50 Things to do before I’m 60 :: The Final Push

Hi there everyone 😀

Following my update last week on my progress for 2023 I’ve now had chance to have a good look back through the goals I set myself to see what I’ve actually achieved so far. 

Over the course of the last nine years I have actually set myself 50 different goals, with 12 having been updated or substituted when it’s been clear they were no longer appropriate for me. 

Of the 50 set I can happily say I have totally achieved 44 and it’s been quite interesting looking at how they are made up …

• 20 were all about visiting new places
• 8 were all related to being creative
• 3 were home improvement related
• 6 all involved friends and family
• 3 were forms of personal development
• 2 were about being more environmentally aware and
• the final two were to ditch my camping stuff and to buy a holiday home

You can see the full list in more detail below … including the six that I haven’t achieved, or updated, and no longer feel relevant …

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 - Done - Become competent with using my iPhone camera
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 - Go swimming once a week 
15 - Done - Visit Rosslin Chapel

16 - Done - Visit The Kelpies
17 - Done - Wear a nice dress for Rachel and Tom’s wedding
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 - Done - But a holiday home

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 - Done - Display some of my artwork

34 - Done - 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 - Done - Holiday in Kent and explore the Garden of England
44 - Done - Visit Clevedon
45 - Visit new places in The Peak District ... Padley Gorge, Cheedale Stepping Stones, Three Shires Head, New Mills

46 - Done - Visit Bletchley Park
47 - Done - Read more

48 - Visit more Cotswold Gardens ... Sezincote, Bourton House, Batsford Arboretum, Cotswold Lavender and Cerney House

49 - Redecorate all of upstairs

50 - Done - Replace the windows on the front of the house

So … by my reckoning … if I want to be able to say that I achieved my ‘50 Things’ before I hit 60 … I need to achieve six new goals by November of this year.

After lots of deliberation here are the six that I have decided on …

• 9 … Explore more new places and experiences in North Wales
• 14 … Find a sustainable regular exercise programme and build it into my daily routine
• 42 … Visit at least five new places on days out from home
• 45 … Continue learning to speak Welsh
• 48 … Fix the leaky roof
• 49 … Declutter the whole house, including garden sheds

I have to say it does feel good knowing what I want to achieve this year. Hopefully there will be more but if I fully complete all six I will be very happy. 

I can already predict which one may well end up going by the by … I bet you can too 🙈🙈🙈

I will then have to start thinking about what I want to do before I’m 70 🙈