“The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams.” ~ Oprah Winfrey
My goals for 2018
Goal #1 – Write Like No One is Reading.
“Close the door. Write with no one looking over your shoulder. Don’t try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say. It’s the one and only thing you have to offer.” ~ Barbara Kingsolver
Goal #2 – Slow Down
I enjoyed 8 hours of sleep every single night this past week. Seriously, who knew that working in the garden all day would achieve such great results? 😉 Also, my ibuprofen intake was less this past week so that must mean my body is getting used to the pilgrim life again. Ha!
Goal #3 – Shop Small
I bought a tilt top side table from a consignment store for $95 instead of buying something new from a big box store. Both the store owner and the seller made money, and I love the fact I was able to find the exact item I was looking for second hand.
The age of the table, the size, the shape, the patina, was spot on and I knew the moment I saw the table it would be going home with me. Now all I need to do is find 2 upholstered wing back chairs to go on either side of the table and the little nook in the family room will be complete.
Goal # 4 – Have a Designated Meal Prep Day
Totally didn’t happen this past week.
Goal #5 – Install a Vegetable Garden
Yes, but first I need to finish hauling rocks away. And, I’m having too much fun with the Mantis and the garden area keeps getting bigger and bigger each day. I now have a designated pumpkin patch and I’m thinking about putting in a potato patch on the other side of the yard which would leave me more room for ???? I don’t know, but I have a feeling the vegetable garden is going to be pretty big this year
Goal #6 – Clear Land for a Chicken Coop and Future Raised Garden Bed Area
The HH has promised to build me a large coop this summer {I’m hoping he builds me one like Mama Cook’s Coop} but for now we are getting a spot set up in the garden for Lucy’s babies so they can be outside once the weather warms up. I figure the hens will be out there by the end of May in their little Eglu and in a proper coop by the end of June.
Goal #7 – Grow 500 Pounds of Vegetables
Lucy and I installed our first teepee and planted our first round of peas yesterday. Next week we will put up another teepee and maybe 2 more after that. I’ll share some more garden pictures soon.
Goal #8 – Hook 100 Rugs
38 down, 62 to go. This past week I mostly worked on my double trouble chicken rug. It’s a whopper at 24″ x 60″ so it’s taking me a while to finish. And you know, I’ve got a lot of other stuff going on right now too so I can’t be sitting around all day and working on it.
Goal #9 – Make a Set of Dolls
I plan to make a set {or two} of primitive dolls later this year after the garden has been put to bed.
Goal #10 – Make a Sampler, Frame it and Hang it on the Wall
1 down, 1 more to go. I’ll probably work on the second one this fall and then get the samplers hung on the wall.
Goal #11 – Visit 22 Bakeries
Well it wasn’t a new bakery, but I did make a special trip to La Maison Navarre for a delicious key lime tart and brought it home for dinner. Because you know, pastries are life.
Goal #12 – Start a Collection
So maybe butter molds and wooden spoons aren’t in the cards for me this year. Maybe this is the year I collect wooden furniture for the new house. 😉 Yesterday while The Girl and I were out thrifting, we came across a set of 6 Windsor chairs for $75. {4 traditional Windsor chairs and 2 Master’s Windsor chairs.
Yes, they have a bunch of scratches on them, but for the price, I can refinish them. They were the exact style of chairs I was looking for and so I could not resist! Hello winter project #23. Now all I need to find is a dining room table and something to hang on the wall, and that room is done. Giddy up! And you thought I would go nuts in the wintertime because of the cold weather. Bahahahaha…. I’ll be too busy to care.
Goal #13 – Read {or listen to} 26 Books
I picked up Tasha Tudor’s Heirloom Crafts from the library this past week as well as Tasha Tudor’s Garden to read in the evenings and both books are lovely. Reading about someone else’s journey through the ebb and flow of the seasons, and really just making their home and garden their sanctuary, that’s where it’s at. That’s what I am striving for.
Books I’ve read or listened to so far this year:
- Colonial: Design in the New World
- A Secret Gift
- Colonial: Designs in the New World
- Bad Days in History
- New England Farmgirl
- Founding Gardeners
- The Bookshop Around the Corner
- The Bassoon King
Goal #14 – Try 12 New Canning Recipes
I don’t know about you, but I am ready for canning season to begin and to find out what kind of fruit trees are on the property. Based on the buds, I’m pretty sure there are at least 3. I would really love to have more fruit trees and possibly a nut tree here, but I am going to wait and see what we have first before planting anything else.
Goal #15 – Secret {for now} Holiday Project
Last week I ordered my “big ticket” item for my holiday project and it should arrive in about 2 months. The goal is to practice over the summer months and then start working on my big holiday project this fall.
How about YOU? Did you set any goals for 2018? How are they coming along?
~Mavis
Read About My 2018 Goals HERE.
Jeanie says
I love the Tasha Tudor books. She was such a unique soul and lived life on her own terms. The chairs! I can’t believe you scored such a deal. Do you have any tips for keeping mice out of a greenhouse? Besides just using mouse traps inside? I want to deter them from entering at all.
Jeanie says
I should add that I currently have a deep mulch floor. I wonder if that is the issue.
Sara says
You can try the boxes of mouse poison from North 40 & put them outside of the greenhouse. Hopefully something like that would work too give them a detour.
Mel says
Just keep in mind that poison may also harm other animals (cats, owls, foxes, etc.) that eat the mice.
Peppermint and other strong smelling herbs are supposed to deter them, so you might be able to plant those at the perimeter or use cuttings, but I haven’t tested this. Mint can also be invasive, so I wouldn’t plant directly in the ground.
Cathy says
The garden is Looking good !
I love Tasha Tudor , and those two books I look
At every spring , as I thinned out my books
Hers found a place to stay in the book case.
Think about growing cider apples. Might be a new project for you.
Mel says
I didn’t make it an official goal because I wasn’t sure it could happen this year, but yesterday we started replacing our old, small, shallow raised beds with larger, deeper, nicer looking ones. They are so much less of an eyesore but also so much more functional–I can grow full-sized carrots now! I had to sacrifice spring crops like peas to work on getting the new beds in, but I think that will be worth it in the end. The beds have special greenhouses that fit over top, so our growing season can actually start earlier and end later.
Rebecca in MD says
So happy for you in your new home. You are Wonder Woman in the garden!
Like you, I am always working on “making my home and garden my sanctuary.” We moved in almost 2 years ago, and the projects are never ending here on our 2+ acres (which were neglected by the previous homeowner).
We installed raised garden beds last summer, and added more in the fall. I am down to my last few jars of canned tomatoes and homemade pickle relish. Trying lots of new things this year in the garden like cabbage, okra, fennel, onions, and Swiss chard in addition to the usual suspects of tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, spinach, green beans, garlic, and carrots.
I think you will enjoy the seasons more here on the East Coast, and sounds like you have good plans for winter projects.
LOVE your blog!
Connie says
Your furniture finds are really great! Please post more pics of your furniture finds! I really enjoy seeing them!
Libby says
I love how happy you are 🙂
What are you doing with all the rocks from the new garden?
Leslie says
Same here- your happiness and excitement is totally coming through. And it’s fun to live vicariously through you!
Becky says
Love Tasha Tudor!!
Nancy D says
Imagining 2 ecstatic women trying to fit 6 chairs into a Volvo station wagon made me laugh! What a joyful drive that must have been!!! So happy for you!
Earlene says
So Mavis, I figured you get a kick out of this, here it is April 15th and we live in northern Wisconsin. We now have 7-8 inches in the ground since yesterday, so there is no spring yet here! We still had about 4-5 inches on the ground in the woods. The Minneapolis airport was shut down yesterday with almost a foot of snow there! No gardening here, still dreaming and hoping!
erin in ia says
As a neighbor to the south in Iowa I’m feeling your pain, too. Tired of the snow and frigid temps. I haven’t even bothered picking up seeds or walking out to the garden this spring….it’s too depressing. My kids are upset they have to wear winter coats still…Apparently the weather is my fault
Em says
Oh Erin, I’m sorry! Sending warm thoughts your way!
Erin says
Can we request a house tour sometime soon? I know you want to maintain your privacy and so we won’t get an exterior shot (though I would love one), but maybe just an interior tour? Every picture you post I just eat up all the background and wish I could see more. It is a lovely house with a lot of period details and appears to be in well-loved condition.
Lisa-Marie says
Congrats on the chairs! That was a major score! And I love the table. We have one with intarsia. I use it for fancy tea parties.
Is your house from 1722 ???? Just assumed from your rug you’re working on.
I am anxious for better weather. Seeing you dig in the garden is making me antsy. :’))
Carolina says
So Mavis, how did you like that coating of ice on everything this morning? If you are headed to Boston today for the marathon tomorrow, please drive carefully. So sorry that the girl, whom I assume is still going to run, will have to do so in the rain. Best of luck to her!!! Please let all of your fans know how it went.
Deborah says
You can’t go wrong with wood furniture. I love wood furniture. I haven’t started my garden yet, but hope to soon.
I love your chicken rug in front of your wood heater. I’m doing my kitchen in red and yellow with sunflowers and chickens.
We only have an acre of land, but have a pecan tree in the front yard. As well as 2 plum trees and a grape arbor. In the back we have 2 pear trees, 2 peach trees, an apple tree, and a fig tree. I want another apple tree though. We’ve only gotten one pear from the trees and no apples. We do have trouble keeping the crows away from the fruit trees.
E in Upstate NY says
Mavis, you got a really good deal on those chairs, nicks and all! Flip them over, is there a stamp that says Moosehead Furniture? The leg profile looks like it is. Unfortunately, the company went belly up a few years ago, but their quality furniture is still around. Know that my dining room table and chairs from there are already passed on to the next generation for their use. Purchased our set when lived in Bangor Maine and we bought our first house there. It was an 1890s house with a widow’s walk on the top! Loved that house.
Take care, really enjoy your stories. Elizabeth
Teri says
What a steal on the chairs! Love them. How do the thrift stores out there compare to the ones in Washington? Best wishes to the girl if she is still running in the marathon.
Jen says
Hey Mavis, I’m not sure if you’ve said where you’re living, but are you at least able to say which USDA planting zone you’re in? I’d love to see if we’re finally in a close zone situation so I can better follow your gardening plans in my own house. I’m in zone 5 in Colorado.
Cheryl says
Am in Colorado too! Wish I had the space for gardening, but there is this huge deck and a serious lack of money. So I’ll be canning instead!
Jen says
I’m in the Springs! Just moved and I have no beds, so I’ll be trying to do a little container gardening until I have things up and running (probably next year!).
chickengrandma says
In central Wisconsin we now have over 20 inches of snow. It will take a month for all this to melt. No gardening for me!
Sara says
So excited for this new season for you, Mavis! ❤️ My goals are going great too! My favorite (& most annoying/challenging) has been never miss a Monday workout.
Marie says
Curious as to what’s ur plan for keeping bunnies out of the pea starts?
Jennifer Meyer says
Did the old homeowners not know what fruit trees were on their property? Also I am curious about the 1722 you always put on rugs too. I’ve seen it asked multiple times, but never answered.
Mavis Butterfield says
I used to do 1792, 1829 and 1872 in my rugs. I really like to hook 7’s and 2’s. I like the way it looks.