15 for 2015
Is it too soon to plan New Year’s resolutions? Is it ever? Here are fifteen goals for the year 2015, and they may be the motivation I need to redouble my efforts in the last months of 2014.
Read the Odyssey.
'Sing to me of the man, Muse, the man of twists and turns driven time and again off course, once he had plundered the hallowed heights of Troy.' Robert Fagles's translation of the Homerian epic is my choice, since Marcus and I enjoyed his Iliad this year.
Read the Aneid.
‘Wars and a man I sing—an exile driven on by Fate, he was the first to flee the coasts of Troy... many blows he took on land and sea from the gods above...’ I will be reading this aloud to Marcus. Again, we are will be using Fagles’s translation.
Complete Latin Form I.
If I asked you to conjugate with me, would you decline? Marcus and I will be doing plenty of both, as we complete our second Latin course next year and begin our third. {Then we'll only have six more to go!}
Teach introductory Latin.
I think I’ve finally convinced Marcus to assist me in teaching an introductory Latin course for students grades 4-6 in autumn 2015. A course description is forthcoming.
Prepare a syllabus to teach Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Yes, I am hankering to direct another play, though I said I would never do it again. This time, I’d like to expand my efforts into the larger community, and lead 8-14 year old students in reading Shakespeare’s comedy and performing an adapted version. It may be too ambitious to plan a class for next year, but I’d like to be prepared for 2016.
Take dance lessons.
I'd like to learn something new, and am up to anything that will entice another to join me. Salsa is a popular mention, and I hope I'll have better luck than with YouTube videos.
Fill all of my personal journal.
Taken altogether, I am very near filling all of my current journal, but it will take regular entries to fill the last pages before the end of next year.
Speak at a home-school conference.
I’ve been asked to do this several times. I really don’t want to, but if I polish my ‘20 Principles’ notes and imagine everyone in their underwear, maybe it will happen.
Film three ‘Twenty Principles’ videos.
I’ve been asked whether I’d create video versions of my ‘20 Principles’ series, and the answer is yes. I hope to get at least three principles filmed and posted to the YouTube channel next year.
Plant an elder tree.
I would love to have a home-garden source for one of my favorite medicinal herbs. Cuttings are expensive, so I’m hoping to negotiate with a local park for their wild stand.
Teach a botanical cosmetics workshop.
It's a popular idea that I hope to realize in 2015. This will probably be an ‘Educating Mothers’ event open to guests. I enjoy making beautifully scented and luxurious products for myself and family, and hope to share this satisfying experience with others.
Taste scotch and bourbon whiskeys.
So far, the only straight liquor I've made friends with is brandy. That said, I'd like to add a few tastes to my experience; it makes British novels more comprehensible. ;-)
Memorize the book of I John.
‘This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.’
Hike 3 Everglades trails.
I will continue my quest to hike all the Everglades trails by adding {at least} three to my checklist this year.
Host a New Year's Strauss Ball.
My sisters and I have discussed such a festivity for years: white dresses, molded sorbet, the Blue Danube, and firecrackers.
• Delicate ferns feather along a fallen tree. •
November 14, 2014