Adios, 2006

Time for the obligatory post looking back at the year. What did I do this year? What will I remember about 2006?

I spent a few days in Florida in March, visiting both coasts of a state I hadn't seen yet. First time at the Gulf of Mexico, too. Saw manatees and several dolphins. Enjoyed the warm break from another Pacific Northwest winter.



We got Chloe in December 2005 but I'll look back on 2006 as our first year with her. The first few months were hard--getting used to her, training her, trying to understand and be understood. It got easier, though, and it's hard to remember life without her now.



I went up to see the eagles in February and saw orcas for the first time in March.




The most vacation Mr. Thel and I got to have together was our Fourth-of-July long weekend in Darrington. A little fishing, a little wandering around in the mountains.



I took a girls-only camping trip in August for the first time. And lit a one-match fire without Mr. Thel's supervision for the first time, too.



The same month, I took a bit of the Empire Builder Amtrak route for the first time, just to Shelby, MT and back. I also resolved, on the return trip, never to spend that long on the train without either some kind of neck support, or a berth in a sleeping car. I reached that decision after spending most of the night in a train bathroom vomiting because of a migraine that seemed to start after I tried to sleep in my seat.




My dad had a stroke on Halloween night. He came out okay, but that's certainly something I'll remember.

And, of course, 2006 became the year my forlorn wishes to buy a house turned into action. But, you know, we aren't allowed to talk about that for two more days. Not until I have the key, friends. Then I'm sure I'll say more about it than you ever wanted to hear.

I came within 4 books of my goal of reading 50 books in 2006--and I read parts of at least 4 more books that I didn't finish. So that goes at the top of my list of resolutions for 2007:

List of resolutions for 2007
1. Read 50 books and keep track of them.

Hmmm, now what else should go on the list? I need to visit at least one new state this year, man, if not a new country. I bought new luggage today, at a 70% discount, for the first time in my life, and I'm committed to using it. I'm hoping to visit New Mexico this spring, but we'll see how the budget does under the house payment. But let's put that on the list anyway:

2. Visit one new state or country.

Exercise is a pretty typical resolution, so let's just make sure to get this one little exercise-istic goal on the list so it doesn't get lost in all the work on the house:

3. Take five day hikes.

That sounds miserably low, but I guess that's ten percent of Saturdays (or Sundays) in the year, so let's aim for something I can actually achieve and even surpass and leave it at that.

I want to make sure I don't let my mad knitting skillz lapse this year, so let's make that number 4. I don't feel a need to quantify the number of hours I spend knitting, nor the number of things I produce, so let's go with this:

4. Knit one new garment.

That leaves room for plenty of non-garment knitting, but I'd like to get another sweater out of the deal, anyway.

And the resolution I feel most tentative about is the one about writing, but it should be up there to keep me thinking about it. Most of my writing goals are too vague, and most of these resolutions are somewhat easily achieved, so let's make this one something to actually work at:

5. Write daily.

There, that's the list. That should keep me busy in the coming year.