My 14 Goals For 2024 – Week 41 of 52

Eat More Fruits and Vegetables

Lots of vegetables were consumed this past week. Mainly in the form of salads.  Oh how I LOVE a good salad. 

I also finished up my shopping for the year, so that’s something I’m rather excited about. But I’ll talk more about that tomorrow. 😉

Visit 24 {new} Bakeries / Coffee Shops

The In-laws have decided to help me reach my goal of visiting 24 new bakeries/coffee shops this year. Yee- Haw! It turns out, breakfast is their favorite meal of the day. What luck!

Last week we ate at Mike’s All Day Breakfast and that place is a 10/10 in my book. We’ll be going back, that’s for sure.

New Bakeries / Coffee Shops I’ve Been To This Year {That I liked}

• Mike’s All Day Breakfast
• The Cookie Jar Pastry Shop
• Fortnum and Mason
• Ritual Bakehouse and Patisserie
• Caramel Patisserie
• Standard Baking Co. 
• Saltwater Farm Cafe
• Coffee Roasters of the Kennebunks
• Farine Bakery and Cafe
• Night Moves Bread
• Cape Porpoise Kitchen

Contribute to 12 Free Little Libraries. {7 down down, 5 to go}

I need to get going on my goal of donating to 12 different free little libraries! I’ve only donated to 7 so far this year. Which is maybe code for I need to go on a road trip so I can donate to a bunch of different locations all in one go. Hmmm. 

Towns I’ve donated books to:

• Snowshill, England
• Gardiner, Maine
• Nobleboro, Maine
• Kennebunk and Kennebunkport, Maine
• Cape Elizabeth, Maine
• Raymond, Maine
• Bellevue, Washington

Spend More Time At The Beach

We didn’t make it to the beach this past week but we did walk along the water’s edge so in my book that’s pretty close. 

I can’t imagine ever living someplace that wasn’t along a coast. The sea air… And the sounds of boats coming and going… You just can’t beat it.

Read or Listen to 24 Books {10 down, 14 to go}

I finished listening to My Girls by Todd Fisher {who did a beautiful job narrating} and all I can say is… What a unique and interesting life. To live {kinda sorta} in the shadows of two very famous women {his mother and his sister} and to seem so even keeled about everything. Wow. 

I am now listening to Dearie: The Remarkable Life of Julia Child by Bob Spitz. So far so good. 🙂

Books I’ve Read or Listened To This Year: 

• Grateful American: A Journey from Self to Service by Gary Sinise. 10/10
• My Girls by Todd Fissher 10/10
• The Paris Dressmaker by Kristy Cambron 9/10
• Elizabeth The Queen: The Life of a Modern Monarch by Sally Bedell Smith 9/10
• Wait Till Next Year by Dorris Kearns Goodwin 8/10
• George VI and Elizabet:by Sally Bedell Smith 9/10
• Steve Jobs by Walter Issacson 9/10
• These Precious Days by Ann Pachett 9.5/10
• Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson 8/10
• Family Reins by Billy Busch 7/10 

Paint 

Now that all my “chores” are done for the year, I finally get to have some fun. Yesterday I pulled out all the things I’ll need so I can make some new whale ornaments for my Etsy shop. 

Hopefully by this time next week I’ll have a batch fired in the kiln and ready to glaze.

Paintings I’ve finished this year:

• Portrait of Joseph Roulin 
• Red Boats at Argenteuil
• Regattas at Argenteuil
• Vase with Cornflowers and Poppies 
• Sunflowers
• Garden Path with Chickens
• Goldfish

Hook 6 “Big” Rugs.

I finally finished the turkey table runner rug I have been working on these past few months and listed it in my Etsy shop last night. I still have two more large rugs to hook before the end of the year. I think I’m going to hook a couple of mini rugs first though.

Large Rugs I’ve Hooked This Year

• Three Roosters
• Hidden In The Garden 
• Yankee Doodle
• Double Nantucket Whale Runner with the American flag

Visit 6 Greenhouses {4 down 2 to go}

I still need to visit 2 greenhouses this year so I can check this goal off my list. But HEY, look at this terrarium I spotted online. 

I may have to put this on my wish list this year. I may not have room for a real greenhouse… But a table top one might be fun.

Grow Baby Grow

I was able to get a gazillion bulbs planted in the ground and in pots and then I gave all my leftovers to The Kiln Guy. It feels SO GOOD to have that done! To have EVERYTHING on my outdoor project list for the year completed. Yee- Haw.    

Now I can sit back and wait for it SNOW. 🙂 Hopefully we’ll get lots of snow this year.

Donate to 12 Different Organizations in Maine

This past week I donated to Sarah’s House of Maine. Sarah’s House is a “home away from home” for cancer patients and their caregivers, ensuring they have a comfortable place to stay while receiving treatment at Cancer Care facilities in the Bangor area.

You can read more about it HERE.

So Far This Year I’ve Donated To:

• Sarah’s House
• Grammy Rose Dog Rescue
• Cleaning Up My Local Beach
• New Hope MidCoast {50 pairs of new socks}
• Humane Society {180 trays of cat food}
• Travis Mills Foundation
• Camp Sunshine
• Honor Flight Maine

So how are YOUR goals for 2024 coming along? I’d love to hear about them. 

~Mavis

Goals I’ve Already Completed This Year

Go On An Adventure DONE

I’d say that spending over a week in England totally counts as an adventure. I didn’t start the year thinking I’d go… But hey, you just never know what’s just around the corner now do you.

In Stock and Ready to Ship by March 15th/ March 30th Now April 15th DONE!

I finally finished up all the major wool dyeing and pattern/kit making I had hoped too. All the “extra” wool is tucked away in bins so if I run out of wool in my Etsy shop I can whip up some more bundles in a jiffy. A summer off from dyeing wool… It’s going to be pretty rad.

Tidy Up / Clean Out / Purge DONE

We cleaned the whole house, inside and out. And then we sold it. Yee-Haw!

• Barn
• Garage
• Closets 
• Dresser drawers
• Kitchen 
• Sideboard
• DVD collection