40 Things

 Well, hello there.  

I haven't touched this blog in a number of years, partly because I got busy and partly because I've shied away from adding another voice to the cacophony of the internet.  But here I am again.  I've found myself with a few thoughts that wanted to be expressed lately.  Instagram has become one way to share tidbits, but it's difficult to get much substance into the tiny character box that seems intended more for selling products than introspection.  

Nearly a year ago, I started putting together my list of 40 Things Before 40.  Do you remember the list of 30 Things Before 30?  I completed many of those items, turned 30, and then I fell off the writing train.  In the early days of my 30's, I could not face the idea of turning 40 and was hesitant to start a new list for a new decade.  So here I am, 36 years old with a new list and only four years to go.  There's a life lesson in that.

So...here we go with the new list.  

40 Things Before 40

1. Ride on Austin Steam Train.

2. Visit Inner Space Cavern.

3. Visit Big Bend. (completed January 19, 2020)

4. Stargazing at McDonald Observatory. (completed January 18, 2020...can you tell I started my list in January 2020?)

5. Visit Marfa. (completed January 18, 2020)  I was underwhelmed by Marfa, but my negative feelings about hipsters and men in skinny jeans might have biased my opinion.  

6.  Find the perfect crème brûlée recipe. I think I might have found this, thanks to Ina Garten, but I am not opposed to trying more recipes. I LOVE crème brûlée. I spent two nights in Paris a few years ago and had it at dinner both nights.

7. Eat dinner at a revolving restaurant.

8. Go rafting at Moab.

9. Take a cooking class.

10. Learn how to do a lay-up. This might be the hardest to accomplish. Any coordination skills that I might possess disappear when you put a basketball in my hands.

11. Find a go-to bread recipe. I've experimented with sourdough bread, but I'm not satisfied yet. Between this and the crème brûlée I might only have one goal for my 40's...lose weight.

12. Take a Spanish class.

13. Make homemade vanilla.

14. Take a solo trip. (completed in January 2020)

15. Finish some of the classic novels I've started but never finished (Anna Karenina, Far from the Madding Crowd, Oliver Twist).

16. Cook an entire meal from "Mastering the Art of French Cooking."

17. Travel to Big Sur.

18. Go sailing.

19. Take a photography class.

20. Read "My Utmost for His Highest."

21. Run a 5K.

22. Memorize a Psalm.

23. Visit Caddo Lake.

24. Buy a kayak.

25. Take a landscape design class.

26. Study the theme of rest in Scripture.

27. See the northern lights.

28. Make some sun art.

29. Try a raw oyster.

30. See the Grand Canyon.

The list is not complete yet. It's not easy to come up with this many things, but I think I have a few years of adventures to tackle, both large and small.

Pickles!

I made pickles (#24 on the list)!

This was a pretty easy one, I have to admit.  I did have to search a little to find pickling cucumbers. And then one day at HEB, I looked over at a long line of green produce and there they were.  It was destiny.

I decided to go for bread and butter pickles because they're my favorite. I also went with pickle crisp granules rather than soaking the cucumbers in pickling lime.  The whole process took a few hours, but I had fun and got to check another one off the list.

One more year!

Well, hello there.  Remember me?  I'm that girl who started a blog a few years ago and then went 15 months without posting.  And I started that great list of 30 Things Before 30 and left you hanging at year 28.  

Oops.  I think I'm a much better blog reader than writer.  

So, without further ado, and to mark one year remaining in the timeline (happy 29th to me!), I give you an update on the list.

11. Travel to Africa.  

I wasn't sure if this was an attainable goal since I worked in Middle East programs, but it turns out that I got to travel to Africa three times last year!

My parents did a six-month stint at a research farm in South Africa last year, and I made a trip down to see them on my way home from Iraq last summer.  Just a little detour on the way home.

I loved South Africa!  We spent most of the time on the farm, which is huge and about two hours from Pretoria.  I did get to see the cheetahs that live on a cheetah reserve on part of the farm.  That was really neat! Mom and dad also took me to visit a nearby reserve where we got to see rhinos, zebras, and giraffes, oh my! The rhinos and giraffes were probably my favorite.  Such cool animals!

I would love to visit South Africa again and see more of the country.  It's such a beautiful and diverse place.

My second and third trips to Africa were to Rwanda for work.  I got to help the staff there develop a monitoring and evaluation plan for a project to build capacity in pyrethrum cooperatives.  Pyrethrum is probably one of the coolest crops that I've seen so far.  It's in the chrysanthemum family, and looks kinda like a daisy.  I had a lot of fun taking pictures of the fields of daisies and mountains.  

Rwanda is one of the most beautiful countries I've been to.  The weather is cool, there are beautiful mountains, and they have avocado trees everywhere.  Really, what more do you need?  

On my second trip there, I got to visit with the pyrethrum farmers to do a needs assessment about gender issues.  I really enjoyed the interaction with the farmers; they are beautiful and hospitable people.

16. Go rock climbing.

So I haven't actually gone to climb real rocks yet, but I did take a rock climbing class at the Rec at Texas A&M with my friend Yanet.  The class was really fun, except for that 20 year old instructor who insinuated that I'm old!  

So, I'm not checking this one off quite yet.  More details to come when I find some real rocks to climb. 

17.  Host a fancy dinner party with real china dishes.

Completed! I didn't use my china, but I have some really pretty white dishes.  And I had cloth napkins, more than one fork, spoon and glass at each place setting.  I even had an appetizer, main course and dessert. 

I think the most fun was planning the menu and then cooking and decorating the table.  I should have been a caterer.

18.  Make cheese from scratch.

I tried this one.  And failed the first time.  One of my 4-H families raises dairy cows, so I got some raw milk from them and a recipe for mozzarella. 

Unfortunately, the cheese came out rubbery and tasteless.  I'll try again, now I'm more determined to do it right. 

23.  Successfully grow a tomato plant. 

I had success last summer!  I planted one in a five-gallon bucket from Home Depot with holes drilled in the bottom.  The bucket worked so much better than other pots I've used.  I got a ton of cherry tomatoes!

Now that I have my own yard, I'm planning a fall garden with several tomato plants.  I can't wait!

That's all the updates for now.  I only have a year left, so the pressure is on to finish the list.  Anybody want to do a Grand Canyon/California road trip in the next year?

More to come on my new job and home ownership (did I mention that I'm not good at blog posting?). 

The rest of the list...

Helloooo blog world!  It's been a while since I've blogged, so to redeem myself I'm going to finish the rest of my 30 things before 30 list.  Now, I should add a caveat.  I finished this list a few months ago when I had some friends over for dinner.  You know how conversation gets a little goofy sometimes when you're sitting around the table for a couple of hours with good friends?  Well, keep that in mind when you read the list.

17.  Host a fancy dinner party with real china dishes.

18.  Make cheese from scratch.

19.  Finish crocheting a baby blanket.  (I can check this one off the list! Yes, it's been that long since I made the list.)

20.  Cook an entire meal of “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.” (Inspired by Julie and Julia.)

21.  Go to You Paint It and paint a matching set of plates.  

22.  Travel the Nile by boat.

23.  Successfully grow a tomato plant.  (i.e.  Get more than one tomato before the plant dies from lack of water.  In my defense, we did have a drought last year.)

24.  Can some pickles.

25.  Shoot a handgun at a shooting range.

26.  Visit California.

27.  Hike the Grand Canyon.

28.  Go to a political rally.  (Does it count that I accidentally walked through a pro-life demonstration in DC?)

29.  Have dinner at a revolving restaurant.

30.  Finish reading that list of classic novels that I started and never finished.  (Oliver Twist, My Antonia,  Far From the Madding Crowd, and Shirley)

That should keep me busy for the next couple of years. 

Knowledge is Power!

Growing up, I used to love watching the short Schoolhouse Rock segments that aired between Saturday morning cartoons.   They were short cartoons that taught a simple lesson in grammar, math and science.  The theme song ended with three powerful words, “Knowledge is Power!!!”  Those three words are echoing in my head this week as we meet with agricultural Extension agents in Erbil, Iraq. 

Agricultural producers in Iraq face a difficult situation.  There are diseases that affect crop yields, water shortages, a lack of forage for their animals, and many other problems.  Agricultural Extension agents can play a strong role in helping producers to overcome these problems.  This month, as a part of the Iraq Agricultural Extension Revitalization (IAER)Project, three teams of agricultural Extension agents and specialists from Texas AgriLife Extension, Washington State Extension and UC-Davis Extension are training Iraqi Extension agents on methods to improve their outreach efforts to producers.  They are mentoring the Extension agents on how to identify issues that face producers in Iraqi villages and to create educational programs to address these needs.  The educational activities might include training programs, on-farm demonstrations, research projects, television or radio programs and fact sheets. 

Iraqi Extension agents discuss a wheat trial at the Agriculture Research Center in Erbil, Iraq

Educational activities like these are making a difference in Iraq.  One Extension agent in the Dohuk area attended an IAER Extension Poultry training course and then provided training for women from the villages on how to improve egg production through better management practices.  The women report that egg production increased five times as a result of the training.  

Knowledge is power.  Knowledge in the hands of Iraqi producers is the power to increase production.  It is the power to feed their families.  It is the power to build a future.

Number 9 and Other Random Thoughts

1. Have I mentioned that I'm working on Number 9?  I started a master's degree in International Agriculture Development last month at Texas A&M.  I'm still not used to saying Howdy and other Aggie things, but it seems to be like a disease.  I'm sure I'll catch it.

Hopefully, I will finish this one before I'm 30.

2. I am so, so, so ready for summer.  I love warm weather and long days.  And floating the river.  And snow cones.  And flip flops.

3. I think I have perfected the making of Pioneer Woman's fettuccine alfredo.  I think I could eat it at least once a week, but then I would weigh 500 pounds because it's all cheese and butter and heavy whipping cream.  Delicious!  Maybe just every other week...

4.  I am on an old movie kick.  I can't get enough of Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy movies lately.  You should watch Adam's Rib if you get a chance.  Hilarious dialogue!

5. Enough procrastinating!  I'm off to do more homework.  Dang it, Number 9!  

Number 5

Update on the 30 before 30 list.

I successfully completed number 5 a few months ago.  I ran the Buffalo Stampede in College Station with a few friends from work and my dad.

Let me rephrase.  I jogged the 5k.  My dad ran circles around me.

Really.

And then he would jog beside me going backwards.  Ugh.

But I was proud that I ran/jogged the whole way.  I never quite made it all the way to 3.1 miles in any of the training runs, so I was quite happy that I ran the whole way without having a heart attack.  Actually, there is definitely something to be said for adrenaline during a race.  It really helps.

I'm not posting an after the race photo.  There is no after the race photo because my face was all red and I was sweaty.  Not attractive.

As for my running career....

I might have logged five miles in the four months since the 5k.  I'll have to cross professional marathoner off the potential career list.

There are discussions of a 10k this spring.  I'll keep you posted.