My 14 Goals for 2020
Goal #1 – Take Full Advantage of Having My Husband Home 24/7
I tortured my husband this week by making him go on a long walk with me and having him wash down the sides of the house. š
Goal #2 – Take Better Care of Myself.Ā
I am finally back to my old sleep schedule {and getting 8 hours of sleep a night!} and feeling much better. Also, Miss Lucy and I scored 2 free beach chairs this week on one of our early morning walks. I LOVE it when people set useful things alongside trash cans for people to find.
Goal #3 – Get Organized
September Goals
- Finish all Christmas ornaments {about 3/4 way done}
Finish at least 1 rug{done!}Pull everything together for turkey rug{done!}
Goal #4 – Get Proper Window Coverings on All Our Windows. Done!
This is the tutorial I used in case anyone is interested. I decided not to make any shades for the sunroom windows. All that sunlight…. it’s too beautiful to cover up.
Goal #5 – Master Bedroom Make Over {Done}
This year I’ve painted both closets, removed wallpaper, painted walls and trim, painted my writing desk, installed a new light fixture, plus added new curtains and rods.
Goal #6 – Kitchen Update Done!
We decided to leave the cupboards cream for now.
Goal #7 – Install Vegetable Garden Done!
I cleaned up the garden beds a little this week and yanked out 3 tomato plants and the last of the basil. I had some lettuce and radish seeds and so I planted those and would you believe the radish seedlings are already up? Wow, that was fast.
Goal #8 – Explore More of MaineĀ
The cooler temps are back and I am THRILLED! If you know of any spectacular areas that would be perfect for a fall foliage drive, please let us know. I don’t know about you, but I am ready to decorate the porch with pumpkins.
Goal #9 – Host Some Sort of Get Together Done!
We had dinner with our neighbors! š And had a yard sale. And I think that will be the extent of my social calendar for the year.
Goal #10 – Read/Listen to 12 BooksĀ
Well, I finally figured out why there was only about 100 audiobooks to choose from on the Libby app…. I called my local library and basically they said that the library is limited on how many digital audiobooks they can buy at a time for their patrons to choose from {which explained the abundance of a certain genre}.
And so yada yada yada… the librarian told me I could download the Cloud Library app and that it would have a lot more choices because most of the libraries in Maine all feed in {contribute?} to it.Ā And so I did. But still, the selection is not as big as our old library and the enormous selection from Hoopla. šĀ And no, I can use my old library card from our old place because you have to physically go in a renew it every year {which, I might add is very clever on the part of the library as you have to prove that you live in that town to have use of their services}.
Currently waiting to read:
- The Dutch HouseĀ {6 weeks to go}
- In Five Years {3 weeks to go}
So far this year I have read/listened to:
- Olive Kitteridge #3
- Olive, Again
- Evvie Drake Starts Over Ā #4
- Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers #5
- 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 WardrobeĀ
- The New Bungalow KitchenĀ
- Container Gardening by Stephanie DonaldsonĀ
- 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 Done
I made stir sticks with my neighbor a few days ago {you can see the kiln pictures here} and now I’m just waiting for them to come out of the cooker. š
Goal #12 – Visit 12Ā Museums, Historical Homes or Botanical Gardens {and bakeries too!}
The year started off great… we were visiting a lot of new places and then things just sort of fizzled out. And well, now fall is nearly here and all I want to do is stay home and hook rugs. š
January
- Maine Maritime Museum
- Maine Mineral and Gem Museum
- The Island MarketĀ
- Cafe DiCocoa
- Hungry Hollow Country Store
February
- Two Fat Cats Bakery
- Portland Museum of Art
- Speckled AxĀ
- 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
June
- Red’s Eats in Wiscasset, Maine
- The Bees Knees Honey Stand in Kennebunkport, Maine
- Rococo Ice Cream Kennebunkport, Maine
- Beech Hill Farm Hopkinton, NH
July
- Wallingford Farm in Kennebunk, Maine
- Marshall Point Lighthouse in Port Clyde, Maine
- The Gnome Lady, Thomaston, Maine
Goal # 13 – Reach 5,000 Etsy Sales by the End of The YearĀ
As of this morning, I have made 4877 sales on Etsy. That’s up from 2804 on January 1st! Only 123 sales to go before I hit my goal. This past week I made some Spooky Ghost Ornaments {I LOVE the crackle glaze!} and dyed a bunch of wool {which I’ll add to my Etsy shop later today}.
Goal #14 – Once a Month Menu Planning {for 2}
- The HH’s meal plan for the month: Snacking & BBQ {out of charcoal, boo hoo}
- My meal plan for the month: Ice Cream, Pie, Salads and Pickety Bits
*********
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
Shari Harniss says
YAY for free beach chairs! I enjoy ‘shopping’ from free piles!
Christa H. says
Week 37 of 52:
1. Do things to support the local birds, butterflies, and my bees- DONE!- I installed a large pollinator garden, made toad swimming holes with rocks, made multiple water bath areas, created two water gardens, filled my large fountain with water and floating water lettuce for the bees to land on, and am still installing an orchard with over 80 varieties of fruit trees/bushes/vines
2. Start seedlings with my grow lights and plant a pollinator garden- DONE! I grew 8 trays of items and am now growing 12 pots of Russian comfrey and 2 pink toon trees that are about 6 inches tall at the moment
3. Continue learning about beekeeping to support my hives- DONE! I have read a lot and chatted with my local bee store, but still want to take a course but the local course was cancelled due to covid
4. Start vermicomposting again to support my garden- DONE!- I ordered 1000 worms and have been vermicomposting for 5 months now
5. Help my rescue cats live their best lives- DONE!- love, treats, catnip on occasion, 2 of the 4 were on protocols with my naturopath and are now healed, they get to enjoy the screened porch, soak up some Vit D out there when the sun shines and they stay indoors where they are safe from coyotes
6. Design or carve an address stamp for holiday mail
7. Do something with the postage stamps I collect from our mail
8. Practice wood burning crafting
9. Reframe old stitchery
10. Make some holiday crafts/art to display
11. Complete or give away my ornament craft stash
12. Beautifully wrap all and personalize all presents
13. Try 20 new food items- have tried about 15 now
14. Clean out magazine stash and tear out recipes I want to keep
15. Do something for my health and/or husbandās health- been working with a naturopath and we are healing
Margo says
Wow! God job!
Min says
Wishing I was there for fresh air, Oregon and Washington are smoked filled.
Margo says
Most of my 2020 goals were done in by the COVID crisis, so I ended up simplifying my list. Working on making more Christmas gifts, increasing food production in my raised bed gardens, reading and listening to at least 2 books a month, and reducing waste. Since my travel goals are out, I have done a staycations
Ion of sorts. I love historical sites, and love learning of the history behind them. This year I have āvisitedā Monticello, Mount Vernon ( wonderful virtual visit sites. Highly recommend!). Also listened to biographies of John Adams, George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, and Benedict Arnold. Grew up in the northeast and always loved exploring the history there.
Jennifer says
Library cards. Have you thought of having Monkey Boy or your parents or Mrs. HB get themselves a library card, assuming they don’t have one and use it for downloading books, and letting you use it? I’m lucky, we moved from a huge system a year ago and ours renews every two years, but with COVID, they are not open, so I’m still good. We moved to a tiny NC mountain county and I’ll face this situation soon as I can only read large print or on my Kindle. No problem, I’ll make my kids get cards where they live and use their systems. One lives in a county adjoining the state capital and the other borders Charlotte.
I read voraciously so I feel your pain on selection, or lack thereof.
Lisa says
Some libraries also allow you to pay for a membership if you don’t live in that city.
Mel says
I’m working on making sous vide yogurt right now, which was one of my goals for this year. Later, I’m trying out the air fryer, which wasn’t an original goal but I got it as an anniversary gift last week, and it replaced our toaster, so I need to figure it out.
Mavis Butterfield says
Let us know how the air fryer goes, The Girl wants to get one.
Mel says
It actually worked really well! I fried tofu to add to vegetable lo mein, and I overcooked it by about 2 minutes (my fault, not the fryer’s), but it was still really good. And it was super fast and easy to clean up. My husband bought an insane model though, so it is huge and also works as a toaster, rotisserie, dehydrator, etc. (I didn’t want another appliance unless it could replace at least one thing we already had, and this replaces both the toaster and the dehydrator, so I think it’s worth it for us.) I’m going to try dehydrating cayenne peppers tomorrow to make red pepper flakes.
We got the Iconites 10-in-1 Air Fryer/Toaster Oven/Convection Oven off Amazon.
Since you love your empty counters, you may want a smaller simpler one that you can stash in the cabinet when not in use.
Linda Sand says
When our daughter lived in Maine she had us drive the Kank in early November. It was spectacular! https://www.tripsavvy.com/kancamagus-highway-the-fearless-one-1601014
Mavis Butterfield says
We’ve done that drive before and it’s a beauty!
Patti says
My goals for 2020 have been neglected but at least I wrote them down so I can see whether I have worked on them or not. I have not lost weight nor exercised like I had hoped. My yoga and water aerobic classes are cancelled but this week I did use a yoga DVD at home. I have walked 2 new trails out of a goal of 12. We have camped 3 different places vs. once a month as I had hoped. We have visited 7 places out of town vs. one per month. I made a recipe that I have wanted to try since I received my cookbook 43 years ago as a newlywed and it turned out to be delicious!! I have sewn 8 items out of 12 – but only two items were for me (made a ton of face masks and gifts for others). I have knit 3 items out of 5, learning some new skills. I have read 25 books – one more than I projected for the year. Most of all I have decluttered and continue to do so as we decided to “work on the house” while home during the pandemic. Seeing you meet your goals is such an inspiration.
Dianne says
Hi Mavis,
How did your swizzle sticks turn out? They certainly looked pretty in the Kiln.
Dianne
Linda Head says
I love audio books- I don’t like hoopla as you have to be on line- I fall asleep to audio books. I got some ideas for new reading- I’ve read so many of the good ones. I am not into the dark stuff.
Gigi says
You can download the books from Hoopla. You have to consciously click to download.
DIANE DODGE says
I noticed Olive Kitteridge on your list–I love Frances McDormand, so I watched the movie on Netflix, I think, then loved it so much, found it so unusual, that I read the book. I bought Olive, Again, as soon as it came out and made myself savor it, not binge reading it. I’ve often wondered, if Olive were my neighbor, if we would get along. I love to garden, but moved to Maine from North Carolina in 2018 and haven’t lost my accent. I probably would have been eliminated as a friend candidate on that basis! But I would have kept trying. Such an interesting character. I love your blog. Thank you for all the inspiration. I want to make Roman Shades this winter, and I really appreciate the tutorial link. I made them in my twenties and remember what work they were, but if you go to have them made, well, let’s just say if you have to ask the price of custom made shades, you can’t afford them! Something good to do in the Maine winter!
Mavis Butterfield says
Roman shades are an EXCELLENT winter project for Maine. š And I too LOVED the character of Olive Kitteridge. I didn’t know there was a movie, thanks for letting me know.
Nancy says
I felt the same way Diane! Elizabeth Strout is one of my favorite authors. We don’t have HBO but our library system has the DVD. Maybe we can watch this winter when we’re less busy.
Linda T says
I know you’ve done Kankamangus, but go there up through Oxford, Norway and Bethel in Maine and stop at all the scenic road side pull-outs, particularly Snow Falls and Screw Auger Falls. There are so many neat places. If you find a little store open, buy Vermont cheese and red hotdogs and have that for lunch! Enjoy
Gigi says
Can The Girl get a library card through campus?
Renae Kerrigan says
My local library didnāt have as many audiobooks as I would like either. So I paid $50 to join the Brooklyn Library as an out of state user. They have an enormous collection and i feel better paying that annual fee and supporting a library rather than using something like Audible. Something to look into!
Tricia says
Native Mainer here. If you haven’t driven along Sargeant Drive in Acadia, which winds along Somes Sound, the only fjord on the east coast, add this to your list. Another area is Schoodic Point, a lesser known section of ANP. Check out these areas if you haven’t done so.
Mavis Butterfield says
Haven’t driven either of those. Thanks! š
Katie says
Does anyone know how to deter critters (we suspect an armadillo) from digging up their flower beds? I have a small flower bed in my front yard and lost a new gardenia bush and all of my petunias this summer to a nighttime critter. They dug up so much that the clay beneath the top soil and mulch is now stirred into the dirt. I have one gardenia bush left, and thankfully it thrived this summer. I’d like to plant tulip bulbs this fall, but am afraid they’ll just get dug up š
Mavis, you have to renew yearly in person at my library too. I asked one time why they did that (and required a DL or utility bill etc). We live in a big college town (60k+ students) and they said this method helps keep their list of patrons more accurate given the transient nature of a lot of the people that live here.
I still need to finish my baby blanket, 7 more weeks until my due date! Eek.
akaGaGa says
Can’t help with your bush, but I used to put tin cans, top and bottom cut off, around my tulip bulbs when I planted them. It kept the moles from devouring them.
akaGaGa says
I, too, appreciate the link for the roman shades. I want to make them for our bedroom. I’ve already read it through (and downloaded the pdf.) It’s all very clear and understandable except …
After you’ve cut the fabric and sewn the sides together, it says “Center the lining on the back so that thereās an inch of the drapery fabric on either side and pin the bottom. Sew across again with Ā½ā seam allowance.” Then just below that “Center the drapery lining again on the top and pin down the sides.”
I must be an idiot because that makes no sense to me. Center the lining on the back of what?
If anybody (like maybe Mavis š who’s already done this version) could explain this, I’d really appreciate it!