Now that I’ve finished tinkering with my list of 101 Things to do in 1001 Days, I’m excited to start ticking some of those things off!  I Have a number of art related tasks on my list this time around and I wanted to make sure that I started early and enjoyed the process.  And besides, my art classes start up again next week and I was slightly concerned that I had forgotten everything from last year!

The still life scene above was painted on a fairly large piece of canvas board with acrylic paint.  There’s a lot to like about this painting, but I can’t help but stare at the obvious problems with my initial drawing.  I think that’s what always lets me down – I’m so excited to break out the paint that I don’t spend enough time on my sketch.

In any case 1/25 still life scenes complete.

This tree was really just an exercise in playing with a bunch of my art supplies – watercolours, acrylic paint, sumi ink and gesso.  I’m trying to fill an altered book with drawings and being a little more experimental on those pages.  It’s a really fun way to discover which mediums work well together.

24 trees to go!

I’ve also set myself a challenge to take 101 photos with my cute little Fujifilm Instax Mini 25.  This camera is the little brother of Polaroid, and prints out cute credit card sized instant photos.  I’ve had the camera for about a year and for most of that time it was pretty badly neglected.  I’m glad we’re finally spending some quality time together.

I thought that it would take me a long time to churn out 101 photos, but to my surprise I’m almost halfway through in my first month!  Once you get the hang of this camera it’s pretty addictive.  You can see more of my Instax Mini 25 photos here.

I’m really looking forward to beginning another one of my tasks next week when a big box of Ilford black & white film arrives.  I’ve been tracking its progress across the ocean for about a week now and it’s actually in my city now!

I wish I’d been able to purchase the film locally, but to do so would have cost $14 per roll, instead of $3.50 per roll from the US.  Even with 5-day shipping it worked out much cheaper for me to buy it online.  Why do Australian consumers always get the blame for the shift to online shopping when it’s the retailers who won’t compete?

Are you interested in making your own list of 101 Things in 1001 Days?  I often receive comments and emails about my 101 project, and it’s always exciting to hear of people starting up lists of their own.  I also know how daunting it can be to come up with such a big list of tasks that you’re still going to care about two years from now!

I thought I’d share some tips for writing a bulletproof list – little tips and tricks that I wish I’d known when I started my first 101 project.

Ready?  Here we go!

01.  Pick a start date for your project
I’ve always chosen 1 January because I love clean slates.  You may prefer to finish at the end of a calendar year, or you might like to start or finish on your birthday.  Whatever works for you.

Something to consider: what else will be going on in your life during that final month of your project?  Don’t schedule your finish date during your exams or during a busy month of family birthdays.  That last month is a race against the clock!

02.  Start writing your list early
Nobody ever tells you how much work goes into creating a list of 101 things that represent your goals.  I’m sure that all of us can think of a handful of tasks off the tops of our heads, but what then?

I recommend keeping a small notebook nearby to jot down ideas as you think of them.  Try to come up 150 things if you can, that way you will have plenty of choice when it comes time to curate your best 101 goals!

It took more than a month for me to come up with a really solid list.  Towards the end of this post you’ll find plenty of inspiration to use if you find that you’re getting stuck.

03.  Brainstorm and categorize
As I jotted down my ideas I noticed that they formed some themes.  I had written about places I wanted to visit, how I wanted to improve my health and skills I wanted to practise.  There were tasks related to personal growth, and lots of experiences that I wanted to enjoy.  It helped me a lot to recognise these themes and use them to create a list of big-picture categories.

From there, other goals became more obvious to me.  For example, I had already listed Complete another round of Couch to 5K as a goal, and this reminded me that I’ve always wanted to sign up for a 5km fun run.  Lots of things fell into place for me this way.

I know that categories don’t work for everybody.  In fact, if you look around the web at other 101/1001 lists you’ll notice that most of them are just randomised, unconnected tasks.  I can see how this would be an excellent approach for people who don’t have their hearts set on long-term goals.

04.  Be  S.M.A.R.T.
Take a look at your list.  Can you define exactly when you can cross off each task?

Specific (what is it, and by when?)
Measurable  (how much?  how many?)
Attainable (can it be done with available time & money?)
Relevant (does it matter? will it matter later?)
Timely (how long? by when?)

Nothing kills a list of goals like ambiguity.  Instead of get fit, how about these: run for 20 minutes without stopping or fit back into my wedding dress?

If you have a really big goal it can be a good idea to break it down into smaller goals that you can cross off at various milestones.

05.  Review your list
1001 days is enough time to train for a marathon.  It’s also plenty of time to visit every continent, start a family, write a novel or learn to dance en pointe.

However, most of us can’t do all of those things together – especially if we want to keep our jobs and partners and sanity!

It’s easy to get carried away.  1001 days seems like such a long period of time, but believe me – it can fly!  Check that your list is achievable as a whole so that it doesn’t wind up ruling (or ruining) your life.

Rather than scrapping items altogether, consider setting yourself smaller versions of your goals.  Don’t write a list that is destined to fail.

06.  Put your list away for a week or two.
Don’t skip this step!

In my experience, most people who quit their 101 projects halfway through do so because they don’t have time, or they stop caring about the goals they picked out at the start.  Both reasons boil down to the same issue: the list just wasn’t right in the first place.

When you bring your list back out of hiding ask yourself these questions.

-  Is my list realistic?  Can all of this be achieved in 1001 days, without sacrificing my job or relationships?
-  Am I really going to care about each of those things a couple of years from now?
-  Can I still finish my list if I change jobs, start a family, or move to another country?

If your answer to that last question is no, read on!

07.  Set some rules

Life has an uncanny ability to get in the way of the things we set out to do.  1001 days from now you might have more children, or a high-flying job that demands more of your energy.  Maybe you’ll win Idol and your manager controls your schedule now.  Or – this happened to me – maybe you were relying on an online resource to complete a task, and it disappeared!

It’s good to have an idea from the outset of what you’ll do if life throws you curveballs – do you scrap your list and start again?

You haven’t signed any contracts here, and what you do next is a personal decision. If I discover that a task is unachievable or irrelevant a year from now I’ll be substituting it with something else.

OK.  You’ve started to jot down some ideas, and you’re struggling to get past #32.  Here are some ideas for building a great list that will stretch and inspire you.

Perhaps you’ve always wanted to travel, but other commitments have gotten in the way.  Maybe you have been secretly hoping that somebody will take you skydiving for your birthday but nobody has picked up the hint!  At least a couple of the tasks on your 101 list should be Big Things that put you in the driver’s seat, and they need to be achievable in the next 1001 days.

Big Things don’t have to be expensive; that’s really  not the point.  For example, some of us might be able to easily afford a trip to Paris in the next 1001 days but would struggle to go because of career or family commitments.  What’s the biggest thing that’s stopping you from realising your big dream – work, family, money or procrastination?  Is there anything you can do to break your goal down into smaller chunks that will get you closer?

Big Things are the luxuries that we would happily give to or do for a loved one on a round-number birthday to show them how much we care.  Big Things are large-scale challenges that we set for ourselves.  Big Things are what we dream about at 3pm on a boring workday.

Examples:  visit an overseas country / go skydiving / buy a house / run a marathon / set foot in every state or continent /  start a business / go back to university / move to a new town / take the kids to Disneyworld / sing in front of a crowd / start a family / get a tattoo / write a novel / make a short film / have a solo art exhibition / learn a language / pay off your credit card / raise funds for an important cause / hike the Kokoda trail / climb a mountain / quit smoking / conquer a fear

One of the best ways to write a 101 List is to think about the sorts of things you always wanted to do when you were a kid.  Make sure that your list has at least a few ridiculous, frivolous tasks – and go out and do them!  Most people I speak to carry some sort of regret about the things they stopped doing when they “grew up”.  I think we’re always happiest when we take the time to nurture our inner child.

One of my happiest memories from my last list was building a snowman.  It mightn’t seem like much, but I grew up on the beach – not the snow!

Examples: go on every ride at a theme park / wear mismatched socks for a day / lead a restaurant in singing happy birthday to your friend (especially if it’s not their birthday!) / go grocery shopping in your pajamas / dye your hair a bright colour / see 3 movies in one day / have a food fight / go skinny dipping / build a sandcastle / find a pen-pal / read a book in a day / write a letter to future-you / try a new craft / wear false lashes for a day / open a recipe book to a random page and cook / make somebody a mix tape / dress up for Halloween / write a song

One key tip for surviving the next 1001 days: ensure that your list has plenty of little tasks that can be easily crossed off!  It can be very overwhelming to have a number of big challenges on the go at one time, and sometimes it helps to cross off something quick so that you can see some progress.

This might be the most important tip of all!

Examples: grow a plant from seed / rearrange your bedroom / do something nice for a stranger / try a new cake recipe / re-read a favourite book / try that food you hated as a kid / buy a set of luxurious bath towels / start a collection / fill somebody’s parking meter / kiss in the rain / no fast food for one month / alphabetise your bookshelf by author’s surname / don’t complain for one week / take a cooking class / make a playlist of your 101 favourite songs / learn to use your camera’s manual settings

Need more inspiration?  Check out my list of 101 Things to do in 1001 Days (2012 – 2014) or my previous list  from 2008-2010 for lots more ideas.  Make sure you also visit Day Zero, the birthplace of this project, for tips and ideas.

Good luck!

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while you’ll know all about the 101 Things in 1001 Days challenge that I tackled from 2008-2010.  It was an incredibly inspiring and motivating project and I have so many achievements and happy memories under my belt as a result of seeing it through.

I went hot air ballooning, and went horseriding on the beach.  I gave blood and sponsored a little girl in Eduador.  There was so much more… I’d love for you to read my wrap-up post from 2010 to see all of the other great stuff I was able to pack into those 2.75 years!

Part of me wanted to begin another 101 list immediately after finishing the last one, but instead I decided to enjoy the lack of deadlines and think carefully about what I wanted to achieve with my next list.  This little break gave me the headspace I needed to think about what sort of things I really wanted to achieve, and a year later I was ready to write it all down.  The tasks I chose are the usual mix of self-improvement, travel/experiences and creative challenges, but this list feels a lot more focused than my last.  I’m excited and ready to go!

Now that the last-minute tinkering is done I can share with you my latest 101 Things in 1001 Days project.  Enjoy!

Are you interested in beginning a list of 101 Things in 1001 Days too?  I’ll be sharing some tips for writing a bulletproof list in my next post.

On January 1st 2008 I embarked on a challenge to complete 101 Things in 1001 Days.

Yesterday it all came to an end!

This project has been one of the most fulfilling projects I have ever undertaken. I am known to be a little evangelical on this topic if given the chance, but only because it has had such an incredible impact on my life. This project has helped me to put some shape to the things that matter most to me, and granted me several much needed butt-kickings along the way!

The end result has been 2.75 years of growth and experiences that I may not have otherwise gotten around to tackling. I was able to complete 94 goals from my original list of 101 (with a few modifications along the way), and a few “works in progress” that just missed the deadline.

Here’s the breakdown:

The 5 tasks that I couldn’t complete in time:
002 – Weight loss goal #2
017 – Set a savings target, meet it, and maintain it for 6 months.
027 – Learn the names of every country, and identify them on a map
057 – Finish the last “Harry Potter” book
101 – Plan and execute an online crafty collaboration, swap or competition

Despite not finishing these 5 tasks, I consider each of them an achievement because of the time already invested in them during my 1001 days. I have made a good dent in all five incomplete goals, so I feel like I am well on my way!

And of course, the end of my 101 in 1001 project is no reason to just stop working on them. I guess it was just a race against the clock in the last few weeks, and these were the ones that I had to let go.

The 2 tasks I never started
003 – Weight loss goal #3
099 – Participate in mailart.org

My third weight loss goal couldn’t be started until I successfully finished my second, and I didn’t quite make it!

The mailart.org task became impossible when the website disappeared at some point during the past couple of years. I had always intended to replace it with something similar but simply ran out of time.

I am beginning my post with the items that I didn’t complete so that I can finish with the good stuff! I expected to feel a bit disappointed in myself if I didn’t hit all 101 goals, but one of the things I learned about myself during the project is that I have had some serious issues with perfectionism in the past. There were times when I found myself not beginning a task because I was worried I wouldn’t do it in the best possible way, and that’s just dumb! I really had to learn some strategies to get me doing instead of just thinking about it, and over time I’ve really developed some perspective.

After all, the only person I have to answer to is myself!

You can see my full list over here, with all of the details of my itemized tasks.  Rather than recreating it here, I thought I might explain in real terms the ways in which those tasks have had an impact during the past couple of years.

I travelled.

I travelled to Tasmania, and indulged in some incredible seafood.
I went to Phillip Island, and made vegemite chocolate at Panny’s Chocolate Factory
I experienced the Great Ocean Road, and saw the Apostles
I saw snow on Lake Mountain, and made a very stylish snowman.
I visited 50 Melbourne suburbs
I walked to the city and back 8 times in one month
I have planned my travel to New York and New England in September 2011!

I improved myself.

I learned to run 5km comfortably
I learned 15 new vegetarian recipes
I learned to cook a recipe from 30 countries
I have improved my health and fitness by riding my bike more and joining a gym
I challenged myself to a fortnight without meat
I challenged myself to a month without chocolate (and survived!)
I have found full-time employment which challenges and fulfils me (preceded by another job that didn’t)
I taught myself to use Excel (and am now completing a Cert IV which expands what I have learned)
I read the dictionary from beginning to end
I have learned to spot 5 constellations in the sky
I kept a swear jar for 2 weeks (and raised enough cash to sustain a small village!)
I learned a lot about wine, and the different regions on the East coast and Clare Valley
I learned all the US state capitals
I learned to sign the alphabet
I made a Will

I improved my lifestyle.

I have learned to budget, and set up joint savings/spendings accounts with Tim
I have donated, sold and thrown away hundreds of material items
I organised my filing cabinet
I bought a new computer and scanner
I organised and backed up all my photos with a new hard drive, and streamlined my workflow
I organised all of my music, and fixed up all the tagging
I grew a herb garden
I bought a BBQ, a new microwave and some beautiful Global knives
I bought a spare bed and a new coffee table
I bought a car (ok, Tim helped!)
I had my guitar fixed
I expanded my photography equipment with new lenses
I have had my couches dry-cleaned
I had my pup’s teeth cleaned (yes, that improves my life too!)
I have walked my dog more regularly

I helped other people.

I have sponsored a child through World Vision for the past 2 years
I did an anonymous favour
I did an anonymous prank (it was harmless and positive!)
I donated blood, and renewed my Senior First Aid certificate
I have identified (and put into practice) 5 ways in which I can reduce my impact on the environment
I donated books
I secretly flew into Brisbane to surprise Mum for her birthday

I had new experiences.

I have taken a beautiful ride in a hot air balloon
I have been horseriding on the beach
I watched 25 of Tim’s favourite movies
I read 10 novels by Melbourne authors
I have visited 5 different Melbourne markets
I ate at 25 different local restaurants (actually, it was more like 40!)
I went to Werribee Zoo
I visited to Luna Park
I went to a ghost tour at Old Melbourne Gaol
I went for a cruise down the Yarra River
I have experienced my first AFL games (at Etihad Stadium, and the MCG)
I visited 10 Australian art galleries
I ate on the Restaurant Tram
I have, with a healthy amount of embarrassment, been on the Neighbours tour
I have seen a Gold Class movie for the first time
I saw an outdoor movie (at the Rooftop Cinema, then at the Moonlight Cinema)
I slept under the stars
I watched the sun rise from the beach
I have been part of a live TV audience
I have watched every episode of Lost (and loved every second)
I have blown a stack of cash on a serious haircut and colour (and decided that it was overrated)
I built myself a time capsule
I carved a pumpkin for Halloween

I created.

I built a portfolio of my photography
I rebuilt my recipe blog
I sold a little of my photography
I took 100 snapshots, and turned them into a little book
I photographed a day in my life
I made some jewellery
I recorded a song for guitar, piano & voice
I drew 5 hands & 10 people
I drew every day for a month
I drew everything I ate for one week
I completed a course in art journaling
I have sewn a sock monkey and a doll
I have bought (and used) a flower press
I have created a list of 100 things that make me happy!

My list was created at a time when I was new to Melbourne, looking for work, and figuring out what to do with myself at the end of a career path.  I remember wanting to turn my new city into “home” by discovering as much as possible about it, and to develop the sides of me that had been neglected while I pursued my career in music. 

I didn’t have much money in the bank when I wrote my list, and so there are no grand round-the-world trips.  I didn’t go overseas or write a novel.  Instead, my list was created to build upon the areas of my life that needed a little more structure, and a time limit!

The end result is a set of goals that is very “me”.  And since I am such a massive procrasinator I can confidently say that most of those goals would still be sitting in the one day basket if not for my deadline!

This simple idea has done so much to enrich my life, and some of my new experience have given me memories I will treasure forever.  Naturally, my next 101 list is already in the planning stages!

I have so many tips for people who want to embark on this project, and so I will be writing a bit of a guide later which outlines the strategies that worked for me. Most of it comes back to the writing of the list itself, as this entire project is pointless if your list isn’t completely authentic and specific.

For the time being, however, I am going to bask in my goal-lessness of “Day 1002″! It is already off to a cracking start, with the delivery of this beautiful orchid to work yesterday:

How good is that? I had no idea I had managed to program the date into somebody else’s head!

It goes without saying that I have had tremendous support throughout this project, but I’ll say it anyway! Massive thankyous go to:

Tim, who arranged our beautiful hot air balloon ride on my 30th birthday, brainstormed with me for “100 snapshots”, watched 25 movies with me, donated blood with me, helped us to afford a new car and computer, carried our new coffee table home on the tram and performed countless other acts of kindness to put me in the path of my goals over the past 2.75 years

Sally, who helped me tick off a stack of items in two separate trips to Melbourne (Ghost tour, Neighbours tour, Yarra cruise, trip to the Apostles, some international recipes… and she bought me a Will Kit!)

April, Tim, Sally & Janelle who contributed a letter to “future me” for my time capsule

Foodie friends who helped me to find recipes for my ’15 vegetarian recipes’ and ’30 recipes from 30 countries’ goals (or helped me eat the finished product!)

Olivia & Laura for answering my call and buying some of my photography from my RedBubble store

YOU GUYS, for listening to my little achievements whenever I reported in, and giving me encouragement to keep going!

Whew! What a ride. And what a post! Give yourself a pat on the back (and an extra glass of vino) if you managed to read this far!

Photo by Craig Matthews for The Mercury

This time tomorrow we will be wandering around the markets at Salamanca Place, and – if the photo above is anything to go by – freezing our BUTTS off! Tasmania obviously didn’t get the memo about Winter being over already. I will spread the word when we fly in tomorrow.

So there won’t be much action here until late next week when we return from our trip. Visiting Tasmania is another item on my 101 Things in 1001 Days list, and fortunately the Universe arranged for me to be there without any real effort on my part!

This is my first trip to Tasmania and we have a lot of ground to cover while we’re there. We’re going to spend a day in Port Arthur, see parts of Hobart and Richmond (including the markets) and tours of the Cascade Brewery and Cadbury Chocolate Factory. This will be my second chocolate factory tour in 8 days but no I *twitch* don’t have a *twitch* problem OKAY?!

We also have a long list of restaurants to try, so we’re in for a great few days away. Mostly, I’m excited about having a change of scenery and seeing a bit more of this brilliant country of mine.

(We’re very grateful to our friends J & G who will be puppysitting for us while we’re away. They seemed to think that our original plan to leave Harry with the TV remote and the number for Pizza Hut was somehow inadequate, so hooray for good friends!)

I’ll be back next week with 60,000 photos…

Part of my 101 Things in 1001 Days project

Yesterday Tim and I jumped in our little car and drove to Phillip Island, which is a couple of hours South of Melbourne.

Our hearts sank a little when we began seeing signs for a V8 Supercar event on the island (which is also home to a Grand Prix track) but somehow managed to avoid the crowds completely.

Instead, we found Panny’s Chocolate Factory! Naturally, there was a chocolate fountain (but sadly no oompa-loompas).

We did a tour of the factory, which is set up with a bunch of cool little interactive displays (and lots of free chocolate!). My favourite part was the “Amazing Chocolate Machine” which lets you choose some flavour combinations and then spits out your selection at the other end. I attempted to video my selection and did a terrible job, but fortunately somebody else on YouTube did a better job than I!

In case you were wondering, the first square of Vegemite chocolate was pretty good. Weird, but good. But all of a sudden the chocolate to Vegemite ratio became overwhelming and I decided that Tim should take over.

He made a weird strawberry/wasabi combo that was just as bad, but I’m glad we tried it!

A chocolate Statue of David…

… a chocolate mural of Dame Edna Everage…

… and a model railway city made entirely of chocolate!

Finally, we found a machine that lets you design your own chocolate work of art (and then eat it!). Tim made me a Helvetica capital “E”.

I promise that we also did plenty of non-chocolate related stuff in Phillip Island, but this sugar haze is making it difficult to remember the details…

Tim and I had a deliciously lazy start to the day today. We woke up around 9.30am, but snuggled up for an extra hour and a half to snooze and chat. It was pretty perfect.

Today was a beautiful Spring day. There was plenty of sunshine, but the breeze still had a little bit of chill. I spent some time weeding my garden and repotting a few plants.

I know this little fella is a weed, but it was too pretty to get rid of. I found him a little pot and a sunny place to hang out.

Later, while Tim was out buying us new sheets for our bed, I spent some time in the kitchen cooking. I’ve finally finished my “30 recipes from 30 countries” task from my 101 Things in 1001 Days list, finishing with this delicious Finnish sour cream cake.

I promise to post the recipe tomorrow – it’s sensational!

My camera has been working hard this weekend, documenting my progress on my 101 Things list.

Shadow, Find, Tackle & Time – Four new pictures for 100 Snapshots

I can’t believe that I am now counting down to the end of my 101 Things in 1001 Days in days instead of weeks! I’ve been hard at work on my little list, in an effort to cross off as many items as possible before 28 September.

I admit to secretly looking forward to sitting on my butt in October and recovering!

About 10 days ago I took a good look at my list and worked out what I can reasonably complete before time runs out. I decided that I’d make up a bit of a chart (since I work best when I’m crossing things off) and broke down each task into all the steps I’d need to finish it. It’s been great to watch my progress growing, even on items where I can’t say I’ve completed them yet.

My little chart is stuck on my bathroom mirror so that I can read it twice a day when I brush my teeth. It’s not a bad way to keep my mind on the job!

In the past week I’ve managed to cross off the following:

COMPLETED:
- Found some snow at Lake Mountain

- Photographed and blogged ‘A Day in My Life‘

- Drew 2 hands (5/5)

- Drew 3 people (10/10)

- Revamped my online recipe book

If only I had been completing tasks at the rate of 5 per week this whole time, I’d have been finished a very long time ago! It’s nice to see some of my works-in-progress finally crossed off.

And speaking of works in progress, here are some of the items that edged closer to the finish line this week:

IN PROGRESS:
- Walked my dog 3 times (3/12 in one month)

- Took another 10 photos for 100 Snapshots (only 9 to go!)

- Finished working on my book of 100 Snapshots. All that’s left to do is to drop in those last 9 photos and send it off to Blurb. Can’t wait to see it!

- Read 3 more letters in the dictionary (Now reading “Ph”)

- Cooked another 3 dishes for my 30 recipes from 30 countries list (25/30)
(England: Bread & butter pudding with brandy-soaked raisins, Iceland: Laufabrauð, Japan: Oyako Donburi)

So what’s left?

- Go for a 2-hour bike ride
- Visit Tasmania (we’re leaving in less than 2 weeks!)
- Visit Philip Island (we’d better do this next weekend)
- Visit 6 art galleries (planning to see a bunch in Tasmania)
- Take 9 more photos for 100 Snapshots
- Send my book to Blurb
- Fix my guitar
- Fit into my black skirt (nearly there!)
- Cook 5 more recipes from 5 different countries
- Finish reading the dictionary (easy!)
- Finish reading my last Melbourne novel (which is dragging, I might add)
- Keep walking the dog
- Watch 2 of Tim’s movies
- Learn 2 new constellations
- Do an anonymous favour
- Finish my time capsule
- Make a will

Piece of cake, right?! Don’t worry, I know that all this is slightly unachievable in the next 23 days (while holding down a job and travelling interstate for almost a week) but there are so many things on this list that are totally doable and should push me well into the 80′s. Right now I’m sitting on 75 completed tasks and if I stopped right here I’d be pretty happy with my achievement.

… but I won’t! Wish me luck.

Part of my 101 Things in 1001 Days project.

Item #83 on my list was to photograph a day in my life, from beginning to end. It was inspired by a livejournal community that I discovered a long time ago, and putting this together was pretty fun.

And you know what I learned? There is no “good angle” when it comes to that first early morning portrait.

I’m putting all my photos underneath a “more” tag, and I sincerely hope that it doesn’t mess up anyone’s RSS reader! Consider this a once-only, never to be repeated…

On with the show!

It’s morning and I’m the only one awake.  Except for sock monkey, who stares at me in my sleep.

There is to be no smiling until I have had my shower and coffee.  Otherwise, stabbings.

If it wasn’t for our terrible hot water system I would cause another drought.  Showers last no more than 5 minutes in my house.

The view from the shower.

Quick weather check: cold and overcast.  I kinda love that.

A coffee to wake up my boy…

… and one for me.

I read the news while I caffeinate myself.  The election was more than a week ago, but still no Prime Minister.

I suddenly realise that we’ve overslept, and quickly do my hair and brush my teeth.

The car is loaded, the GPS is set, and we’re off to find some snow!

Our fuzzy furchild decides to join us.

And we’re off!  This is the on-ramp to the Eastlink, which will take us out of Melbourne.

We pass a beautiful, shiny Chevy…

We pull into a little town called Healesville, which has a great zoo and a winery that sells my favourite pink muscato.

But we’re not leaving until we’ve picked up lunch from the Beechworth Bakery.  Their packaging claims that they are Australia’s Best Bakery and I, for one, believe them.

No!  None for you.  Bad dog.

Look at me navigating!  Lucky Tim brought the GPS.

The Maroondah Reservoir is full of water, which is a pretty amazing sight after such a long drought.

Driving through “Black Spur”, which is full of magical mountain ash and tree ferns.  This entire area was wiped out in the bushfires of 1939 and was completely replanted.  It’s spectacular to drive through.

I decide to stop taking so many photos from the passenger seat and just enjoy the drive.  We head to Marysville, up to Buxton and Rubicon, before heading back to Marysville towards Lake Mountain.  We can see snow at the peak, and after some windy uphill roads…

Snow!

SNOW!  You guys, it’s been almost 4 years since I’ve seen snow.  This calls for a snowman.

We’re in a National Park so can’t let Harry run around, but this is the first time he’s seen snow so we need a picture.

Several pictures.

“My butt is cold.”

“Excuse me?  Miss?  My butt is cold.”

“This is why you brought me?  To make my butt cold?”

“Can I get back in the car please?”

Harry took himself back to the warm car, but not before making his very first yellow snow.  AWW!

Meanwhile, the wardrobe department transformed our ice queen into weekend wear.

Very Fred Astaire.

Fierce!

Camera loves ya, baby.

And a topless waitress serves Tim’s drink, on ice.

Time to say goodbye to our cool little pal.  As we head back down the mountain we find a lookout, with these incredible views.

These two photographs are a little spooky.  18 months ago this part of the state was ravaged by bushfires, and the ensuing devastation became known as “Black Saturday“.  It remains Australia’s worst natural disaster and 173 people died trying to escape the flames.

There’s snow on the ground in these photos, but it looks an awful lot like the ash that settled in January 2009.

There are reminders of Black Saturday everywhere you look…

… but it’s amazing to see how much green growth has returned to the area in that short amount of time.

Still heading down Lake Mountain our little car hits a milestone

… and the sun begins to set.

I spend some of the drive looking through my photos of my little snowman.

I’m not proud of this, you guys.  We were cold and wet and had almost an hour’s drive ahead of us, so actually this was pretty perfect!

Are we there yet?

When I get home I immediately pull all my photos off my camera and start looking through them.

A quick browse of Twitter to see what I missed today…

… and a cup of tea for the boy who still feels cold!

The boys hang out together in the living room

One boy in particular is starting to get a bit sick of the photographer.

I finish my chai tea, and it’s time to wash my face and brush my teeth.  I consider giving myself 30% extra visibility by booking myself in for a haircut.

Hey!  When did that happen?  I climb into bed and annoy Tim until he wakes up enough for a cuddle.

Actually, he might be onto something.  It’s a school night.

Goodnight!