Here’s my big list of things I want to accomplish in 2022:
Remodel The Kitchen
The new countertops and sink were installed on Friday and I love how they turned out. The plumber is scheduled for early next week and will install the faucet and all the plumbing bits and then I can get back to baking. Yee-Haw
Sell Enough Rugs to Buy an AGA Stove DONE!!!
I hit my goal of selling enough of my 2022 hooked rugs and pillows in my Etsy shop to pay for my new Duck Egg Blue AGA cooker. But since the stove was damaged… We now have to wait another 6-9 months until the end of May 2023 for the new one to arrive. 🙁
Fill the Canning Cupboard DONE
I used 2 jars of jam from the canning cupboard this past week and it didn’t even make a dent. That top shelf though looks like it’s starting to sag… I guess we need to crack open a few more jars. 😉
So far this year I have canned:
- Apple Pie Filling
- Canned Carrots
- Green Tomato Piccalilli
- Sweet and Spicy Hot Sauce
- Costco Like Salsa
- Basil and Garlic Tomato Sauce
- Tomato Ketchup
- Tomato Bruchetta
- Raspberry Blueberry Jam
- Carrot Cake Jam
- Strawberry Lemon Jam
- Blueberry Lime Jam
- Strawberry Jam
- Cinnamon Rhubarb Jam
- Pickled Asparagus
- Ginger Pear Jam
- Spiced Christmas Jam
- Cranberry Sauce
- Split Pea and Ham Soup
- Beef Stew
- Zucchini Relish
- Heirloom Tomato Salsa
Not canned, but in jars:
Earn Enough Money Selling {?????} To Pay For Our 2022 Grocery Tab By The End Of The Year.
I’ve decided to move this goal to 2023.
I just didn’t have enough time to devote to this goal this year. I had planned on making a few spinner gourd garlands this year for fall, but there is just too much other stuff going on right now to make it a priority.
Eat More Fruits and Vegetables.
Doing great with this goal. Parsnips are still are still not ready yet though.
Keep The Crafts… In The Craft Room.
Hey now, what’s that? A clean {and craft free} dining room. 🙂 Awesome.
Tap Our 2 Maple Trees and Make Maple Syrup {DONE}
It was a good experience, and we’re going to do it again next year {although I would like to find a few more trees to tap so our yield is a bit higher}.
Make a Quilt Top
Yesterday I finally, FINALLY got around to cutting out all my quilt squares for that quilt I wanted to make this year.
And then I emailed my friend Zoë and asked her if she would put it together for me. 🙂 She said yes {of course she said yes because she is crazy for quilts} and put me on her sewing calendar.
I’ve come to the conclusion that while I love hooking rugs, I don’t have the patience for quilting.
1 Craft / Blog Free Day a Week {I’ve had 43 craft/blog free days this year so far.}
I decided to unplug for the day and clean my house instead of logging onto the internet. It was lovely.
Be More Intentional With My Time
I went to the store that I like the least to pick up a few things and discovered pinatas are now going for $22!!! Holy cannolis, that’s a lot of pesos for cardboard and streamers.
Keep My Husband Busy
The HH started up the boat and headed towards the boat launch so he could take the boat out of the water and well, the steering went out on the boat and he had to paddle home. EXCITING! Luckily he wasn’t on the open sea when this happened.
Yada yada yada… he was able to get the steering problem fixed and the boat is now out of the water for the season.
Let’s just hope nothing exciting happens when he tries to pull up the dock today.
The HH’s Honey Do List {so far} for 2022
- Take over cooking {I’ll still do the baking and canning}
Cut down the cluster of trees in the backyardDONE- Build a new set of stairs down to the water.
Fill the field {with soil}- Remodel 1 bathroom
Replace fireplace tile- Build window boxes for the front of the house
Build an arbor for the wisteria{We decided to move the wisteria to another location instead}Order 4 cords of firewood by the end of May and stack themDONESand the floors in the entire houseDONEInstall new garage door openersDONE {new addition}
My House Projects For This Year {so far}
My big house project this past week was filling all the spice jars for the pantry.
Things I need to get done this year:
- Finish painting the outside of the house
Finish painting the inside of the house- Make something to hang above our new console table
- Make it look like people actually live here {working on it!}
New window treatment for the kitchen window{Have it, just waiting for the HH to install it}
Try 24 New Recipes {21 down, 3 to go}
This past week I shared my recipe for homemade cranberry sauce.
So far this year I have shared the following recipes:
- Tomato Bruschetta
- Apple Pie Filling
- Canned Carrots
- Strawberry Lemon Jam
- Costco Salsa
- Raspberry Blueberry Jam
- Pickled Asparagus
- Split Pea Soup
- Beef Stew
- Pressure Canned Split Pea and Ham Soup
- Hash Brown Waffles with Bacon and Cheese
- Bacon Cheddar Jalapeno Biscuits
- Apple Cinnamon Granola
- Mrs. C’s Slow Cooker Pot Roast
- Ginger Pear Jam
- Blueberry Lime Jam
- Lentils with Carrots and Thyme
- Dutch Oven Cinnamon Raisin Bread
- Dutch Oven Olive and Rosemary Bread
- Air Fryer Bread
- Peach Lavender Jam
Listen to 12 Audiobooks {13/12 so far} DONE
No new audiobooks this past week, but I did get a chance to look through some old Maine magazines.
Audiobooks I’ve listened to this year:
- The Boys by Ron and Clint Howard 10/10
- Wilding: The Return of Nature to a British Farm by Isabella Tree 9/10
- Seven at Sea by Erik and Emily Orton 9/10
- The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin 10/10
- Dolly Parton, Songteller by Dolly Parton 10/10
- Salt to the Sea by Ruth Sepetys 10/10
- No Time Like the Future: An Optimist Considers Mortality by Michael J. Fox 10/10
- Night Road by Kristen Hannah on Audiobook. 9/10
- Mill Town by Kerri Arsenault. Interesting. 8/10
- The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan 10/10
- On Writing Stephen King 10/10
- Taste by Stanley Tucci 8/10
- Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty by Anderson Cooper 10/10
Get a Fishing License and Catch a Fish
Still no fish.
My List of Garden Projects For This Year I want to Accomplish
So far this year we’ve harvested: 849 pounds and 10 oz of fresh garden goodness.
- Cabbage 36 pounds 9 ounces
- Radishes 3 pounds 14 ounces
- Broccoli 3.5 ounces
- Lettuce 1 pound 4 ounces
- Chives 1 pound 2 ounces
- Tomatoes 453 pounds 12 ounces
- Blueberries .75 ounces
- Shelling Peas 7 pounds 4 ounces
- Green beans 25 pounds 11 ounces
- Zucchini 45 pounds 9 ounces
- Cucumbers 28 pounds 1 ounces
- Carrots 31 pounds 14 ounces
- Eggplant 4 pounds 2 ounces
- Cauliflower 2 pounds 13 ounces
- Peppers 17 pounds 4 ounces
- Garlic 9 ounces
- Onions 13 pounds 2 ounces
- Leeks 3 pounds 14 ounces
- Beets 24 pounds 1 ounces
- Potatoes 39 pounds 6 ounces
- Sweet Potatoes 1 pound 2 ounces
- Corn 32 ears
- Various Winter Squash {pumpkins, butternuts, delicata} 94 pounds 1 ounces
My garden projects for this year:
Map out this year’s garden by April 1st– DonePlant apple or pear trees– DonePlant raspberry and blueberry bushesDonePlant asparagus and rhubarb– DoneGrow 500 pounds of foodDoneExpand the lasagna gardenWe created a new garden plot instead DoneFinish clearing the front of the propertyDoneGet some garden pots for the front an back patio/porchesDone
Create 12 New Rug Hooking Patterns and/or Kits Done! {34 out of 12 finished so far}
This past week I worked on a few smaller pieces that I’ll be turning into pillows. I’m hoping to have 7 or 8 pillows to offer for my next Etsy update next Saturday, November 12th at 6pm EST.
New Rug Hooking Patterns/Kits For 2022
- Olde Father Christmas
- Be Merry
- Olde Tom’s Harvest
- Fat Cat with Christmas Tree
- Tom and Tilly Turkey
- Fraktur Turkey
- The Willard Inn Pumpkin Patch
- Olde Sturbridge Pumpkin
- Autumn in the Garden
- Olde Salem Cat # 2
- Fat Black Cat with Pumpkins
- Small American Flag
- Small Flower Basket
- Fat Black Cat
- Busy Little Bee – Brown
- Simple Red Heart
- Patriotic Tulips
- God Bless America
- American Chicken.
- American Kitty
- USA Flag
- Olde Blue
- Chicks and Flowers
- Scrappy Chicken
- Easter Egger Chicken
- Spring Arrives on Widsbee Farm
- Folk Art Chicken
- Valentine Kisses
- 1736 Tulips
- Large Valentine Heart Runner
- Antique Flower Basket
- Love Grows Fraktur Bird
Have All My 2022 Ornaments Finished by April 1st. Done!
All the ornaments I’ll be making for this year are done and listed in my Etsy shop. 🙂
52 Walks {We’ve gone on 44 of 52 so far}
Visit 12 Towns in Maine That I Haven’t Been to Before
So far we’ve visited:
How about YOU? How did you do with working towards your goals for 2022?
~Mavis
Kim says
Handsome countertops, Mavis!
If deprivation increases appreciation, then you will be dancing around your kitchen as you wash that first sinful of dishes.
That pantry is a work of art in my opinion!
Kim says
Sinkful
Shari Harniss says
The two Pilgrim figures you have in your dining room are perfection!
Where did you find such beauties?
Mavis Butterfield says
Hamish and Ruth. That’s what I named them. I found them in a folk art shop {that’s now closed} in Washington about 20+ years ago. They are wooden and stand about 23″ tall if you want to try searching for them online.
Shari Harniss says
So beautiful! Thanks for the response, Mavis.
Happy Thanksgiving
Margo says
When I scrolled down on the page today the words out of mouth when I saw your sink were, “wow! That’s gorgeous!” Enjoy your soon to completed kitchen. My latest goal is trying to keep my goals more realistic because life tends to interrupt with other things. My plan was to plant some lettuce and start another batch of applesauce and apple butter to can and to work on a quilt that I’m making for my DIL.. My washing machine had other ideas and conked out with a load of towels in it last evening. We’ve since rescued and hand wrung the towels out, but we’ll both be pulling the machine out to see what needs fixing.
Julia Park Tracey says
My same response — OMG it’s gorgeous!! Mavis is going to love it!
Heidi N says
The sink & countertops look so nice. Have you had soapstone before? I am wondering how easy they are to clean/take care of.
Tammy says
The sink is gorgeous! Your kitchen is coming together so nicely!
Susan says
Absolutely gorgeous counters and sink. Last year I picked out soapstone for my kitchen reno, and the counter guy wasn’t happy. In fact he/they delivered it with a crack (repaired) in the center of the sink and tried to pass it off. Good thing my handy man was there when it was delivered. Actually it was the installer guys who noticed it. So that was rejected and back to the shop where I picked a granite which was so close in color it was a “dead ringer” for the soapstone. Take heart Mavis, I’m still dealing with the aftermath of a near whole-house reno. Sue
Mavis Butterfield says
Hopefully your project will be done soon. Sometimes it seems like there is no end. 😉
Susan says
Mavis I need curtains or drapes for my 3 long casement windows like your kitchen windows. How do you deal with the window cranks? Mine protrude out too far for shades and I’m trying not to have to go to a custom maker. Thanks, Sue
Mavis Butterfield says
Our window cranks stick out too, but we went with Roman shades. I found this shop on Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/GoldenNeedleDrapery and was really happy with the results.
Esther says
They have folding crank handles or tee shaped replacement handles that will fit behind blinds.
Sherry in Sumner says
Your kitchen is coming along beautifully, Mavis. So exciting for you!
As an aside, can you or your viewers please tell me the name of that bug on your pumpkin? I have been seeing them here in Washington state for a few years now and would love to know what they are. Icky, for sure!
Samantha Surovec says
In reply to Sherry, that was, I believe, an assassin bug. Look them up, they are quite interesting. Here in PA they start out in spring very tiny with red abdomens. Some here grow quite large with spurs in their exoskeletons that remind me of lizards or horned toads. The first one I ever saw was drinking the innards from a bumble bee on one of my sunflowers. They have a large proboscis and can bite people.
Mavis Butterfield says
It’s a squash bug.
Dee says
i don’T think that is a squash bug. look at the wide part of its hind legs, and the white zigzag on the back. it seems to be a Western leaf-footed bug, Leptoglossus
Dawn says
I think it’s a stinkbug. Icky little things.
Emily says
Would it be possible for you to write a tutorial on how you finish your hooked rugs into pillows? I’ve not been happy with the instructions I find online. I figure you must have a good method since you are so prolific.