Stuff I Have Done, but Never Mastered

I was just thinking about some of the things I have tried during my lifetime, but have never mastered. Let's see what I can list: ( in no particular order) If you know of some I have forgotten, let me know and I will add them


1. Parenting 5 children
2. Husbanding (?) 1 wife
3. Missionary in France
4. Grand parenting 15
5. Great grand parenting 2 little ones
6. Blacksmithing
7. Basket making
8. Silver smithing (and gold too)
9. Guitar playing (acoustic, and now new electric guitar)
10. Violin playing
11. Piano playing ???
12. Making a dulcimer
13. Playing a dulcimer
14. Barbershop singing
15. Choral singing
16. Conducting choir
17. Woodworking
18. Stained glass
19. Hunting (deer, pheasants, ducks, geese, chuckars, rabbits, etc.)
20. Fishing
21. Cannoeing
22. Rock hunting
23. Wood turning
24. Bowling
25. Lapidary work
26. Model airplane building
27. Messing with a chemistry set
28. Astronomy
29. Telescope making (8" mirror)
30. Made a microscope
31. Archery
32. Gardening
33. Growing herbs
34. Horseback riding
35. Skiing
36. Bagpipe (chanter)
37. Paper making
38. Photography (taking, printing, developing, mounting)
39. Traveling (US and Europe)
40. Auto repair
41. River running
42. Piloting (briefly) jet fighter plane.
43. Performing in plays
44. Ceramics
45. Pottery wheel throwing
46. Ice skating
47. Baking/cooking
48. Fencing (en garde type - - not enclosure type)
49. Backpacking
50. Family history
51. Computer work
52. Teaching
53. Archeology work
54. Paleontology work
55. Home construction (wood, concrete, brick, tile, flooring, painting, drywall etc)
56. Marble collecting
57. Singing in musicals
58. Zen meditation
59. Collecting Tibetian artifacts
60. Orchid growing
61. Coin collecting
62. Antique collecting
63. Building radios, stereos, and numerous kits
64. Sewing
65. Needlepoint
66. Making / throwing boomerangs
67. Leather work
68. Tanning leather
69. Soap making
70. Scout master
71. Merit badge councilor
72. Metal casting (silver / gold)
73. Bicycling (dirt bike)
74. Glass etching
75. Water skiing
76. Motorcycling - - 2 different bikes
77. Owned stained glass retail shop
78. Making home made fireworks
79. Collecting Pony Express memorabilia
80. Flintknapping (making arrow heads and spear points)
81. Know some American Sign Language
82. Speak, read and write French
83. Marriage and family therapist
84. Workshop presenter
85. Geocaching
86. Acappella choir
87. University men's chorus
88. Have sung barbershop concert with Utah Symphony Orchestra
89. Have sung with Utah Symphony choral and operatic works
90. Church activities
91. Magician
92. Orchid grower
93. Welding
94. Spinning yarn on spinning wheel
95. Fun (strange?) things I have eaten:
Snails
Frog legs
Eels
Horse
Grasshoppers (Fried)
Ants
Raw hamburger
Raw eggs
Larvae (roasted)
Wife's cooking (woops, I better not say that)
Octopus
Turtle
96. Laid sewer pipe
97. Laid gas pipe
98. Drove truck for construction crew
99. Have made potato guns
100. Homeless for one year with wife
101. Ridden a zip line
103. Detained once by border patrol on Canada/USA border
104. Worked as a pin setter at bowling alley
105. Drove a van on 5 week European tour
106. Built a climbing wall in basement
107. Air National Guard 10 years
108. Indian beadwork
109. Weaving
110. Explored numerous ghost towns
111. Gold panning / prospecting UT, GA, CA, AZ, NH
112. Rock and mineral collection
113. Operated an offset printing press
114. On TSA security list for carrying handgun (toy cap gun) in carry on luggage
115. Dug for garnets, topaz, turquoise, varacite, Herkimer diamonds and many other gems
PLUS
116. Rock climbing and bouldering (How could I have forgotten that)
117. Visiting underground coal mine. (5+ miles into the montain)
118. (Contrary to popular rumors, I did NOT take a ballet class in college. I did, however take bowling, fencing, ice skating and a few other fun classes in addition to the regular stuff.)

So Much Has Happened!

Has it really been this long since I posted something? Lots of things have happened in the last few weeks. Visits from kids both in and out of state. Visits from grandkids. Soap making. Some woodworking. Presentations and classes at the FHC. Co-sponsored big workshop at Eccles Conference Center. Spring yard work starting. Weeding, mowing, planting, spraying and digging stuff out. Two Senior Singles programs and on and on.........

Rather than going into all the details, let me just say that it has been a busy, but fun filled few weeks. We have enjoyed keeping up with everyone else's blogs and learning all the fun things you are doing and learning. It is fun to see how the grandkids are growing and experiencing neat things at home and in school and church.

I finally did something this past week that I haven't done for some time and have been wanting to get back to. When our daughter and her husband spent a few days with us while they were on spring break from their teaching jobs, the ladies did some serious shopping, but the guys took off and went to the indoor rock climbing gym. It is one of the nicer ones in the state, and we had a great time. It was fun to try and remember how to tie the knots, belay correctly, and make it to the top of the wall. (And back down)

A few hours climbing in the morning, and then a break, and a few more hours in the evening made for a very pleasant day. We had the owner of the gym take some pictures for us. (I certainly didn't want James to put down the belay rope to go around taking pictures and leaving me hanging on the wall without any protection.) The pictures I am posting tell it all. The wall in our basement is fun, but it's not 40 ' high. Climbs were accurately rated. 5.5 to 5.12. 5.7 and 5.7+ push me a bit still but lower than that are a cinch. lots of holds, some neat cracks, corners, angles, overhangs and all made for a fun day.