“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 past week were were forced to slow down because of the heat. We also learned we needed a dehumidifier for the basement and that apparently there is something called an oil burner that we need to have tested every year. This house, there is a giant learning curve to it and we are slowly started to figure things out. It does make you wonder…. what’s next though. 😉
Goal #3 – Shop Small
Best sauerkraut and pastrami on the planet. I’ll tell you all about it next week.
Goal # 4 – Have a Designated Meal Prep Day It’s Not For Us
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. Although with the addition of a new freezer, I may have to whip up some new freezer meals. We’ll see.
Goal #5 – Install a Vegetable Garden Done!
Although we have plans to expand our vegetable garden in the fall, over the next few weeks we’ll be working on clearing the front of the property to expose the rock wall and to thin out the smaller trees for a more open feel. Plus, as an added bonus, it will be one less spot for ticks to hide out.
Goal #6 – Clear Land for a Chicken Coop and Future Raised Garden Bed Area
Chicken coop building begins this week!!! I highly doubt the HH is as excited about it as I am. 😉 Bahahhaa. A chicken coop… How hard can it be, right?
Goal #7 – Grow 500 Pounds of Vegetables
The kitchen garden is coming along nicely and I’ll put together a proper garden post this week with our current harvest totals. Also, my husband is slightly freaking out about all the tomato plants. Which I find amusing for some reason.
Goal #8 – Hook 100 Rugs
Only 39 more rugs to go before I can check this baby off my list! This month I’m working on a series of animal rugs including the massive chicken rug I started back in March. I’m having a hard time though deciding on what to hook for the top center of the the rug. Another funky hit and miss dot, or a faded heart? If I hook a heart, do I add the side loops to the top of the heart? A two toned heart within a heart, or a more solid{ish} color?
It’s hard to decide! But if I want to stick to my next Etsy shop update on July 28th and have multiple pieces to offer, I better get cracking!
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!
Goal #11 – Visit 22 Bakeries
Ohhhhh yes! New bakery post coming this week. Also, I need to spend the entire day working outside because I ate 5 slices of pie and a lemon square all within 24 hours and I totally have a food baby. {IT WAS THAT GOOD!}
Goal #12 – Start a Collection
No collection worthy items this week but I did pick up a sturdy basket {for my veg stand} a small silver vase {that I’ll either fill with flowers or use as a base for a pumpkin head} and a mini food chopper/nut grinder that will come in handy for my secret holiday project. I found all this stuff for FREE at our local recycling center when the HH and I dropped off our garbage and recyclables this weekend.
Goal #13 – Read {or listen to} 26 Books
This past week I’ve been listening to Rob Lowe’s Love Life on audiobook as I work on the chicken rug. It’s a good book, and the perfect kind of thing to have on in the background as you putter around your day.
Goal #14 – Try 12 New Canning Recipes
Beets! We will be harvesting and canning beets later today on the outdoor cooking stove. This will be our first time canning outside so we’ll see how it goes.
Goal #15 – Secret {for now} Holiday Project
I slacked off this week and didn’t really making any progress with my secret holiday project. I need to hop to it though if I’m going to be ready for my big reveal in mid September.
How about YOU? Did you set any goals for 2018? How are they coming along?
~Mavis
Read About My 2018 Goals HERE.
Tamara says
Everything looks to be coming along nicely! I envy your energy and stamina. Could that vase be pewter? And the HH should know by now you can never have too many tomatoes! 🙂
Kara says
Great freebies, especially that vase!
Elise in the SF Bay Area says
From the description of the humidifier (yes, I was curious): “If your standard unit of measure is ice cream, our dehumidifier removes up to 70 pints from the air per day.” – It’s the perfect one for you!!! Some things are just meant to be 🙂
Again, I LOVE following your goals through the year. Maybe one day I’ll set some… With a 9 and 12 YO, I’m still just getting through 🙂
lynne says
okay…I have to ask…in one of the pics, you are sitting next to a sunny window, hooking away, and a fan next to you…yet you are wearing a long sleeve shirt?? Didn’t you say the temps were hot? Inquiring minds want to know – why the long sleeve shirt?? UGH!!! In our mid to upper 80 temps, i’m lucky to get out of a tank and boxers 😀 !
lynneinWI
Mavis Butterfield says
Yesterday morning the temps were in the mid 60’s so I was out in the garden weeding. 🙂
Cass says
Re: haveing your “oil burner” checked yearly….it’s a good idea, since that is your primary heat source, according to building code….or the required back up heat source required by building code. No one in the NE can get a certificate of occupancy for a home that has only a wood stove as heat. Now you can USE the wood as your only heat source, but you have to have a back up heating source installed in the home.
You should run your oil burner once a week to make sure it fires up should you need it to…let’s say it is so snowy you can’t get to your wood pile for a few days….knowing you have the oil back up will give you peace of mind when the wind is howling and you just don’t want to go out.
I have a programmable thermostat that I have set to come on when it hits 55 in my house….which means nothing freezes solid if I am unexpectedly away for longer than the wood stove will keep the house warm.
Remember that the wood stove only keeps the living area warm, not the basement where the plumbing it kept. You do NOT want your pipes to freeze so running the oil furnace a couple of times a day in extreme cold will help prevent that, assuming your oil burner is in your basement.
You’re learning. It’s a steep learning curve, but you’ve got this. I know you do.
Em says
I would love to see before and after pics of your rock wall area when you are finished.
I made the cherry jam this week. It turned out great!
Mel says
I don’t meal prep in summer, but I’m working on stocking our freezers for fall. I just found a fantastic app called Freezer that has been such a phenomenal help organizing it all this year. You can record quantity and notes for each recipe and add pictures, and it lets you maintain multiple freezers, plus multiple shelves or containers in each freezer. Love it–so much easier than spreadsheets.
Diane says
I vote for a heart in the center of your rug. Maybe with graduating shades of red.
I look forward to your “goals “post every week. You are an inspiration with your can-do attitude!
Lissa says
The addition of the mini food processor and how it relates to the special project has me really stumped now 🙂
Still feeling happy that your princess is no longer under the weather.
Karen says
…and order heating oil in the summer when it is usually cheaper than in the dead of winter.
Pat says
I think it would be a good idea to have freezer meals stocked for winter. There will most likely be days when you can’t get out or are just plain tired. You can adjust the serving size and amount you prep for your family needs now.
HollyG says
Your chicken rug is lovely. What about an egg (or a little cluster of three eggs) at the top center? Other possibilities…..a star, a crescent moon.
Ht says
I vote for a gold star 🙂
Annemarie says
Hi Mavis,
I’m relatvely new to your blog and enjoy reading it daily. Also a rug hooker. What kind of frame are you using in your pic on today’s blog? I have several but looking for one I can use sitting in a chair as you are.
Mavis Butterfield says
Hi Annmarie, I don’t use a frame. 🙂 When I first started rug hooking I couldn’t afford a frame and so I taught myself how to hook with the rug in my lap {and I have hooked this way for the past 20 years}. I tried out a hooking frame a few years ago and it felt so awkward and so I continue to hook on my lap.
This rug is super big though and found it easier to set the rug on the table {ordinary side table} to hook my way around the numbers.
Julie says
I vote to add your pup to the center of the rug. After all, he does take the best care of your chickens!
Beverly Cluff says
What kind of frame are you using with your chicken rug please?
Alice says
Where or when did she say she moved to Mass? So far I’ve only seen New England.
Thanks
Torry says
So, I want to mention my favorite things about raising tomatoes: making fried green tomatoes all through the growing season and making and freezing spaghetti sauce to have all year round. Last meal and so great tasting!
Next, as I bore you with every week, my goal was to sew every week. This week I sewed the rows for our granddaughter’s quilt. Next week I hope to sew the rows together. That will allow me to take my time about layering, quilting, and binding it before she goes to college in September.
Half way through the year and I’ve sewn every week except one so pretty much on track. I hope to stay on track and have all Christmas gifts done by November. Wish me luck!
Tamara says
For the giant chicken rug, how about a heart with a black and white checker pattern?
Emily says
My vote is for a heart on your chicken rug!
Tracy says
Mavis, old houses are constantly surprising you, especially ones in climates you may not be used to. I do have a suggestion for your consideration: unfortunately, that learning curve can be very expensive when it comes to WINTER! I suggest you chat up a handy-type neighbor and invite them over for dinner. Ask them if they would be so kind as to walk about your house and property (attic, basement, and inside all outbuildings, too) and simply opine about what precautions you and your HH may want to take to prep for winter. You may learn that you need to shut off and drain all your outside faucet pipes a good ten feet inside the house (who knew?), or it might be wise to purchase a ‘roof rake’ now, before the first big snowfall, to be ready to pull heavy snow loads off your roof. (You do this not to lighten the weight on your roof, but to pull snow off the roof a few feet from the gutters so it doesn’t freeze, thaw, freeze again and creep up under your shingles and melt…ruining your interior walls. Again, who knew?). You may learn that you could reduce the risk of basement pipes freezing and bursting with the application of inexpensive and easy to apply pipe insulation, now, before the first sub zero storm. I’m not as far north as you, but I still go through a whole checklist to prep for winter in my house. Some of things I figured out for myself as I’m familiar with the climate, some things kind neighbors tipped me off to, and some I had to learn the hard —and very expensive— way. It’s so much easier to make slight modification no to your home slowly, now, than in the freezing weather when you have water backing up, expensive repair bills, etc.
I’m a pretty experienced gardener now, but 20 years ago, a lovely women who owned a nursery was kind enough to walk around my heavily planted property and point out exactly what I needed to do to protect various shrubs and perennials, even trees to get through the upcoming winter unscathed. All of her advice was simple to do, saved me hundreds and hundreds of dollars and I do it faithfully. If you don’t you’ll not only experience the death of some valued plants due to cold, but lose more through heaving— a unique event that I suspect doesn’t happen in the PNW!
I also encourage you to really abide by Terry Golson’s advice on http://www.hencam.com about what you need for a solid, healthful chicken coop in your climate. She’s right outside of Boston and has several searchable blog posts on what you need to do right, and what very common mistakes not to make.
Ann says
Egg cluster.
Lisa says
Since you will be heating with wood stoves and not a wood boiler system you will need to supplement with your oil heat so your pipes do not bust. Busted pipes are a big mess & expense that you do not want to deal with. I heat mainly with wood heat in my wood boiler which takes the heat thru the baseboards–so I only use oil heat at night while I sleep. My heating specialist advises that I only need to clean my furnace once every 2 years. I also used to work for an oil/service company and we recommended cleaning the furnaces every 1-2 years. Your furnace will run smoother with the regular maintenance. Believe me, you do not want to have it break down once the cold sets in.
I would advice you to get it cleaned this year for sure. You have discovered surprises in other areas of the house so I would not take any chances. Usually you pay for the techs time and parts which are usually a filter & nozzles unless there are issues. The more often you get it cleaned, the less time it will take so the less money it will cost. For this first time especially I would choose the service Department of your oil company–if available or a larger Heating service technician. Ask if they include inspecting your oil tank with the cleaning. They check to see if the tank is safe and you cannot tell from the outside rust. Oil tanks deteriorate from the inside. It thins out over time. They would also make sure the tank is set up to code and that the tubing is made of copper etc.
Rebecca in MD says
Good advice about getting the oil furnace serviced every year. Some companies offer an annual contract which covers yearly maintenance, cleaning, and labor. We had oil heat in our last house and the annual contract cost was very reasonable.
CT Bargain Mom says
Annual cleaning of an oil burner are important! They’ll do the inspection at the same time. We have an old one and it also does the hot water for the house. The last thing you want is any carbon monoxide issues – you won’t know until it’s too late.
Toni says
Can’t wait to see your finished chicken rug!
Just a little FYI: Something you might not know about, but could have happen next winter: In old houses, if/when the roof joists freeze, they let out a LOUD CRACK – usually at night. It sounds like your roof was just hit with a giant wooden baseball bat. There is no damage done, except maybe to your sleep………and your nerves if you don’t know what it was.
What the heck kind of project can you make with a blender and black dresses??
Linda says
Mavis I have learned little tips and recipes ,from you and really enjoy your blog. I’ve told you before, I’m originally from Maine, and exiled to Ohio, where I’ve lived for 39 years. I still miss New England, but it is unlikely I’ll ever get back there for anything more than visits. So now I doubly enjoy your blog, hearing about places I used to know. In short, I feel lucky reading about your life.
Today, reading the comment section, particularly about the oil burner, I realized you are lucky, too. Your readers really care about you and you’ve gotten some really excellent advice about oil burners and preparation for winter that many who move to NE don’t get. Winters can be downright brutal up there, but the winters are usable- snow makes opportunities for snowmobiling and skiing, ice fishing and making snow forts that last. I hope that the learning curve won’t dampen your excitement about moving to NE- and know that I envy you.
Tiffany says
May I ask how many tomato plants you have that the husband is freaking out? I have 27 – other people think I’m crazy but not the husband – he’s excited. Just curious! Excited to see the before and after of the rock wall and the chicken coop! Have a great week!
Mavis Butterfield says
I think I planted 50. 🙂
Tiffany says
Nothing wrong with that! Especially since you want to put up things for winter – silly husband!
Carrie says
I am excited to see how your coop turns out! I am wanting a big coop for my 6 girls but can’t find what I’m looking for on Pinterest.
For the rug, I wouldn’t do another dot but either a heart or star and someone mentioned an egg – that could be fun!