Progress towards 2015 Goals and 2016 Plans

Progress on 2015 goals:

Lobster trap floats on Macmillan Pier

During 2015 I lost 15 pounds and regained 10. Still ahead for the year, but a rather sorry showing. Back on Weight Watchers for me! I have already started that. I did not ride or paddle nearly enough, and Mitzi did not get a daily walk. I did some swimming, which I did not include in my goals but which surely counts as exercise. I not only finished the sweater in progress last January, but also knit another. The lace shawl I wanted to knit has been cast on, but is only about 10 inches square. I did not try entrelac at all. I did try needle felting, and made Vivian a needle felted gift.  I am not satisfied with my reading, although I probably read more than last year. I can't have posted here weekly - I can see less than 52 posts are up. Another goal missed. I did post daily on Twitter and probably at least weekly on Instagram. Better than nothing. Tumblr was a bust. Clearly 365 is not my Tumblr jam. Another theme will be selected. I did volunteer at MSPCA, but will be doing something different this year. The coffee dates I wanted to plan to increase how often I see friends were not weekly but not absent either. More follow up needed here. In the garden some goals were achieved and some not so much. I did get another flower bed well started, but my veggies did not do all that well. 

Goals for 2016: 

Matching Fleece

Improved weight management and fitness is on the menu again. Official numbers: three gym visits per week, one kayaking trip per week all summer, swimming every time I go to the beach, Cycling twice per week.

In knitting I want to finish the lace shawl, Shana's vest, a crochet cactus garden for Shana, a poncho for myself, and at least three pair of mittens. I still want to try entrelac or brioche stitch, and I will include it although I may not actually get to it. I will make at least another needle felted object.

I want to get a weekly post up here on the blog, and at least one weekly post on Tumblr. I think I will post pictures on Mitzi there. I have to have a specific theme for Tumblr for that little side project to work.

My volunteer gig this year will be two shifts in the office of Waquoit Congregational Church. Shana volunteered me, but I am willing to do it, particularly for a better connection with the other church members. I still need to call my other seldom seen friends for coffee dates. I have some free time to do it and I need to broaden and deepen my friend base. This year I will also join the Mashpee Women's Club and sign up for a book club therein. That will also improve progress towards reading goals.

good behavior

This year I will not put in another flower bed. I am going to turn over a portion of my veggie garden to flowers and double down on the veggie crops that do well for me. Collards, herbs and tomatoes for sure, string beans and carrots seem to do OK. I will move some of the plants from my entry bed to areas where their surprising and inappropriate size will be a better fit (I'm looking at YOU, miscanthus chinesis!). This will involve enlarging the bed at the front of the house a little - running it around the corner enough for the miscanthus and one or two substantial shrubs to give a better balance to the northwest corner of the foundation plantings. Even though the bed will be a little bigger I will not be planting anything fussy or expensive. I'll finish my delightful bottle tree, after giving it the winter to be sure it will hold up for me, and install a bird house in the northeast corner bed. I will improve the amount of time spent weeding the beds I already have instead of lounging about watching the Today Show. I'd like to add another bird bath as well. In order to improve my edging performance I need to either improve my wrapping skills or track down one of those aftermarket items that does not need refilling. I hate rewinding the edger string with a white hot passion. One of my friends is buying a house this spring, and I can exorcise any desires for new beds on her place. And maybe pass on some of my more vigorous devils!

On 6A

My out of left field goal for this year is to learn to play the ukulele. There are plenty of tutorials on YouTube to choose from, and with only a few cords I think I would enjoy it. We have an instrument already.

This list of goals seems manageable and a little ambitious, so we'll see how I do. In the meantime here's a video worth seeing. It's in Russian, and the subtitles are a delightful diversion in themselves.