My Big List of Things I’m Going to Do in 2021 – Week 14 of 52

Stay Healthy! 

Well, things are going accordingly to planned. I lost another 2 pounds this past month and with the whole low iodine diet thing {and eating clean} for the next two weeks, I just might knock this goal off my list sooner than I had expected. Life. It’s just one big adventure after another. 

Since the beginning of the year I have cut down on snacking {I don’t normally snack a lot, but some} and have been eating smaller portions at meal times and that has been the reason for the weight loss. I’m not a believer in diets and so gardening or walking around the house like a mad woman is my exercise. Basically, the goal was to lose a pound a month through just cutting back, but apparently I am ahead of schedule.

Weight loss… Drinking lots of water and portion control. It’s about as complicated as you want it to be. 

Weigh What I Weighed When We Got Married  {128 pounds}

Weigh-ins are the first Sunday of each month.

• My April 4th weigh in was 133.4
• My March 7th weigh in was 135.6
• My February 7th weigh in was 137.3
• My January 3rd weigh in was 140.7

Keep My Husband Busy 

Fence week is finally here!!! YAhoooooo. With the temps now above freezing it’s time for the HH to get out there and dig holes so he can install Lucy’s fence this week. She is going to go BANANAS when it’s done. 

I suspect we’ll spend Monday and Tuesday digging up the rest of the plants and leveling off the area and the rest of the time installing the fence. I am beyond excited! 

The HH’s Honey Do List {so far} for 2021  🙂

• Build a new set of stairs down to the water. The old set… it’s not exactly useable.
• Build a firepit near the edge of the property. {He’s handy, he’ll figure it out}
• Build a picnic table near the birch trees for summer lunches {NEXT on the list!}
• Build 4 or 6 garden boxes for his little lady
• Build a boatload of birdhouses for the {soon to be} bird sanctuary 
• Remodel the bathroom in the hallway {DONE!}
• Install some sort of driveway border
• Install a workspace for me in the basement for dying wool. 
• Install a fence in the front for Lucy {Next on the list!}

Things We’d Like to Buy

• A dinghy {ordered}
• Archery Set {every camp should have archery!} 
• Kitchen table and chairs {ordered}
• Sideboard {ordered}
• Bench for the entryway 
• A full size washer and dryer set {the house came with a small stackable w/d set} 
• Deck chairs and a patio table set {I think we might go the picnic table route instead}
• A set of 4 Adirondack chairs for the fire pit area 
• BBQ {Sayonara smoker?}

Unplug As Much As Possible {but still keep the blog, FB and Instagram}

My phone is still on silent mode. 🙂 Not having to be interrupted by the noise of a ringing phone or text messages is really pretty awesome. 

I did a horrible job of staying off the internet this week. I watched about half of Tea with Dames before turning it off and barely got through The Girl in the Cafe. So, not a stellar week in the electronic world. 

• Goodbye Amazon Prime {Done!} $119 a year
• Goodbye Hulu {Done!} $54.99 a month *
• Goodbye Netflix {Done!} $7.99 a month
• Goodbye PicMonkey {Done!} $50 a year
• Goodbye keeping my cell phone in my back pocket and checking it constantly {so far so good}
• Limit time online to 3 hours a day {for writing, working, and Etsy} 

* Hulu is actually now $64.99 a month for the live tv version {live sports, live news}. You can get it for $5.99 a month but all that does is play tv shows and old movies {with ads}.

Try 24 New Recipes {and remember to link them here} {10 down, 14 to go!}

I’ve been basically eating styrofoam for the past few days so no new recipes to share. 🙁

New recipes I’ve made this year:

• Lemon Meringue Pie
• Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Apples
• White Beans and Ham
• Colcannon
• Tuna Wiggle 
• Grilled Steak Tips with Garlic Butter
• Seville Orange Marmalade
• Jalapeno Cheddar No Knead Dutch Oven Bread
• Hearty Cheeseburger Soup
• Meatballs and Brown Gravy

Read {or Listen to} 12 New Books about Maine {or written by Maine Authors}

I finally finished The 3,000 Mile Garden and next up is either the Becoming Teddy Roosevelt book the HH brought home from the library for me or A Countryman’s Journal: Views of Life and Nature from a Maine Coastal Farm by Roy Barrette. 

I am also still waiting my turn in queue for The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah. 

Books about Maine {or written by Maine authors} I’ve read this year:

1. Christina Olson Her World Beyond the Canvas. 
2. At First Light: Two Centuries of Maine Artists, Their Homes and Studios
3. Bernard Langlais at the Colby College Museum of Art
4. The 3,000 Mile Garden

Audiobooks I’ve listened to {or attempted to listen to} this year: 

• The Midnight Library by Matt Haig {I’d give it a 7/10}
• Wintering by Katherine May {Hit the return button after 7 minutes}

Get 24 Stories Off My Phone and onto the Blog

Stories I’ve Taken Off My Phone and onto The Blog:

• Ale House Inn – Portsmouth, New Hampshire
• Chicken Foot in the Pot Pie
• Pineland Farms in New Gloucester, Maine

 

Get the Photos on My Phone Down to Less Than 1,000 {started the year with 2863 photos}

The window screens are in… and now the house seems darker. Booo!

Clean Out My Closet

I turned all the hangers around in my closet on January 1st and so far 70% of them are still backwards. 

My House Projects For This Year

My current “house” project is spring cleaning. And at the top of my spring cleaning list is to go through all my loose pieces of hand dyed wool, patterns and books and slim down my stash a wee bit. The plan is to get all the extras listed on Etsy this Friday. I’ve been meaning to do this for a while now, and so it will be nice when it’s all done. {And hey! It will free up space for MORE WOOL.} 🙂

Note the supervisor in the background.

• Figure out new window treatments for the back of the house
• Come up with a game plan for the kitchen remodel {for 2022} 
• Paint the family room walls and trim {DONE!}
• Paint the entryway trim and doors {DONE!}
• Paint the dining room walls and trim {DONE!}
• Paint the master bedroom walls and trim
• Paint the barn and add a new fixture {okay, so the HH will be adding the fixture}
• Paint the hallway bathroom {DONE!}

My List of Garden Projects For This Year I want to Accomplish :

This past week we pulled out a bunch of plants in the front and I met up with my friend Heather who took them all. We still have a few more to dig up, but we’re almost there. 

With sunny skies and garden temps above freezing this week, we will be busy in the garden… and that makes me SO HAPPY. In indoor gardening news… my seedlings are coming along nicely. 

Still left on the list:

• Install a simple flower bed border in front of the house 
• Install a boatload of birdhouses/feeders in the side yard
• Transplant evergreen saplings to the side of property for a privacy border
• Clean up and prune the area that faces the road
• Install a vegetable garden
• Install a sunflower patch
• Plant 2,500 flower bulbs {Why 2,500? It seemed like a good number to start with}

Reach 10,000 Sales on Etsy {as of this morning I’ve made 6723 sales on Etsy}.

Only 3,277 to go! 

This past week I added a bunch of new bundles of wool  to my Etsy shop. 

Create 12 New Rug Hooking Patterns or Kits

My 4th pattern/kit for the year is coming along {I’m showing you the backside of the rug because I don’t want to reveal the whole pattern just yet}. It’s a large rug {30″ x 40″} so it’s taking me a little longer than usual to get it hooked.

This past week I finished the deep blue sea and am now working upwards towards the sky. The plan is to gradually go lighter the higher up I go. I haven’t done a background like this before so I’m a little nervous. 

New Rug Hooking Kits I’ve Created This Year:

• 1820 Flower Basket
• Bunny Love
• Old Mr. Squirrel

Create 12 New Ornaments for 2021

I made a few sweet little strawberry ornaments this week and added it to my Etsy shop. 

2021 Ornaments I’ve Made So Far

• #1 ♥ Ladybug Heart ♥
• #2 Strawberry

And a sweet little strawberry garland too. 🙂 Just in time for summer. 

2021 Garlands I’ve Made So Far

• #1 Heart Garlands
• #2 Bunny Garlands
• #3 Strawberry Garlands

Discover 12 Made in Maine Products and Share Them on the Blog

Made in Maine Products I’ve Discovered in 2021:

• Royal Rose Syrups in Newcastle, Maine
• Ash Cove Pottery in Harpswell, Maine

Visit 6 Lighthouses in Maine

2 down, 4 to go!

Lighthouses We’ve Visited So Far This Year:

• West Quoddy Lighthouse in Lubec, Maine
• Pemaquid Point Lighthouse in Bristol, Maine

Lighthouses I’ve Been to in Maine Before 2021:

• Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse
• Marshall Point Lighthouse
• Portland Head Light

Other places in Maine We’ve Been to This Year Are:

• Owls Head General Store
• Longfellow’s Greenhouses and Nursery in Manchester, Maine
• Fresh Off The Farm in Rockport, Maine
• Wasses Hot Dogs in Rockland, Maine
• Langlais Sculpture Preserve – Cushing, Maine

So that’s it. That’s my progress report for this past week. How about YOU? Did you make any goals for 2021? Have you checked any of them off your list yet? 

Have a great one, 

~Mavis