Before I Kick the Bucket....

Today on the Lamp Post (see sidebar under sites of interest) Carol brought up the idea of making lists of what we want to do before "kick the bucket." I thought I'd repost here what I wrote on the forum, just for those of you who aren't Lamp Post devotees. As I remarked there, I can sure tell that the Personality DNA test I did recently that pegged me as a Dreamer (abeit a Considerate one) was spot-on. So here's my not-close-to-exhaustive list of some of the things I Want To Do Before I Die, and some notes on how I'm progressing with some of them:

-- Live in English countryside for a full calendar year
-- Worship in Canterbury Cathedral and King's College Chapel, Cambridge
-- Teach college classes again (teaching high school students this year, college prep and honors levels)
-- Grow a cottage garden (trying -- not easy in So Cal with water issues)
-- Learn Latin (working on this now as I teach the boys)
-- Relearn German (Was almost fluent and have lost most of it)
-- Publish some articles in Christian magazines on my subject matter (bridging the gap between Catholics and Protestants, especially evangelicals; liturgical worship)
-- Write and publish a non-fiction book (working on this now)
-- Publish a book of poetry (will be doing a public reading in October)
-- Study at Cambridge (more dream than reality....)
-- Get my doctorate in English (thinking about applying in 5-10 years when the kids can mostly homeschool themselves)
-- Visit and explore the East Coast with our kids: Charleston all the way up to Prince Edward Island, and especially seeing Concord where all the Transcendentalists hung out (Emerson, Thoreau, Melville, Hawthorne, the Alcotts, etc.). If we can't do all that, then at least see the Boston area up to PEI. (Ideally I'd like to do this in the next two years before E goes to college.)
-- Visit Italy and see the cathedrals and the great art of the Masters
-- Learn how to spin and weave (some day!)
-- Learn how to make lace (fascinating!)
-- Spend a month in a monastery (and write while there)
-- See the Mediterranean area: Greece, Egypt, Israel and visit areas of antiquity
-- Learn to make my own soap and candles

Some of these are nearly impossible; some are quite reasonable when I have the time. Some depend on more than just me (can't force publishers to accept my work).

But it's fun to dream, isn't it?

What do YOU want to do before you kick the bucket?