Done

74.Save £1000 from start date ...COMPLETED

Just realised another item done..now to get on with all the rest

Christmas stockings?

76. Knit 20 pairs of socks..14/20

Just finished knitting up another couple of pairs of socks..just in time for Christmas. These were gifted to my brother and his fiance who seemed really pleased with their new footwear.

Read All About It!

12.Get a photo/article printed in mag ...COMPLETED

I won 'Letter Of The Month' which was printed in Decembers issue of 'Simply Knitting' magazine. I wrote in about the Pudsey Bear that I had knitted from a pattern in a previous issue. I did a Guess the Birthday with the bear and raised some money for charity.

Not only was I really pleased to see my letter and photo in print but I was delighted to receive £30 in vouchers for an online yarn shop!

Jack O'Lantern

81.Carve a pumpkin ...COMPLETED

It may not be the biggest or the best but Mr.Pumpkin was carved.

More Socks

76. Knit 20 pairs of socks..12/20
Finally got these bad boys finished.

Steamie

26.Go see 5 theatre shows..COMPLETED

Last week I was out with the 'Knitting Gals'. The 9 of us went to the local Italian restaurant where we were served by an 'over-friendly' Irish waiter. Luckily, the food was good even though the service was cheesier than the parmesan on offer. With full belly I managed to waddle the short distance to the theatre in plenty of time for curtain up.

The show was a production of Tony Roper's 'The Steamie'. Set in a 1950's Glasgow wash house it tells of the raw hard graft of the women who toil there and the strong friendships forged. Tales of hardship and hope with a few musicals numbers thrown in this play is wonderfully written and was greatly acted. Funny, and bittersweet..a real heartwarmer.

It got the thumbs up from my knitty companions.

Ch-ch-changes

I have deliberated over changing some items on my list for a while..but was afraid it may be regarded as cheating. However upon consulting some fellow 101 listers I have been advised to 'make the list work for me'. A kind wise soul said that if a list item no longer applies..change it for a similar item that is of interest, as long as its still a reach for you it can't be seen as copping out.

So I'm doing it..there!
24.Go on the London Eye..I have no plans to go to London within the next 300 days(or no interest at the moment) so therefore I am changing this item to:
24.Go on the Falkirk Wheel..its of equal interest to me and although I have never been to Falkirk it is closer to home and can be done as a day trip (unlike London).

Also:
11.Go to Barcelona with Gavin. This was a silly one to list in the first place as due to lung problems I can't really fly the 4+ hours to get to Barca. Besides I visited the city already in 2001.
Changing to:
11.Go to Knit Camp 2010 on my own. I love Gavin but have grown to depend on him 'being there' so much. This is a great opportunity to prove to myself I can 'go it alone'.

Thats it for now...what do you think?

Room Service?

71.Stay in a posh hotel...COMPLETED.

Okay so I was thinking I might stay in lots of posh hotels during the course of this 'list stuff' but we haven't really been away much. I have stayed in a few nice hotels but now I'm not sure I consider them POSH (I'm fickle).

The only one that ticks all the boxes is perhaps 'The Caledonian Hotel' in the heart of Edinburgh.

• Great city centre location in Scotland's capital
  
• Bedroom as big as my entire house


• Stunning views of Edinburgh Castle


• Really polite service


• Huge breakfasts


• Complimentary 'Nessie' bath toy!!!

Books Busted

20.Read & list 50 books..50/50..COMPLETED

At last..this one is done and dusted. I'll still obviously keep reading books but the relief is I wont have to blog every title I read from now on.
The remaining three are all Ian Rankin novels.
The Falls
Set In Darkness
The Flood (not a Rebus book..and not as enjoyable).

Mums The Word

22.Spend a whole weekend with Mum..Completed

Last month I spent the weekend at my mums place. It wasn't very relaxing because:
a) My brother and his fiance were there too
b) We were all going to a friends wedding
c) Mum was fretting slightly over a&b.
So we had little mum/daughter time but we survived the weekend without any fallout so all is well and good. Hope to do it again soon but with no agenda..just knitting and cakes!

Must be said, I did miss my Mister & puppy......and laptop!!

Pumkin Time...soon

81.Carve a pumpkin
It's Halloween soon..if I'm going to complete this item it will have to be this month (its the only time we see pumpkins in Scotland..in the supermarkets). Watch this space.

Ladyboy-oh-boy

26.Go see 5 theatre shows..4/5

Last Wednesday my friend B and I had a night out at the theatre, but it was no Shakespeare or Chekov for us...it was pure cabaret. We were fortunate enough to bag tickets for the hottest show in town..The Ladyboys Of Bangkok. At first when the lights went down and the music began..I was hesitant. This was not through any predjudice but because the first performer to enter the fore couldn't have been farther from the beautiful kathoey I was led to believe I was here to see. I soon learned this was the 'comic turn'..and a great recurring act throughout a entertaining show. The all dancing, all singing (okay 'all miming') ladyboys were indeed both stunning and enchanting. From the overtly risque 'Dont'cha Wish your Girlfriend Was Hot Like Me' to the more traditional and utterly superb drag number 'I Am What I Am'...I was hooked.What a great fun night out.

I Love Alan Alda

20.Read & list 50 books..47/50

I've now finished reading the last of the biographies I got for Christmas..

Cilla Black-What's It All About? (grr..self indulgence, Cilla thats what!)

Goldie Hawn- A Lotus Grows I The Mud

Richard Whitely- Himoff!

Terri Irwin- Steve & Me

..and a couple I picked up cheaply but enjoyed reading

Life with My Sister Madonna by Christopher Ciccone.

Things I Overhear While Talking To Myself by Alan Alda (I love Alda..such a wit).

Feeling at a loss with no book pile by my bed..I then went and ordered an assortment of 19 paperbacks from The Bookpeople. The fiction books I have got through so far have proved good choices.

The Luminous Life Of Lilly Aphrodite by Beatrice Colin, is without a doubt my favourite pick of the bunch so far. The others are:

The Welsh Girl By Peter Ho Davis

The Outcast By Sadie Jones

A Good Hanging By Ian Rankin

Gimme Some Candy

33.Attend a book/music signing...COMPLETED

Recently Scottish singer/songwriter Paolo Nutini visited my local HMV to promote his new album. He and his band did a acoustic set before Paolo signed autographs. I loved his first album and this new one 'Sunny Side Up' is even better. He is so talented and still only 22. He is also pretty hot and I tried not to drool too much as he doodled on my cd cover.

MONEY,MONEY, MONEY

21.Make sure I have savings in high interest account...COMPLETED

This is a tricky one in the current financial crisis..interest rates are pretty poor. However, what I have done is open a monthly savings plan which spans over 12 months with a fixed rate of interest at 6% APR.

Get The Kettle On

96.Visit 3 friends in new houses..COMPLETED

Here is another item I am considering as done. The first was Joanna In Edinburgh which I have already listed. The second more recently ( but still a few months back) was Barbie and Peter (new friends/ first visit to their home) and last but not least..the Mister's sister's new home in Motherwell. We visited Karen and her family last month..a couple of weeks after they had moved in.

Sibling Dear Sibling

5.Arrange brother/sister day out ...COMPLETED

I am after much thought considering this item..done. My brother and I met up in Edinburgh just after his birthday and had lunch. I think considering my health issues and his ever changing work rota ,thats as good as its gonna get.

The photo is us sibs, back in the day. The 'day' when we were about the same size.. he's now 6' 2" to my 4' 6".

The Reader

20.Read & list 50 books..37/50

Okay so I haven't updated my reading for a while...here we go..

The Dynamite Kid (Brian Blessed autobiography)
Just Julie (Julie Goodyear autobiography)
Fools Rush In (Anthea Turner autobiography)
Hello (Leslie Phillips autobiography)
Our Betty (Liz Smith autobiography)
Spilling the Beans (Clarissa Dickson Wright autobiography)
My Life in Words and Pictures by Helen Mirren

...can you spot the running theme?

Denim Is Done

78.Buy a pair of brand name jeans (that fit!) ...COMPLETED!

I know it looks like I have abandoned this blog but believe it or not I am still working away at s few items on the list. Thankfully I have a completed one to report...I got me some jeans! I bought 2 pairs of Fenchurch (yes that's a brand name for those not so hip!) jeans..and the best bit is they fit me. Okay so maybe they are an inch too long and I need a belt but hey I can live with that!

Russian Dolls

34.Clean & Catalogue Russian Dolls...COMPLETED

I did this item ages ago...and now they need cleaned again..darn it!

Good Reads Times Two

20.Read & list 50 books..30/50
Two more books read..what more do you need to know? Except both these books were fabulously well written, moving and funny. Two of the better biographies on my bedside table.

Brand Name

26.Go see 5 theatre shows..3/5

Last Monday I went to see Russell Brand's new stand up show and it was amazing! Okay so it's not a theatre show as such but it was in a theatre and he was very theatrical..so it counts!
For a more in depth report on my 'nicht oot' see relevant post on my other blog.

Biographies Abound

20.Read & list 50 books..28/50

I received an incredible 14 biographies for Christmas.

These are the first 3 I have read and were all very entertaining.

Stand up comedian/TV presenter Alan Carr is one of my current favourite TV personalities with his very camp humour. His book tells in part about childhood and how being the son of a football manager wasn't easy as an effeminate youngster. It's all very lighthearted..no tragic tales here.

Bafta-winning Actress Brenda Blethyn is from a different generation and her story takes the reader back to a post war era when times were tough and the people were even tougher. Again it's funny but often bittersweet. It also charts her acting career and rise to fame which came later in life than some.

'Dear Fatty' by Dawn French is written in a slightly different style. It takes the format of a series of letters written by Dawn to signifigant people in her life. The letters are addressed to amongst others..her late father who committed suicide when she was 16, her adopted teenage daughters biological mother and her comedy partner Jennifer Saunders.