“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
This dog. She has 2 gears, FULL SPEED AHEAD or snooze. Without a doubt, Miss Lucy Puggle is the queen of “slowing down.” I love her.
Goal #3 – Shop Small
A week or two ago I had been burning wood in the fireplace one evening and then turned down the damper and went up to bed. When we came down the next morning the house smelled a wee bit smokey. The weather warmed, and then we weren’t using the wood stove for a few days but the smoke smell still lingered in the room. So I called and made an appointment for the chimney sweep guy to come out.
We knew when we bought the house, the wood stove placement wasn’t exactly up to code because the home inspector had mentioned the stove didn’t have an 18″ clearance on the sides and that the trim work posed a fire hazard. He also mentioned we may want to hire a chimney expert to come out and take a look to make sure everything was installed properly. Which we didn’t do.
We paid for a home inspection, septic inspection, water inspection, radon inspection and something else but I can’t remember what it was now. So basically, we were already shelling out a bunch of money to inspect what we thought were the important areas and well you know, the wood stove looked fine and I’m sure it works grand and we weren’t worried about it.
That smokey smell? It was a chimney fire. See all that oozing black stuff coming down off the brick and the flexible pipe thing? That’s creosote and yada yada yada, the chimney sweep guy says; “There shouldn’t be a flexible pipe thing there, it should be solid and to install one of those will be around $3,000 mam, and this wood stove should not be in this room. You’ll need to move it to another room {the kitchen} if you want wood heat in this house and for it to be up to code and not have to worry about burning the house down.”
And all I can do is shake my head because seriously, what can we do? Even if we would have known about the flexible pipe thing and the wood stove being installed improperly {no wonder it looked like it was barely used!} we would have bought this house anyway. It would not have been a deal breaker. And we had every opportunity to get it inspected. And no, I’m almost certain the people we bought the house from wouldn’t have given us another knock off the price for pointing this out.
When you buy a house, it’s yours. Older homes are going to have issues. And really, we’ve been here two months now, and if this is the only big “unknown” problem we have, we’re good. We love it here, and to be totally honest, having a wood stove in the centrally located large kitchen/dining area makes way more sense for heating our entire house during the colder winter months because of the layout of the home.
So now the plan is to sell the red wood stove, buy a larger matte black one {probably a JOTUL} and have it installed by fall. Down the road, I know this will save us money, but life, it’s just one big adventure and you just have to take things in stride.
Goal # 4 – Have a Designated Meal Prep Day FAIL
I threw in the towel early on this one. Meal prep, and cooking in mass quantities is just not for my family at this stage in our lives.
Goal #5 – Install a Vegetable Garden
She needed WIDE OPEN SPACES….. 🙂 🙂 🙂
Future corn patch? I’m on it. The goal is to have this area cleared {by hand} by the end of the month and planted with corn {and a few winter squash} on June 1st.
Goal #6 – Clear Land for a Chicken Coop and Future Raised Garden Bed Area
If I have to tag along and look at one more tractor without coming home with one…. I am going to lose my mind. The HH is on a mission to find a machine that does everything. Blows snow, chips wood, digs giant holes, lifts heavy stuff and who knows what else. This whole tractor thing, it’s a big deal to him {I could care less, I just want whatever he decides on to get stuff done}. Tractor shopping for me is equivalent to my husband looking at wool samples for hours on end. It kind of makes me want to scream.
This is his “big ticket” man hobby item for like, the next 10-15-20 years. We all need a hobby, preferably one that is productive {bonus points if it saves or makes you money}, and I guess when you live in the country, tractors are what men buy.
Goal #7 – Grow 500 Pounds of Vegetables
The lettuce is up yee-haw! We’ve got it growing in flower pots and in the garden this year. Only time will tell if Mr. Peter Rabbit or Thanksgiving and Christmas {our resident wild turkeys} are interested in it.
Goal #8 – Hook 100 Rugs
This week I’ve been working on hooked flowers but last week I added a bunch of new goodies to my Etsy shop and now I only have 57 rugs to hook until I can check this goal off my list for the year.
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 Done!
On the wall!
Goal #11 – Visit 22 Bakeries
The HH and I are headed to Wiscasset this week to check out a new bakery. Last week I stopped by King Arthur Flour and Cafe.
Goal #12 – Start a Collection
One Hundred Dollars a Month reader Linda from Upstate New York sent me a beautiful antique wooden butter mold and some Greek sweet red squash seeds to kick off my collection. Thank you Linda!! I have it on the hutch in the sitting room and it looks magnificent.
It looks like a carved olive branch, don’t you think?
Goal #13 – Read {or listen to} 26 Books
I finished Angela’s Ashes and am now listening to ‘Tis on overdrive as I work on my hooked rugs in the evenings.
Goal #14 – Try 12 New Canning Recipes
The lilacs are in bloom and I am looking forward to trying out Susan’s Lilac Jelly recipe this week.
Goal #15 – Secret {for now} Holiday Project
My lips are sealed on this one but I only have 4 weeks to go before my “big ticket” item arrives and I can get started {practicing} on my big winter holiday project.
How about YOU? Did you set any goals for 2018? How are they coming along?
~Mavis
Read About My 2018 Goals HERE.
Cindi says
I’m so glad the faulty wood stove didn’t burn down the house! Having it in the kitchen area will be nice.
Are you going to have a fence around the corn? I know where I live the deer, turkeys and raccoons would wipe out a corn patch in no time if they weren’t fenced off. Good luck with yours!
Karin Carson says
Check out Blaze King wood stoves they are one of the best out there, I live in the Interior if BC Canada wood heat is what lots of people in our area use and I would say 80% have Blaze Kings. On our fam we had a Massey F tractor that was a 1960’s model and it still going strong yes men and their tractors my dad spent hours playing in the snow over the years .
Mel says
On the bright side, moving the stove to the kitchen will make it easier to cook on and will create a great atmosphere for bread rising.
My official goals are on hold right now due to wrapping up my work year, but I’m finishing up installing/planting new raised beds, testing bread recipes (current favorite is a honey oatmeal loaf), and getting the house back in order after a terrible spring cold got me behind on chores. After I’m off work, it will be time to think about my goal of painting the house.
Elise says
WOW! Lesson learned about off-hand suggestions for follow-up by home inspectors!!! Dodged that one!!
Again, I LOVE this annual series. It’s not only inspriing, I LOVE endurance sports (Iditerod, Tour de France, etc) and this has that same feeling.
Happy Mother’s Day to you 🙂
Lissa says
Enjoyed this post a lot….Lucy and her fig leaf :). Thankful that the mystery of the smoke smell was safely solved! Houses and gardens have lots of surprises especially in the first few years. Hope all the rest of the surprises are fun ones. Your rug hooking goal: you aren’t stopping are you? It’s good when the man hobby leads to fresh cut grass! Happy Mother’s Day.
Diane says
Will you still be able to use that fireplace if you want during the winter months? I am guessing a chimney sweep would clean out all the creosote.
Heidi P says
I’m so glad your house didn’t burn down. Scary! The silver lining is I think you will be happier with a kitchen wood stove:)
Tractors and men are a funny thing. When we moved to our 7.25 acres my husband did the same thing hunting for a tractor then……every man we knew had to come see it and ride on it. So funny! Still makes me chuckle.
Julie says
make sure that corn patch is going to get enough sun.
Mavis Butterfield says
The HH is working on clearing the area behind the fence as we speak. 🙂
Leslie says
Love your writing 🙂 I feel like we’re right there and you’re just telling me about this over snacks.
Sue says
Happy Mother’s Day!
So glad your loving your dream.
Linda says
You’re welcome Mavis. It makes me happy to know the mold will be cherished.
Two summers ago, I lost a beautiful stand of corn to gray squirrels. It seems the little darlings were jumping from nearby trees onto the corn, shredding each ripe ear the entire length of it and then moving onto the next. We lost almost the entire 200 plants of corn. Disappointing to say the least.
I hope you have good luck with the squash and that you like it as much as I do.
Em says
Thanks for your blog, Mavis. Happy Mother’s Day to you and all moms out there!
Linda, that was sweet of you to send the butter mold!
Mavis I’m happy you’ll have a nice wood stove in your kitchen. I’d love a write-up on that and of the tractor when it’s finally selected!
Greta says
Check out the Vermont Bun Baker woodstove. It has a small baking oven and you can add soapstone exterior sides to enhance and prolong radiant heat. They come in several sizes- pricey but multi functional!
L. bryant says
Mavis sorry to hear about the stove problem. If I remember correctly you said that you have a barn that you want to use during the winter. I would suggest using the small wood stove in there. It can be safely installed and provide the heat needed to work during the cold winter months/ or chilly nights. Have the chimney guy help you determine placement and materials needed to install it properly. Many of my husbands family in West Virginia have this type of set up in their barns and it allows them to work throughout the year in a more comfortable environment.
Good luck!!
Ken Newman says
Jotul makes a quality product…I’ve used my #118 box stove ( now called the black bear ) every Winter since I bought it in 1975. I also have a Vermont Bun Baker ( the smaller one ) in my studio….I won it in a “Mother Earth News” giveaway three years ago. Nice stove ( heats well ) but small fire box….has been an interesting learning curve baking with it but worth the effort ( wood stove pizza…nothing like it ). FYI…just in case you hadn’t heard…wood stoves are cat magnets. The cats will surround it and soak up the heat…what’s that..? You don’t have a cat/cats….don’t worry…magnets attract. Good luck with the new stove…..if you’re not accustomed to heating with wood listen to the pros and take the time to learn your stove….chimney fires are serious things. And for what it’s worth…after a year of looking I settled on a Kubota ( front end loader/belly mower/snow blade/tiller/bush hog ) that was five years ago and it’s never let me down.
LB says
Another vote for kubota! My dad services farm equipment and is a kubota guy.
SandyF says
You may wish to at least contact the realtor to share the issues with the stove. You are being so kind-but, regardless of inspection-the home still is required to be up to code.
We discovered a gas line issue after escrow and it was still the sellers responsibility.
Do you know if you have home repair insurance? Often the realtor includes it in a sale.
Worth a look anyway.
Good luck and be safe!
Gee says
Glad the faulty installation caused no real harm.
As you’re planning to put squash in the corn patch anyhow, you might consider adding some beans to the mix and doing a traditional “Three Sisters” companion planting. An internet search will give you several ways to do it, and I think it’s worth it. It sure cuts down on weeding.
Mavis Butterfield says
I was thinking about growing my dried beans in the corn patch so they wouldn’t take up room in the main garden. Great idea Gee!
Carrie says
I did a small scale three sisters garden once. I think I had 9 corn stalks. It was great!
renay says
Happy Mother’s Day! I had to laugh about the chimney, having just watched Baby Boom, and the never ending things that needed to be fixed at Diane Keatons farmhouse!!!
renay says
…and I hope that it doesn’t happen to you!
Patricia Parsons says
We have a Harman wood stove (Mark II and Mark III). The II is in the house and heats the whole thing (about 1500 sq. ft). The Mark III is recently acquired and will be heating my husband’s garage (shop) this winter (not as big but also not as well insulated). We picked both up off of Craigslist for great prices.
Tami Lewis says
Happy Mother’s Day! I wanted to let you know that the pipe should only cost about $500. The labor makes up the rest. Hth! Google how to heat your home when the stove is far from the other rooms….we did and it helped a lot! That guy is trying to make money by telling you things that aren’t necessarily true .
Teri says
Happy Mother’s Day to you Mavis! Thank God you found out about your wood stove before it really did burn the whole house down. What is the reason you can’t have one in that room? Hopefully you will be just as happy with it in the other room.
Barbara Gantt says
Thankfully you didnt have a house fire. The outcome could have been so much worse.
Check out Hearthstone stoves. They are soapstone, hold heate all night. Ours holds 40 lbs of wood. We have a two story 13 room farmhouse and it heats a good portion of it.
Jeanine says
Curious minds want to know….if you take out the wood stove, what will you place in the bricked area? Too bad. It looked so nice in there. And I too like the idea of placing it in the barn. Might be nice in the winter when you have some projects you want to do in the cold months.
Mary says
Concerned about the very shady corn patch. Those babies want lots of sun. You might want to see if this is the best place for corn.
Diana says
I’m repeating my suggestion from weeks ago — get a wood COOKING stove. You will get so much enjoyment out of cooking and baking with it, and it will still keep the place warm, and use less wood. Now that you get to pick out the stove you really want, and it will actually be in the kitchen, do this for yourself!
chickengrandma says
Do you have smoke alarms ? With a chimney fire and all that creosote, it should have alarmed. I would recommend you get a second opinion on the wood stove and the chimney. Not to long after we bought the old farm house, we had a chimney fire (with the fire department joining us for a new neighbor welcome HaHa), our home owners insurance paid for the chimney liner. After more than 25 years, no more problems. We just have to burn a really hot fire a few times a season.
Christine O. says
All’s well that ends well, glad the chimney fire wasn’t worse. For heating we have a Hearthstone soapstone woodstove. Love it!
Another vote for Kubota! When we first got our property it was all by hand, borrowed or rented equipment. After we got kubota she did lots of work and is our best friend! With a very strong hydraulic system the front end loader doesn’t sag. We have finisher mower, bush hog, box blade, tiller, rack, etc. Such a helper and yes, all the guys will come visit the new big boy toy!
Happy Mother’s day #1 in your forever home!
Christine O. says
Rack haha, should be rake, 6 foot to pull pinestraw, rocks, small branches etc.
Forgot the forklift and CHIPPER attachments just got, awesome clean up and adding to our dirt-making pile.
PTO hydraulic log splitter in our near future too. If HH is happy, I’m happy
Elaine McCarty says
Mavis, I too want to thank you for this blog. I really enjoy reading it – look forward to the next installment. You have inspired me to do some goal setting beyond the ideas just floating in my head, lol.
I’m so glad your chimney didn’t cause a house fire!
Oh, and the comment about the cat(s). I agree – warmth draws them, and you can’t really have a farm without them. Its against the rules!!!
Melissa M. says
I enjoy your weekly goal updates! I have one “complaint”. On your dinner prep goal, you have “fail” written next to it. I do not consider that a fail because you totally could do it if it worked for you. So “fail” is not the proper term for this and it really does bother me because it makes me sad. Would you consider changing this to “NOPE” or “TRiED IT” or something else because this was anything but a fail!
Debbie - MountainMama says
I put a Jotul insert into my hearth when I bought my house and I LOVE it!! It’s so efficient, it most definitely helps with the oil bills to use this as my primary source of heat. Thank God that chimney fire didn’t burn down your house, that’s one of my biggest fears!!!!!!!!!!!!