My Big List of Things I’m Going to Do in 2021 – Week 15 of 52

Stay Healthy! 

Well, I’m 12 days into the low iodine diet thing {and eating clean} and let’s just say I will be soooooo glad when I can eat real food {pie, bread, cheese} again {Saturday}. I’m just trying and stay busy so I don’t have to think about food. I found the salt free matzos though, so there’s that. 

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 

His left ear might be a little smaller, but hey now, the doctor must have aced his plastic surgery course because that’s a pretty good looking ear! I think it’s going to heal nicely, don’t you?

The HH was supposed to take it easy for a few days, but he only lasted one {and murmured something about how he must have Stockholm syndrome because he just couldn’t sit still while I was buzzing around}. 

He finished the fence yesterday! Wahooo! He replaced all the 3ft pickets along the side of the garden with 4ft pickets {the above photo was taken halfway through the process} and now Miss Lucy can run around off leash! 

We still have a ton of work to do in the garden, but it’s coming along nicely. 🙂 

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 {DONE!}

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  {I LOVE these chairs!}
• 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 an excellent job of unplugging this week and spent nearly every day outside. It was lovely. Lucy worked on her tan and we worked in the garden. 

• 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 and vegetables 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 am currently reading Becoming Teddy Roosevelt. Also, my new Maine magazines arrived but I think I’ll wait and read those when I have to do the whole 48 hours isolation thing. 

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
• Sheepscot General Store and Farm in Whitefield, Maine

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

I’m back up to 2177 photos. 🙁

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. C’mon summer!

My House Projects For This Year

My current “house” project is spring cleaning. This past week I went through my stash of patterns, books and wool and listed a bunch of stuff on Etsy {to make room for more wool… go figure}. Hopefully by the end of today, the dining room will be all tidied up and we can finally get the craft table {that somebody probably died on} into the craft room because our new dining room furniture is supposed to arrive in a few days {YEE-HAW!}

I don’t know what I’m more excited about, the new furniture, or getting my craft table back. 

• 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 :

A sign that your husband is getting old: He owns a metal detector. 

Apparently before I can pull out Manny, the garden has to be free of any metal debris. I think it’s a stalling tactic. 

Still left on the list:

• Install a simple flower bed border in front of the house {Plants have been ordered!}
• 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 {Working on it!}
• 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 6795 sales on Etsy}.

Only 3,205 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

I didn’t get a chance to hook a single wool strip into the rug I am working on. All my extra time was spent in the garden this week! I have a feeling I’ll get some serious hooking in this week though. 😉

New Rug Hooking Kits I’ve Created This Year:

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

Create 12 New Ornaments for 2021

I know it’s totally not turkey season {but maybe I’ve been craving it though?} but I did a couple of kiln firings this week and one of new ornaments that came out were these cute little gobblers. I listed a few of them in my Etsy shop last night. 

2021 Ornaments I’ve Made So Far

• #1  Ladybug Heart 
• #2 Strawberry
• #3 Mr. Turkey

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
• Uncas Farms Pure Maple Syrup

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