Here’s my big list of things I want to accomplish in 2022:
Remodel The Kitchen
There are three things I love about this photo:
- The light pine floors
- The corner cabinets {it made me think about lazy susans in corner cabinets and while useful, how much I don’t like them}
- A light fixture on the side of the window rather than hanging from above it.
There are so many tiny details we still need to figure out, ones that you really don’t think about until you see them in a photograph.
Sell Enough Rugs to Buy an AGA Stove {$9,938.20 of $22,000 earned so far}
I sold one of my “AGA” earmarked pieces this past week to add to my total, and now I’m working on my next batch of rugs and pillows to offer in early April. 🙂 So far I have 6 new pieces hooked {1 of them is a whopper!}.
Fill the Canning Cupboard {This is where the canning cupboard will go}
My new canning cupboard finally arrived!!! Ain’t she a beauty? I’m excited to see what it will look like when I get it filled.
Jams I’ve made to fill my canning cupboard so far: Ginger Pear Jam and Spiced Christmas Jam.
Earn Enough Money Selling {?????} To Pay For Our 2022 Grocery Tab By The End Of The Year.
I’ll be doing a bit of a beachy theme with my Etsy offerings next month so I think it will be a perfect time to introduce some of the treasures Lucy and I have found on our walks. I’m excited to see if I can sell enough driftwood, rocks and other beach finds to cover our grocery expenses this year.
Eat More Fruits and Vegetables.
Lots of cabbage this week. 😉
Keep The Crafts… In The Craft Room.
Key word: Dining room. 🙂 The dining room table is now in the family room as we prepare to paint the dining room and ceiling. It’s being used as a makeshift wool folding station at the moment.
Tap Our 2 Maple Trees and Make Maple Syrup
The sap collection isn’t going as well as I had hoped. So far, I think we’ve collected about 9 gallons of sap {it takes 40 gallons to make 1 gallon of maple syrup}. I checked the forecast for next week though and the temps look pretty ideal {low 40’s during the day, below freezing at night} so hopefully we’ll get some more.
Make a Quilt Top
I made absoultly zero progress on my quilt top this past week. 🙁
Be More Intentional With My Time
While I got a boatloaf of work done, it didn’t leave much time for anything else.
1 Craft / Blog Free Day So far I’m 8 for 11 this year.
It didn’t happen this past week. Things have been kind of nuts around here lately.
Keep My Husband Busy
I kept the HH busy this past week running errands, cutting wool and prepping the walls and ceiling for me to paint. Today he is going to pull out the washer/dryer set and tile the floor in that spot. 🙂 His work never ends.
The HH’s Honey Do List {so far} for 2022
- Take over cooking {I’ll still do the baking and canning}
- Cut down the cluster of trees in the backyard
- Build a new set of stairs down to the water.
- Fill the field {with soil}
- Remodel 1 bathroom
Replace fireplace tile- Build window boxes for the front of the house
- Build an arbor for the wisteria
- Order 4 cords of firewood by the end of May and stack them in an artful way {like they did in the book Norwegian Wood}.
I finally got caught up on all my work so that today {on my supposed day off} I can give the fireplace a fresh coat of paint and paint 1 of the kitchen walls white.
Tomorrow I’ll paint the hallway {once the HH is one with the tile in the laundry closet} and then at least the walls will be done.
The HH will need to remove the cabinet around the refrigerator {early next week} so I can paint the ceiling in the kitchen. Since the kitchen dining room all share the same space, it makes sense to paint the ceiling all at once in there so I don’t end up with any stop/start paint lines on the ceiling.
My House Projects For This Year {so far}
- Finish painting the outside of the house
- Finish painting the inside of the house
- Make something to hang above our new console table
- Make it look like people actually live here HA HA HA
- New window treatment for the kitchen window
Try 24 New Recipes {8 down, 16 to go}
I didn’t make any new recipes this past week, but I pulled some lentils from the freezer department and had those.
So far this year I have shared the following recipes:
- Hash Brown Waffles with Bacon and Cheese
- Bacon Cheddar Jalapeno Biscuits
- Apple Cinnamon Granola
- Mrs. C’s Slow Cooker Pot Roast
- Ginger Pear Jam
- Lentils with Carrots and Thyme
- Dutch Oven Cinnamon Raisin Bread
- Dutch Oven Olive and Rosemary Bread
Listen to 12 Audiobooks
I am currently waiting for 2 audiobooks that will be avilavble in a few days + I’m on the waitlist for The Boys {7 months!}.
Audiobooks I’ve listened to this year:
- Dolly Parton, Songteller by Dolly Parton 10/10
- Salt to the Sea by Ruth Sepetys 10/10.
- No Time Like the Future: An Optimist Considers Mortality by Michael J. Fox 10/10
- Night Road by Kristen Hannah on Audiobook. 9/10.
- Mill Town by Kerri Arsenault. Interesting. 8/10.
Get a Fishing License and Catch a Fish
The HH is in charge of procuring all the fishing gear. So you know, there’s lot’s of research to be done first. 😉
This past week I planted pink celery and artichokes in my little Jiffy greenhouse and set it in the dining room {we get so much natural light in there it’s crazy}.
Maybe I’ll make it outside this week for a little garden clean up. 🙂
My List of Garden Projects For This Year I want to Accomplish
- Map out this year’s garden by April 1st {I better get crackin’ on this one!}
- Plant apple or pear trees
- Plant raspberry and blueberry bushes – raspberry canes have been ordered–
- Plant asparagus and rhubarb – ordered –
- Grow 500 pounds of food
- Expand the lasagna garden
- Finish clearing the front of the property
- Get some garden pots for the front an back patio/porches
Create 12 New Rug Hooking Patterns and/or Kits {10 out of 12 finished so far}
I added 4 new patterns to my Etsy shop last month. I should have abother 2 – 3 new designs ready for my next Etsy update on April 2nd so at this rate, I think I’ll be able to check this goal off my list by Mid-April. Yee-Haw.
- Chicks and Flowers
- Scrappy Chicken
- Easter Egger Chicken
- Spring Arrives on Widsbee Farm
- Folk Art Chicken
- Valentine Kisses
- 1736 Tulips
- Large Valentine Heart Runner
- Antique Flower Basket
- Love Grows Fraktur Bird
Have All My 2022 Ornaments Finished by April 1st.
I’m taking a break from ornaments right now and working on garden markers instead. So I’ve been keeping the kiln filled with those instead of ornaments lately.
52 Walks {We’ve gone on 2 of 52 so far}
Would you believe I haven’t left the house since March 4th? {16 days!}
I don’t know how that even happened. I mean, I’ve gone outside to take Lucy for a walk around the property, but I haven’t actually gone anywhere or stepped foot off our land since March 4th. CRAZY.
We were supposed to go for a nice walk yesterday, but it started raining and so I just stayed in my pajamas and worked on wool projects. I guess it’s true what they say, time flies when you’re having fun:)
Visit 12 Towns in Maine That I Haven’t Been to Before
So far we have visited the town of Hope Maine and checked out the General Store there. 🙂
How about YOU? How did you do with working towards your goals for 2022?
~Mavis
Mel says
My laptop just restarted in the middle of commenting, so this may post twice, but:
It’s hard to tell from the photo exactly how that cabinet works, but if there’s no mechanism that slides out or if there’s a partition between it and the one that runs perpendicularly, it may be far worse than the lazy Susan type. We have “blind” corner cabinets like that, and I spend half my life crawling through them on my knees, and there is still so much wasted space, so definitely make sure you have a design (slide-out mechanism, joining with the adjacent cabinet, corner drawers, etc.) that lets you access the full corner.
It was a big week goals-wise here. I finished painting the trim in the nursery and bathroom (and also painted another hallway, 7 doors, trim in a different bathroom, and accent wall), made a mobile, ordered almost all the furniture (just need to buy a chair), and started organizing/assembling the closet. We were not able to unload the queen-sized bed in there this week as planned, so that’s throwing a major wrench into my next steps of this plan (new furniture arriving with no place to put it since the old stuff is still stuck there), so I’m hoping we can get rid of that soon. It’s at least very good to be done painting.
Mavis Butterfield says
Getting everything painted is HUGE!! Well done Mel. 🙂
As for the corner cabinet, I like the idea of storing things in that “blind corner” spot that would only be used once or twice a year {Ice cream maker, giant roasting pan, awkward party platters}.
If you’re up to it, I know we’d all love to see pictures of the mobile you made. 🙂 So exciting!!
Mel says
That’s what I thought about the cabinets as well, but it’s actually really hard to get stuff out! Pulling something out of the back knocks over all the stuff in the front (I have to do it one-handed to reach, pull the item forward off the shelf, and then sideways through the cabinet), and I bruise my shoulders on the cabinet edges every time. My husband leaves anything that has to be put away in those cabinets out on the counter for me to do because he can’t even see in there, let alone reach. It may have to do with counter depth and door size too, but it’s a serious design flaw in our kitchen. If you can find the right size baskets or bins, that might help–you could put items in the bins and pull all those out instead of having to pull all the items out individually.
I took mobile pictures! I was debating whether to share them now or whether I should wait and try to get a picture of the mobile hanging up, but I’d have to wait until almost the whole room is done for that.
Kim says
That canning cabinet is GORGEOUS!!! What a focal point that will be as well as functional.
In regard to the light above or beside the sink, I really like them on the wall. However, I lived in a house without direct light over the sink, and it was a bit of a struggle. Could the side lights be adjustable for when you are washing dishes?
You and HH are inspiring with your work ethic.
Have a great week.
J in OH-IO says
Love your dark grey slippers with the little pink hearts!!! Please, would you tell us where you got them? They look so nice, warm, and comfy. Thanks!
Mavis Butterfield says
The slippers are by Haflinger – Women’s Clog Grizzly Cuoricino, Anthracite. I ordered a size down and they a insanley cozy.
Gigi says
I agree they’re cozy. I wore through the felt soles a few times and kept patching them. The arches are amazing.
My favorite now are Rancourt & Company with leather soles.
suzanne says
I was looking for pumpkin cider recipes and found one that uses 5 gallons of maple sap instead. It takes 9 to 12 for maple sap wine. It’s your fault I fell down that rabbit hole. At least it freezes well so you can keep to add to next years collection if you have the room.
Diane says
Would you mind telling me what white paints you use for both interior and exterior projects?
Thanks
Mavis Butterfield says
Benjamin Moore Chantilly lace {egg shell inside walls} Benjamin Moore Aura Exterior Paint Semi-Gloss {white, off the shelf} for the exterior.
Diane says
Thanks so much! I’m feeling project season coming on strong. This helps so much.
CherylV says
I love the canning cabinet, might you have a link to where you got it from?
Mavis Butterfield says
I ordered it from Pottery Barn last fall.
Lindsey says
That cabinet is the bomb! I am quite envious.
I did not like the lazy susan type corner kitchen cabinets but I had ours made with tall backstops so nothing could fall off and it made all the difference. I am not in love with the style but it works better than the ones with no back so things fall off it.
Teri says
Love your cabinet. Is it red cedar? How goes the floor sanding? Did your HH finish that project already?
Mavis Butterfield says
HA HA HA. I think he is still “researching” sandpaper.
Melonie says
That canning cupboard….. eeeeeeee! It’s AMAZING.
Lauralli says
I have a corner cabinet with one shelf in the middle because I cannot handle lazy susans like that! It’s wonderful! Holds so much I don’t know what I’d do without it. I did have to put a battery operated hockey puck light in there so if I was building one again I’d add a light.
I think you would like the podcast Dolly Parton’s America. I loved it. She is an American treasure!
Carolyn Rust says
I had a kitchen with two corner cupboards. Mine had doors that hinged so that the whole corner would open up. The builder probably thought he would install lazy susan’s at some point, but just installed shelves that I actually liked. Large, occasionally used things fit well in deep in those cupboards allowing the front area to be used for pots and pans on one side and storage/serving type containers on the other side. That kitchen had all sorts of other issues, but storage was not one of them.
Nicky says
Mavis, have a look at magic corners (not the kidney ones). I have two in my kitchen and they are great.