Bucket lists: final summer report and fall unveiling

Fall leaves.

With all these lovely tokens of September days are here, with summers best of weather and the autumns best of cheer.”

~Helen Hunt Jackson

We have truly and officially come to the end of summer…here in the Northern Hemisphere at least. And that means it is time to share the final results of our Summer Bucket Lists and unveil our Fall Bucket Lists.

Summer Bucket List: 60 before 60 style – final report

You may recall, last October, I announced that I would be completing a 60 before 60 Challenge in the year leading up to my 60th birthday and that the challenge would take the place of my typical seasonal bucket lists. Here’s how I’m doing with just three weeks remaining in the challenge.

Health and Fitness

Walk 60 miles on trails or roads I haven’t traveled yet. For multiple reasons, I just couldn’t seem to get traction on this one. First it was too cold. Then it was too smoky. Then it was too hot. If I’m honest, I could have found a way to do it; I wasn’t motivated enough. As it is, with this month’s mileage, I passed the halfway mark with a total of 30.25 miles. And each mile was beautiful, making me wonder why I have such a hard time getting out the door.

Temple Quarry Trail to Lisa Falls.
Temple Quarry to Lisa Falls
Little Confluence Trail.
Little Confluence Trail
Plants on the Little Confluence Trail.
Plant life on Little Confluence Trail

Joy

Declutter 60 things. The news is better on this front. I completed this portion of the challenge several months ago. I am committed to continuing the decluttering quest though. Since last report, I gave away some Christmas plates, a couple of bath bombs, and four candy dishes. Counting each category as one item (for simplicity), I’m now at 74 items total. 

Learning and growth

Do 60 new things…that is 60 things I haven’t done in adulthood…if I haven’t done something since I was in high school, that counts as new. I’ve added eight things this month (those in bold at the bottom of the list), putting me just over the goal with 61 total! 

  1. Started 52 lists for calm journal.
  2. Tried Freddy’s (fast food)
  3. Tried brie and cherry honey
  4. Took a wine appreciation course
  5. Visited Red Cliffs Desert Garden
  6. Tried Dot’s Southwest Pretzels
  7. Tried pralines and cream cold brew
  8. Fixed a new potato pepper frittata recipe
  9. Listened to Ashley Campbell music on YouTube 
  10. Downloaded PetFinder app
  11. Had a virtual meet with Buddy and his foster mom—first time adopting a pet
  12. Ate with my left hand
  13. Made a new friend: Buddy
  14. Tried online grocery shopping
  15. Drove a different route through a neighborhood I haven’t visited before
  16. Tried Beans & Brew egg bits—not so good; I prefer Starbucks for egg bites
  17. Cooked taco soup (new recipe)—loved it!
  18. Discovered two new blogs: Roughwighting and Annika Perry—loved them!
  19. Tried new type of beer: Uinta Brewing Co. Yard Sale Winter Lager—thumbs up
  20. Meditated with eyes open—felt strange
  21. Tried Zuppa Toscana soup—delicious!
  22. Learning to crochet—so far, so good
  23. Signed up for a virtual mixology class: I missed the class, but made a new cocktail with the kit, which was fun and delicious!
  24. Tried Killer Pecans Smokin’ —they were good. They grew on me the more I ate.
  25. Tried Shake Shack—it was good, especially the beer and the cookies ’n cream milkshake.
  26. Made Jamaican Jerk Chicken & Vegetables (new recipe)—yummy!
  27. Made glitter stress relief bottles with granddaughters—lots of fun and they turned out great!
  28. Built a swimming pool!—long process, but we love the finished product!
  29. Ate at Lonny Boys BBQ—delicious!
  30. Went to Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point—it was beautiful; a perfect day.
  31. Conducted a DNA test on my dog—easier than I thought; excited for the results.
  32. Lavender cocktail at Oyster Bar—delicious and beautiful!
  33. Meet the Universe Halfway (group coaching session) at Sacred Energy—loved it!
  34. Tried Handel’s homemade ice cream (Tin Lizzy, to be exact)—it was divine!
  35. Used TeleMed for the first time—they weren’t able to resolve the issue, but gave me some peace of mind.
  36. Attended a sound bath—absolutely loved it!
  37. Learned some words in Portuguese—working my brain.
  38. Went to River Rock Roasting Company in LaVerkin—rocked my world.
  39. Met a new employee, Michelle—she seemed nice.
  40. Downloaded Audible and listened to Welcome to my Panic—very enjoyable.
  41. Tried Zyia athletic wear—really like it.
  42. Downloaded Voila AI Artist and made cartoons—had a lot of fun.
  43. Tried Viva Chicken (Peruvian Rotisserie Joint)—excellent!
  44. Went to Fiesta Fun Center with the grandchildren—they had a great time playing arcade games.
  45. Tried a new coffee shop, Perks—loved it!
  46. Tried Ice Haus—yummy bacon bleu burger.
  47. Tried a new massage therapist, Taun—she did a wonderful job.
  48. Baked oatmeal cookie bars—they were delicious and easier to make than drop cookies.
  49. Standing meditation—it was more relaxing than you might think.
  50. Took two new guests to Desert Star Playhouse: Panos and Maddie—it was great sharing this fun tradition with people who had never experienced it
  51. Made WW tricolor fettuccine for the first time—delicious and nutritious! 
  52. Make chicken and orzo soup—not bad, not my favorite recipe I’ve tried.
  53. Tried fennel—okay in soup.
  54. Tried basil pesto hummus—very good on vegetable sticks.
  55. Tried iced apple crisp macchiato—very good.
  56. Made pumpkin puree—not so good. I ate one bowl and threw the rest away.
  57. Tried iced honey oat cinnamon lattee—yummy!
  58. Tried Harvest Blend essential oil—wonderful!
  59. Went to Zion Canyon Brew Pub —good food and beautiful scenery! And Larry bought his lifetime park pass, so I can’t wait to go back and hike some of the trails in the park.
Zion Canyon Brew Pub.
  1. Made chickpea and orzo pilaf with zucchini—yummy! I will definitely be making this again.
Chickpea, zucchini, and pilaf salad.
  1. Visited Gilgal Sculpture Garden—very cool and so peaceful. I definitely recommend it if you are in the Salt Lake area.
Gilgal Sculpture Garden.

Relationships

Commit 60 intentional acts of kindness. I officially reached this goal two months ago. Since last report, I’ve recorded eight more acts of kindness. I purposely don’t report all of these, but just to give you an idea, I let a car pull out in front of me, donated money to a couple of different causes, and delivered cookies as a surprise to one of my grandsons at his job.

A fallen leaf is nothing more than a summer’s wave goodbye.”

~Unknown

Fall Bucket List

With my 60 before 60 Challenge drawing to a close, I’m taking a different approach to my Fall Bucket List. My brain is tired from thinking of all those things to do, places to walk, and items to declutter. This time I’m going to rely on you my creative friends to help me come up with items for my Fall Bucket List. Every time I read your lists, I am so impressed by the things you are doing, I want to do them too. This time that’s exactly what I plan to do. I’m going to borrow at least one activity off each of your lists to build my own. When I check in next month, I’ll tell you which things I chose and who inspired them.

Your turn

Now it’s your turn. I’m counting on you for ideas! Please link up your Fall Bucket List below…or if you don’t have a formal bucket list, share something in the comments that you are planning for this fall. Pretty please!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

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Image by Bronisław Dróżka from Pixabay 

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16 Comments

  1. Well done on your Summer list Christie. I can’t help you with any Autumn suggestions because I don’t think I’ve ever made a bucket list in my life. I feel like they’re the cousins of New Year Resolutions – sort of pressuring myself to do stuff that I might change my mind about. I guess I’m just a go with the flow kind of gal these days! I’ll be interested to see what you come up with from the lists others put together – should be quite a challenge! Good luck x

    1. I can see how you could feel that way, Leanne. I gave up New Year’s Resolutions years ago for that very reason. For the most part, I use the seasonal bucket lists to make sure I don’t let the time slip away without doing the things I really want to do. I can usually keep my enthusiasm for the list for one season…though I have changed my mind and dropped things from the list on occasion. I anticipate that my fall list will be full of fun items…not things I feel I “should” do.

      1. Your reasons for doing bucket lists are exactly mine. We get in such a rut over here without them. PC even gets into the bucket lists and enjoying new things. Especially the eating and food-related activities!!

  2. Christie – so excited for you to have the national park pass! Zion has amazing places to hike… and you are so close to many other parks. I think you’ll hit 60 new miles… maybe in your 60th year. That still counts in my way of thinking. 🙂

    I’m working on my Fall Plan as well, also taking a slightly different approach, and hope to publish it this next weekend. I think I’ll be in time for the link-up. 🙂 Oh, I steal things from other folks lists all the time!

    My 101 new things for the year goal is only at 50, so that’s one goal that I won’t achieve this year. I used to have the goal of 52… one per week. Maybe I should have re-set it to that because…. COVID. Last new thing….Late Night Dinner (outside) with friends at their “go-to” restaurant. They’ve been telling us about it for 2 years and I can see why they love it (it’s too far from us to become our go-to place though). But, the good food, great conversation, and decent wine… really helped my emotional state!

    1. Thank you for the encouragement, Pat. I am excited to visit Zions and the other parks in the area. I am blessed to live in such a beautiful state. Your dinner with friends sounds lovely. Yes, good food, great conversation, and decent wine can do wonders for your soul. I was surprised by how many of my 60 new things involved food.

  3. Hi Christie, it is always a good idea to have goals to look forward to achieving. And, who better than fellow bloggers to be inspired by. We are enjoying being ‘home free’ at the moment, so for us, that means more time to travel and explore. The ultimate goal for this next year is to determine ‘what’s next’ for our evolving retirement years. Take care.

    1. Yes, Suzanne, my fellow bloggers are so often a source of inspiration. That’s one of the best things about blogging. I’m happy for you to have more time to travel and explore. I’m looking forward to hearing about your adventures. Happy retirement!

  4. Well done on your 60 before 60. You walked some truly lovely places. I think that is more important than the number of steps or miles you walked. I have so enjoyed your photos of hiking and walking with family and friends.

    Glad to see your list of 60 new-to-you activities. I remember drooling over the sound of the various recipes you tried, especially the soups. And that bacon bleu burger. Mmmm. I remember the fun you had making the glitter stress relief bottles with the grands. And it was great fun to learn about your pup’s origins from the DNA test. Great variety of new activities!!

    Can’t wait to see what you come up with for your bucket list. What you pull from everyone else’s ideas.

    1. Thank you for the encouragement, Leslie. I’m glad you enjoyed hearing about the new things I tried. It has been fun…if not quite as adventurous as I originally thought I’d be. I’ve almost got my fall list ready. I’ve chosen six items so far. Perhaps I can pull it together before the link-up closes. Thanks again for overseeing the bucket list link-up. I really enjoy it.

  5. I think you done a wonderful job on your summer bucket list, and what a fun and rewarding way to lead up to turning 60. I look forward to celebrating that with you next month!❤️

  6. I’ve been so inspired by your 60 before 60 list! Love your idea for a fall list. I missed the link time frame, but here’s a link to my fall post. I’m also inspired by other people’s lists. I struggled a bit with mine, and in reality it’s probably not what I would totally want to put on it, but I put on what came to my mind so we’ll see. I may totally adjust it later.

    https://troyerslovinglife.blogspot.com/2021/09/autumn-intentionality-list.html

    1. Thank you Kirstin. I appreciate you sharing your list and I’m happy to hear that you are allowing yourself some flexibility with it. I look at these bucket lists as a way to prime the pump and get the ideas flowing. Happy fall to you and yours!

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