Spring Bucket List for 2017

Laura from Harvest Lane Cottage recently wrote her Spring Bucket List which was very comprehensive and inspiring. Thought it would be good to write one for myself so that I don't let this beautiful season pass me by.

Here's what is one my Spring Bucket List for 2017 (March 20th-June 21st):

Indoors

• Donate winter clothes and other ones we no longer wear or don't fit
• Do a spring cleaning of the entire house
• Help girls (as needed) with their 4-H projects (Done/Ongoing)
• Decorate for the season (Done - limited decorating a few days before Easter)
• Decorate Easter eggs (The girls didn't want to dye eggs this year. We made panoramic eggs instead.)

Easter egg decorating in 2008.

• Take family pictures
• Continue working on crafts that are with the UFO Challenge (Ongoing)
• Make homemade bread with Olivia using recipes from her Five in a Row Cookbook
• Wash windows
• Have air ducts cleaned (Done)
• Have ductwork and vent replaced in front home office (Done)
• Try a new cookie recipe (Done - made orange-cardamom cookies, chewy ginger molasses cookies, and peanut butter cookies )
• Make soap (Decided not to do this - the cost for the supplies was too great)
• Participate in the A to Z blogging challenge (in the process go through my miles and recycle what I no longer need/want) (Done)
• Seal concrete in the basement where drain tiling went in
• Refinish wood on hot tub
• Finish sealing cracks in foundation and cellar steps
• Finish 52 Weeks of Baking cookbook that I started a long time ago and never finished
• Cook something with fresh vegetables from the CSA (Done - many times)
• Make strawberry jam (there was a big hail storm just as strawberry season was starting and it wiped out the berry patch where we normally get strawberries. Decided to skip this year and wait until 2018)

Indoors - Physical Activity

• Start doing yoga (started Pilates in August 2017)

Outdoors - Physical Activity

• Go for a bike ride at least once a week
• Go hiking at least twice a month (including doing hikes at 3 new locations)
• Go kayaking on the St. Croix River in June

Outdoors/Out of the Home - "Field Trip"/Destination

• Go to some farmers markets (Minneapolis, St. Paul, and local ones) (went to the Minneapolis Farmers Market in August. Found that we had so much produce from the CSA that we didn't need additional food)
• Have a picnic at least once a month at a park or other location (besides our backyard)
• Go camping in a yurt at Afton State Park (Did this in May)
• Go on a cave tour in southeastern Minnesota and stay in a camper cabin at the state park there (Decided to wait until 2018.)
• Go on an Amish home tour (Will do this in 2018.)

One of the Amish homes we saw in August 2012.

• Go to the zoo to see the Australia exhibit. See the kangaroos and give Sophia and Olivia an opportunity to see what we saw when we visited Australia in the 1990s. (Done - went in August. It wasn't as interactive as the experience in Australia. However, the girls saw how they move about which they enjoyed watching)

Me with some kangaroos in Australia.

• Go to 2 new state parks (Half done - Went to Afton State Park in May)
• Drive somewhere where we haven't been
• See a movie
• Get a pedicure (Done - in June before a trip to California)
• Get some new-to-me clothes from the thrift shop using a personal consultant (free service) (Done - though this was not as exciting or beneficial as anticipated)
• Pick, freeze, can, and eat fresh strawberries (Didn't do this because of hail storm. Did get a few strawberries from our own garden)
• Attend MACHE conference; and start working on homeschool plans for next year (Done)
• Do a surprise ice cream run as a family one night (Did this on Labor Day)
• Take a Saori weaving class (Done in May)
• Take a mosaic class through community education (Chose not to do this)
• Take a jewelry-making class at the bead store
• Work with a local composer/performer and Sophia on recording a CD of her playing music on the harp (Done - Sophia's CD is available now at www.sophianienaber.com)

• Go to the dentist (Done)
• Go to the doctor
• Go to United Noodles for Asian produce (Done - August)
• Celebrate Easter at my brother's home (Done)
• Go on the Twin Cities Shop Hop (to various quilt stores) (Was sick the weekend that it happened so I couldn't go)

Outdoors - At or Near the Farm

• Have a bonfire
• Have a barbecue
• Get and use a hammock
• Plant flowers (Did this throughout June)

 

• Plant ten trees native to Minnesota to attract specific birds and that will benefit pollinators
• Have an outdoor tea party (Went to a tea party at Panola Valley Gardens in August)
• Take the dogs for walks on a more regular basis
• Pick up litter along our section of the road and across the street from us
• Bring in lilacs and peonies so we can enjoy them in the house (Done - a few times)

• Plant container gardens of flowers to put by the gate and back door (Done - enjoyed all summer)
• Get the vegetable gardens planted (Done - but the rabbits ate most of the seedlings. Not a good gardening year this year)
• Have at least two picnics per month in the backyard (Had a couple...but not throughout the spring)

Service

• Finish with the 4-H Wildlife Project Bowl (weekly meetings, overnight in St. Cloud, and state competition in Sauk Rapids) (Done)
• Volunteer at the humane society and nursing home (Done/Ongoing)
• Lead/coordinate three more 4-H club meetings (April, May, and June) and one more field trip (Wargo Nature Center in June) (Done. Had someone do the June field trip since the girls weren't interested in wearing long pants in hot weather)
• Help Sophia (as needed) with a fundraiser she's coordinating to benefit the humane society (We didn't receive the grant check in time to do the fundraiser so we did another service project that benefited the nursing home.)