Monday 31 January 2022

50 Things before I'm 60 :: 2021 Update

Hi there everyone 😀

There may be some of you new to my blog this year that aren't aware of my '50 Things' challenge.

When I hit 50, back in 2014 I set myself a goal of achieving '50 Things' before I hit 60.

I didn't decide on the full 50 straight away ... I've been adding to the list as I've thought of new things I'd like to do or places I'd like to see.

I've been doing updates each year, just checking in to let you know how I've been getting on. Following changes to lots of plans in 2020, for obvious reasons, my review of the year didn't really show that much progress ... and I didn't even get round to sharing what goals I wanted to achieve in 2021.

I thought it was time to have a good look at where I am and a think about what I might like to get up to this year ... so here we go ...

When I did my review at the beginning of last year I had shared a total of 48 'things' with you and you can see which I'd already completed below ...

1 - Done - Hand make Christmas and birthday gifts
2 - Done - Make bramble jelly jam
3 - Done - Have a posh afternoon tea
4 - Done - Visit Balmoral castle
5 - Done - Make something in Mosaic

6 - Complete my on line photography course
7 - Done - Holiday on the Suffolk coast
8 - Done - Christmas in a holiday cottage
9 - Holiday in all of the National Parks of Great Britain
10 - Done - Upcycle my old placemats

11 - Done - Go camping again, or get rid of the camping gear
12 - Done - Have a cottage holiday on one of the Channel Islands
13 - Done - Run my own business
14 - Finish off the Explorer 232 Series
15 - Done - Visit Rosslin Chapel

16 - Done - Visit The Kelpies
17 - Lose weight, go down four dress sizes
18 - Done - Become an auntie again
19 - Done - Holiday in The New Forest
20 - Done - Go up Snowdon on the Mountain Railway

21 - Done - Replace old wonky and tatty patio in the garden
22 - Done - Decorate all of downstairs
23 - Done - Visit Warner Bros Studios - Harry Potter Tour
24 - Done - Visit Castle Howard
25 - Finish telling Will Sidney's story and decide what to do with his memorabilia

26 - Done - Visit all of the Shakespeare properties in Stratford-upon-Avon
27 - Done - Buy no clothes, shoes or bags for a year
28 - Done - Use less plastic
29 - Done - Visit Portmeirion
30 - Done - Embroider something to display in an embroidery hoop

31 - Done - Celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary
32 - Done - Visit the Longleat Festival of Light
33 - Turn one of my photos into some form of art
34 - Hold an afternoon tea party in the garden
35 - Done - Visit Kew Gardens

36 - Done - Visit The Lichfield Apartments at Shugborough Hall
37 - Done - Find a new volunteering opportunity
38 - Done - Visit Chatsworth for Christmas and the Christmas markets
39 - Done - Have a photo featured in the Isle of Wight top 10 fan photos
40 - Done - Take a break in Windsor and see the sights

41 - Done - Re-visit Warner Brothers Studios to see Gringotts Banks
42 - Cycle to Elford Walled Garden
43 - Visit Glamis Castle
44 - Visit Clevedon
45 - Visit new places in The Peak District ... Padley Gorge, Cheedale Stepping Stones, Three Shires Head, New Mills

46 - Cycle round Carsington Water
47 - Done - Read more
48 - Visit more Cotswold Gardens ... Sezincote, Bourton House, Batsford Arboretum, Cotswold Lavender and Cerney House

So ... the burning question is ... did I manage to tick any more off the list during 2021? Well it was another year that didn't go quite to plan ... courtesy of good old Covid ... but I did manage to do a couple of things ...

34 - Hold an afternoon tea party in the garden
Now this I did manage. There wasn't any sunshine, but there were two gazebos and lots of fun. We had the whole of the Wakelin family round for a get together ... Jackie, Phil, Chris, Jenny & Emma and Rachel, Tom & Erin. In spite of the weather we all managed to have a lovely time and it was so lovely to be able to all get together again, after so long ...

44 - Visit Clevedon
I didn't think we were going to manage a visit to Clevedon ... we'd been hoping to go during the summer but circumstances prevailed. We did, however, manage a visit for my birthday in November and it didn't disappoint ... we will definitely be visiting again, hopefully on a bit of a warmer day ...

Whilst these are the only additional two 'things' I can tick off my list it wasn't for want of trying ...

45 - Visit new places in The Peak District ... Padley Gorge, Cheedale Stepping Stones, Three Shires Head, New Mills
We did manage a week's holiday, with mum, in The Peak District early in the summer and we did manage to visit a few new places, including Thornbridge Hall & Gardens ...

Sadly, Martin spent most of the week in bed, not very well at all, so lots of our plans just didn't come to fruition.

48 - Visit more Cotswold Gardens ... Sezincote, Bourton House, Batsford Arboretum, Cotswold Lavender and Cerney House
We had already visited Sezincote and Cotswold Lavender in 2020 and we actually managed a very chilly visit to Bourton House Garden with mum during April. It was a bit bleak, but it was good to get out and somewhere that will definitely be on the cards to visit again, maybe in the summer ...

In addition we did manage to achieve my 49th 'thing', which was to actually both write our wills. Not the most inspiring of activities, but something we've been meaning to do for ages and just had never got round to.

By my reckoning that brings the final totals to ...
  • 38 Fully completed
  • 2 where more progress was made and
  • 9 with no progress made during 2021
I think that I definitely need to have a close look at the 9 with no progress made as some of these have been sitting there for ages and it may be time to to decide that they aren't really something that I'm that bothered about doing.

I promise that I will come back soon and let you know what I end up deciding to do along with any new 'things' that are to take their place ... also I still have one 'thing' to come up with.

Well done if you've managed to stick with this post till the end. I know it's a long one, but just wanted really to keep myself up to speed with where I am and what I'm doing 😀

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5 comments:

  1. You are certainly making alot of headway. The afternoon tea at home looks amazing, so decadent. Your guests must have been very happy. :) I agree though, the things your not making any headway with, why do them? I have a similar bucket list somewhere on my blog, but have all but given up in n recent times I th in nk. Maybe it's time to take another look. X

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    1. Yes it’s definitely time to rethink some of the earlier ones that haven’t been looked at in ages … they probably seemed like a good idea at the time 😃

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  2. Well done with completing so many (coz let's face it the last couple of years have been rather 'different'!) so - not that many left to do, will be watching in the wings cheering you on!

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    1. Thank you Kate … I think I will probably end up dropping four or five of the earlier ones but I’m sure I will be able to think of some replacements 😃

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  3. Wow, look at you go. You're so close to accomplishing them all - or what you want to!
    Yes, having a real camera does make a difference at times, it can just be a little bulky.

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Thanks for taking time to comment on my blog. I love to hear what people think about what Martin and I have been up to.