Checking in on my 25 midway through 2025

I have done this challenge for couple of years now. You can read my full plan for 2025 here.

Camp more at the cottage property. Hasn’t happened yet, but it’s still early in the season. I have made some modest progress on getting the cottage finished, including water and electricity. The canoe hasn’t gone into the lake yet, and I haven’t gone hiking; both may need to wait for my friend Mel’s annual visit.

Bike at least 2,000 km? Hahaha no! But I am doing lots of physio so my knees don’t hurt as much when I do bike. I’m trying to make it a regular practice, but I’m still struggling to set time aside to stretch and work on mobility.

Reading one book a month is going well. The only challenge is that I renewed my library card so I am reading books I don’t own, instead of reading books on my shelves so I can pass them along. I am a bit behind on reading magazines, but I think I can complete this challenge.

My longstanding challenge of cooking at least one new recipe a week is more-or less on track. My focus has shifted from cooking for Dad to cooking more vegan and vegetarian meals for myself. I have been far too busy to work on redacting medieval recipes. I’ll need to get back into the habit of doing that. I have been pretty good at shopping from my pantry.

The gardens are a bit of a disaster this year, and I totally forgot I wanted to push my boundaries on different veggies and only planted a few. However, I did successfully propagate new grape vines and overwinter pawpaws.

I have no idea how I’m doing on the goal of swimming 200 km a year. Probably not very well, as I missed quite a few practices this spring. My little crew of open water swimmers has fallen apart and I’m not sure how brave I am while I wait for next steps on treating the heart murmur.

I am doing some crafting but nothing too exciting. My textiles conference with four days of classes is next week, so hopefully that will spark some new ideas.

I am so far behind on sewing five new outfits I don’t even want to think about it! My machine is currently trapped behind kitchen cupboards that need to go to the cottage as soon as the walls are ready. I have acquired more fabric thanks to helping Mom declutter, but I have ideas for most of it (more Beach pyjamas!). Sadly, my art supplies are also trapped, so I have not been doing anything artistic either.

I have managed some visits with my son and grandson, but failed miserably at meeting up with friends for social time, or just relaxing, or even doing much volunteering. Elder care will continue to be a major theme for the rest of the year, which means I am cutting back on volunteer activities and probably not going to make that couch-surfing vacation.

Reviewing all of this reminds me that there are things I want to do and things I need to let go of. I am pushing myself too hard to achieve goals, rather than learning to relax and enjoy some of the freedom that should come with retirement.

A lot of things conspired in the first half of the year that made it very challenging to stick to fitness routines (or even house cleaning routines, to be honest). I think my goal for the second half of 2025 is to do as much of the 25 as I can manage without stressing myself, with a particular focus on those that are about relaxing and being with family and friends.