My 14 Goals for 2020
Goal #1 – Take Full Advantage of Having My Husband Home 24/7
The HH’s major project these past few weeks has been scraping the old paint and gunk off the garage windows and re-glazing them. My job is to paint them {I LOVE painting!}. Well, we officially have one window down, and two to go. It’s not a fun project, but the window looks 100 times better.
I spy with my little eye, a puggle dog, a row of cabbage growing behind the arborvitae, sunflower seedlings in front of the fence and a hydrangea plant beginning to leaf out.
Goal #2 – Take Better Care of Myself.
Took it easy this week, no major projects, took a lot of walks and went to bed early. 🙂
Goal #3 – Get Organized
The plan for May is:
- May 3-9
Paint Master Bedroom Door,Writing DeskandClean Up and Prep Canning Room for Painting - May 10-16
Paint Canning Room,Organize Everything on Shelvesand Make a Simple Linen Curtain for Window - May 17-23 Paint Double Dutch Door in Kitchen
- May 24-30
Paint Entry Alcove and Paint Front Door
Goal #4 – Get Proper Window Coverings on All Our Windows.
All that’s left is window coverings for the sunroom. Which I’ll probably finish this fall because right now, we are enjoying the sunshine that streams through the windows all day everyday.
Goal #5 – Master Bedroom Make Over {almost done!}
I’m so glad we didn’t spend a fortune on window treatments for the master bedroom because the window treatments I found on Amazon allows the sunlight to flood the room every morning and it’s such a nice way to wake up.
Before I painted the room white, the walls were a light purple and the trim was cream colored. I still need to paint the closet doors but I am loving how much calmer the space is now.
Still left to do:
Paint Writing Desk a Glossy Black- Paint the Creamy Closet Doors White
- Refinish the Floors {late summer project because I don’t have the supplies and the windows will need to be open all day because of the fumes}.
Goal #6 – Kitchen Update
My new rug for in front of the kitchen sink arrived and Lucy has claimed it. 😉 I had planned on painting the double dutch door this week but worked on outside projects instead, so hopefully I’ll get to it this week.
It’s not my ideal kitchen, but I’m happy with the way it turned out and loving the fact that I don’t have to worry about this space anymore.
Goal #7 – Install Vegetable Garden Done!
Everything has been planted {even the pumpkin seeds} and now the hard part… waiting for everything to grow. 😉 At first glance it might look like the only place I’m growing vegetables is in the garden boxes, but actually, I have all sorts of vegetables planted all across the backyard. I’ll do a proper garden post later this week to show you, but I am really digging the garden layout this year.
And hey! Check it out. Our first French breakfast radish of the year. Isn’t it cute?
Goal #8 – Explore More of Maine
No real adventures this past week but we did walk by several “free” stashes.
On the radar for exploring Maine in June:
Bar Harbor, MaineLincolnville Center General Store in Lincolnville, Maine- Wallace’s Market in Friendship, Maine
Alewives Fabric Store in Nobleboro, Maine- Harpswell, Maine and Bailey Island
- Camden, Maine
Goal #9 – Host Some Sort of Get Together
Eh.
Goal #10 – Read/Listen to 12 Books
No new audiobooks this past week but I did real this article on BBC about the benefits isolation can have on your work and it pretty much enforced what I already know… and that is I would be happy living on an island off the coast of Maine. 🙂 My requirements: Internet, post office, general store, library.
So far I have read/listened to:
- Olive Kitteridge #3
- Olive, Again
- Birdseye: The Adventures of a Curious Man
- Smitten Kitchen Every Day: Triumphant and Unfussy New Favorites
- Natural Color: Vibrant Plant Dye Projects for Your Home and Wardrobe
- The New Bungalow Kitchen
- Container Gardening by Stephanie Donaldson
- The Nightingale #1
- A Piece of the World #2
- The War I Finally Won
- Vertical Gardening
- Front Yard Gardens
- The Complete Cooking Light Cookbook
- Beach House Style
Goal #11 – Learn A New Skill or Craft
Not yet. Thinking seriously about buying a glass kiln though {and so is my neighbor}.
Goal #12 – Visit 12 Museums, Historical Homes or Botanical Gardens {and bakeries too!}
I just found out that Head Tide Oven in Damariscotta, Maine will be CLOSED for the summer. 🙁 I am so disappointed as it is pie fix central for me. Anyone know of any other awesome pie shops in Maine {I will pretty much drive anywhere for a good pie}.
January
- Maine Maritime Museum
- Maine Mineral and Gem Museum
- The Island Market
- Cafe DiCocoa
- Hungry Hollow Country Store
February
- Two Fat Cats Bakery
- Portland Museum of Art
- Speckled Ax
- Atlantic Baking Company
- Rockland, St. George, Cushing and Port Clyde Maine
March
- Bar Harbor and Desert Island Adventures Day One, Day Two and the Summer Cottage Rental Tour.
- Tinder Hearth Bakery in Brooksville, Maine
May
- Puzzle Mountain Bakery Pie Stand in Newry, Maine
Goal # 13 – Reach 5,000 Etsy Sales by the End of The Year
As of this morning, I have made 4081 sales on Etsy. That’s up from 2804 on January 1st!
This past week I set my whale rug aside {no rush to finish it now seeing how the Maine bicentennial has been moved to next year} and started work on a tall tulip rug. Hopefully by this time next week I’ll have a new rug hooking kit {or two} to offer in my Etsy shop.
Goal #14 – Once a Month Menu Planning {for 2}
The HH’s meal plan for the month of June: BBQ. 🙂
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Have YOU made any goals for this year? If so, DO TELL! We all want to hear about them.
Have a great Sunday everyone, enjoy the sunshine.
~Mavis
Mel says
1. HEALTH: I’m nearly back to my running/hydration/healthy food routine.
2. HOLIDAYS: I think I might organize the holiday stuff this week or next. I realized that I mostly just need different storage bins to fit awkwardly shaped items, so that’s not a hard fix.
3. COOKING: I haven’t ordered spices for spice mixes yet, but I did find the perfect hot dog/hamburger bun recipe, so I’m making those again today.
4. HOUSEWORK: I did a lot of cleaning and organizing this week. I completely emptied, scrubbed down, and reorganized our fridge, decluttered and organized my sewing space, and organized our “pantry” (a counter I’m using to hold flour and stuff now that we’re doing bigger but less frequent shopping trips). I need to fold laundry today and probably clean bathrooms tomorrow.
5. SEWING: This goal keeps evolving, but I’m currently working on replacing our white cloth napkins with darker colored ones for each season/holiday to make laundry easier. So far, I’ve made spring and Thanksgiving cloth napkins this week. They turned out FAR better than I could have hoped, so I ordered fabric for other seasons.
Janet Parks says
Hi Mel, please share your perfect hamburger buns recipe, I would really appreciate it!!
Maybe a future post on your cloth napkins, having seasonal and holiday prints is such a good idea!!
Thank you for all your great contributions to Mavis’s blog, you are awesome and like Mavis said, I’d love to have you as a neighbor!!
Janet- Woodway, WA
Mel says
Sure, it’s this one: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/hamburger-or-hot-dog-buns-recipe
I’ve tried King Arthur’s “Beautiful Burger Buns” as well, and they were okay, but these are next level. I caught my husband eating them plain. They’re also sturdy enough not to dissolve when packed with toppings.
I’d love to have you all as neighbors as well! Especially right now. My husband still has to go to work, but I’ve been home all day every day since this started, so I’m starting to wonder when I’ll be around people again. 🙂
Kris says
Thanks for the recipe Mel. I’m going to try it this afternoon.
Julie P says
Thanks for that Mel. Yes me too, my husband has been working, he is a lorry driver in food distribution, and I’ve not been outside our property since the last week of March. I feel maybe I should start doing some shopping (our son has been doing it for me) as our lockdown has eased somewhat from today. We shall see. I miss contact with my female friends.
Mel says
I have left our property to shop, but only 3 times since mid-March. And shopping is very stressful now, so I actually dread that.
I was missing my friends as well. We used to have craft days, so I mailed each friend a craft kit from Etsy, and then we had a virtual craft night, completing the kits in our own homes. It wasn’t the same, but it helped a bit.
Leanna says
How about a bakery on your island? 🙂
Mel says
I was wondering this as well. Perhaps the general store has baked goods?
Lissa says
Curious about what things you don’t like very much about your kitchen.
Peg says
I do worry about the mom and pop businesses that may not survive the shutdowns. Two restaurants in my small hometown (one open morning through mid-afternoon and the other open evenings only, both owned by the same people who drove 100 miles round trip everyday -except Christmas-for 17 years) permanently closed. It was a huge loss to that community!
I’m curious why you say this isn’t your forever house. It seems a manageable size and located in a charming town. Just wondering.
Jane says
I love seeing the pictures of your heart rocks. You find the most interesting designs!
Judith Culp DeWitt (Jude) says
Dear Mavis,
I became quite scared last year because of my health. I am over 65, married, less and less able to concentrate or motivate myself because of pain, or to lose any of the weight that put me in the Morbidly Obese range. In July I began a new cooking/eating method. By September I had medical proof of being gluten intolerant, and so a ketogenic way of eating became my new reality. In late November, encouraged by your blog which I’ve followed for years, I decided to join you in making a list of goals for 2020. Now it’s time to step up and be accountable!
My Goals for 2020
1. Continue getting healthier by losing 25 more pounds this year. (July ’19 – Dec. 19: – 35 lbs)
Today: On track – down 11 lbs since the beginning of the year.
2. a. Use at least one new food per month and one new cooking method every other month.
b. Put at least six foods/methods into menu rotation.
To date: New foods to me that I have learned to cook or use in meal prep include flax and hemp seeds, collards, turnips, kohlrabi. Only collards and Kohlrabi didn’t make the cut.
New methods of cooking: poaching chicken/fish, chia pudding, “fat dough” for baking bread. Chia pudding and fat dough appear regularly on my menu rotation now.
3. Grow at least six fresh foods for the table/canning/freezing.
Today: One small garden is planted with lima beans, peas, radishes, bunching onions, sweet peppers, eggplant, tomatoes, lettuce and cress/micro-greens. Second garden in backyard is planted with zucchini & winter squash. Herbs in containers.
4. Get “end of life” plans made and work toward finalizing paperwork.
To date: In light of Covid-19 developments, this became important! We prepared certified copies of our POA for Health Care and our Organ/Tissue donation directives. We confirmed estate distributions. Next up: Wills!
5. Learn a new skill, perhaps to use as a means of donation.
To date: I tried several things, but accomplished teaching myself to crochet. I have crocheted about 25 bags to hold/protect small items my husband crafts for donation. I’m also learning hand lettering.
6. Become more involved in the community where I live.
I researched several ideas. I petitioned to become a Precinct Captain in my county.
First meeting: June 1!
7. Volunteer with the County Genealogy Society at least 8 hrs per month.
Goal accomplished during Jan & Feb. Access to files temporarily shut down in March.
8. Knock down two “Brick Walls” (facts that are undocumented and that put a stall in further research) in my ancestry chart.
I found a document that names my dad’s Great Grandmother on his paternal side, finally after about eight years of searching! That alone proved an important DNA link, also.
9. Donate blood regularly this year. (Only once in ’19/ vaccine research study).
Two appointments made, resulting in one donation. I can try again in two weeks.
10. Walk two 5K races this year. (A first for me. I rarely walked around the block until making this goal!)
Finished walking my first “Virtual 5K” alone because of Quarantine, in May. I did it in two hours.
Teresa says
Hi Jude,
I congratulate you on all your accomplishments! You are an inspiration, keep up the good work.
Idaho girl says
Judith, keep up the amazing work on your goals! Go get it girl!
Karen says
Hey Jude,
You are an excellent example for many of us to follow.
Congratulation on your successes and keep up the good work!!!
Karen
E in Upstate NY says
Re Pies: You’ve already discovered my Maine son’s favorite pie place – Tinder Hearth Bakery. Its just down the road from where he lives.