Shiney new house

So, the cladding is all done. Although the house really doesn't look any different in this photo, I can tell you it does look different close up. There are a few out standing jobs

• clean up the weather boards
• sweep every where (there are tiny bits of scrap all over the place)
• put new bits of wood around the bottom of the house, to stop the dogs getting under there
• put the window edges back up
• wipe all the workers finger prints and general bits of 'grub' of the house

but on the whole it's done and it looks good.

OMG! What an oversite!

I just looked through my site for a link back to the website I found out about this idea off and realised I DON'T HAVE ONE!

So here is one

This has been a great project and I recommend you go to this site, find out all about it, and start your own list!

P.S. This site has been vastly updated since my last visit, I have added my list to it, but I still think my site is way better

Mid-term review - one road trip for another

Old Task:Go on a road trip holiday with the ‘girls’
New Task:Have a road trip to SA, geocaching along the way
The group of 'girls' I had in mind for this trip isn't really going to work out anymore, so I am ditching this one.
To keep with the travel them I will replace it with a task that relates to my newly acquired hobby of geocaching!

Mid-term review - out with the decos, in with the jacket

Old Task:Make Debbie Mum Christmas decorations
New Task:Make jacket to go with skirt from course
Although I went to quite a bit of trouble to get the patterns for these decorations and I still really like them, I would rather invest my sewing time and energy into other projects at the moment. I think I will end up making them... eventually... but defiantly not in time for this challenge.

The new task is for me to make a jacket to go with the skirt I have made for me pattern drafting course.

Mid-term review - stealing

Old Task:Finish tracing Kats Calendar pics
New Task:Make Mum and Kate a pattern of their choice
This task really was just plagiarism and stealing at it's best worst anyway, so it's probable a good thing I am getting rid of it.
So to make up for it a first hand go at doing something with my own hands! Also, this puts the skills from my pattern drafting course into practice.

Mid-term review - snow

Old Task:Go skiing every winter of this challenge time (if there is snow)
New Task:??
Given that I have made very little effort to go to the snow at all whilst doing this challenge (with the exception of with the dogs) I can safely say this task will not be achieved. Also, given how crap my hip has been, I know I would get very little out of a skiing trip at the moment, even just a day trip. So......
A new task.... Make snow cones? Eat yellow snow? I'm going to have to think about this one.....

Mid-term review - snobbed

Old Task:Invite Rowan round for tea
New Task:??
In a bit of a similar way to task 60 I have had a go at this one. Said guest wasn't too keen and is very busy (snobbed!). Also, now that I have made that analogy, it seem silly to have two such similar tasks on the list anyway! I guess it was a that end of the list when I was struggling a bit of ideas! (as I am again now, so I will get back to you with a new task)

personal development

I have learned a lot about person development and myself in the last how ever long. I spent a few months, after last years awful fire season, going to one of the work councilors. In a way this was quite helpful, if not perhaps as helpful as I would have liked. I ended up digging up a whole lot of 'family' stuff I really would have preferred not to discuss and came to a few helpful realisations with regards it. I also came to a few other helpful conclusions with regards the sort of solution to my 'problems' I have been looking for and once again, have decided not to be so tough with myself. I also discovered and acknowledge what I find helpful and unhelpful about counseling, which I think will be of benefit if I go down this path again (which knowing me I will). I have banished two words for describing myself, as they are damaging

• Black and white --> now decisive
• Anal --> now particular

So hopefully the people out there reading this who actually know will agree that progress has been made. As with many things in life, this task will never actually be complete, as life is a continual improvement process and no one is (or ever will be) perfect!

Sort of defeat

In a way I am admitting defeat on this one, but in another way it has been completed. As I said at the start, I have actually invited Neil's Mum around for dinner a couple of times, and she hasn't arrived, for various reasons.
In fact since then she has come round quite a few times, just none of them have been for dinner.
So yes, she comes round, but apparently not to eat.... even though Neil is a great cook... who can explain it.... I will continue to issue periodic invites and who knows, one day it might happen!

Mid-term review - Re-wording 23

Old Wording:Get the hang of VB
New Wording:Get more experience with programming VB and Perl

At the time I wrote this list, I didn't even know Perl existed, let alone know I would need to find out about it. I am never going to be able to or need to become a programmer, but in the last few years I have exposed my self too and become at least moderately proficient in code reading, it not writing. This has proved to be more helpful than I would have thought.
I would not say I have the 'hang' of either languages, but I do have a lot of reference material and know a number of places on the web to find more, hence I am calling this task done!

Mid-term review - task replacement 65

Old Task:Pave the front Porch
New Task:Insulate and re-clad the house

Our house is weatherboard. Given that both Neil and I grew up in double brick houses, we find it rather warm in summer. It also really needs painting, which is a task neither of us were really looking forward to. There fore, I went to the home show a few months ago with a mission, find out about windows, insulation and cladding. The cladding man I happened to meet up with sold steal weather boards. These are somewhat more expensive than the plastic variety (unsurprisingly), but they do last forever (well almost!). I had to be quite insistent with the man, but I decided we would rip all the weather boards off, put insulation in the walls, then have the new boards put on top. This way, the windows don't end up looking all sunken in and crap. Anyway, the job is nearly done now, and it's ended up being WAY bigger than paving the porch, so I think it's ok to replace this task with the weather boards.

Mid-term review 2

The end date for this project is now seeming rather oppressively close! Here we are, already, at the 2nd review of my list. (OK slightly late, what who would know unles I told them...)
Moving along, The tasks that were still in question from the last review were:
30. Make Debbie Mum Christmas decorations
38. Watch list of movies created
42. Watch all of Angel again (0/5)
64. Get a christmas tree
72. Go skiing every winter of this challenge time (if there is snow)

As tasks 42 and 64 is now done, I think we can safely say I won't be removing from the list.
Given that I haven't been skiing once during the challenge so far, I think I must replace 72.
38. is progressing, so I think it can stay.

Of my "Hard to measure" task, I have resolved half (3and15) and have now come up with solutions for the others (will post soon)

Next on to this review.....

Tasks that my not be able to be finished in the available time:
2. Visit an active volcano
8. Finish Celtic Winter
11. Acquire and Read next Diana Gabeldon book
32. Go to either Tasmania or New Zealand

Not sure what to do about these ones... I might have to look at the 101 in 1001 web site and see if it has any suggestions.

Tasks I'm just not interested in any more:
30. Make Debbie Mum Christmas decorations
55. Go on a road trip holiday with the ‘girls’
65. Pave the front Porch
72. Go skiing every winter of this challenge time (if there is snow)
82. Finish tracing Kats Calendar pics
96. Invite Rowan round for tea

I will replace the above tasks

Tasks that need a bit of thinking about:
43. Do 6 thinking hat course
44. Do lead lighting course
46. Book us into and complete a ballroom/social dancing course
60. Invite Neil's mum to tea
67. Make the effort to visit Mum and Dad 3 times a year
69. Go to 3 comedy festival events in one festival
70. Go to 3 other events at different festivals
89. Make tangible (ie: noticeable to other people) progress towards controlling my temper

tree

I was soooo close to taking this one off the list, then this evening I decided to make a paper tree. I looked at the sewing machine and all the scrap calico lying around and decided I should make a material one, then I could paint it. So, I did that ad then spent ages looking around the house for my green paint. Couldn't find it any where, but I did find some green canvas that I started making a jacket with about 15 years ago. I decided that it would be fine to use that, as even if I did ever finish the jacket (unlikely) it would never fit anyway. Anyway, here is the finished product!