30 after thirty : like, want, need

Birthday week - yippee!  It all starts tomorrow when two friends, Clare and Shane, arrive for a week of sight-seeing in Berlin, and of course, to celebrate my birthday.  Matthias has been asking me for a while what I want to do and I keep answering with different (but equally delicious) plans - bike-riding around Kreuzberg, picnic in the park, massage, pedicure, champagne on the Spandau canal, shopping at KaDeWe - but really I'd just be happy to hang-out on the balcony with the sun warming my back, a glass of white wine in my hand, some good music and excellent company.  

Anyway, this last list is a bit of a mixed bag - a cosmopolitan collection of wants, needs, hopes and dreams for the next 30 years.  A small slice of how I'd like my life to be when I look back at 60.

30. Have a wine cellar

29. Love

28. Own a "biscuit tin" which is usually full of homemade biscuits

27. Buy local

26. Belly-laugh every day

25. Live back in Australia 

24. Own a macro lens for my camera

23. Age gracefully

22. Teach (subject to be decided)

21. Tread lightly on the earth

20. Grow tomatoes

19. Maintain friendships

18. Have babies

17. Shuck oysters with finesse 

16. Influence health policy

15. Sell something I made with my own hands

14. Own a built-in shoe cupboard

13. Have friends over regularly for dinner and wine

12. Eat seasonally

11. Be an inspiring boss/mentor

10. Invest in good hair-cuts

9. Maintain a healthy body weight

8. Read a classic novel a year

7. Skate on a frozen lake

6. Publish my own research

5. Live in a house full of memories

4. Own a fabulous winter coat

3. Prioritise family and friends

2. Buy fresh flowers

1. Don't sweat the small stuff

PS.  It was hard - it really forced me to think about what I want and in the end I struggled to come up with 30 things.  But a great exercise.