Summer Bucket List


Everyday lately is a thunderstorm day, sometimes Mother Nature switches it up and gives us a tornado watch or warning.  Daily rain yields flowers blooming (that's me focusing on the positive).  My weather app shows clouds every day for the next ten days.  I'm hoping that the sun will visit once in a while just for giggles.

Next week is my LAST week of babysitting and then I'm on summer vacation for TEN whole weeks.  I'll miss the little preschooler but reclaiming two days a week will be decadent. 


So far here is my summer bucket list (in no particular order):

- walk with my husband and Frodo - weather permitting
-watercolor daily and improve my skills
-sketch daily
-read a book a week at least (lofty goal because I do not read much during the day)
-go to the gym five times a week (weight training stays at 3x/week)
-improve my endurance on the never-ending step machine at the gym
-knit holiday projects
-go thru my yarn stash and pick projects to knit
-plan day trips to state parks and quaint towns
-improve my photography skills

Do you have any other ideas for my bucket list?  What would you do?


I'm sure I will come up with more ideas as my summer break approaches.  I love planning and daydreaming about what I would like to do.  The planning is nearly as much fun as the executing.  In the fall when I return to babysitting, I will only be working one day a week.  The breathing space feels big.


I remember when our daughter was in a ballet lesson, I had a conversation with a fellow waiting mother who commented on my knitting.  She said she could not understand why I knit and wasted my time.  I restrained myself from anger, honestly I was stunned in silence.

I think back about her and her comment.  I wonder how she could not have any hobby at all.  Being a creative person is healthy.   I feel calm and relaxed whenever I am creating.

I'm perplexed that anyone would say something so abrasive and wonder what was the purpose?   Ah well, people will be people.


Today is my son's birthday!  He is presently at school but will be back here (again) over the weekend and we will celebrate on Sunday.  Seems like yesterday he was a tiny human - time flies.


Comments

  1. BonnyMay 30, 2019 at 5:36 PM

    I love how your list includes all aspects - physical, artistic, personal, family, future planning, and present enjoyment. Very nice!

    And "wasting your time with knitting"? First, it seems like quite a rude comment, but it's also fairly laughable. You are definitely not wasting time, and I feel sorry that the woman didn't really have a clue. Oh, well, more yarn for us! :-)

    Happy Birthday to your son!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AsKatKnitsMay 30, 2019 at 5:53 PM

    I think your list is full of so many good things! ( I would add ice cream though!)

    And, to the woman wasting her time doing nothing, may her brain not seize up any time soon!

    ReplyDelete
  3. DiannaMay 30, 2019 at 8:08 PM

    I am afraid I would have needed to ask that fellow waiting mother why she could waste time by doing nothing during that time of waiting. :) Well, maybe I'd just think that to myself...but I would definitely be tempted. xx

    ReplyDelete
  4. JaneMay 30, 2019 at 8:28 PM

    Lovely late spring photos. The yellow coreopsis are so sweet. I think like you I would be stunned into silence by that woman's comment. I think creating/making makes me a happier better person. My summer list includes a few simple sewing projects, binding a handmade booklet for some poems, and a summer sojourn to see our kids.

    ReplyDelete
  5. margeneMay 30, 2019 at 8:53 PM

    Your summer sounds lovely and the days you are reclaiming will feel decadent. How lovely! My summer isn't shaping up how I thought it would. I will mostly be resting, healing, and knitting (both bone and yarn). When the bone is healed I'm going to start a bucket list, too! It shows how little that person knew about crafting, but I think she must have had a lot of anger in her life. So sad.

    ReplyDelete
  6. mamasmercantileMay 31, 2019 at 9:32 AM

    Long may Summer last...those lazy hazy days of Summer. Love the bucket list, mine would include visiting the family. Hope your Son has a good day, sending Birthday wishes.

    ReplyDelete
  7. VeraMay 31, 2019 at 9:41 AM

    Happy birthday to your Boy - they sure grow up fast, don't they?

    That poor woman - she must have been so angry (at someone? at something?) and she must have been bored as well. As she didn't understand your knitting, I don't understand anyone not having some kind of hobby.

    Your summer list sounds great - lots of variety (and I would add ice cream too - especially with gym visits 5 times per week!!).

    ReplyDelete
  8. AnonymousMay 31, 2019 at 1:29 PM

    Your list sounds great! And I can't understand that comment. At least you were doing something while waiting. I wish I had been a knitter and courageous enough to take it with me when my girls were little. Oh my, all the hours I wasted at classes, playgrounds etc. just sitting there!

    ReplyDelete
  9. My Creative LifeMay 31, 2019 at 6:22 PM

    I would be stunned into silence too. All the best with your bucket list. Have you read Debbie Macomber Blossom Street series - they are all based loosely around yarn and the yarn store in Seattle. You could read them in any order but some books follow previous events. They are a light and fun read and might help with the reading part of your tick list, Cathy x https://www.fantasticfiction.com/m/debbie-macomber/blossom-street/

    ReplyDelete
  10. Caffeine GirlMay 31, 2019 at 7:44 PM

    Knitting as wasted time? She was an idiot -- and probably still is. Even if she thought that, she didn't have to say it!

    I should make up a summer list. So far, I know I have to finish a quilt for a show that gets hung at the end of August. I need to plan more than that!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Jeannie Gray KnitsJune 1, 2019 at 1:55 AM

    Great summer bucket list! I'll never forget how much I enjoyed making 'while the kids are away' to-do lists the days before Grandma would take the kids to Florida for 3 weeks each year. I loved my kids dearly but I also loved those 3 weeks away from them. One thing about your bucket list though - you're going to have a difficult time improving your photography!

    ReplyDelete
  12. StefanieJune 1, 2019 at 2:01 PM

    What a rude woman. I'm sorry you got asked such a stupid question. Great list of summer goals. We are eagerly waiting for summer to start here. Eight more days of school left!

    ReplyDelete
  13. kathy bJune 1, 2019 at 6:47 PM

    OH now I want to make a list. It would include: paddle board and actually stand up on the board once instead of kneeling

    -listen to more podcasts
    -treat my husband to a hot breakfast once a week
    -Celebrate with my son as he leaves a thankless awful job and finds another
    -plan one party for friends up here

    ReplyDelete
  14. MeredithJune 1, 2019 at 7:05 PM

    I have had people comment like that to me and I always say that knitting keeps me from killing people so it is a great thing to do.

    ReplyDelete
  15. EileenJune 2, 2019 at 10:25 AM

    Great bucket list for the summer! LOL, that lady thinking knitting is a waste of time....some people, one just has to feel sorry for them.

    ReplyDelete
  16. MaryJune 3, 2019 at 3:59 PM

    pretty photos, Karen! I've signed up for an on-line course in Centering Prayer ... I'm committed to practicing contemplation this summer and look forward to what it will bring.

    ReplyDelete

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