1. Make a quilt for Mia's baby by May 2009.

It's been awhile since I've updated my 101 Things To Do in 1001 Days List. I've just taken a look and realized I've accomplished at least 15 goals without logging them. Shame on me!

I'm going to try to catch up and I'll start at the very beginning, a very good place to start. Goal #1 was to make a quilt for Mia's baby. I made my first really modern quilt for little Gabriel and gave it to him in July, 2009. He was already three months old, but he was still small enough to enjoy it, so I'm counting this as a win.

I wrote all about this quilt in my Blogger's Quilt Festival post so you can look there for lots of process photos.

Photo by Sonja Callaghan

I actually have this quilt in my possession right now, as I borrowed it from Gabriel to share at the first meeting of the Vancouver Modern Quilt Guild!

36. Try 10 new vegetarian dinner recipes.

Today, Dean and I made a Vegetable Biryani from my new "Sundays at Moosewood" cookbook. It was delicious! Saffron rice, oodles of veggies ranging from cauliflower to chickpeas to sweet potatoes, topped with toasted cashews and plain yogurt. It was the first time we had tried this recipe, so it took us 90 minutes to prepare this dish, but I'm optimistic that we can cut that time down the next time we make it.

Thanks to Mom & Dad for giving me the cookbook for Christmas, I look forward to the next recipe we try!

94. Donate to MSF/ Doctors Without Borders

I had been meaning to donate to Doctors Without Borders ever since Sophie and I toured their Refugee Camp in the Heart of the City. I believe that they do good work and they're already on the ground helping the people of Haiti. Their news updates page gives up to date info on the conditions they are facing in Haiti.

I called their busy donor relations line today and made a donation towards the earthquake relief effort. I was happy to know that my donation will be matched by CIDA (and so will yours if you donate before February 12, 2010.

I also just found out that Bamboletta Dolls is running a raffle to raise funds for Doctors Without Borders. They're raffling off two dolls plus assorted doll clothes and I just got myself a $10 ticket. They're already past the $4,500 mark!

32. Bake a loaf of bread the old-fashioned way.*

With some tutelage from a friend and the master recipe for boule from "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day", I baked two loaves of bread today. They were things of beauty and I'm very proud. Can't wait to try again!


Loaf #2 (the one I flipped upside down while attempting to slide it into the baking dish. Fortunately, it turned out just fine!)


Loaf #1. I was so excited to bake my first ever loaf of bread that I forgot to dust the top with flour and slash the top with a pretty pattern. It still turned out good enough that Sophie was saying, "I want more of your bread! I want more of your bread!"

*I think I have fulfilled the spirit of this goal in that a yeast-risen loaf of bread was made in my kitchen. Granted, the recipe didn't call for kneading, but who knows, maybe I'll get crazy and try that kind of bread next!

68. Convince Dean to recycle box of old Peaks.

Ever since university (I graduated in 2000 and Dean in 2002), we've been lugging a cardboard box of student newspapers from apartment to apartment. They've survived four moves and each time I've wondered why we were keeping them. I didn't read The Peak even when I went to SFU, and I only occasionally thought the student-drawn comics were funny. Finally, this March, in a fit of culling, Dean decided he was ready to part with the Peaks. Thank you, Deano for helping me to tick a goal off my 101 Things list!

93. Train for and participate in the Sun Run.

My dear friend Janet convinced me to join her in the Vancouver Sun Run this year and I am proud to say that we both ran the whole 10 kilometres in one hour and 12 minutes! I started training in mid-January and followed a great program that gradually increased my running segments while decreasing the amount of walking I was doing. I kept to a 3 runs/week schedule and did many runs with Sophie in the jogging stroller at the beach.

Here we are on race day, gathering with the rest of the 55,000 participants:


The crowds were amazing, a sea of people in every direction:


Dean, Sophie, Mom, Dad & Kristi (taking this photo) came to cheer us on at the 5.5km mark:


The 45 second video Kristi took while running alongside of us:


Runners coming over the Burrard St Bridge:


Minutes after completing the run, I think we look pretty darn good!:

4. Make Sophie a skirt using Oliver + S's lazy days skirt pattern.

I'm very excited about this cute skirt I made for Sophie using the free Lazy Days Skirt Pattern by Oliver + S. I found the 70s style ABC trim for $1/3m and couldn't resist! This is the first garment I've made for Sophie and it came together in about three hours. It was so satisfying to make that I've got another one in the works!

Thanks to Soule Mama for the inspiration to do this project. You can see other items people have made using Oliver + S patterns in their Flickr group.

11. Knit or crochet a hat.

This soft and sweet hat was delivered to a sleepy little three-week-old boy today. The pattern is called "simple hat" from "baby knits for beginners" by Debbie Bliss. I used US size 6 needles (4mm diameter) and just under one 50g ball of sage Rowan cashcotton dk (doubleknit) yarn that had 18% angora and 9% cashmere in it to make the hat super cosy.

I started this hat on double pointed needles about five times. I wasn't getting the results I wanted and I still haven't figured out how to use dpns. However, when I pretended the dpns were regular needles, all went well. I made the 6-9 month size because this baby was 9lbs 7oz at birth and I figured he'd be growing fast.

Now I can't wait to start another knitting project! (but I've got a quilt and a hanky in the works, so I'd better finish those up first!)

22. Replace annoying blinds in front room.

Our old cloth vertical blinds that were too long for the window and dragged on the sill every time you opened the blinds are finally gone! Goodbye annoying blinds and hello beautiful new wooden horizontal blinds! The new blinds are stylish and functional. Blinds that actually block out the light of the streetlamp that's directly outside the bedroom, what an idea!

The front bedroom before (note the gap-tooth effect where one blind had broken):


The front bedroom after:


Master bedroom before (note the two different types of blinds):


Master bedroom after (ah, consistent window treatments!):


Sliding glass door before:


Sliding glass door after (sorry, I didn't get a shot with the blinds down):

38. Find 3 new ways to get vegetables into Sophie.

Ok, so Dean found this one, but I thought I'd add it to my list, since I was the one that fed it to Sophie! This is a fruit juice that has some veggie juices added to it so you can sneak veggies into your diet. Sophie happily downed a watered-down version of this juice, so I consider my goal 33% done.

20. Get carpet cleaned.

Technically, #20 on my list has been done. Much dirt has been removed from our carpets. Unfortunately, this before photo of Dean attacking the nasty coffee stain with the Rug Doctor doesn't have a picture perfect after photo to accompany it. That stain is deeply set and won't be going anywhere soon without some heavy duty chemicals. Any miracle solutions would be appreciated!

93. Train for and participate in the Sun Run

Progress update on my 101 Things to Do List. Janet has inspired me to start training for the Sun Run this year and we're going to follow an online training schedule so we'll be fit as two fiddles by April 19th.

Today was Day One and I followed the strenuous instructions to the letter. 30 seconds of running followed by 4.5 minutes of walking, repeat seven times. I bundled Sophie up into the jogging stroller (she insisted on wearing her bike helmet) and we braved the patches of snow and soupy fog and dark (by the end of the run, I needed my Indiglo on my watch to read the time). Intrepid joggers, we are!

My plan is to do two runs a week with Sophie and then to meet up with Janet for a weekend run. Hopefully writing this down on my blog will help me stick to my plan!

101 Things To Do in 1001 Days

Holly's 101 Things To Do in 1001 Days

Start date: November 30, 2008
End date: August 28, 2011

It's the start of a new year and I'm joining the bandwagon by posting my 101 Things list. See Day Zero for more info about what it is and how to make your own. I'm pre-dating my list to November 30th, 2008 since I've been writing my goals for over a month and I ended up accomplishing five of them before posting the full list.

Crafty
1. Make a quilt for Mia's baby by May 2009. (July 2009)
2. Make at least 10 fabric gift bags (some holiday, some general).
3. Make fabric covered thumbtacks and at least 20 fabric covered button magnets using the idea from Jessica Jones' How About Orange blog.
4. Make Sophie a skirt using Oliver + S's lazy days skirt pattern. (April 2009)
5. Make a new ironing board cover ala Marmadaisy.
6. Design my own fabric and get it printed up at spoonflower.com
7. Take part in an online quilt block exchange (virtual quilting bee).
8. Enter a quilt in a quilt show.
9. Personalize at least three onesies for new babies. (one for Maddy given Dec. 23/08, one for Cate given Jan. 22/09, one for Arwen sent Oct. 2/09)
10. Attend a knitting night at Urban Yarns.
11. Knit or crochet a hat. (April 1, 2009)
12. Make stockings for Holly, Dean and Sophie to keep in our home.
13. Make Sophie a pair of flannel pjs for Christmas.
14. Make a tree skirt for our Christmas tree.
15. Clear out my fabric stash by making a scrappy quilt for use as a picnic blanket.
16. Finish the green sweater I'm knitting for Sophie before her second birthday. (Dec 25/08)
17. Give Trish and Erik their belated wedding quilt. (Dec. 26/08)

Home Projects
18. Get Sophie her own bedroom and bed with rails.
19. Get a repairman to fix the dishwasher door that I broke when I fell on it.
20. Get carpet cleaned. (Feb 2009)
21. Get new flooring.
22. Replace annoying blinds in front room. (Mar. 5/09)
23. Replace track lighting in kitchen.
24. Buy an artifical Christmas tree for Christmas 2008. (Nov. 30/08)

Travel
25. Take a road trip to Seattle and visit the Pike Street Market.
26. Take a day trip to Bowen Island.
27. Visit the Brackendale eagles at their peak. Eagle viewing is at its peak from mid-December to mid-January but significant numbers of eagles may be present from mid-November to mid-February.
28. Take Sophie to Long Beach.
29. Hike The Chief.
30. Visit Leavenworth, Washington in December (see a concert or A Christmas Carol).

Cooking/Baking
31. Make Aloo Gobi. (July 23/11)
32. Bake a loaf of bread the old-fashioned way. (Sept. 7/09)
33. Make cut out sugar cookies with flood fill icing.
34. Use dried chickpeas in a recipe instead of the ones that come in a can.
35. Take a cooking course with Dean.
36. Try 10 new vegetarian dinner recipes. (#1: Cajun rice & beans, Feb. 14/09, #2: Vegetable Biryani, Jan. 19/10)
37. Make tomato soup using canned tomatoes and a blender.
38. Find 3 new ways to get vegetables into Sophie. (#1: Fruit plus Veggie juice, Feb. 20/09)
39. Make one kind of preserves (possibly pickles or antipasto).

Eco-Friendly
40. Buy food at farmers' markets at least 10 times.
41. Revive the worm compost.
42. Grow a garden on our balcony for at least one summer. Include at least one edible plant.

Clothing/Accessories/Stuff
43. Find and buy a red winter coat that makes me smile (and possibly twirl).
44. Get a new wallet.
45. Find comfortable, well-made black shoes to replace my eight year old Doc Martens.
46. Get a filter to protect the lens on our camera.

Experiences
47. Go ziplining in Sooke.
48. Go to Diwali celebrations.
49. Go to the letter writing club at the Regional Assembly of Text.
50. Eat at five new restaurants (including dinner once all by myself).
51. Take Sophie to the Family Musik "Jabberwocky" concert at UBC in January 2009.
52. Go to the Christmas event at Burnaby Village Museum.
53. Attend a sporting event at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics.
54. Go snowshoeing.
55. Go 10 pin bowling.

Geeky Stuff
56. Start my own blog and write five posts. (5th post written Dec. 6/08)
57. Find a solution to our video downloading issue.
58. Write a letter of appreciation to the librarians at the public library.
59. Update the music on my iPod.
60. Put some video and images on my iPod.
61. Download a podcast onto my iPod and listen to it while going for a run.
62. Get a TV connector cable for our videocamera.
63. Create a new website for the Vancouver City Lights Chorus
64. Participate in the 365 Photos in 365 Days challenge starting Jan 1st, 2009.

Practical/Organizing/Simplifying
65. Get a photobook of Sophie's first year printed up.
66. Get a photobook of Sophie's second year printed up.
67. Make DVDs of the home videos we have made since we got our new videocamera.
68. Convince Dean to recycle box of old Peaks.(March 21, 2009)
69. Make a will.
70. Go to an appointment with a life insurance broker.
71. Write up a list of weekly routines (Sophie's classes, visits to playgroup, groceries, meal planning, cleaning, etc).
72. Keep the house 15 minutes of cleaning from ready for visitors for a month.
73. Get our passports renewed before the big rush in summer 2009.
74. Make a list of contributions to Sophie's education fund.
75. Print up wallet-size recent photos of Sophie and distribute to grandparents.
76. Donate or recycle or throw out at least two boxes of stuff from my room at my parents' place.
77. Take the 50% challenge for one month.

Self Improvement
78. Write in my journal at least once a month.
79. Take either a web design or graphic design course.
80. Take a digital photography course.
81. Read five non-fiction books suggested by friends or family members.
82. Write an article for the TTOC column in the VESTA News (likely topic: handy things for teachers to file in the TTOC folder).

Family
83. Make Sophie some homemade Playdoh (use recipe from Green and Crunchy), find used Playdoh toys.
84. Take Sophie to drop-in gym at Kits Community Centre. (Dec 9/08)
85. Take Sophie to Little Nest.
86. Take Sophie to Baby Eats in North Van.
87. Spend a Christmas morning with Dean and Sophie in our own home.
88. Write a letter to Melissa at Vassar (optional: send a DVD along with the letter).
89. Send Grandpa a DVD (of our choir's Christmas 2008 concert if I can get a copy).

Health
90. Resume yoga. Take a weekly yoga class for one term.
91. Attach bike converter for trailer to my bike. Take Sophie on a bike ride all by myself.
92. Use up fitness class credits at Bare Fit and Pregnant. (about 10 left as of Feb. 9/09)
93. Train for and participate in the Sun Run. (April 19, 2009)

Social Conscience
94. Donate to MSF/ Doctors Without Borders (inspired by seeing their Refugee Camp in the Heart of the City).
95. Decide how to donate my climate action dividend cheque.
96. Volunteer for an organization I've never worked with.
97. Volunteer to make quilts on Salt Spring with the Island Comfort Quilt Bee (usually in mid-late March).
98. On the 1001st day, donate $5 to charity for every goal not met.

Social
99. Host a Groundhog Day party including a viewing of the movie "Groundhog Day".
100. Go to a chick flick at the movie theatre with a group of girls (at least four others).
101. Have a sisters' day with Kristi.