To be a lady

So what to choose?

* Groom yourself

- Always be clean and neat, polished. From toe nails to hair.

*Always dress nicely

Wear clothes tight enough to show you are a woman, but loose enough to show you are a lady.
Have a unique style, build a small wardrobe of quality items, and express your style by accessories.
Aim for elegance, not fashion

* Have a good posture

* Learn to walk on high heels

* Learn to apply make-up 

* Speak clearly, mind the elocution

* Mind your language 
Use correct grammar, increase your vocabulary, avoid swearing, use "please", "thank you", "excuse me" and other such courtesy words.

* See that your breathe doesn't smell bad

* Get all the education you can
Read the news and know the background

* Be curious, interested and open-minded

* Be considerate and kind

It doesn't mean being codependent or a doormat.

* Get impeccable manners and learn the etiquette

This is about consideration, not about being better-than-thou. You are not to demand everyone follows the etiquette to a tee, but knowing the etiquette makes you comfortable in any situation, and everyone comfortable to be with you.

There is a lovely little example of this. In a Star Wars novel the author described a dinner hosted by Princess Leia. One of the guests ate the rose from finger washing bowl, so Princess Leia ate hers to avoid embarrassing the guest. In our family we call things like this "eating roses". :-D

The point is, you shouldn't break the rules unless you know the rules and have a VERY GOOD REASON to do so. And NEVER EVER point out others' mistakes.

* Don't criticize, don't whine, don't complain, don't explain, don't judge, don't blame, don't nag, don't flaunt, don't brag, don't gossip

Either you change things or you accept them. Talking about things is wasting time.

Compliment people, improve your observation skills, increase your knowledge of all things, so that you can give good advice and constructive criticism in a good way when requested, accept your responsibility, and forgive others for not being able to do the same, learn to communicate constructively and functionally

* Be positive, pleasant, friendly

Now, this doesn't mean "keep smiling" or "be a fluffbunny", but trying to see the positive in every situation, while acknowledging and accepting the reality. Being a pollyanna might seem like forced positivity, but the thing is that if you have a positive, expectant attitude to the world and new situations, the people you meet, events and happenings in life, you are more likely to have a positive experience. Because you get what you expect to get. Your mind will find evidence to prove what you think. It's much easier to have patience and kindness to people if you think they are just having a bad day, than if you think the a-hole mode is normal to them, and they are basically just a-holes.

* Do what you know to be right, and ignore what other people might be thinking about you.

* Be honest, truthful and virtuous 

There is no absolute standard of what is "right" and what is a "virtue" - you have to follow your own understanding of these ideas.
In my mind it is not the "Golden rule" one should follow, but the "Silver rule" - "What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow". I believe it is easier for people to justify ill-treatment by "but I would have liked it if someone had done that to me!", like missionizing. "Yes, I understand your spiritual awakening was great for you, but I have already found my truth about God". So instead of thinking "I want everyone to know the truth about God!", think "how would I feel if someone told me my God was a false God and my religion was bad?"

* be tolerant, respectful and forgiving

Don't wait for people to earn your respect, don't mind people being disrespectful. It's their problem, not yours.

Another story that comes to mind is about the young king of France. He was having a walk with his tutor, and a gardener opened them a gate. The tutor thanked him. The king asked him why he was thanking the gardener, who was nobody. The tutor answered "I'd be ashamed if a gardener had better manners than I."

So instead of thinking how rude people are, think that you don't need to be rude just because someone else is.

* have character and integrity

To keep your character intact you cannot stoop to filthy acts.
It makes it easier to stoop the next time.
- Katharine Hepburn

* Be steadfast, loyal and trustworthy

Keep your promises, especially to yourself.
Never quit.

* Be generous
with your money, your time, your attention, your smile

* Be moderate

* Learn to speak more than 1 language

* Have an unbreakable inner peace

* Be courageous

This is not the same as fearless. Ladies do fear, but they do what they know to be right any way, and the more things they do they are afraid of, the more fears they face, the stronger, more confident and courageous they get.

* Have a hobby

Ladylike hobbies are reading, gardening, art, music, theater and sports like tennis and riding.

* Learn to cook, learn to mix drinks

* Learn to host parties - be a good hostess and a good guest

* What Would Melanie Do? What Would Audrey Do?

The secret of making dreams come true

Somehow I can’t believe 

that there are any heights that can’t be scaled 

by a man who knows the secrets of making dreams come true. 

This special secret, it seems to me, can be summarized in four C s. 

They are curiosity, confidence, courage, and constancy, 

and the greatest of all is confidence. 

When you believe in a thing, believe in it all the way, implicitly and unquestionable. 

– Walt Disney

Walk the Airborne

Walk the Airborne

The Airborne March is the annual Dutch commemorative event in remembrance of the Battle of Arnhem in September 1944. It began in 1947 and always takes place on the first Saturday in September at Oosterbeek near Arnhem in The Netherlands.

From the beginning the net revenues of the Airborne March are used to enable veterans and next of kin with poor means, to come over to The Netherlands and attend the annual Airborne-commemorations in and around Arnhem.

The Airborne March has 4 distances: 10, 15, 25 and 40 km. The longest distance is for individuals only. The routes lead you through the woods of the Veluwezoom and the municipality of Renkum and the great views over the river Rhine.

------------------------

How to do this?

1) This is a paid event in Netherlands, and it happens every year on the first Saturday in September.
So you need to be able to
* buy the ticket
* get to Netherlands and stay there for as long as it takes
* walk 10, 15, 25 or 40 km

2) Timeline is there already.
This happens on the first Saturday in September, come rain, come shine, come flu and your cousin's third child's wedding. It is totally safe to book tickets already now and tell everyone you will be in Arnhem the first week of September. Sorry.
You also know how much time you have to save the money and get fit.

3) Getting the ticket is also easy.
You just need to find out how much it costs, when is the last day to purchase it and how it is purchased. All that information is clearly on the site.
Getting the money for the ticket might not be that easy, but - I have spoken about saving tips earlier, the same principles go for this.

4) Getting to Arnhem.
This depends totally on where you are right now. The longer the road is, the more you need to think about this.
If you are in North-Western Europe, this will not be a problem. You could even fly to Netherlands in the morning, do the walk and get back home to sleep in your own bed. I wouldn't recommend that, though, because there will be a lot of interesting people there, all the WWII veterans (blessed be they, dead as well as alive) and their friends and relatives. Think about all the stories!
If you come all the way from any other continent, it might be worth it to make this PART of a total Netherlands experience, and put all the interesting things one can do in Netherlands on your list and plan accordingly. Now, not all events happen during the first week of September, and the tulips will have bloomed, but there's plenty of things to do and see in Netherlands.
Nevertheless, plan accordingly.

5) Having fun when walking
Firstly, you need to be in the physical condition to do that. It's not difficult to walk some 5 km every day. It takes less than an hour when you are used to do it, and it will have all kinds of benefits, not only to your physical health but your mental health as well.

This will also make you aware of the equipment needed. You will need good walking shoes. You will need clothes that allow certain movement and keep you warm/cool and dry, but you don't need exercise clothing. If you walk 5 km every day for a longer period of time, you won't even get sweaty.

The shoes are the most important part here.
NEVER EVER PLAN OF PARTICIPATING IN WALKING IN SHOES THAT ARE NOT COMFORTABLE.
If you get a blister the first 15 minutes of the walk, you will not enjoy that walk! So you MUST have walked in the shoes enough times to know you won't get blisters in them! You also need to wear socks. Nylon socks under the ordinary socks help, too, they say. But have blister patches/band-aid with you just in case.

If you don't know anyone, bring some music. But don't count on listening to music while you walk The Airborne March. Remember that there is a reason you are there, and that is most likely the same reason everyone else is there too! Go talk with people! You might get lucky and have some very personal memories about the area where you are walking!

Bring with you some water and some snacks, like nuts and dried fruits, just in case.

Be prepared to rest if need be. You can carry a backpack with a foldable chair, or a small picnic blanket, so that you can sit on the ground.

Remember to have a hat and sunglasses, perhaps even sunblock, as the weather can still be quite warm this early in September

Bring the camera. See that the battery is full loaded and that there is room in the memory card (or bring a couple of rolls of film.)

Bring some calling cards... you might make new friends :-)

Look around you. Look up and down, right and left, front and back, near and far. Try to capture every sight, scene, smell, sound and sensation. Be aware of what is and what happens around you.

Read up before you go. 

How to create a travel itinerary

Whether you plan to travel the world around or to a neighboring city, whether you plan on taking planes or walking, it is a good thing to have a travel itinerary.
Back at good old times there were travel agencies one could count on to do all this for you. Nowadays, not so many.
(Frankly, I have NEVER even SEEN one in Sweden. I used to use one in Finland all the time. It was so convenient and lovely and the people working there were great. I am sad to see this occupation vanish. Any way, I went to a Swedish "travel agency", and it turned out they sell ONLY tickets to ONE buss line. If we asked any questions of ANY OTHER OPTION they told us to go somewhere else to find that information. Really! We left and never returned. There was no indication outside the local of that they ONLY represented THAT company. In fact, they had images of all kinds of travels, from Paris to Hawaii on their window :-D How they would take a person to Hawaii on a buss is a very interesting question, but I'm sure they would not have understood the satire.)

This is a very nice little information list about how to plan your travels, but creating an itinerary is a bit different thing. (It is a part of the above list, but here I'll talk a bit more about it.)

1) Write down the route
- from where to where, which places you wish to visit, which sights you wish to see.

Put this information on a map to see how these spots are located to each other, to be able to design a logical route from one place to another.

Gather all information you can of the places you plan to visit. You might find out that some places were not what you thought they'd be, and can skip them, and you might find out some places you'd hate to miss.

2) Plan the time
How long time do you have?
When do you have this time?
When are the events?
When are the museums and attractions etc. open? Some are closed on Mondays, for example, or open only during the summer etc.

How much time does transport take?
How much time do you plan on using in site? (Take a practice round at a similar place near you, for example an art museum or an amusement park. You will also notice what you need to consider. For example, in some amusement parks the food is awful and expensive, but in some amusement parks you may not take in your own food. In some museums there are restrictions on what you may bring in the show rooms. For example, purses are not allowed in the jewel room at British Museum. For some reason they allowed me to go in wearing my trench... and my purse was UNDER it... They never even asked. :-D You might need to prepare for some extra money for such purposes.)

3) Find out the travel options.
Can you fly or do you have to take a boat? How about trains and buses? Would you need to have a car, can you take your own or do you have to rent one?
Some places don't have any such access, you have to go there on your own legs, or perhaps hire a mule or some other animal whose legs you can use. :-D
Find out this information. This is available on the internet when it comes to most of the places.

Choose the travel options of your preference (but have a backup plan, because accidents happen and things change, and people usually are not aware of that you have made plans a couple of months ago so they don't know to inform you of that the buss company you planned on using has changed routes or owner...)

4) Plan your accommodation. 
Find out all the available options from hotels to couch-surfing. Don't forget bed-and-breakfast and agritourism options. Choose according to your expectations and finances.

* Now you have your initial itinerary ready.
5) You need to go through it and REALLY SERIOUSLY THINK IT THROUGH.

Does it really sound realistic and functional?
Have you planned in plenty of time to move from one place to another, all the time it takes to wait on the airport, check-ins etc.? Have you planned in what you need to do if there is for example a strike or a major accident and you won't be able to use the public transport to get you to the airport?
How have you planned around your fitness and mental demands? You might think it's easy to run through several museums and galleries a day, but it really isn't. Don't plan in more than ONE attraction every day, and give yourself a time to rest about every 3-4 days at least.
Have you considered the possible national holidays and events that might interrupt with your plans? In some countries NOTHING is "open" on Good Friday, for example.
Adjust your plans to fit your reality, your nature, your style, your preferences, not the ideal fantasy or someone else's resources.

Now you need to write this revised, final plan down. (I actually think they at Rose and Gully have a wonderful idea! You can try to copy it by your best ability.

6) Get the money
Collect all this information and how much money it costs. Divide the time between now and when you must pay (not necessarily the travel date!) and the amount of money to know how much money you MUST save each week. Save that amount and have a backup plan for those weeks you fall short of the goal. If you do that, you either need to find more sources/less drains for money or move your trip forward.

7) Get the tickets, reservations etc.
Do this in good time. A week can make 100s of Euros' difference!

First you need to check that your passport is valid, and what kind of travel restrictions they have.
You might need a visa, some vaccinations etc.
You are not welcome to some countries if you have AIDS.
Some countries don't allow you in if you have been in some other countries.
Also find out about the restrictions when it comes to what you may bring with you. Australia is infamous about the "no plant/animal material that might have seeds/pollen/other alien lifeforms attached".
There are also restrictions about certain medicins and cosmetics, etc.
Also, remember that you may not take anything you like with you in a plane, like knitting needles and nail scissors.
FIND OUT ALL THIS INFORMATION BEFORE YOU GET THE TICKETS!!!

Book the "biggest things" first. The hotel where you will stay the longest, the longest travels from place to place, the most important "must not miss" events and happenings, then the "small" ones.

Collect all the necessary information in one place and have an electric backup somewhere online where you can reach it even if you loose all the papers. You can also leave copies to a trusted friend whom you can call if need be to get that information.

I would really recommend getting a travel folder, of leather or other sturdier material, small like the one pictured, with pockets for all the papers.
And I suggest you print out the information on A4 and fold it in three (that would be DL envelope size). (Frankly, if you learn to use that format of paper (DL envelope size) in stead of A4, your life will be much easier. Most of the information fits on paper that way too, takes less space and is easier to eye through. But as it is now, most printers are designed to use A4 size paper. So much so that in USA it's called "printer size" :-D)

Include:
the names - hotel, airline, buss company, train company etc.
numbers - flight number, buss route number etc.
reservation/confirmation numbers
telephone numbers and names of people you need to reach if something happens
times

directions, maps, photos of your hotel, the air port, station etc. You need to know how to get from the airport to the hotel and how to get to the airport yourself. Now-a-days it is easy with google maps etc.

information about the local public transport, fees, hours of operation, how to use them, if you need a pass etc. and taxi companies numbers etc.

information about eating out and grocery shopping in the area of your hotel (how much does food cost, what extra costs you need to expect, tipping, manners etc.

how to ship home larger objects if you happen to find anything you just must have

address list of friends and relatives you wish to send a postcard

Also include
- medical information
- emergency contact numbers
- your nation's embassy/consulate number and address

Autumn Bucket List

My autumn... well... datewise it's from Lammas to Samhain. But August doesn't feel like autumn :-D And I am divided because I do feel Mother knows best, better than our calculations, traditions, and calendars. Basically... one could think that autumn is when most trees have changed colors. But... that seems to be happening later and later every decade, and I am not going to wait for October to celebrate Autumn. I would miss Mabon! So - from Lammas to Samhain it is, and I am going to explain August as "the first days of autumn that feel like summer still", just as the first days of spring feel like winter etc.

Different definitions of autumn:
- astronomical - begins at Autumn Equinox, ends at Winter Solstice
- meteorological - here it's "Summer is when the median temperature of days is over 10°C five or more subsequent days", so when the median temperature sinks below 10°C. In the USA it's "June, July, August"

- write an autumn bucket list

- write a list of 92 things you love/like about autumn

36 reasons why Fall is the best season!

24 Things About Fall That Will Put A Smile On Your Face

The Best Things About Fall

Why I love this season

If you don't get 92 things on your list, don't worry. Write as many as you can think of.

- commit to taking a photo on each day of Autumn according to this list of your personal favorites. This is why the number is 92. If you didn't get 92 things, don't worry about it, just take more photos of some of your favorites.

- get better at photographing.

31+ Days To Better Photography

31 Day To A Better Photo

30 day photography challenge project

- Search "[name of the month] photo/photography challenge". There are dozens of suggestions online. Pick your favorites, print the list and cut it into strips, and put the strips in a bowl. Every day of Autumn, pick a strip and take a photo.

Yes, it's a lot of photos. But it doesn't take more than a couple of minutes top most to snap a photo of a thing. It doesn't need to be the greatest photo in the history of photography. It doesn't even need to be a good photo. Or a photo you are proud of. Or a photo you like. It just needs to be a photo of something.

- Start an Autumn journal

• a bit like "December Daily", though this is "August/September/October Daily"
• illustrate it with your photos-a-day.
• make the pages like an art journal, "Project Life" page, or a scrapbook page.
• make a page every day
• there are different journal prompts around, "project life" prompts, etc. Use them.
• write down the best part of each day. This doesn't need to be perfect, amazing, inspiring or even good. "best" means "the least bad".
• start a gratitude journal - write this, too, in your autumn journal
• start writing morning pages. Write these to separate pages and add them to your journal.
• keep a nature journal or notebook. Write down the weather and nature phenomenon you observed. For this you need to take a nature walk every day with your camera... so we'll get both practice with the camera and exercise in the list just like that :-D
• Pick a beautiful tree and take a photo of it once a week from the same spot, to see how the seasons change. Pick a tree with beautiful autumn colors, like maple or aspen. Rowens are nice too, with their berries.
• "Sharpen your Observational Skills through Drawing" - again, it doesn't need to be good. The point is to sharpen your observational skills, not to make art... and that you will get better with drawing is just a bonus. ;-)
• "Think about the “seasons” of life, and write a letter to yourself about what you will savor about this season"

- clean your home for winter. There are several "fall cleaning" checklists and suggestions online.

- decorate your home

- prepare your wardrobe for the transition.
Create a fall capsule wardrobe fit for your lifestyle, activities, and purposes.
On my list is "tweed promenade suit, 40's felt hat, plenty of patterned tights, brogue oxfords with a heel, leather gloves"
Check the sweaters and cardigans, let them air in the crisp autumn air, and start wearing them.
Get a pair of good, comfortable, classic fall boots you will be wearing for the rest of your life, and a pair of boot socks.

- Knit something. Learn to knit. On my list is a white, soft Aran sweater and a fair-isle set of a vest and a cardigan. And a tam.

- Take the "week of dressing dangerously" challenge.
Look at all the clothing styles people have, all the costumes, all the tv-series and everything where people wear clothes. Pick five favorites. Pick five of the costumes or outfits you wish you had or could wear or would wear "if..." If you were skinny or curvy. If you were tall or short. If you were a man. If you were in your favorite fantasy world. If you were your favorite superhero. If you were a rock star.
Get yourself these outfits/costumes.
Wear them a whole day, as if it was your normal attire.

On my list

1. tree
2. Victorian femme Doctor Who
3. goth
4. gypsy

Change your life in 30 areas to reduce your carbon footprint

I do have the Japanese "oil from plastic" machine on my shopping list... and then I will be making oil. But until I get one - or build one - there are other things to do.

• have a “earth day” every day – 1 hour of no electricity
• use water as if it was a rarity
• use electricity as if it was a rarity
• get a bike
• start walking at least one hour every day
• get a monthly bus pass and get to know your town.
• get good curtains for every window – black curtains and thick side curtains
• turn off lights
• unplug items not in use
• get more houseplants
• plant more trees
• keep the electric appliances clean
• learn to use no fire cookers
• minimize your belongings – take the 100 things challenge. Only keep things you love and that make you feel good
• eat more veggies and fruits. Have at least one vegetarian day every week.
• eat more locally produced and organic food
• write a food plan and keep it
• stop throwing food away
• cook from scratch
• eat less
• shorter showers
• take the stairs. Elevators and escalators use electricity.
• get compost and start composting everything that can be composted
• recycle all your garbage
• start cleaning your environment. “roska päivässä” movement
• change electric appliances to man-powered, crank, or treadle powered
• use fewer dishes and wash them by hand, air dry
• use fewer clothes and use them wisely. Get work clothes and use clothes-protecting items like aprons and sleeve covers. Air your clothes often, and wash them less.
• buy minimally packaged goods, and make things of the packaging
• eliminate disposable products - make reusable pads, reusable produce bags, reusable handkerchiefs, reusable shopping bags, sandwich bags, reusable bowl covers for the fridge etc.
• check how to use cloth instead of toilet paper (this is VERY EXTREME)

- One of the most important "things" in my life, one "thing" I'm grateful for every day, is my husband, and I want to do things for our relationship.
There was a list of some 25 things you could do this fall with your husband, but I can't find it :-( There were really nice ideas.
There are also "fall dating ideas" lists. Go through some and pick things that sound reasonable to do with your spouse.

Go on a date every week in the Autumn

• spend a whole morning in bed
• write a fall bucket list together
• go reading together in a park with sammies and wine
• go tossing a frisbee
• make a kite together and go flying it
• build a fort in the living room and have a movie night
• have a ghostbusters movie night
• have a scary movie marathon
• have a Harry Potter movie marathon
• read ghost stories to each other in candlelight
• make a quilt together for snuggling
• have a game night
• go to a market, buy things and come home to cook something with those things
• cook a romantic dinner together
• bake together
• go to a flea market, secondhand, etc. buy a piece of furniture and fix it together
• go on a bookstore date
• go on a sunrise or sunset date
• go shopping for some fall decor and things
• go picking some natural elements that can be used to make fall decorations with, and make fall decorations together
• make an autumnal gingerbread house
• go to a picnic in a romantic place and play in the leaves
• get bicycles for both of us and go on a biking tour with a picnic basket
• go bowling
• go play pool
• go hiking and camping, spend a night in the wilderness and watch stars together, by a fire, in a blanket, and make s'mores
• get a new hobby together (I chose cabinetmaking:-D)
• learn a foreign language together (I chose French)
• learn to dance with my spouse and go dancing
• learn to give massage and give each other massage
• paint each other's portrait
• go tour your home town; either take a guided tour or find out information to share with each other
• learn to play an instrument together (I chose guitar)
• learn to play a new card game
• practice yoga daily together
• go on a "day trip" (I chose a zoo nearby, which is going to take the whole day.)
• take a CPR/first aid course together
• learn to make candles
• make candy together

For this I added three things to my own autumn bucket list:

* build a home theater (within our resources, naturally. It might not be much more than rearranging the living room so that the television and comfy chairs are "strategically" placed with the coffee table - but that alone would improve the movie and tv watching time together.)

* build a fake fireplace (to be able to cuddle in front of the fireplace and to decorate the mantel)

* make a "cuddle kit"

Compile a collection of spooky stories
 
Host or attend a fall festival with fun games, crafts, and prizes!
 
Invites friends over for chili night
 
Have a sock knitting bee
 
Learn orienteering
 
Learn the Thriller dance
 
Make 30 autumn cards and send them to people
 
Make a pinecone weather station
 
Have a board-game night
 
Play hide and seek outside
 
Play pumpkin bowling
 
Prepare the balcony for winter
 
Find five scents that feel like autumn

Learn to solve puzzle cubes
 
Surprise someone you love with a fall-colored mum
 
Take a walk in the rain, without an umbrella. Don’t resist the urge to jump in puddles
 
Visit a craft show with friends
 
Visit a haunted house
 
Visit Skogskyrkogård
 
Celebrate National Potato Day, 19/8 
Celebrate the Moon Festival or Mooncake Festival 15/9

Stay up late and watch the harvest moon 16/9

Celebrate Oktoberfest 17/9-3/10 
Celebrate Mabon 22/9 
Celebrate Rosh Hashanah 3-4/10

Celebrate Yom Kippur 12/10

Celebrate Sukkot 17-23/10

Have a teddy bears' picnic 27/10 (The International Teddy Bear Day)
  
Have a Halloween bonfire with hot apple cider

Have a Halloween masquerade party with apple bobbing

Build a Dia de los Muertos altar

Collect autumn leaves
 
Plant Lily-of-the-valleys for Independence Day
 
Create an autumn nature table
 
Enjoy autumn
 
Go apple picking in an apple orchard

Go indoor apple picking
 
Go for an early morning walk and watch the sun rise on a cool, crisp day
 
Go to a leaf hunt
 
jump in leaf piles
 
Make a fall leaf maze
 
Make a nature shadow box

Make land art with leaves
 
Play conkers
 
Play with a fall sensory bucket
 
Look for signs of fall
 
Play fall "I Spy"

decorate an autumn cake

Get 8 Sabbath boxes and start filling them. (I want 8 big boxes with all the Sabbath associated stuff in, and nothing more.)
Do some Autumn crafts
 
The following is from my personal bucket list, so not autumn related

Write - I have a couple of books I need to write on my list

Paint china

Improve my French

Improve my German

Learn the basics of all Celtic languages

Learn Latin

Learn hula-hooping

learn whip cracking

learn baton twirling

learn herping

learn juggling

learn to brew cider, mead, ale, wine

illustrate

translate

reconnect with high school friends

build a baker's cabinet

make 3 baskets in different ways

make 3 beaded works

learn leather work

learn flower work

learn bone carving

create a cactus tray

create a terrarium

create a bonsai tree

make 30 books in 30 days

make 10 different kinds of candy

Have a perfect milkshake

Here's one suggestion on how to make a $5 milkshake

Banana? Yogurt? I don't think so.

How to make a perfect milkshake

Now, one scoop of ice cream is about 1/4 cup or 2 ounces, so the ratio is 3:1 3 ice cream to 1 milk.
You can use the ice cream scoop as a measuring cup for the milk

Here's Paula Deen's milkshake, which is one of the most popular milkshake recipes at Food Network.
I would skip the sugar altogether, I think there's too much sugar in most ice creams already.

MY perfect milkshake uses good, creamy vanilla ice cream (the kind of ice cream you would eat straight out of the package with pleasure) and full fat milk. Not cream.
There is no sugar added, nor yogurt, nor fruits.
I like it really cold, but smooth, so the ice cream should be soft (not melty), and THEN you can add a little crushed ice to make it colder.

There's no decoration on my perfect milkshake.

I can think of trying the yogurt-shake, and experimenting with infused milk... vanilla milk, ice cold, might produce a really, really delicious milkshake.

100 species challenge

What is it?

You are to learn to recognize 100 new species in your neighborhood. It is mostly plants, but you are the master of this challenge, you decide if you want to add insects or mushroom (no, they are not plants) or other things on this list.

It is a S.M.A.R.T. plan.

It is specific: plants
It is measurable: 100 new species
It is attainable, achievable and assignable :-): I am going to do it by myself and I don't need any more help than a flora, and that I have.
It is realistic
It is timable

And it is really easy. All you need to do is to do it.

Go out and find 10 plants you don't recognize. It is best to do this in some at least semi-wild area or a forest. Parks might have all planted plants.
Identify these plants from your flora.
You can take photos, notes, draw them, even pick them for pressing, if you are 100% certain of that the plant is not endangered, it's native and it's legal for you to pick it. The laws differ from country to country.

Do 10 species every day and this is done in 10 days. You can take weekends off and get this done in two weeks.