40. read Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith

Many many moons after I first cracked the cover, and we are through! With some regret, too, because after the first couple of sections I got used to the writing style and began thoroughly enjoying myself. Joseph Smith was kind of captivating, it would seem. His sermons are charmingly confrontational, a little jumpy, and free of that careful polish that you find coating modern General Conference addresses. I think I like my prophets to be occasionally oblivious of PR etiquette. It makes them more real to me, less like another marvel of media packaging. By the end I was surprised by how much I liked Joseph Smith.

Somehow I had missed it in all my years as a church member, but Joseph Smith often emphasized a doctrine of spiritual independence. There were piles of great one liners, but I'll leave off with the darling of the bunch:

"Turn to God; for your religion won't save you, and you will be damned."

14. recertify in First Aid

I worked stocking shelves at a grocery store for a few months, and while I was there they offered free First Aid training to employees. I jumped all over it because it had a double bonus: I didn't have to pay for the class myself, and I got paid to be there. Double win. It wasn't as much giddy fun without my brother (without my brother is not the same?) but I am refreshed on what to do if you or someone like you drops in the street one day. You feel safer now, don't you?

32. go for one month without throwing away any food

Sometime last summer I managed to consume or save every food item I brought into the house. Apparently. I have it marked off as finished, and I'm going to believe that I did not lie even though I have no memory of that month. (Incidentally, is this why I'm supposed to keep a journal? So large tracts of my life don't go unexpectedly blank? Scary.)

61. play kabaddi in a public park

With small children! Ridiculous fun. The game, if you are not familiar with it, is mostly scuttling back and forth shouting "Kabaddi kabaddi kabaddi kabaddi -" while people throw themselves at you and drag you to the ground. There are rules and structure and points, but someone watching would see a confusion of screaming, running, yelling, giggling, bear hugs and dogpiles. Oh it's grand. Turned out it's good to have small people in the mix, because otherwise it looks like a gang of thugs crushing a lonely and unlucky victim. Think about wolves bringing down a deer and you'll have a fair idea of how it goes.

45. have a silent picnic

For a great time gather some talkative people together, set them out on a blanket with food, and forbid them speech. Their attempts to circumvent the silence are precious. They glance meaningfully at crackers and grapes, invent vague gestures, nod and smile to excess, and occasionally appear to be in some pain.

Just as wonderful is an afternoon with people who don't mind being quiet and a little self contained. When there's a ban on talking, nobody is under pressure to engage and entertain an audience. No aimless story telling, no chattering banter, no awkward pauses while we all wait for someone to step into a conversational gap. Instead there is a fresh summer afternoon, tasty snacks, and friendly company - and you're allowed to enjoy them all without the distraction of constant social twitching. The only interruption is the squirming of the talkative people.

Try this one. You'll be surprised at how much you don't need to say.

24. acquire kitchen worms

Is a bucket of worms under the sink impressive when you could have a big pile of decaying refuse in the back yard instead? I think not! And so I'm going to say this item is better than done. The original idea was to cut back on waste by doing small time composting in the kitchen. At the time I had no plans for a garden. But then ambition struck and I got permission from my landlords to put in garden beds over top of some gravel in the back yard, and now it made obvious sense to have a compost heap over in the corner. So I gleefully had one. Probably there were a plentitude of worms in that pile. I'm happy with it. Wouldn't you be happy with worms out there instead of next to your pots and pans?

72. grow flowers on public property

They were pink cosmos and they grew like oaks. The spot I chose was a little square of dirt and weeds in front of Klassy's Bakery where I happened to be working. (Yes, it was still public property - caught between public sidewalk and an alleyway, it couldn't be claimed by anyone.) By the time they bloomed I had quit and moved out of town, but I saw them once afterward and they were glorious. My benefactor for this episode was Janelle, who sprouted the plants from seed and gave them to me when they were ready for transplant.