At the end of February, I posted about my 2026 Baby Bucket List. My goals are not outlandish. I merely listed 23 restaurants, 3 festivals, 4 places, and 7 movies. Going in, I knew failure was likely. I mean, we haven't done anything special to celebrate the last 4 significant wedding anniversaries (35th, 30th, 25th, 20th). But, I tried to be intentional. At the end of February, we had checked off 3 items (Beef-a-Roo restaurant, The Bread Basket, and Marmalade Sky Bed & Breakfast).
In some ways, we did better than expected this quarter. It's crazy, but we nailed the goal I thought we'd bomb, movies. It was like I went movie crazy in the last several months. Although I missed seeing H is for Hawk (with Claire Foy) in the theater, I jumped on the opportunity when I saw it available on my library's Kanopy account in April. It was a bit slow, but I enjoyed it by myself (couldn't get John to watch it with me).
Since I vetoed the modern remake of Wuthering Heights, I sought a different Bronte film. I made up for it by watching the 1996 version of Jane Eyre on Kanopy. I noted a familiar name in the credits, Samuel West. He was very young in this movie, but plays the eminent Siegfreid Farnon on All Creatures Great and Small. Speaking of that series, I managed to secure and watch the library's copy of Season 6 finally.
In early April, I went to see A Great Awakening twice . I went first by myself and then with John and Trevor. It will be my favorite movie of 2026 because it was just outstanding! Although I read Project Hail Mary in April (review coming), I didn't see it in the theater. Sean (who didn't read it) went twice and pronounced it the best movie of 2026. I'm hoping my library will snag a copy in the coming months or make it available on Kanopy, too.
On May 8th, Remarkably Bright Creatures released on Netflix (thanks to Sean's subscription I was able to watch it that day and consider it my second favorite movie of the year. I've already watched it twice (once alone and once with Sean) and plan to watch it with John some weekend soon. Then, on May 12th, I went to see The Sheep Detectives with Sean. We both enjoyed it so much, we went back the following Tuesday ($6 day) to see it with Claire and her mom.
I only ticked off 2 restaurants from my list since February. Instead of visiting them as a couple, I combined them with trips to pick up Sean. I went to Dog-n-Suds with Sean in April. Then, when I went to move him home from Purdue on May 16th, I went early enough to snag the $6 meal at Long John Silver's. The cashier even gave me the senior discount. Although we went out for Mother's Day, I chose my favorite local Mexican instead of something from the list. I could have crossed off Boulder Creek for my birthday meal, but money is getting tight and I just didn't want to cough up the big bucks (though I've enjoyed their birthday dessert on past occasions).
We have no plans to visit any of the 4 places on my list. We were hoping to get away for a retreat for our anniversary, but our current living situation is ruling that out, for now. So, I've exceeded expectations on movie-viewing, trudged through minimal restaurants, and thoroughly neglected getaways. Perhaps I can make up for it with a few small getaways by myself this summer. I have a friend in the Chicago suburbs who wants me to come help her work on a memoir (that sounds challenging and fulfilling). I don't relish driving alone, but it might be nice to get away, even if it has to be a solo trip. Hopefully, by the next quarterly progress report, I'll have more goals achieved.
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