Winter bucket list: 60 before 60 style

Well, we made it through the darkest day of the year…at least in terms of the number of daylight hours…I hope metaphorically speaking as well. Regardless, December 21 means it’s time to put the Autumn Bucket List to bed and move on to winter.

Autumn Bucket List final report

Health and fitness

  1. Try a new soup recipe. Mission accomplished.
  2. Perform daily balance exercises. Mission accomplished.

Joy

  1. Hang family photos in our new home. Mission accomplished.
  2. Donate books. Mission accomplished.

Learning and growth

  1. Start my 60 before 60 list. Mission accomplished. This will be the basis for my bucket lists for the next three seasons.
  2. Take an online course. Mission accomplished.

Relationships

  1. Bake something and share it with a neighbor. Mission accomplished—finally! I shared these Christmas cookies with my sisters…who live in my extended neighborhood, so I’m counting it.
Christmas cookies.
  1. Reschedule our Alaska trip to spread my mother’s ashes. Mission accomplished…sort of. We have chosen dates but not booked reservations. We are waiting to see how the COVID vaccinations go.

So that’s autumn…not bad all things considered. Now moving on to winter.

Winter Bucket List: 60 before 60 style

A couple of months ago, I announced that I would be completing a 60 before 60 Challenge in the year leading up to my 60th birthday. That challenge will be taking the place of my typical seasonal bucket lists for this year. So here is the most recent update on that.

Health and Fitness

Walk 60 miles on trails or roads I haven’t traveled yet. I’m off to a slow start on this one, but expect to easily catch up when the weather is more conducive to exploring outdoors. So far, I’ve walked 3.75 miles in unfamiliar territory.

  1. 1 mile in new Washington neighborhood
  2. .25 mile at Red Cliffs Desert Garden
  3. 2.5 miles at Cottonwood Wash Trail
Cottonwood Wash Trail in Washington, Utah.
Cottonwood Wash Trail
Cottonwood Wash Trail in Washington, Utah.
More Cottonwood Wash Trail

Joy

Declutter 60 things. So far I have eliminated 31 items (or groups of items) ranging from outdated phone contacts to expired vitamins and over-the-counter medications to used-up gift cards taking up space in my wallet…and more. I won’t embarrass myself by giving you a detailed rundown of all the things that were cluttering the hidden parts of my house and electronics.

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 like to think this list looks less exciting because of COVID restrictions and that the new things I try in the second half of the year will be amazing! In the meantime, I have found small ways to introduce new things into my life. (Anyone else notice the emphasis on food!)

  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

Relationships

Commit 60 intentional acts of kindness. To date I have committed 21 acts of kindness with this goal in mind. I like to think I have done other kind things. I am only counting the ones that I likely would not have done if I hadn’t set this goal. I don’t feel comfortable laying out every act, but to give you an idea, here are some examples: running an errand for someone, leaving a note of appreciation, buying a stranger’s coffee, and leaving a larger-than-normal tip.

Your turn

That’s what I have been up to. I’d love to hear your plans for the winter. If you have a bucket list, please link up with us. Otherwise, simply share a few things in the comments.

Happy winter!

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Image by Larisa Koshkina from Pixabay

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27 Comments

  1. What a fun take on your bucket list! I love the items you’re trying to tackle and wish you the best of luck on them all.

    1. Thank you Joanne. For me, it’s the right mix of flexibility (going with the flow) and encouragement to look for opportunities to try new things, be kind, move more, and declutter. I hope you are enjoying the season!

  2. Hi Christie, I am sharing my latest post, which covers a lot of our Christmas activities. Celebrating the holidays in Florida is a little different, but we have been blessed with cooler temperatures, which make it feel a bit more like Christmas. We had a date night downtown, strolling Main Street and eating caramel apples while enjoying the lights. We’ve baked dozens of cookies, and shared many of them with friends, we’ve planned Christmas Eve and Christmas Day meals, and I organized a family Christmas Tree photoshoot a few days (so as not to interfere with the big event on Christmas). We have been pacing ourselves through December to avoid overload and keep things fun. Sounds like you are doing much the same. Wishing you the very best this Christmas and for the New Year.

    1. Your Christmas celebrations during December sound wonderful, Suzanne. One advantage of Christmas in Florida is that you can stroll around looking at lights without freezing! It is quite cold here right now, and no white Christmas in sight. I’ll definitely check out your post. Thanks for sharing it. Merry Christmas to you and yours!

  3. I’m super glad I was considered a neighbor for the cookies, delicious!! I had grand plans to do 57 little acts of kindness before 57. Although I’ve done things, they weren’t really with intent and I didn’t count. Can I start over on my birthday in February and do 58 by 58??

  4. Christie you’re off to a flying start! I can’t believe how many little things you’ve accomplished over the last few months – despite the weather and covid restrictions – go you!
    I’m loving your 60 before 60 list – I think it’ll end up being 600 before 60 at the rate you’re going!
    Merry Christmas to you and your family – I hope you can see each other and make it special xx

    1. Thank you, Leanne. It is kind of nice to see the accomplishments in writing. Sometimes it can feel like I’m not accomplishing much, but the small things add up, right? We are planning to see our children and grandchildren on Christmas–in smaller groups–but still everyone. My sweet niece set up a Facebook page for the extended family, so we can share our celebrations with each other. It will be different…just like everything about this year…but we are figuring out how to make it special. Merry Christmas to you and your family.

  5. A good idea to incorporate your “60 before 60” list with the seasonal bucket lists. We all got to eat so trying new recipes & foods during every season is a win/win. I always enjoy looking at your hiking pictures.

  6. I really love this idea! While it is a bit late to take part in the Linky share, you have given me lots to think about this week between Christmas and New Year’s. I like the idea of making a seasonal bucket list and focusing on various aspects of life (and not just big adventure items, but small everyday items as well). Perhaps I will write a bucket list post in January…

    1. Hello Molly! We’d love to have you join us in January. We’ll be posting bucket list updates again on January 21. While I enjoy a big goal on occasion, it’s also nice to focus on the small joys and accomplishments in life. Life is made up of those small moments, for the most part. Wishng you a happy new year!

  7. Christie, As a fellow foodie, I’m all about new foods to try! Have you looking into any 100-things-you-should-eat-lists to really push the envelop? Here’s one of those lists (there are quite a few different ones): https://www.listchallenges.com/the-food-list-challenge (I’ve tried 75 on this list). I’m also trying to do more random acts of kindness… which I’m finding a challenge with being socially distant…I appreciate you listing what some of your’s are to give me ideas! Hope your Christmas season is going well!

    1. I’m going to check out the link now, Pat. I’d love to hear the most adventurous thing you’ve tried off the list…and maybe your most and least favorites. Performing random acts of kindness is somewhat more challenging during a pandemic…like everything else. ? But in many ways, it’s even more rewarding. We had a lovely Christmas. I hope you did as well. Here’s to a happy new year!

      1. Christie – actually lots of favs on this list – these are ones I can never pass up if offered: bagel & lox, bread pudding, churros, fried plantains, heirloom tomatoes, & sweet potato fries. Never again: head cheese, although I’m not a fan of okra either. Worst lost opportunity: sea urchin. It was offered to me and I just couldn’t eat it. Absolutely craziest thing I’ve ever eaten (it’s not on this list): a pig’s eye. Would not do that again either. There are other lists, I just found this one easily. I might send you another via regular mail that a foodie friend gave me (need to locate it) which I recall was really intriguing. But, if you’ve only eaten 40…. you have lots of things to try!

        1. I love most of those same things. I haven’t tried fried plantains, but have heard they are delicious! I’m scared of head cheese and sea urchin. ? I got the emailed list. Thanks so much.

  8. I am so frustrated. Used my phone to comment on these bucket list posts and to my horror, I am not seeing my comments. Lesson learned.

    Your 60 before 60 activities and plans are inspiring. Hope you will take photos of your decluttering to inspire me to do the same. And photos of each of the new or new since high school experiences. I immediately thought of roller skating/roller blading as something I loved doing and haven’t done in a long time. Have skated since high school, though, so that wouldn’t count.

    Thank you for sharing a few of your acts of kindness. Leaving a larger tip is something we like to do. As a ‘retired’ waitress, I can appreciate how that can make someone’s day. Hope you will continue to inspire us with other things you do.

    Happy new year, friend. Looking forward to following along on your progress on these plans throughout 2021.

    1. That is frustrating, Leslie. Thank you for making the effort to re-comment. So far, the new things I’ve tried have been small–not necessarily picture worthy–but I am hoping for bigger things in the next nine months! I have not roller skated since high school. I wonder if I could still do it. It would be a good test of my balance. I did not know you were a waitress. I think that would be a challenging job, and I always tip well if it appears the person is making an effort, even if everything doesn’t go perfect. Happy New Year to you too. I look forward to another year of friendship and blogging together. Take care!

  9. Hi Christie, I really enjoyed catching up with you again and love your 60 things list! I have just turned 60 in December and during the year I set myself a conservative 12 things to do before turning 60, so I applaud you for going the full 60!! Loved reading your ‘mission accomplished’ next to many of your bucket list items. Go you!

  10. Christie, I love your Winter Bucket List and it sounds ambitious yet doable! I like the idea of learning 60 new things and ahhh, 60 act of kindness is wonderful. Think of all the joy you give to others with each act. This winter the weather has been so grey, damp and cold I needed an incentive to return to walking and joined The Conqueror Virtual Challenge, now trekking along Hadrian’s Wall. It’s 90 miles altogether and at the end, I receive a medal. Yeah! As well as learning lots about the wall and the surrounding area … for one that it is not located at the Scottish border which I’d always imagined. Lovely to meet you across the blogosphere!

    1. Hello Annika and welcome! Thank you for your kind words. Doing 60 new things during a pandemic has been a challenge. I’ve had to be creative and flexible, sometimes looking for the small possibilities. This winter has been gray and cold here too, but unfortunately mostly dry. The Conqueror Virtual Challenge sounds like a great incentive. I know one other person who is doing it. She’s walking Iceland. Good luck with your challenge! Thanks for stopping by.

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