“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
Yesterday we lit the first fire in our new wood stove and I AM IN LOVE!!! I don’t know about you, but I adore wood burning fires {they’re so cozy!} and I’m so grateful we had one installed this summer and now we won’t have to worry about crazy high oil heating bills this winter. I am a little nervous that we might not have enough wood {4 1/2 cords} but the HH was pretty adamant that we had PLENTY OF WOOD so I guess we’ll find out.
Personally, I’d be happy with 10 cords, but wood guy and chimney guy both thought 4-5 cords would be adequate to get us through an average winter so I was totally outnumbered on the final decision. Whatever. Only time will tell.
Goal #3 – Shop Small
It was a GREAT week at the recycle center! Not only did I come home with 3 quart jars for next summer’s flower bouquets, but I also snagged a huge set of Lincoln Logs for my kiddie closet. I LOVE classic {non commercial} toys and the Lincoln Logs will make a perfect addition to the train set, giant bin of Legos and Hot Wheels cars we have for little ones to keep themselves entertained when/if we happen to have a group event at our house.
I don’t know why, but it’s so hard to find toys and books these days without a Disney Channel, Super Hero, Barbie, or trendy million dollar movie tie in these days. I’m all for LESS plastic junkity junk {vacuum candy} and more simple, classic, use your imagination creative play type stuff. I mean c’mon, when I was a kid, I made mud pies and played in my backyard all day…. with rocks and sticks.
Goal # 4 – Have a Designated Meal Prep Day
Ha Ha Ha. Ha Ha Ha.
Goal #5 – Install a Vegetable Garden Done!
I never did get around to thinning my carrots this year but hey, they’re looking pretty good! I think I am going to try and leave them in the ground until just before the first frost. Next year, I’ll be more on top of my weeding game and be able to harvest them year round. {I don’t think I’ve told the HH I want him to build me a few cold frames yet.} 😉
Goal #6 – Clear Land for a Chicken Coop and Future Raised Garden Bed Area
The HH. He’s back at the chicken run again. We had a bit of a rainy spell and the motivation to finish the roof was running low but hopefully we can get the chicken run finished {and painted!} by next weekend and then all we’ll need to do is concentrate on fall clean up.
Goal #7 – Grow 500 Pounds of Vegetables
What a BEAUTIFUL week to be a gardener here in New England! Fall has arrived and with it cool, crisp mornings {today it was 45 degrees outside when I woke up!}. We harvested a few pumpkins, dug up the onions and set out the kale and cabbage starts. I need to update how many pounds of backyard goodness we’ve grown and the egg totals {we’ve still got only 2 out of the 7 chickens laying}. I’ll try and do that on Tuesday for you.
Goal #8 – Hook 100 Rugs
I wasn’t able to complete any new rugs this week or add anything to my Etsy shop because I’ve been busy working on other projects and doing things with my parents. But I did manage to dye some wool and with only 6 rugs to go I should be able to check this baby off my list soon.
Goal #9 – Make a Set of Dolls
I’ll work on a set this winter.
Goal #10 – Make a Sampler, Frame it and Hang it on the Wall Done!
Goal #11 – Visit 22 Bakeries
No new bakeries this week, but I do have a new seafood {shocking!} place to tell you about.
Goal #12 – Start a Collection
I didn’t find anything new to add to my butter mold, wooden potato masher collection this past week, but I am looking forward to going antiquing this winter with the HH.
Goal #13 – Read {or listen to} 26 Books
I picked up the copy of Martha’s Vineyard, Isle of Dreams from the library yesterday and started reading it last night. So far so good! It’s been a bit of a challenge to find the time to SIT DOWN and read a book this summer {audiobooks are so much easier!} but with the sun going down earlier and {hopefully} less outside work, I’ll be able to get some more reading time in.
Goal #14 – Try 12 New Canning Recipes
I was planning on canning applesauce last week but we just didn’t have enough time. Market Basket has local apples on sale for $0.79 a pound so this week, I’m hoping to squeeze it in.
So far this year I’ve canned:
- Apple Cider Butter
- Tomato Sauce
- Carrot Cake Jam
- Spiced Peach {Crazy good!!!}
- Blueberry Jam {without the mint}
- Pickled Beets {without the funky spices}
- Cherry Almond Jam {freakin’ AWESOME}
- Susan’s Lilac Blossom Jelly
Goal #15 – Secret {for now} Holiday Project
🙂 🙂 🙂 After 4 months of trial and error I finally have a finished product I am freaking out about. I did it! What started out as a little holiday project has sort of morphed into something else entirely, and I couldn’t be more excited. I am at my best when I am working through the creative process, and let me tell you Bob, this little project has me smiling from ear to ear.
I’m so excited to tell you all about it, and I will on October 6th. 🙂 Until then, my little elves with have to continue folding boxes.
How about YOU? Did you set any goals for 2018? How are they coming along?
~Mavis
Read About My 2018 Goals HERE.
Laura says
Totally agree on the “regular” toys that aren’t merchandised with various characters, etc. Even the games are stuck on this. My kids are all teenagers now, but when they were little it was nearly impossible to find a simple Game that wasn’t adorned with some ridiculous tie-in! Fortunately all those “characters” saved us a whole pile of money and getting more junk. I also preferred toys that were open-ended: Legos, Tinker Toys, Lincoln logs, blocks (remember those???). So much better for the kids!
Mama Cook says
Agh- you tease!!! Now I’m going to have to make a paper chain to count down the days until Oct. 6th!! Who’s with me?
Deborah says
I can’t wait to see the reveal of your secret project. It will be on my late MILs birthday, and 2 days after mine.
Pj says
Way to create another cliff hanger on the holiday project! You can see the die hards, who tune in every Sunday to see if today is the day — and now we finally have a date to look forward to.
Did you say what you plan to do in the chicken coop to keep the chickens warm enough in the cold New England winters? My neighbor uses a heat lamp, which puts off an eerie glow in the Appalachian foothills.
Consider a roadtrip to Evelyn’s in Tiverton, RI for great seafood. We saw it on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives and ended up making it the inspiration for our vacation this summer. It was awesome. I have to get my seafood fix each summer or I don’t feel like I’ve had a real vacation!
Mavis Butterfield says
So far we don’t have any plans to heat the coop.
Katelyn says
Well, Mavis, now you know why we New Englanders tolerate the humidity and bugs – isn’t this time of year glorious??
Before you get apples at Market Basket, check your local orchard. We can get utility apples (blemished and still-good drops) for as low as $.69 a pound, direct from the source.
Mavis Butterfield says
Thank you! My husband is LOVING this cooler weather too.
Jenny says
Hi Mavis, can’t wait for the big reveal of your secret project!!!
I noticed in one of your pictures that your seeds are still in the paper packages. I recently purchased some seeds from a private seller who sent the seeds in little ziploc bags. I read somewhere that you shouldn’t store your seeds in ziplocs although it didn’t say why. Do you have a preference for seed storage?
Tracy says
Store seeds in paper packets or envelopes and put them in the fridge. Never store in plastic or tin boxes as moisture will condense or mildew the seeds. Mildew your even small amounts of mold can kill germination later on.
samantha surovec says
Hi! I thought at first that picture was of seeds too, but I am thinking now it looks like dye packets with samples of fabric as a catalogue of sorts. What do you think?
Mavis Butterfield says
Yes! You need to store the seeds in paper packets. https://www.onehundreddollarsamonth.com/how-to-save-seeds-for-next-years-garden/
Kim says
Attended a preschool continuing ed. class recently where I learned that children who play with sticks,rocks, building toys etc.,
have much longer attention spans!
Mavis Butterfield says
That totally makes sense to me. “Creating” what’s next vs asking or expecting something to pop on a screen to entertain you.
Marie says
Next trip to the hardware store-reinforce your chicken’s outdoor run lock. Our neighborhood ‘coons must have stood one upon the other to reach our lock, entered and well ya know, they had a feast. just sayin’ Food becomes
scarce in the winter…
Susan Dillinger says
Should look at the toy hall of fame each year and see what toys are in it, interesting.
Gee says
Two chicken coop questions: 1) What is HH gonna do around the base of the fence to keep the digging critters out? I noticed in earlier photos that there are gaps here and there. And 2) Are you really going to sit on that lovely chicken-poop-covered bench to commune with Lucy’s peeps? 🙂
Ann says
You could use a backless bench with pulleys so you could raise it to the rafters when not in use (by your own derriere).
Mavis Butterfield says
1. We are going to bury the hardware cloth and then fill the area with rocks.
2. No! Gag. The bench is for the chickens until the HH builds them a roost. 🙂
Julie says
I’m in distress……. is that 1×2 wire around your coop?? Are they locked inside the coop at night?? Is that wire small enough to keep all the nasty varmits out? Im fearing for your girls lives……:)
Sandy says
You are KILLING us with the project tease! Now there are boxes? (scratches head) Just when I think I have it figured out BOOM! New twist. I shall be awaiting October 6th.
Nancy D says
I agree with you, Sandy! I’m thinking “until then, my little elves will have to continue folding boxes” is definitely a hint and a teaser!
SandyF says
You know how to make your readers go bonkers! Oct 6th? Oh-at least we have something to look forward to! Susan Branch used to live in Cambria CA-my favorite little place. Happy Sunday!
Torry says
My goal for this year was to sew every week. For this past week, I finished a quilt for our granddaughter to take to her college dorm. She loved it, so that was good!
On Friday I made 4 small pillows out of some very cute Halloween fabric, which are gifts for two friends. On Saturday I made 2 laundry bags for Christmas gifts, as requested by a very good friend. Sunday I finished 7 more.
I have done pretty well at meeting my goal for this year. While there have been 2 o3 weeks where I didn’t sew, there have also been many more where I sewed almost daily.
Mavis Butterfield says
I love that you made your granddaughter a quilt for college! 🙂
Sandy says
This is going to be my goal for next year. I love to quilt but never get in the sewing room to do so. I have to commit to 1/2 an hour a week or something. Once I make it a goal, it will happen! Thanks for the inspiration!
Stephanie says
Looking forward to hearing about your secret project! I hear you on struggling to find time to sit down and read. I try to shove that in there as best as I can, but this week, it seemed like I was reading small bits here and there. I managed to finish a book, which was good, but boy, do I have a stack of library books waiting for me! I need to be hit the pause button on life for a bit and just curl up with those books.
chickengrandma says
I don’t get much time for reading. But since my grandson was in junior high, I read the same book he is reading in school. I have read some books I never would have picked up. Currently it is ” Of Mice and Men” Then I can discuss the book with him and help with tests. And I can keep a handle on what is being taught in the school.
Carrie Council says
I had a scare with my chickens this weekend. My neighbor rang my doorbell early Saturday morning and told me that he could see a hawk in my chicken run. I ran out back with my dog and she scared the hawk off. It was a huge Red-tailed Hawk (guessing female because of the size). My three older hens were in the coop cowering and the 3 young hens (less than a year old) were crowded together in the corner of the fence unprotected. All were alive but there were black and white feathers everywhere. They could have only been from my silver laced Wyandotte. I could’t find any punctures on her and she was eating, drinking and acting normal later that day.
One of my oldest girls, an Ameraucana, has been acting off since the attack. She has been hiding in the coop, not in a nest box, the last two days. She’ll eat from my hand and if I have treats she will come out into the run. In the past she hasn’t handled stress well. Anytime I add chicks, moved the coop to two different homes, and now a predator she stops laying for a long time. She laid some this spring, I added 3 chicks, she stopped laying and hasn’t started back and now this. Poor thing may die from shock!
Chicken keeping has its benefits and its drawbacks. I am still looking forward to the introduction of your girls!