Several of last year’s challenges involved new things. Things that intrigued, sustained, entertained, informed, delighted and stretched me……

…attending a baby shower, comfortable driving an electric car, going to a house auction, using Uber, sitting exams for the first time in a decade, identifying flowers and trees, attending Fire Warden training, seeing Elton John in concert, seeing “Kinky Boots” theatre show, new foods, new recipes, trying different artisan breads, making iced teas, new restaurants, going to comedy shows, visiting museum exhibitions, learning about Tasmanian bush fires, completing a Cert IV Accounting course, learning new technology, going to the movies, becoming a NanR.

“Never stop learning because life never stops teaching.”

I’ve read books that were gifts on special occasions, or passed on by other avid readers. Books that I have searched out, some that were recommended, others that just grabbed my attention in a charity shop.

I’ve read literature and memoires, play and poetry, travel journals and kids books. Some stories have stayed with me, others I enjoyed in that instant, but couldn’t recall the names of characters now, a few weeks or months on. I have escaped into other people’s lives, in different decades, centuries, both historical and fiction.

Here are some of my favourites of the past year.

Ticks for another 5 challenges.
✔4 – Times 3 – Try to do something new each month, something out of my comfort zone.
✔5 – Learn to identify five different types of gum trees by their bark, leaves and size.
✔8 – Introduce eight new things into our diet, not all alcohol based!
✔11 – Read eleven books this year, paper books, interesting, thought provoking books.
✔16 – Go to sixteen events, art exhibitions, festivals, movies or shows.

And I ticked off a couple of bucket list items too
✔Go to a rooftop cinema
✔Skinny dip in the ocean