“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 the HH went up the attic to grab the storm windows and take a look around. As you can see we are a bunch of pack rats and moving around up there was a complete challenge. Bahhhhahaha! The good news is, we did a marvelous job this summer shoring up the tiny cracks and no bees got in {when we moved in there were a few tiny hives, from the previous year}. There is so much to do here, so many seasonal projects…. Seriously, storm windows? On the west coast we never removed the window screens. But here on the east coast, I guess it’s what people do. And I love it.
Goal #3 – Shop Small
I think the only time I left the house this past week was to go to the recycle center. My life, it’s a thrill a minute.
Goal # 4 – Have a Designated Meal Prep Day
Nope, not yet. But the HH is proving to be quite the cook and I have 2 new recipes to share with you!
Goal #5 – Install a Vegetable Garden
Can you believe gardening season is coming to an end? Do you still have anything growing at your place? What do your evening temps look like these days? I am SO ready for snow!
But first, we need to harvest the dried beans and about a million other things.
Goal #6 – Clear Land for a Chicken Coop and Future Raised Garden Bed Area Done!
How is it that I have 7 chickens and only 3 are laying? They are 6 1/2 months old for Pete’s sake! It seems like all they do is eat, eat, eat! C’mon ladies…. hop to it. Lay those eggs.
Goal #7 – Grow 500 Pounds of Vegetables <– Almost there!
The HH and I have decided that TUESDAY is the day! According to the forecast sunny skies are in order so we’ll dig up the sweet potatoes, fingerlings, carrots and beets to get a final garden tally for this year. At last count we were at 458 pounds of homegrown goodness. I’m a little nervous, but also excited to wrap things up outside so I can get started on my giant list of winter projects.
Goal #8 – Hook 100 Rugs <– Almost there!
I really thought I’d have more time to hook this week but with only 5 rugs to go until the end of the year, I’m not to worried about it. I did manage to hook another set of sunflowers and get about 90% done with the Santa rug I’m working on my my next Etsy shop update on Friday, October 19th. I’m also hoping to complete another little reindeer rug by Friday as well.
Goal #9 – Make a Set of Dolls
I only have, what, like 11 weeks to make these? I better get crackin’!
Goal #10 – Make a Sampler, Frame it and Hang it on the Wall Done!
I’m looking forward to making another one this winter.
Goal #11 – Visit 22 Bakeries
The HH found a new bakery for us to check out in Boston… Stay tuned. 😉
Goal #12 – Start a Collection
Wahoooo! This week at the recycle center I nearly LEAPED out of the car as we drove up and I spotted this little handmade pine cupboard sitting out front. Talk about a fantastic winter project! I’m not sure what color I’ll paint it yet {maybe a country blue or a pale green } but it will make for a great winter project.
Also at the recycle center this week: a giant basket {perfect for transporting round casserole or pie dishes} and a terra cotta chicken baker. I think I’ll take back the chicken though, as it I really don’t need another baking dish. It sure is cute though.
Goal #13 – Read {or listen to} 26 Books Done!
While working on my ornaments this week I’ve been listening to Bunny Mellon: The Life of an American Style Legend. And WOW, what an interesting lady! I also picked up The Art of Pie in hopes that I’ll be able to find a new Thanksgiving pie recipe. While I do a have a bunch of favorites, it’s always good to try new things. Recipe testing starts November 1st! 😉
Goal #14 – Try 12 New Canning Recipes
I have a feeling I’ll be doing a lot of last minute canning this year so I can mark this goal off my list. 😉 This year has FLOWN by! Anyone have a seasonal favorite? I’m thinking about trying to can apple pie filling. Have you tried that before?
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 Done!
Whew! It felt so good to be able to finally share what I’ve been working on these past few months. I still have a few more designs I’m working on, and honestly I’m not sure if I’ll ever be done {Ha!} but the trial and error process has been very rewarding. It’s the whole creative process that I like best when it comes to arts and crafts. Finding your own way to do something, even if most of it ends up in the trash in the beginning.
I think it took about 50 kiln firings before I was happy with the finished product, but now that I’ve got the hang of making ornaments, I just can’t seem to stop. 😉 So thank you for all the encouragement over the past few months, everyone has been so kind. And, a BIG thank you to everyone who placed an order over the weekend, it’s been so much fun to box up ornaments knowing they’re going into the homes of people who read this blog. 🙂 🙂 🙂
How about YOU? Did you set any goals for 2018? How are they coming along?
~Mavis
Read About My 2018 Goals HERE.
You can find my Etsy shop HERE
Cass says
Compare your eggs to each other. Although it can take as long as 8 months for some breeds of chickens to start laying, almost start by 24 weeks of age. Not all breeds lay every single day. Some lay as few as 150 a year, other breeds lay up to 250. Leghorns lay up to 300 a year. Sooooo, chickens just don’t lay an egg a day regardless of breed. You may have just about all of them laying, but only 3 of them lay on any given day. Compare the eggs and see if you are getting only 3 identical eggs daily or if you are getting 4 – 5 different eggs, but only 3 each day.
If some of your chickens are late starters you may not get any eggs from them til the days start getting longer in the late winter/early spring. (Ironically you got a late start with your chicks for getting eggs this season….if they are late bloomers they are coming into their own just when the days are getting shorter)
If you want them to keep laying all winter you are going to need to set up a light in the coop, on a timer to give them supplemental light equal to 14 – 16 hours a day. Mine comes on at 4 am, shuts off at 8 am, then comes back on at 3:30 pm til 9 pm. Since I count on my “egg money” to buy their feed, I need them to lay all winter. But even with the extra light they slow down substantially (and eat more feed) for about 2 months every winter.
Staci W says
Yes, I was going to write the same things that Cass did. 🙂 We’re getting ready to add a light to our coop.
Alison says
Are your chickens still free ranging? If they are, I’d bet some of them have nests in the woods… I’d expect them all to be laying by now, however, we are heading into molting season, so egg production is going down because of the lack of light.
Mel says
I hadn’t thought about my goals in a while because I more or less decided they actually weren’t priorities, but thinking about them now, I’m actually doing pretty well.
1. Learn to make yogurt. (DONE)
2. Learn to make English muffins. (DONE)
3. Make a simple quilt. (Made all the squares but can’t decide if I want to finish. We’ll see. I did make baby clothes and some other items for friends.)
3. Start running. (Intermittent. I keep getting sick or other things come up that throw a wrench in the routine for a few days, so I have to keep almost restarting this one.)
4. Paint our downstairs. (DONE–plus an extra floor.)
5. Do more canning. (All our cucumbers were late by two months, so I only got to refrigerator pickles. I have frozen apple cider butter, and I’ll be freezing applesauce and tomato sauce soon, so it kind of worked out without canning.)
6. Go to the farmer’s market more. (DONE–we went several times this summer, but they have very limited hours, so it’s hard to keep up now. We are going apple picking later this month though.)
7. Sew reusable bags for Christmas. (I’m on the fence. We’ll need these eventually, but we may not celebrate this year, so I don’t know if I’ll bother this year or pick up next.)
Sheri says
You ornaments are lovely. I did something similar with paper clay. It was from a Martha Stewart magazine. I made over a 100 ornaments for family and friends. They loved it. I vowed never again. Lol.
LaToya says
I thought the garden was cleared last week, but my husband brought in a GIANT tub of peppers yesterday and told me it was from ONE plant. And that he has TEN plants total. Bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, Anaheim peppers. We don’t use them THAT much so I think we need to half that for next year and plant more basil. We also brought in one last bucket of tomatoes. Now I think we are done. I hope. Because it’s getting cold. We were at high school football game Friday night – Meridian, Idaho – and it was 40 degrees at 9pm. And dropped from there. I prefer cold to hot, so it’s all good to me.
Have a great week, Miss Mavis!
E in Upstate NY says
With all those peppers, try your hand at Cowboy Candy. Its just a name for canned syrupy peppers that depending upon how hot you like things, can be VERY hot. Great as a topping to cream cheese with crackers, or sandwich spread, or for basting meat.
suzanne says
love jalapeños prepared this way. I will throw in bell peppers for color if i have them. I always get my canning jars back from family/friends in very short order to be refilled. We love them in stuffed burgers with cheese or a meatloaf topping as well as your suggestions.
Helen in Meridian says
Mark Nov. 7. That is the day that Aldi’s will release their Cheese Advent Calendar for $12.99. The dh would get a taste of 25 cheeses over the month. They also have a wine Advent Calendar for $69, like Costco’s beer
advent Calendar.
Mavis Butterfield says
Thanks Helen!!
Lindsey says
I believe I would kill for a cheese Advent calendar! Alas, no Aldi in Alaska.
Helen in Meridian says
No Aldis in Idaho either. I was reading a list of unusual Advent Calendars, and found out about the Aldi’s cheese Advent Calendar and thought of Mavis.
Erin says
Mavis….have you or any of your readers made onion jam? I saw it on the Italian cooking show on PBS last week and I’d love to make it but I’m curious if anyone has tried it before? Have a good recipe?
E in Upstate NY says
Onion jam is very flavorful and in my family a hit. That said, it is a refrigerator item, not a water bath or pressure canning food.
Torry says
Recipe, please?
Tammy says
I did can apple pie filling once but it was a really old recipe that someone gave me that had flour in it for thickening. I know now, that flour is not something you’re supposed to can with. The recipes I’ve seen for apple pie filling take a special thickener, and I haven’t revisited canning apple pie filling since I tried it the first time.
Nicola says
I can it without thickening, then add a bit of cornflour when I am using it and it thickens as it cooks.
Athena says
I’ve canned both apple and cherry pie filling. You do need a special thickener and I have way way too much of it since I could only find it in huge amounts the first time I canned it. I have enough to last the rest of my life! The canned pie filling is really good to have on hand though. It made making a pie much less of a special event type thing and we could have pie or even cobbler etc… any time we wanted without all the preservatives in cans from the store. It was pretty easy too! It was one of the first things I canned. We have cherry pie filling canned up right now that I made last year when cherries were on sale. My husband loves it!
Lindsey says
I make peach and apple pie filling. In January, when we tend to eat oat meal for breakfast, we open a jar and stir some in. Yum.
Sue says
I am so happy with your new project. I grew up around pottery making and know all about kiln firings. We would wait in the pottery until school bus came in cold or rainy weather. Oh, the memories. I like the choices you are offering just right for teachers, grandchildren and I like to attach to gifts. So glad you have found another craft to add to hooking which I have several pieces. You Rock!
Meg B says
You do not *REALLY* need a special thickener to can apple pie filling. The reason the USDA says not to use flour is not due to food safety, but because flour might not stand up to the many exposures to heat involved in the canning process and baking of the pie. Also, the addition of flour as a thickener can make your filling take on a bit of a cloudy appearance.
I believe the thickener people are talking about is Clear Gel, which is a modified food starch. It gives your recipe a nice, clear, glossy sheen, but it’s hard to find in stores, and, again, is modified food starch, which, to my way of thinking, sort of defeats the purpose of canning.
Rosie Sue says
Great Job Mavis….
I love the Christmas tree ornament.
The Whale garden stakes are
wonderful as well. You have
offered us a wide variety to
pick from,
Diane says
I have a long wondered about the significance of the dates I see on many of your rugs. 1847, 1722, 1794, 1827, and probably some others. 1776 I get!!! Thanks!
Bec B. says
Curious about this too
Lynda says
Amazing to see an attic so clear and clean!! (Where is the insulation?)
Pam says
Hey Mavis,
Love the ornaments, especially the xmas tree and the candy cane..it made my heart hurt a little. My best friend for about 25 years and I spent hundreds of hours doing ceramics and clay work with all kinds, the glazing and firing was so fun, each time like a surprise. She passed a few years ago but the memories are priceless! Your recycle center treasures fascinate me, wish we had such a place, but honestly I need to be leaving stuff instead of taking stuff home….I try to make my kids take stuff to their houses all the time. Yesterday I hit a yard sale on my way home, there was this huge blue bag full of sports balls for four dollars….of course I threw it in the car. My son and his age 8 and 11 daughters came for breakfast…there were six balls, 3 good basketballs, an NFL football, and 2 good volleyballs…the girls were thrilled, saying to each other “All the kids in the neighborhood can play at our house, Daddy will you put us up a volleyball net? Please, please” My son looked at me and says ” Great Mom, you get a four dollar bargain and I get to spend a hundred bucks putting up a volleyball net and feeding the neighborhood! ” Unintended consequences!! I couldn’t help laughing outloud, cause that was exactly what it was like raising him and his brother.
Bec B. says
Mavis, your recycle center finds are reason enough to move there! That cupboard is beautiful. I’m in the Portland, Oregon suburbs and it’s hard enough to find decently priced used items let alone free. My husband gets to hear my ranting and raving after trips to Salvation Army (last time there was an item marked around $5.50 with a Target price tag on it for $5!) and don’t even get me started on garage sale pricing. I love the idea of having an easy way to pass along nice stuff we don’t want anymore to someone for free without the hassle of Craiglist. As it is, we usually just donate it and someone else pays too much for it at Salvation Army.
Pam says
Wasn’t there something about two black dresses for the secret project? Or did I just make that up? Love the ornaments…the colors are really amazing.
suzanne says
I believe the lace was used to roll atop the ornaments for texture. It creates a feathery or scaled look.
Mavis Butterfield says
Yes!
Gale says
Chicken baker looks like someone painted it. Instead of taking back, tuck in garden as yard art. I have random figurines tucked in my big planters. Fun to peek under and see Chinese dragons, dwarves, and tiny houses.
Torry says
Still sewing and ready to do the big push, so that I can finish all the gifts and ornaments by the end of November and bake a lot for Christmas. My mother has “retired” from making Christmas cookies and I need to try to pick up the slack. My husband loves cookies!
Betsy in MN says
You have to take the screens off so they don’t get dirty from the snow. Snow can have a lot of dirt in it.
Cindy Brick says
Mavis, if the streaks are actually from the wood on the front of that cupboard… DON’T PAINT THAT PART! They’re beautiful, and hard to duplicate. (Or scrape the paint off.)
They also add value. This is the appraiser in me talking.
Feel free to paint the other part of the cupboard.
Diane says
I agree! I often see kitchen tables and chairs with a natural wood/painted wood combination and think it’s very pretty.
Mrs. Mills says
Hi Mavis, I love your secret project, the wait didn’t disappoint. My favorite is the chickens so I plan to order some of those. I was also wondering if you plan to make any pigs or spiders, specifically black widows, I would like those as well. Also just to let you know I made your beef and broccoli recipe and it was a huge hit!
Thank you.
Mavis Butterfield says
I might be able to pull off a pig…. but probably not the spider. 🙂 I’ll try.
Mrs. Mills says
Thank you!! I’ll look on Esty now and then, no hurry. 🙂
Christy says
I don’t do a lot of canning (yet), but recommend pepper jelly (jalopeno, or whatever you have on hand I guess), pumpkin butter, and pickled green beans (recipe from joy of cooking is amazing) and everyone loves those 3 items.
debbie in alaska says
I ordered two ornaments (now three – I placed another order this morning). A few things. I am insanely impressed with how quick you are to process orders. I placed the order Friday and got my ornaments today — AND I LIVE IN ALASKA!!! Nothing gets here that fast — sometimes not even passengers on a plane. I am in love with them and am so excited for you that you are loving this hobby. And the teas you sent with the package are my two favorites and the only teas I drink — so nice job on being a mind reader as well. 🙂 Happy Fall. p.s. the storm windows are definitely an east coast thing. No one puts in storm windows here in Alaska. Which I find weird.
Mavis Butterfield says
Oh that’s funny! Glad you liked the tea.
Delma says
I do not think of myself as a goal setting kinda gal and yet cleaning out a drawer the other day I found that I made a Goal List for 2018 list. ( I imagine I was inspired here )
1. Read 50 books ( Library book nerd challenge ) Finished in July
2. Lose 40 pounds ( yeah right – I think that is an annual goal) TA-DA I have lost 35 pounds so far this year!!!
3. Double Etsy sales – um daughter’s wedding reception in our backyard took up waaaaay too much of my time to dedicate myself to this one.
I completely charmed by the fact your secret goal was in no way related to your hooking addiction. I like a wide variety of projects and although I favor fabric ones branching out into something new is always good.
and on another note : I got pullets instead of chicks twice now and we get eggs starting on day one. My kids say it is because they are the most spoiled chickens on the planet and they want to keep their happy home. : )
Mavis Butterfield says
WOW! You are doing great!!!