One Hundred Dollars a Month

“The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams.” ~ Oprah Winfrey 

My goals for 2018

Goal #1 – Write Like No One is Reading.

“Close the door. Write with no one looking over your shoulder. Don’t try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say. It’s the one and only thing you have to offer.” ~  Barbara Kingsolver

Goal #2 – Slow Down

With almost the entire house packed and there being no point on working in the garden, I was looking for something to keep my hands busy for the next two weeks. Stripping the paint off of 3 desks seemed like a good option. In the end the desks will be re-strained, but since I’m not exactly sure where they will be placed in the new house, getting all the prep work done ahead of time will have to do for now.

Ideally, I’d love for the HH’s desk to go in the sitting room {where the current owners have a large hutch} but I’m not sure if it will fit, it may be too big for the space. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. Anywho, stripping furniture is incredibly relaxing…. and now that I’ve got a pretty good system down, I wouldn’t hesitate to bring home a heavily painted piece of furniture from a thrift store or tag sale if it had good bones.

Goal #3 – Shop Small

I didn’t really do any shopping this week.

Goal # 4 – Have a Designated Meal Prep Day

I know that my goal to make {most of} our meals for the week on one designated day probably won’t come into fruition until around early April, but working on what works and what doesn’t has been helpful. I know I’ll be VERY busy once spring rolls around and spending the least amount of time in the kitchen will be high on my priority list. Even if I can get all the prep work and meals down to just two days a week I will consider it a victory.

Goal #5 – Install a Vegetable Garden

I noticed Botanical Interests is offering free shipping on any size order right now so I decided to order a packet of Amish Broom Corn. Ever since our trip to the Granville Island The Broom Company in Canada last year, I’ve wanted a homemade broom. I’m pretty sure there is a learning curve to the whole thing, but the way I see it, the winters are long in New England and I’m going to need several winter projects to keep me busy. Figuring out the art of broom making, will be just one of them. 😉

Goal #6 – Clear Land for a Chicken Coop and Future Raised Garden Bed Area 

Mrs. HB texted me from Wilco the other day to announce she bought 4 new baby chicks! All Ameraucanas. Lucy’s chicks wont’ arrive until early early April for for now, I’ll have to admire hers.

Goal #7 – Grow 500 Pounds of Vegetables

Would you believe the people who bought our house didn’t want the raised garden boxes we built? At first Mrs. HB wanted the garden boxes for her place and we were going to haul all the dirt out of the boxes {and over to her place on a trailer} and then bring the garden boxes to her house. But have you ever hauled wet dirt in the middle of winter? Plus, those garden boxes, can’t be taken apart.

So in the end we decided to just leave them be. But now every time I walk outside I stare at our well made garden boxes and wonder if there is another solution. Right now the boxes are 4 x 8. I wonder if I could use a reciprocating saw and cut the corners off the boxes and just take the wood with me. Sure, when I go to assemble the beds they’ll be more like 3 x 7 but still, at least they wouldn’t get trashed. Maybe I shouldn’t care, but of all the improvements we did on the HOA House, this was my favorite. 

Goal #8 – Hook 100 Rugs

12 down, 88 to go. This past week I made a small flowers for Lucy rug and another heart mat and listed them on Etsy. Not on the agenda, a Valentine heart pillow, a few more sets of flowers, and then I’ll start on the giant chicken rug for my new kitchen.

Goal #9 – Make a Set of Dolls

I think I am going to save the doll making goal for later this fall/winter so I have a something to work on when the weather outside is too chilly to garden.

Goal #10 – Make a Sampler, Frame it and Hang it on the Wall

So even with that hands free magnifying glass, I still couldn’t manage counted cross stitch. MY EYES!! MY EYES!!! There is a spot at the bottom of the stairs at the new house where I want to hang 2 square samplers, but they aren’t going to be cross stitch, that’s for sure. Hey, sometimes plans get tweaked, and so now, the samplers will be stitched in a primitive style instead of counted cross stitch. We all have our limits!

Goal #11 – Visit 22 Bakeries

I am headed up to Seattle this week and plan to hit 2 bakeries. I’m tempted to go back to Coyle’s Bakeshop for one of their amazing lemon tarts or Bakery Nouveau for a twice baked almond and chocolate croissant but I know I need to try something new. The decision is a hard one though because there are so many good bakeries in Seattle!

Goal #12 – Start a Collection

I still haven’t made my way to an antique store to look for wooden butter molds or spoons yet. it will have though, I’m not worried.

Goal #13 – Read {or listen to} 26 Books

Yesterday I started listening to Founding Gardeners by Andrea Wulf. So far so good. Learning about how Monticello, Mount Vernon and Montpelier came together is pretty awesome. And having been to all three of those places, makes the story, even better.

Goal #14 – Try 12 New Canning Recipes

Not this past week, but I am hoping to make something special in February. If not, I’m sure I’ll have no problem finding new canning recipes this summer.

Goal #15 – Secret {for now} Holiday Project

I’ve been wanting to do this for YEARS…. and this year, I’m going for it.  The planning stages for this project has begun and around this time next month I should be ready to place an order for supplies.

How about YOU? Did you set any goals for 2018? How are they coming along?

~Mavis

Read About My 2018 Goals HERE.