Intrepid possibilities and what’s been on my calendar in May
“Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities. Truth isn’t.”
~Mark Twain
As you may recall, I chose INTREPID and POSSIBILITIES as my 2025 Words of the Year. These two words together describe my intention for the year.
One way of putting that intention into action…and sharing what’s been on my calendar (#WBOYC)…is my Spring Possibilities List. With that in mind, I’d like to share a quick update on what’s happening with my that.
Spring Possibilities list
1. Go to Los Angeles and attend a taping of the Jimmy Kimmel Live! show and visit a friend in San Juan Capistrano. Mission accomplished last month. If you missed it, I’ve posted some pictures here.
2. Continue with monthly massages and twice monthly stretches. In progress. No photos, but I enjoyed a massage and two stretches in March, April, and May.
3. Donate blood. This one was accomplished in March and again in May. This time, I treated myself afterward with a delicious milkshake.
4. Complete the mindbodygreen Functional Nutrition course. In progress. I have completed 14 of 28 modules…halfway there! Right now, I am listening to “A Deeper Dive Into Autoimmune Disease withWill Cole, D.C., IFMCP”
5. Take a golf lesson with my husband. Not yet started.
6. Plant new lavender. Mission accomplished! I mentioned this in my Taking stock this spring post, along with my fears that they may not survive. So far, so good.
7. Pull out a dead Century plant and treat others for grub prevention. Grub prevention complete. We still need to pull out the dead plant.
8. Enjoy a spring-break visit from one of our daughters and her family. Mission accomplished last month.
9. Complete the CVG Miles in March. My goal is to walk 100 miles during March. Mission accomplished last month.
10. Visit one of the local butcher shops in the area. I have plans to visit Dixie Meats this week.
11. Hike the Lion’s Mouth Cave Trail near Cedar City, Utah. Not yet started.
12. Visit the Gypsy Emporium Antique Mall in Hurricane, Utah. Mission accomplished last month.
13. Hike the Elephant Arch trail. Not yet started; however, I have spoken to a few neighbors about this hike. While none of them have done it yet, both couples expressed interest in going with us, so hopefully this will happen soon…weather permitting. The trail has no shade, and temperatures are forecast to be unusually warm for the next week.
14. Visit the St. George Dinosaur Discovery Site. Not yet started.
15. Finalize plans for summer girls’ trip. In progress. My sisters and I have decided on a hike we want to take in Bryce Canyon: Queen’s Garden/Navajo Loop Combination.
16. Start scanning physical photos for digital storage. I downloaded the Photomyne app and scanned my first photo album. Since then, I have learned of a place nearby where you can reserve scanning equipment and scan your own photos, so we are going to give that a try and then decide which method to use.
17. Complete Orangetheory Fitness’s All Out Mayhem challenge. (This is a new item on the list.) The goal is to complete four out of seven special workouts built around childhood games. To add some whimsy, clothing colors are suggested for each workout.
Those who complete the challenge receive a t-shirt to mark the accomplishment. Mission accomplished!
18. Purchase a flagpole and get it installed before Memorial Day. (This is also a new item on the list.) MIssion accomplished!
Your turn
- What is one thing you did in May which you are proud of or especially enjoyed?
- What are your plans for June?
- What else is on your mind? Anything at all; I just love to hear from you.
Image by Catherine Stovall from Pixabay
As always you accomplished so many things on your list. Yay! I’m grooving on your lavender plant. Here I grow it in pots because it’s an annual, not perennial. Your flagpole looks sturdy and the flags look lovely juxtaposed against your blue sky.
Here in the desert, lavender plants are perennial, if you know what you’re doing…and that’s a big IF in my case. We are pleased with the flagpole. I must admit I have complicated emotions about our country right now, but I am proud of its history and the many brave men and women who have fought for democracy and freedom.
Wow!! You’ve accomplished so much! I planted lavender a couple of years ago, and it’s growing like gangbusters. I may have to split it next year. I’m so glad because I bought it on clearance! You look wonderfully fit and like you’re living your best life! I have scoped out a gym and am just waiting until an appointment about my knee to enroll (if nothing is wrong with said knee). May was the end of my docent training. June will be all about my graduation tour! I’m so excited to be a docent at the art museum.
https://marshainthemiddle.com/
Thank you, Marsha. It’s been a good month. Good luck with your knee and with your docent work. I am truly impressed.
Hi Christie – a very full and fulfilled month for you. Loved all the tee shirt photos and how fit and healthy and happy you’re looking. You certainly seem to be embracing this retired life with vim and vigour and loads of intrepid-ness!
Thank you Leanne. I am enjoying this phase of retirement for sure.
Hi Christie, I love your list and you are doing so well getting through them all! The one thing I’ve done that I’m pleased about is finally had the slippery dip and rotten bit of decking beside the pool pulled out and we’ve had a new structure (pergoda) built with new extended decking. Just need to finishe with the painting and then get the pool lounges in there and some plants and stuff and it’ll be much more practical than what was there before! Thanks for linking up with #WWWhimsy and I’m looking forward to hearing about he girls trip away one day soon! xo
It sounds like you are making great progress on your pool area, Min. I’m sure you are going to love it.
Hi Christie you are doing very well with your possibilities and whilst it is satisfying to tick them off it is also good to have some still to achieve. You are looking so fit and healthy! Have a fabulous June. Sue L xx
So true, Sue. It is satisfying to tick things off the list and as you say, enjoy the anticipation of more to come. I am embracing the idea that these are possibilities. I can add to or take away from the list at anytime as my desires and intentions change. There is no right or wrong here. I am truly grateful for my current state of good health that allows me to enjoy such a variety of activities.
Hi Christie lovely to see you at What’s Been On Your Calendar? Have a beautiful June. xx
Thank you, Sue. And thanks for hosting #WBOYC. Happy June to you too!
Look at all these that you’ve already accomplished! I am most looking forward to our trip to Acadia National park next month. Though it’s sounding like it’s going to be quite cold. Spring weather is not sticking around this season in New England! I really need to try giving blood again; I tried several times when I was younger and was always rejected but I keep thinking that it’s been years and perhaps I’ll “pass” this time!
Have so much fun in Acadia National Park. I hope there will be pictures and descriptions in an upcoming blog post.
Christie, you look fit, happy, and fulfilled by your life choices. It doesn’t get better than that.
Thank you Suzanne. Life is humming along pretty well right now, and I am embracing the joy!
You’re going so well with your list Christie, I especially love the mayhem challenge and the various colours to wear. You’re certainly rocking the fit look!! At a recent gym class we all came in different colours of the rainbow, but it was completely unplanned so was very random!! Our trainer took a photo of us all looking colourful.
#Teamwwwhimsy
Thank you for the encouraging words, Debbie. I saw your rainbow pic on social media. I loved it!
Your month of May seems like a lovely set of memories. I loved seeing all you got up to..and those you are not ready (yet) to have done.
It’s pretty good in retirement of whatever sort it is, to find time that is ours after a lifetime of giving to others (blood donation excepted!…I’ve tried over the years to donate blood but my body and the red cross rules stopped it from happening)
Take care
Denyse x
You are so right, Denyse. Retirement affords us the opportunity to pursue things that bring us joy and to give to others…in whatever way fits in with our interests and abilities.
As always, plenty of ticks in boxes. You’ve reminded me one of my goals this year is to give blood. I must do that in June. As an aside, you’re rocking your activewear! Thanks for linking up with us.
I’m happy that I could serve as a reminder for your blood donation, Joanne. And thank you for the kind words on my activewear. Fun clothes make working out that much more enjoyable.
Hi, Christie – I love your Spring Possibilities List. You have done very well with it. Thank you for linking up with us at WBOYC. Wishing you a wonderful June.
Thank you Donna for hosting #WBOYC. May you have a joyous June!
I love those rainbow leggings. What a fun gym. And I love how much you crossed off your list. #WBOYC
Thank you, Lydia. I am quite enamoured with those leggings as well. I find wearing fun clothes adds a level of enjoyment to my workouts.
What a great set of accomplishments! I did my monthly I Did It list yesterday and was pleased to see some positive accomplishments. We took a short trip to Sedona; unfortunately I sprained my ankle on first hike , but I think we’ll go back and try it agin. It’s a lovely area. Big news is the house rebuild permit was applied for; now we wait to have it processed, and no-one can tell us how long that will take! Yes, each positive has an element of negative…working on that! But you did inspire me to create a June possibilities list… I’m focusing on trying to get back doing things I love.
Hello Pat. I’m glad you were able to get away to Sedona. I hope your ankle is feeling better. Fingers crossed that you will get a quick response to your permit application! 🤞❤️🤞 Wishing you some joy in June!
My but you’ve been a busy bee Christie! My to do list started to overwhelm me, so I stopped looking at it. Not helpful in terms of getting stuff done, and now I’m starting to feel anxious about what’s on there and how important/time sensitive those items are. I must sort out a method of working through it without it causing either emotion.
I’m looking forward to hearing your views on Photomyne. I downloaded it only for my niece’s husband to say it was fiddly to use if you want good results. He is fussy (and a photographer), so wanted to hear another point of view.
It is a fine line between being organized and being ruled by the to-do list, isn’t it, Debs? As far as Photomyne, it is not perfect in terms of results, but easy and satisfactory for my purposes. The photos I’m saving aren’t particularly artistic…more just happy memories taken by an amateur photographer…so the quality of the reproduction probably isn’t as important to me as it is to your niece’s husband.
To be fair to my niece’s husband, he was trying to meet the exacting standards of my mother who can be a sharp-tongued menace. Naturally, as the results turned out to be of excellent quality, all she was able to complain about was how long he took doing it!
But thank you for that practical review – I shall give it a go. I know it’s a long-term project, so hopefully won’t feel worn down but its addition to my to do list.
Oh Debs! I have to say, I did laugh when you said your mother found something to complain about regardless of the quality. I’m sure it’s not funny living with it, but just the way you said it, made me smile. Digitizing photos is a huge project for those of us who took a lot of pictures over the years, so as you said, treat it as a long-term project…a little bit at a time. I am focusing on one photo album at a time.
So many meaningful items on your spring possibilities list. You are always an inspiration to me. First of all, love the flag pole. We installed one inground a few years ago. Paul is diligent about monitoring the state of our flag and always replaces them when they get battered in our winds. We burn the battered flags in our tiny fire pit. I like the POW/MIA flag, too. God bless those often forgotten souls. When they were little my daughters asked me what powmia meant. They ran the acronyms together to make a name? word? I laughed and had no idea what they were talking about until they pointed to the flag.
Hope your girls’ trip will be a wonderful, memory making experience. We had such a grand time in Colorado. MUCH better than I dreamed it would be. Take loads of pictures and get lots of hugs.
Your lavendar looks much better than mine. I planted mine in May and dug it up dead yesterday. I cannot grow the stuff and I don’t know why. Just planted something else in the lavendar’s pot, will see how quickly I kill it!! Good work on conquering the grubs. We tussle with them every spring.
So proud of all of your health-related accomplishments. The Orangetheory, your hiking plans. We have a hike we call the elephant. Would love to compare your elephant arch hike to our plain elephant hike.
Hope those things that are still to be accomplished will just get bumped to summer!!
Thank you for the kind words, Leslie. I laughed about your powmia story, because my husband has a tattoo of POW MIA on his calf (his father was a POW for 2-1/2 years), and one of our children’s friends asked him what a “powmia” was, and she was a teenager at the time! It’s good for us to keep educating each generation.
That’s funny that you mentioned you have an elephant hike in your area, because when I looked up Elephant Arch on the AllTrails app, the first one that came up was in Texas…maybe the one near you. Now that it’s getting so warm here, I may have to push that hike to fall, but I will get there! And when I do, I’ll share some photos.