Wednesday, January 02, 2008

101 Things in 1001 Days

This idea has been around for a while, but when I saw another mention of it on the Pink of Perfection along with the thought that we should put some fun into our resolutions, I was sold. I've got a good start on a list, but I'm not quite up to 101 things. I hope this isn't too much information, but my list is mostly about making and cooking, so it seems appropriate to put it here. Most importantly, posting it will (I think) help make it so - if I just made a list and didn't tell anyone about it, I could just as easily throw away the list and not tell anyone.

So here it is so far. With my cooking "things", I want to push myself to try techniques or foods I've been avoiding (though I haven't worked up the courage to put mushrooms on the list). With books I hope to make a dent in the unread piles in my house and similarly with sewing and knitting, I'd like to make some headway in the stash I've accumulated over the years and finish projects started long ago. That fuzzy beige sweater you see listed below? I started it 28 years ago - yikes! I'm not fooling myself that every single thing is really going to happen, but if even half of it does I'll be thrilled! I have 23 more "things" to add to the list - any suggestions?
  1. Try tempering chocolate
  2. Try canning dried beans (I’m getting a pressure canner)
  3. Start building a pantry for the winter by canning some summer produce
  4. Cook with artichokes
  5. Cook with avocados
  6. Cook with tempeh
  7. Cook with seitan
  8. Make puff pastry from scratch
  9. Find a tofu recipe I really like
  10. Weave napkins for myself
  11. Weave a simple blanket with doubleweave
  12. Weave a project using 8/2 cotton from stash
  13. Weave another project using 8/2 cotton from stash (I have LOTS of 8/2 cotton)
  14. Weave and sew a project using 20/2 cotton from stash
  15. Try rep weave (sampling)
  16. Try summer and winter (sampling)
  17. Weave a gift for someone
  18. Get up to speed with Fiberworks PCW (which I’ve had for years now) and design/document all of the projects above with it
  19. Read Breathless in Bombay (and review for LibraryThing)
  20. Read Sitting Practice (and review for LibraryThing)
  21. Read Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant
  22. Read The Omnivore’s Dilemma
  23. Read The Amateur Marriage
  24. Read Iris Origo: Marchesa of Val d’Orcia
  25. Read Happiness Sold Separately
  26. Read The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse
  27. Read The Blind Assassin
  28. Read The Known World
  29. Read The Poisonwood Bible
  30. Read The God of Small Things
  31. Read Drowning Ruth
  32. Read The Pilot's Wife
  33. Read Back When We Were Grownups
  34. Read Animal Vegetable Miracle - finished 1/30/2008
  35. Finish Catelynn’s stocking - finished 1/18/2008
  36. Finish fuzzy beige sweater
  37. Make another felted critter (maybe an original design this time?)
  38. Make Sock Monkey hat for Cassidy
  39. Make Flower Power hat for Catelynn
  40. Knit socks for myself
  41. Make a sweater using yarn from stash
  42. Make a felted purse or tote
  43. Make Christmas stockings for Waldo and Kitty (no angora Santa beards though!!)
  44. Knit at least one item to donate to charity from my stash
  45. Make a sock monkey for Catelynn
  46. Make a Cathy original - now that I’ve made a Christina original :)
  47. Try creating a pants pattern from my favorite (and best-fitting) pants
  48. Sew some more with Christina
  49. Sew a garment with fabric from my stash
  50. Sew a little gifty thing with fabric from my stash
  51. Make a miniature teddy bear
  52. Switch to new Blogger template - done 1/22/2008
  53. Customize template with my own header, etc. - done 2/3/2008
  54. Launch State by State (will check off once Maryland is done)
  55. Post belated review of The Breakaway Cook
  56. Post belated review of Educating Peter
  57. Post belated review of Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant
  58. Post about three “last chance cookbooks”
  59. Purchase floor lamp for study
  60. Clean and organize the basement
  61. Get dryer vented to outside
  62. Paint inside
  63. Finish bedroom curtains
  64. Window treatment for study
  65. Clean up and plant herb garden
  66. Make a list and get that nice handyman to come back
  67. Set up TreasuryDirect account - done 1/6/2008
  68. Switch payroll purchase of savings bonds to TD account - done 1/21/2008
  69. Convert paper savings bonds to TD account
  70. Form 2803 (too boring to explain)
  71. Wisdom teeth on left side extracted in 2008
  72. Start exercising again (twice a week for at least 8 weeks in a row)
  73. Get my yarn stash inventoried on Ravelry
  74. Get my hooks and needles inventoried on Ravelry
  75. Reduce my average water consumption in 2008 by 5 gallons per day
  76. Reduce my average electricity consumption in 2008 by 2 KWH per day
  77. Switch all regular-sized incandescent light bulbs (except for my reading light) over to compact fluorescent bulbs - finished 2/4/2008
  78. Try needle tatting (thank you Santos!)
  79. Get my genealogy stuff organized
  80. Take and post to flickr 10 photos I’m proud of
  81. 101 things for the next 1001 days (which will start 9/29/2010)

24 comments:

santos. said...

wait, you're starting this list in 2010?! you have some time to think about those 23 things. actually you should make one of those things "think of 23 things" so you can cross that off your list.

happy new year! start that needle tatting sooner than later :)

Nupur said...

Very fun list, Cathy! It is great that you were able to come up with 78 things...I am not sure I would be able to come up with even 20.
#5: Cook with avocados....do you mean you want to actually "cook" them or just use them in a dish. Because guacamole is just heavenly to make with avocados but there is no actually cooking involved. That could be crossed off your list in about 3 minutes :D
Thanks for mentioning those books...I have not read most of them. But I have read "alone in the kitchen" and "god of small things" and loved those!

Leigh said...

28 years and still working on a sweater??? Whew. Now I don't feel so bad about how long it took me to finish my rare breed sweater. Hee hee.

Your list is more like a list of goals than resolutions. I like that. Goals seem do-able, resolutions dont. Even so, I don't think I'll make any!

MLO said...

Hi! One of my January things is to knit a sweater too! As a matter of fact, a bunch of my friends are doing a January Sweater KAL which you are welcome to join. (Too many NanoWriMo folks in my little crafting circle.)

I am going to complete my nephews Space Invaders Sweater.... Really!

pax,

MLO

historicstitcher said...

I really enjoyed your list, and am now thinking of doing similar! Thanks for sharing!

BTW: #20 about made me drop my coffee cup! I didn't know it was a book title at first, and thought you really wanted to read with an eggplant in your kitchen!

Rowena said...

Gotta love that spunk! 101 things is... ALOT! I thought at first that this would be a great idea to get into until I realized that my Gemini-mind changes way too often for me to be able to get through even 10% of 101 things. Instead, I'll get myself a sewing machine that costs around 101 euros and spend 1001 hours on it. Spread out here and there for the remainder of the year, if that is even at all possible. ;-)

Pink of Perfection said...

I love your list! Super fun and well done! (It's actually a lot like mine.) ;)

Cathy said...

Hi Santos! Oh no, sorry if that was misleading... I made a goal to make another list for the next 1001 days. This list stats January 1, 2008. Happy new year to you!! I hope to try that needle tatting very soon - I'll keep you posted!

Hi Nupur! Adding 15 books helped push the number up :) You're right - I meant to prepare something (not necessarily cook) and guacamole may indeed be the recipe I turn to. I know Bob is crazy about it. Those books are just from my shelf and their inclusion on my list doesn't necessarily mean they're great books - I hope it turns out that they are though!

Hi Leigh! I know, it's awful! Most of the time of course was spent NOT working on the sweater :) There's actually another that I started even longer ago, but I think that pattern is too dated for my taste now, so I'll probably rip it out at some point. This beige one may not turn out terribly stylish, but it still appeals to me :)

Hi mlo! I'm not sure I'm going to get to it in January, so thank you but I think I'll pass this time... it sounds like fun though! My first order of business is to finish the Christmas stocking that was a Christmas gift to my neice this past Christmas :)

Hi historicstitcher! Ha ha - I can see where one might misinterpret that :) Nope, no desire to read alongside an eggplant in the kitchen!

Hi Rowena! It is a lot, but somehow having almost three years to do it makes it seem doable. Yes, yes - get a sewing machine!!

Hi Sarah! Thanks! Gee, I'll have to take a look at your list and see if I can get some ideas for my last few...

Jannett said...

wow..Cathy you are going to be busy.
I love the knitted hat of the sock monkey...

:)

santos. said...

you've inspired me to come up with my own list....i'm pretty sure "learn how to play the ukulele" won't make your last 23, but how about changing all your lightbulbs to energy efficient ones wherever possible?

Anonymous said...

Cathy, maybe I should send you a box of tissues for the chocolate tempering. It's not easy. The first few times I tried I was in fits. Don't start with the chocolate on the marble method. You'll cry into the chocolate and then ruin it (because water in melting chocolate causes it to 'seize'). But do post about it when you attempt it!

I read a few of the books you mentioned including Drowning Ruth. That one was so good! The rest of your reading list sounds good, too.

And I'm intrigued about #64. Who's the nice handyman? Oh, do tell.

Best wishes for an excellent 2008! xo, mari

Cathy said...

Hi Hendria! Isn't that hat cute? I saw something similar in NYC recently, but they didn't have it in a child's size. Of course, now that I've made up my mind to make the hat I find out the yarn has been discontinued. I'm hoping to still find it or something comparable... fingers crossed!

Hi Santos! Good idea - I've already started switching over to those compact fluorescent light bulbs. I'm torn between tossing the regular bulbs and using them up, but using them up is winning for the moment. I've got 4 bulbs switched over and about 10 to go. Love the ukulele idea for your list!

Hi Mari! I hadn't seen instructions using marble... but will avoid them if I do! You know when I put that down (#64, that is) I worried a little that it sounded more interesting than it is. Sorry, there's no story! He was just very easy to work with and seemed utterly trustworthy. I had intended to call him on a somewhat regular basis - to get some things done and to maintain a relationship (a handyman relationship that is!) with him, but never got around to placing a second call. Hope lots of great things are in store for you in 2008 Mari!

Cerebrum said...

Wow Cathy, this is an awesome list! Well done. I have a thing you could put on there: travelling!;)

Now must go make food blog dares for 2008 on my own blog - or maybe 101 things in 1001 days...

Sagari said...

thats a lovely post cathy

Cathy said...

Hi Zarah! I thought about putting things like travel on the list, but decided to avoid items that required lots of money :) Well, with a couple of home-improvement exceptions, that is. It doesn't mean I won't find a way to fit in some of those things though!

Hi Sagari - thanks so much!

Anonymous said...

Hi Cathy,

My name is Shannon and I'm the editorial assistant at Foodbuzz.com. I am very impressed with the quality of your posts and to that end, I’d like to invite you to be a part of our newly launched Foodbuzz Featured Publisher program. I would love to send you more details about the program, so if you are interested, please email me at Shannon@foodbuzz.com.

I noticed your #8 was 'find a tofu recipe I really like.' It may not be fancy, but have you ever had stir-fried eggplant and tofu? It's a traditional Chinese dish that I personally adore, but it's different with everybody. Nonetheless, it may be worth a shot! =)

Cheers!

Shannon Eliot
Editorial Assistant, Foodbuzz.com
shannon@foodbuzz.com

mary grimm said...

Some of these things should be on my list--tempering chocolate, for instance, which I've been meaning to try for a long time.
The Blind Assassin is great, btw.

FibreJunky said...

Hey, Cathy, tempering chocolate really isn't hard. Depending on the method you use, it can be messy (tabliering, specifically), but it's well worth it.

pink dogwood said...

Happened upon your blog from Nupur's blog. Nice to see the books that I like on your list as well.I am reading omnivore's dilemma. Have already read poisonwood bible, animal vegetable miracle(twice -love it and her), am working on number 76 on your 101 list. I sort of have a list of things to do over rest of my life, but it is a good idea to focus on next couple of years.

I live in Laurel,MD - so we are practically neighbors :)

Anonymous said...

What a great list! I especially love that you are looking to cook with tempeh, seitan and a good tofu recipe! I grew up with tofu and can't live without it. I hope you find your tofu love.

Anonymous said...

Wow, 101 things. I get a little anxious just thinking about it...lol...great list and doable with 1001 days to get em done. Thanks for sharing ;-)

Anonymous said...

Through random surfing I came across your list and found it a most enjoyable read!
In an effort to help you with number 9 on your list here is a recipe I learned in an master class on the history of olive oil in Chinese cooking in Melbourne Australia, where I have lived for almost 20 years and worked as a chef....that was a long time ago;-)

Good luck getting through the list as I am certain you will at least have fun trying.....

As tempting as Tofu can get

Take 200gm ½lb of firm organic tofu and slice it into 1 inch cubes and place in sheets of paper towel for about two hours to soak up the excess water and allow it to absorb the dressing below.

Dressing

2 tablespoons of Tamari (wheat free soy sauce, make sure it is relatively fresh and store in the fridge once opened)

½ inch square piece of peeled ginger, finely grate on a micro plane grater
½ birds eye chilli finely minced or a good pinch of dried chilli flakes.
1 clove of garlic, finely minced
2 tablespoons of best quality extra virgin cold pressed olive oil

whisk dressing and marinate tofu, gently tossing every half hour for about 2 hours, do not refrigerate unless you are in a very hot environment.

This is served as a palate teaser before an Asian inspired meal. It is imperative that organic ingredients of the highest quality are sourced, for this recipe to taste right. This was the recipe that converted me to thinking tofu was a food with some redemption but in truth the dressing is so good you could put it on card board and it would be delicious.

Let me know what you think.
Sherry Strong

lalalistic said...

Hello love your blog. I'm doing 101 in 1001 too. I dont actually have a recipe for this but have you tried agedashi tofu? We used to order it all the time at our fave sushi place in Sydney. Its deep fried and served in this yummy sauce/broth. Its the only tofu my husband will eat.
Good luck with your 101.

lalalistic said...

Oops just read the other comments and see you have plenty of suggestions for the tofu already.