Jessie: In New Hampshire where the 600 tulip bulbs we planted in October are poking their heads up through the cold earth!
I am certain that I have mentioned many times here on the blog that I love to set goals. I usually have goals related to my writing like the number of words to write in a day or the number of scenes to revise. I have exercise goals for how many hikes or runs to go on in a week. I even like to set them for hobbies and pastimes like creating a watercolor sketch every day for 100 days in a row, or the keeping of a one-line-a-day journal every day for 10 years.
All of these are satisfying and fun, at least as far as I am concerned. But this year I am trying something a bit different. I am working on a goal I am calling 24 in 24. The idea is to complete 24 of something in a variety of categories. So far I am planning to complete 24 knitted items. So far, I have 4 completed and 2 others well underway. In full disclosure, I’m counting a pair
I also plan to read 24 books from my TBR pile. Sadly, this barely makes a dent in the backlog, but it is a start. So often is easier for me to be bewitched by a new book offered at the library or my local bookstore than to dive into the collection still to be devoured in my library already. Up next is the gorgeous coffee table book Suspended Worlds by Christine Hadsel.
I also thought it would be lovely to send out 24 pieces of snail mail to people I care about. Considering how much I love to add a letter to any packages I send out to my sons, it seems like a very pleasant task. I have already sent out 2 so I think I might just manage it! I have a lovely supply of notecards and paper and am always eager to use my fountain pens so I am prepared and
Lastly, I want to try making 24 new recipes. I have completed 4 of those so I may just reach this goal. This one feels the most daunting. I cook almost every day and it is so easy to fall into a rut. I have a large collection of cookbooks including two binders of recipes clipped from magazines over the years. So many of them are recipes that I have still never tried. I am not sure why I haven’t gotten around to it, but perhaps a concrete goal may just make a dent in it!
Readers, do you have anything languishing in your world like my recipe collection? Do you ever create challenges like this for yourself? Do you have a recipe that you would recommend to me to try?