Desmond Tutu once wisely said that “there is only one way to eat an elephant and that is one bite at a time.” Ten days into an almost 1700 day commitment-yes, 55 months works out to that many days-and I would have to say that I have managed to take more than a few bites:

I started this blog and a conversation with a stranger about kitchen renovations;

I visited my daughter and her family;

I coloured a picture in an adult colouring book (and was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it);

I wrote a haiku (Twenty twenty-three/It’s my time, new year, new me/Free of history);

I got my nails done;

I tried a new soup recipe (Cold Buster with lots of onions and garlic);

I lost 5 lbs (okay, I have been really sick with a viral thing these last 5 days);

I read a book (full disclosure, I read a cookbook but I was sick, it counts);

I set-up my savings account and auto transfer to save $55/week (two Fridays in 10 days so $110 in the account);

I watched a sunset and a sunrise;

I got a good start on the donation pile (it is not all things that I have been hanging to to but I am working on it); and

I photographed a very cool set of ruins near Dysart, SK. There was a plaque affixed to a large stone that read, “to honour the pioneers who built the stone Roxborough Presbyterian Church on this site June 1887. Destroyed by fire September 1887.” I had to read the dates twice. All that work, every stone picked and placed, only to be consumed by fire three months later. On one hand, I couldn’t help but think, “what a waste.” On the other hand, here I was 135 years later, standing in the cold in awe of the pioneer spirit, as evidenced in this foundation stubbornly still standing. Perhaps next summer, I will visit the Dysart Museum and get the full story on that little church on the prairie.