Just the Jar of Inspiration Revisited...

I wrote the post below as a Note on facebook on December 2nd, 2013:

This year past I had 52 strips of paper in a fancy jar on my fireplace mantel, each with something that I was supposed to do.  My intention was to draw a piece of paper each Tuesday for the year and perform the task.

Some of the things on the papers were chores, like Every day this week before you go to bed, wash the dishes. Some were things like Find a project on Pinterest that you have never done before and make it.

Some were fun things, some were treats, some were good habits that I wanted to start. Some were things I felt I just needed a little nudge to get going on - like organizing my clothes closet or getting the Christmas list started.

I pulled a piece of paper every Tuesday until the end of June. And then things got busy and it fell by the wayside. However, I did a pile of them without pulling the papers - I went through them this evening to see how many I had left and which ones I had done without waiting to get the paper out.

I'm going to list them, just for the heck of it.
44. Go out with the binoculars and look at the stars and planets one clear night this week. What did you see? (We managed to locate Jupiter and its four biggest moons - I was THRILLED to pieces!)

13. Throw out, or give away, three things you haven't used for more than 2 years. (We have a place called Rotary House here, and they accept donations. I have taken several bags of things to them this year - notably, a pair of mirrors for a car to help when pulling a trailer - we have a truck now, and don't need them. When I went through my closet, I got rid of several pieces of clothing, the same when I went through my chest of drawers!)

3. Every day this week, move one thing back where it belongs. (This is an on-going problem for me. Not, unfortunately, cured by this slip of paper... LOL)

38. Make a project that you have pinned to Pinterest this week. It doesn't matter whether it is quilting or not. (Sashiko patterns made their way onto mug rugs)

33. Invite some friends in to play Euchre. (Marion and Steve came over, it was great - it was also quite awhile ago! Must do that again!)

25. Spend an evening with Barry. Watch a movie, talk, plan. (Easy - we do this frequently... and we talk while we walk as well.)

19. Invite Mom and Dad over for dinner one day this week. (Did this the week of their anniversary, except we invited ourselves over there and took dinner with us.)

51. Go to the beach!!! Take a photo. Walk in the water, if you can. (I have several beach albums on fb. This was prompted because the first summer we were actually IN the house, it was a beautiful summer but we were finishing patios and putting in gardens and things and we didn't go to the beach once! I even went to the beach and put my feet in the water while there was still ICE in the Northumberland Strait!)

43. Buy a quilt pattern book for yourself this week. It must have at least two patterns that you intend to use in it! (I don't buy quilt magazines as often as I used to - but this is my steadfast rule - it needs to have at least two things that I like in it!!)

18. Tidy up the shelves in the garage. Make some labels. Figure out how it ought to work. (I have tidied and figured it out. I haven't made the labels yet. I did, however, make labels for the shelves in my closet... does that count?)

31. Go to see a movie. (Despicable Me, Too. It was wonderful!)

20. Work on one non-quilting project every day this week. Pick ONE and work on it. (I worked on a lovely needlepoint kit that I have - I toted it around for a couple of weeks this summer and I made a bit of headway... it takes awhile to get those things done!)

41. Try two new dessert recipes this week. (I did try two new ones - probably not in the same week... I made a new low carb chocolate peanut butter sauce for ice cream that is to die for... and I made a Chocolate pie that is really good - had to do that one twice - I'm sure there was an error in the original recipe)

26. Learn something new this week. Document it. (Sock monkeys - they were great...)

17. Call a friend you haven't spoken with for awhile, just to say hi! (Did that not too long ago!)


So I wasn't perfect with the Jar of Inspiration. However, I certainly did far and away the majority of things on the slips in there... And it did get the closet cleaned out, and instilled one great habit that I have been trying to form for years! (Washing the dishes before bed!) And I did have a paper that suggested I take a walk each day (for 15 minutes, as I recall) for a week - and I have walked 1681 km now (above and beyond the normal steps I would take in the course of a day) so that one appears to have 'taken' too. I have had fun with the whole thing, which was at least part of the point! I have a few things left in the jar - and I'll try to get them done before the end of the year.

There are still things that I would like to do and still things that I feel would be good habits. I'm thinking I will try something a bit different next year. Maybe 12 things that I would like to do - one for each month... And I definitely think that it is important to have something fun/new/adventurous/exciting/caring to do once in awhile!