40 before 40

This weekend was my birthday, a time to think of how many things I’ve done so far and also a good reason to make a bucket list with things I want to do. As I saw a few of this type of lists, I wanted one: 40 before 40. I will have 7 years to finish the list.

After carefully considerations, this is my list:

1. Run in a 5k race in under 40 min. I did at Women’s Running Race Series 2017, 5k in 37 minutes. (2017)

2. Complete an yearly book challenge. 60 books in 2017 (set up during the year, not in January); 85 books in 2018 (30 in January, updated to 60 during the year); 88 in 2019 (challenge was of 75).

3. Go on a long hike, of at least 10 miles. Done in August 2021, a long walk close to where we live.

4. Grow edible flowers. I did, I’ve grown pansies and borage. (2016, 2018, 2020)

5. Learn how to use my camera better (this will mean less work for hubby).

6. Volunteer to an event or with a charity. I’ve started volunteering in August at a stately home, then I’ve participated in Victorian Christmas. I started in 2017, but I volunteered in 2018 and 2019 too.

7. Try a new sport. Well, axe throwing is a sport. I’ve been rubbish at it, but the idea was to try something new, not necessarily to be good at it. (2019)

8. Read 3 classic books I don’t actually want to read:
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov (2019)
For whom the bell tolls by Ernest Hemingway (2020)
Treatise on Tolerance by Voltaire (2021)

9. Buy a caravan or at least make a trip with a rented caravan. Done. We bought a caravan. (2016)

10. Feed a wild animal (at a Safari park/zoo). I fed crocodiles for my birthday, in 2019.

11. Sew a dress/skirt from scratch. I did, mentioned about it here. Picture here. (2016)

12. Visit 10 new cities/towns/villages in England, 10 in Wales, and 10 in Scotland.
England
1. Southminster
2. Keswick: Osprey & Puzzling Place
3. Penrith
4. Carlisle. A couple of times in the city and we saw Carlisle Castle
5. Coventry
6. Frodsham
7. Knutsford
8. Malpas
9. St Albans
10. Middlesborough & Tees Transporter Bridge
Wales
1. Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch
2. Rossett, where we went to the pub The Alyn.
3. Wrexham
4. Cardiff: Castle, National Museum, and Cardiff.
5. Newport, where Tredegar House is.
6. St Fagans, where we saw the museum.
7. Llanfyllin – Llanfyllin’s Workhouse
8. Gwrych – the castle
Scotland
1. Edinburgh: pictures from the city, Edinburgh Castle, Gladstone’s Land, Edinburgh Chihuahua Cafe, and Palace of Holyroodhouse.
2. St. Andrews
3. Markinch
4. Dundee
5. Inverness & Inverness Art Museum
6. Fort William
7. Fortrose, where we visited Groam House Museum.
8. Stirling & the castle.
9. Doune

13. Improve my Photoshop skills. Done. (2017)

14. Do something I’m scared of. I did, I went on the Treetop walkway at Kew Gardens, it was very scary for me. (2016)

15. Take a narrow-boat day-trip or a short holiday. Lunch at EverGreen Boat Cafe. (2020)

16. Keep a Good Things jar for at least 2 years. 2015 & 2021

17. Have a meal in a Michelin-starred/fancy vegan restaurant. Allotment, Manchester (vegan, 2020)

18. Visit Buckingham and Kensington Palace. I’ve been to Kensington Palace in 2016 and Buckingham Palace in 2019.

19. Renew my wedding vows. – We’ve decided we don’t want to do this, too much hassle.

20. Go puffin watching.

21. Go 24 hours without technology. I did use the GPS and the camera, but I’ve avoided all other types of technology. (2018)

22. Do a pub trail.

23. Attend a murder mystery dinner. – without vegan options, this is not suitable for us.

24. Complete a 30 days working out challenge without missing a day. Done. I did a 30 days push-ups challenge. I also did a smoothie challenge, started with 30 days, but it’s still going on after 90. (2016)

25. Try to learn to ride the bike.

26. Go to the Ferrari museum. – done, in 2022.

27. Buy a collectible with Michael Schumacher. – Hubby bought the 1998 car for me for Christmas. It was exactly the collectible I was thinking of, as it was the first year I watched the F1 races and became a Michael Schumacher fan. (2015)

28. Go to a Motorsport GP (changed from F1). I went to the last race of the Women’s Series, at Brands Hatch. (2019)

29. Make my own cheese.

30. Complete a 365 day photo challenge. I did, in 2016.

31. Be vegan for a week. See how it went. (2018)

32. Go to Northern Ireland for a Game of Thrones trail. With the disappointing ending of Game of Thrones, I will consider this item done, as I’ve visited Doune Castle in Scotland, where the scenes from Winterfell were filmed. (2019)

33. Do an unassisted pull up.

34. Do more than 200 push-ups in a workout (now I can do more than 100). On 1st June 2016 I did 200 push-ups in 11 minutes and 1 second.

35. Stay for a night in a castle/folly. Done, in 2022.

36. Go on a road trip of at least a thousand miles (hubby drives, so it’s like cheating for this one). Yay! We’ve made a trip of 1,300 miles in Scotland. (2019)

37. Spend a new year celebration in Edinburgh at Hogmanay. – it was cancelled for the last 2 years due to covid, so it was impossible for me to do it.

38. Try a new sport, changed from kayak on the rivers as it is too complicated and we kayak in the sea anyway. I’ve played ping pong. (2019)

39. Go horseback riding.

40. Buy a membership somewhere. On and off, we’ve been members of: National Trust, English Heritage, and Art Fund. (2016)

Some of them I made them before, like volunteering and horseback riding. I wanted to make a 40 before 40 list that is reasonable and realistic.