One that never goes away which is just as well considering how many books I keep finding to add to my ever increasing To Be Read pile.

Gardening

 

That year that we won't talk about sadly saw my lovely garden become an utter disaster zone with more weeds than plants.  Luckily I have so far managed to almost catch up with the endless weeding and pruning and it's starting to once again look like an actual garden rather than a serious hazardous site.  As you can imagine the plan is to carrying on with the tidying and hopefully get some fruit and veg from it this year as well as getting it ready for the winter.

101 Things in 1001 Days

 

I seriously need to make a start on this because at this rate nothing is going to get crossed off.

Writing

The one thing that I have actually managed to do.  Would you believe I written almost 10,000 words in the past few months.  I know right?  Even I'm amazed at that one.  Definitely staying on the list and hoping like anything I can actually finish a story. 

A Day in the Life - A Summer's Day in the Garden

Finally.  A sunny day and not a rain cloud in sight nor a breath a wind.  So how did my day go...

8.00am

 

Well hello blue skies.  now that's a much better start to the day than the rain we've been having

9.00am

 

Pottering around the garden and look at our lovely apricot.  I'm thinking it might be picking time.

10.00am

 

Still in the garden and busy trying to catch up on all my weeding.  In the meantime the bees are out and doing bee things.

11.00am

 

A quick break for cup of tea and the tomatoes are finally starting to be ready for picking.  Not a very big haul which I blame on all this crazy weather but still it's enough for a morning tea snack.

1.00pm

 

Some how midday came and went and here I am still in working in the garden.  Seems I've been watched over by a certain ginger boy whose hiding amongst the carrots.

3.00pm... ish

Finally the garden is looking good again and not a weed in sight... well mostly and I'm loving my garden path that Other Half laid down for me.  Makes getting around so much easier.

 

The sunflowers are also so close to popping out. Certainly they are tall enough.

4.00pm

 

Dinner time.  Too hot to do any cooking or eat a big meal so cheese and fruit it is.  And yummy cherries, blueberries and apricots.  My favourites.

5.00pm

 

After all that gardening it's time for a nice lazy read... with the fan on to keep cool.

7.00pm

And it's binge watching time and Other Half and I are getting stuck into season 2 of The Tourist. 

10.00pm ish

 

And the sun sets on another day and just look at that sunset.  We get some really amazing ones down here.

All The Plans 2024

Another year another lot of plans.  So so many plans.  I'm already beginning to wonder how I'm going to finish them all.  Which is possibly not a good sign.  Still I have a plan - or plans and that is always a good thing.

I'll just have to keep myself motivated with endless cake and chocolate.  Doesn't sound too bad really...

Reading

 

Always on list and always - or at least mostly - going well.  Really the only plan is keep on top of my endless To Be Read pile and hopefully read a few more books in different genres.  A pretty easy goal... I hope.

Gardening

 

Going well at least in terms of me doing actual gardening.  We won't talk about the very hit and miss growing or not growing if we're being honest is going.  The weather unfortunately is one thing we can't plan on.

This year I'm focusing more on tidying up my garden layout which means drawing up plans and then trying to put them in place.  I'm keen to put in some more permanent looking garden beds and some garden paths.  Both using some of the various things we have got laying around as well as a few freebies from the local recycling centre.  

I also want to plant more flowers and some more fruit trees.  And of course along with all that there's the annual laying down of cardboard, compost etc to be done before the winter well and truly hits.

It's going to be a busy few months.

101 Things in 1001 Days

 

A new year and a new 101 things in 1001 days list to complete.  Or at the very least start.  I definitely want to cross a few things of the list.  Because as you know it's long and complicated.  See list.

Watching

 

More of a winter thing really so it's probably good that our winters down here are pretty much an outdoor no go and that I get to hunker down inside with books and movies and jigsaws.  It's on the list just to remind me to keep watching and keep reviewing.

Writing

By now you all know the drill.  It's on the list.  It's staying on the list.  And I will be forever haunted by words and stories that I need to write up.  

 

Amazingly I did make a small start last year.  So I'm really hoping to continue with that and maybe actually finish something.  So many stories... so much confusion in my head, which probably explains a lot.

A Year in a Life 2023: Food and Flowers and Scenery

 

All The Plans... Or How I'll Go Insane But At Least I'll Have Cake and Chocolate

You would think after 2 failures of doing this that I would be crazy to try again.  And yet here I am once again undertaking 101 Things in 1001 Days.  Because obviously I'm seriously twisted.

What can I say?  I love me a plan and a list.  So really how could I resist doing this again.

As before I've tweaked some of the goals, taken off some and added some new ones.  All the while trying to at least to be reasonably realistic while keeping it challenging.  Or challenging to me at least.

 

Maybe I should just eat all the cake now...

Start:    1 Dec 2023

Finish:  28 Aug 2026

 

1.     Buy a telescope and learn how to use it

2.     Buy only second hand for 1 year

3.     Complete the A-Z travel challenge 

4.     Complete 25 jigsaws

5.     Do an ancestry DNA test

6.     Do an online course

7.     Do a Duolingo course

8.     Do a no spend month 

9.     Do a paint by numbers project

10.   Do yoga once a week for 1 year

11.   Eat a plant based only diet for 1 month

12.   Experience a White Christmas

13.   Finish 1 of my ongoing stories

14.   Finish a first draft of a novel

15.   Get a greenhouse and use it

16.   Give or donate to a charity

17.   Go on a horse drawn carriage ride

18.   Go on a night time walk

19.   Go to a car boot sale

20.   Go to a Christmas Market

21.   Go to a Farmers Market

22.   Go fruit picking

23.   Go glamping

24.   Go on a picnic

25.   Go on a road trip

26.   Go to a lantern festival

27.   Go through a maze

28.   Grow 5 different kinds of sunflowers 

29.   Have a bubble bath

30.   Have a hot stone massage

31.   Have a facial

32.   Have a spa day

33.   Have afternoon tea at a hotel

34.   Identify 10 constellations

35.   Identify 100 things that make me happy

36.   Install a bee house in my garden

37.   Install or build a raised bed in my garden

38.   Knit a blanket 

39.   Knit a hat

40.   Knit a pair of socks

41.   Learn calligraphy

42.   Learn Gaelic

43.   Learn a new language

44.   Learn how to arrange flowers

45.   Learn how to crochet

46.   Learn how to knit on a knitting loom

47.   Learn how to make preserves

48.   Learn how to press flowers

49.   Learn origami

50.   Learn to play backgammon

51.   Make 5 different hot chocolate recipes

52.   Make 5 different soup recipes 

53.   Make a flower garden

54.   Mediate every day for a week

55.   Photograph the same tree every month for a year

56.   Plant a herb garden

57.   Plant a shrub

58.   Read 1 Jane Austen novel

59.   Read 25 graphic novels

60.   Read 25 children's novels

61.   See a light house

62.   See a meteor shower

63.   See a movie outdoors

64.   See a waterfall

65.   See the Aurora Australia

66.   See the cherry blossoms

67.   Sleep in a four post bed

68.   Sleep under the stars

69.   Stay overnight in a castle

70.   Stay overnight in a treehouse

71.   Stay overnight on a island

72.   Take a boat trip

73.   Take a photo every day for 365 days

74.   Take a photo for each letter of the alphabet

75.   Take a pilates class

76.   Take a selfie on the 1st day of every month for 1 year

77.   Take a Tai Chi class

78.   Take a train trip

79.   Take part in NaNoWriMo

80.   Toast marshmallows in a fire

81.   Visit 5 museums online and do an online tour for each one

82.   Visit an island

83.   Visit a botanical garden 

84.   Visit a butterfly garden

85.   Visit a garden

86.   Visit a lake

87.   Visit a lavender field 

88.   Visit Stewart Island

89.   Watch 5 foreign language movies or TV series

90.   Watch 10 documentaries

91.   Watch 10 movies from 10 different countries

92.   Watch 52 movies in 52 weeks

93.   Watch a fireworks display

94.   Watch a silent movie

95.   Watch the sunrise and the sunset in the same day

96.   Win a giveaway/competition

97.   Write a 1000 words every month for 1 year

98.   Write a book

99.   Write a story and post it on Inkitt

100. Write and post 50 blog posts each year for the next 3 years.

101. Write a To Do List every week for 1 year

Failure is Still My Middle Name... Or How I Went On My 101 Things in 1001 Days Project

 And so it goes again.  Another 101 things in 1001 days completed.  This time I completed 33 of my 101 tasks which is 3 more than last time.  So I guess that's progress, right?  

We'll just not talk about the 68 fails... Although I did give some a go even if I didn't quite meet my target.  Hopefully I can do better with my next lot of 101 things...

 

Start:    1 Feb 2021

Finish:  30 Oct 2023 

 

 

1.     Buy 10 items that are second hand     Easily done thanks to all the jigsaws I brought,  though I did buy other items also.

 

2.     Buy a telescope and learn how to use it     I very nearly did this recently as Other Half found one online and was super keen to buy it.  Sadly we can't justify the cost at the moment.

 

3.     Buy only second hand clothes for 1 year 

4.     Do 5 things that are good for the environment     Again easy to do thanks to buying mostly second hand, planting a garden, etc.

 

5      Do an Ancestry DNA test     Like the telescope I can't justify the cost of getting one of these. Maybe one day when I win lotto...

6.     Do an online course

 

7.     Do facial exercises every day for 1 month     A weird one I know.  Hopefully they will keep the wrinkles at bay for a little longer

 

8.     Do yoga once a week for 1 year

 

9.     Drink water every day for 1 month

 

10.   Experience a White Christmas

 

11.   Finish a 1000+ piece jigsaw puzzle     I've actually finished about a dozen, so there's a new addiction right there.  As if I didn't need another thing to obsess over.

 

12.   Finish 1 of my ongoing stories

 

13.   Finish a cross stitch project

 

14.   Get a greenhouse and use it

 

15.   Give flowers to someone

 

16.   Give myself a manicure once a month for 1 year

 

17.   Give myself a pedicure once a month for 1 year

 

18.   Give or donate to a charity     SPCA, Hospice, Red Cross and Cancer Society

 

19.   Give someone a care package

 

20.   Go 1 month without eating chocolate     The sacrifices I make just to achieve a goal

 

21.   Go sugar free for 1 week     Is it sad that I'm amazed at how easy this was to do?  Because I feel like it is.

 

22.   Go on a horse drawn carriage ride

 

23.   Go to a car boot sale

 

24.   Go to a Christmas Market

 

25.   Go to a Farmers Market

 

26.   Go fruit picking

 

27.   Go glamping

 

28.   Go on a picnic

 

29.   Go to a lantern festival

 

30.   Grow a plant from a seed     I've grown quite a few things, though my growing rate is still very hit and miss.

 

31.   Grow a sunflower     I planted 10 seeds last summer and grew 3 so I'm counting it as a win.  I'm hoping to grow even more this year.

 

32.   Have breakfast in bed

 

33.   Have a meal by candlelight

 

34.   Have a spa day

 

35.   Have afternoon tea at a hotel

 

36.   Have fish ‘n’ chips by the beach     We were actually making this a fairly regular thing until the price of everything went up.

 

37.   Install a bee house

 

38.   Knit a cardigan     Knitted only to unpick and start again as I didn't quite like the look of it.

 

39.   Knit a hat

 

40.   Knit a pair of socks

 

41.   Learn a new language

 

42.   Learn how to knit on a knitting loom  I have in fact brought my looms... even if I haven't used them yet.  Story of my life right there.

 

43.   Learn how to make compost

 

44.   Learn to crochet

 

45.   Learn to identify 10 constellations

 

46.   Learn to arrange flowers

 

47.   Learn to make gingerbread  As if I was ever going to cook something.  Maybe I should have said eat gingerbread which with me is much more realistic

 

48.   Learn to play backgammon

 

49.   Leave an inspirational note inside a book for someone to find

 

50.   Listen to 5 TED talks  I managed one and then completely forgot all about this goal until now.

 

51.   Listen to 10 songs or pieces of music you haven't heard before     Another easy one as I found I pick up quite a lot of music from TV shows.  Explains a lot really

 

52.   Lose 10 kilos  Lost 10 kilos only to put 8 back on.  So a win/lose goal really.  Hopefully I can do better next time

 

53.   Participate in "A photo an hour" and post on my blog   Achieved about 7 or 8 times.  I'm hoping to get back into doing this as I really enjoyed it.

 

54.   Plant a herb garden

 

55.   Plant a tree  Planted 3 fruit trees

 

56.   Plant some spring bulbs  Anemones which didn't do that well so I won't be doing that again. 

 

57.   Read 5 'classic' books  I pretty much stuck to kids books which made this so much easier

The Velveteen Rabbit

Rebecca of Sunnybrooke Farm 

Emily of New Moon

A Lantern in Her Hand

Pollyanna

58.   Read 25 graphic novels  I read 12.  So almost half way there

 

59.   Read a book a day for 1 year 

 

60.   Read 1 Agatha Christie novel   And Then There Were None... though technically it was a BBC audiobook but I'm still counting it

 

61.   Renovate 1 room in our house

 

62.   See a meteor shower

 

63.   See a movie outdoors

 

64.   See the Aurora Borealis

 

65.   See the cherry blossoms

 

66.   See the snow  Living at the bottom of the South Island made this one super easy

 

67.   Send 10 postcards     Did this through Postcrossing which was kind of fun.

 

68.   Send a message in a bottle

 

69.   Sleep under the stars

 

70.   Start an orchard in our garden     See plant a tree

 

71.   Stay overnight in a castle or historic house

 

72.   Stay overnight in a treehouse

 

73.   Take a boat trip

 

74.   Take a photo a day for 365 days

 

75.   Take a pilates class

 

76.   Take a Tai Chii class

 

77.   Take a train tip

 

78.   Take part in NaNoWriMo

 

79.   Try 5 beauty products/brands that I haven't used before

 

80.   Try 5 foods products/brands that I haven't had before

Kombucha

Pickled cucumber

Pickled cabbage

Oh My veg - plant protein product

Hart and Soul - plant protein product

 

81.   Try 5 new smoothie recipes

 

82.   Try a mail order subscription of some sort (Loot crate, Book crate etc.)

 

83.   Try a new kind of tea every month for 1 year

 

84.   Visit an island  Monkey Island.  It's a tidal island

 

85.   Visit a lake

 

86.   Visit a sunflower field  Bucket list goal achieved and it was so pretty.  I might just do that again one day.

 

87.   Visit 5 museums online and do an online tour for each one

 

88.   Visit 5 places/sites in New Zealand that I haven't been to before

Fortrose

Otautau

Colac Bay 

Monkey Island

Karitane

 

89.   Visit Stewart Island

 

90.   Walk for 30 minutes every day for 1 month  Managed 24 days - it rains a lot down here so this can be a hard one to do.

 

91.   Watch 5 foreign language TV series  Watched 2 - Borderliner (Norwegian) and 3 seasons of Trapped (Icelandic) which was so good.

 

92.   Watch 10 documentaries

 

93.   Watch 10 movies from 10 countries

 

94.   Watch 10 movies from before the year I was born 

That Hagen Girl 1947
The Thin Man 1934
Miss Annie Rooney 1942
The Voice of Turtle 1947
Foreign Correspondent 1940
Mr Blandings Builds His Dream House 1948
Janie 1944
Holiday Affair 1949
The Mating Game 1959
I love Merlin 1953

 

95.   Watch 52 movies in 52 weeks

 

96.   Wear each piece of clothing I own at least once in 1 year

 

97.   Win a giveaway/competition  I won a book.  On gardening no less.

 

98.   Write a book

 

99.   Write a story and post it on Inkiitt

 

100. Write and post 50 blog posts a year for 3 years in a row  Not even close

 

101. Write a "To Do List" every week for 1 year 

July Plans

With winter arriving here with a vengeance and snow suddenly covering all the hills around us July it seems is very much going to be an indoor kind of month which naturally means indoor plans.

 

Reading

 

I have a huge To Be Read pile which is definitely going to come in handy these wintry months.  Just change the wine to hot chocolate and I'm pretty much set.

Watching and Reviewing

 

Along with a ton of reading I've also got a pretty impressive To Be Watched list which naturally means a lot of Letterboxd reviews will need to be written.

 

Saving Money, Making Money and Being Frugal 

 

Surprisingly going well.  All that veg I grew last summer has come in handy and I've been busy making lots and lots of soup.  I've also got a gardening job which is bringing in a few extra dollars each month.  I just need to add some more gardening or cleaning jobs and I'm set.

A Day in the Life... A Pink Kind of Day

Yep it's me and yep it's finally a day in the life with photos post.

 

So lets see how my day from last week went...

8.30am 

 

An orange sunrise to start the day which is kind of nice considering it's my birthday.  I may just stay in bed and watch the colours zoom and change across the sky.

9.30am 

Finally up and nothing beats a bit of pink for a cheery birthday pick me up.  Or in my case all the pink from head to toe.  How gorgeous are these socks.  Totally me.

 

Nudge though seems to want to stay in bed after our morning snuggles.
 

A few minutes later...

 Looking out the window and it's a gorgeous sunny day outside.

 

10am

 

A cup of tea drunk and done and it's time for a lovely walk in the sun.

Midday ish

Back from my walk and look what I brought as birthday presents to myself.  2 jigsaws from the local op shop and all for just $6.

12.30pm

 

Cake for lunch is always valid.  Especially on your birthday.  Red Velvet and it tastes so yum

 

2.30pm

 

Cake leads to jigsawing and more cake.  2 hours later and I've finally finished.  A hard one that turned out to be one of my favourites. 

And another few minutes later...

After all that walking etc it's time to snuggle on the couch and watch one of my favourite movies featuring a teenage Shirley Temple, dancing and of course some pink.

3.30pm ish

Movie watching and naturally there needs to be snacks.  Chilli Philly cheese and some crackers.

20 minutes or so later...

And it's more Shirley Temple with a touch of Cary and Myrna.

5.30pm ish

 

An orange sunset to end the day and another birthday over.