Here’s my big list of things I want to accomplish in 2022:
Remodel The Kitchen
Dishwashers hidden by cabinet panels… I’m in love. Don’t you think it would give a kitchen a more calm and honey look to it if there weren’t big boxes of stainless steel {dishwasher, fridge, oven} staring back at you? I found this design on the Shere Kitchens website. Also, I really like the patterned roller shade idea too.
Sell Enough Rugs to Buy an AGA Stove {$7383.85 of $22,000 earned so far}
Although I didn’t sell any new “AGA” earmarked pieces this past week to add to my total, I’m 1/3 of the way towards my goal and I’m pretty pumped about that. I already have 6 new pieces hooked and ready to go for my March 5th Etsy update.
Fill the Canning Cupboard {This is where the canning cupboard will go}
The cupboard isn’t supposed to arrive until spring, but that’s not going to keep me for working on filling it. Jams I’ve made to fill my canning cupboard so far: Ginger Pear Jam and Spiced Christmas Jam.
I have a few recipes I want to get to before gardening season hits… I just need to find the time.
Earn Enough Money Selling {?????} To Pay For Our 2022 Grocery Tab By The End Of The Year.
I haven’t actually listed them yet, but I plan on selling rocks, shells, driftwood and a few other found treasures to pay for my groceries this year.
This beauty washed up on the beach the other day and I snatched it up in a flash. A Whale!!! Can you believe it? I think I’m going to have the HH use the scroll saw and have him create some sort of tail.
Eat More Fruits and Vegetables
Working on it. Next month though I might try and buy a little more.
Keep The Crafts… In The Craft Room!
Success! Not only was I able to get the dining room table cleared on Saturday morning but I also cleared two of the three tables in my craft room so now I’ll be able to sort and fold the wool in there instead of the dining room table.
Tap Our 2 Maple Trees and Make Maple Syrup
No tapping going on yet, but we are planning on going to Hussey’s General Store to buy all our tapping supplies tomorrow. Giddy up!
Make a Quilt Top
I was able to get ALL the blue squares cut out for my postage stamp quilt yesterday. Yee-Haw! Now all I have to do is get the white ones cut and order some thread and I’ll be on my way.
Be More Intentional With My Time
It was a good week. I was able to get all the projects I wanted to completed {plus a few others}, clean up the house {it’s starting to look like normal people live here again} and I even took Lucy on an adventure walk.
1 Craft / Blog Free Day
So far I’m 6 for 7 this year. 🙂 I think only working half days on Saturdays is key… it helps me to be able to totally relax on Sundays and not worry about what else I could be doing.
Keep My Husband Busy
Before we get new kitchen cabinets can be installed, we are going to have to have to have the floors refinished. And since that will likely be happening here pretty soon, now would be a good time to have the HH pull up the red brick in front of the dining room fireplace and have him replace it with something that will fit in more with the look we’re going for.
It makes sense to get it done before the floor people do their bit, don’t you think?
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
- 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}.
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 {7 down, 17 to go}
Last week I shared a recipe for hash brown waffles with bacon and cheese.
- 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 was finally able to figure out the free audiobook app for our library and so for the past few days I’ve been listening to No Time Like the Future: An Optimist Considers Mortality by Michael J. Fox and it’s great.
Audiobooks I’ve listened to this year:
- Night Road by Kristen Hannah on Audiobook. I’d give it a 9/10.
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 the garden has fluctuated between a slushy mess and and ice rink and there won’t be any work going on for at least another 6 weeks or so. Which is a good thing, because I still have a bunch of indoor projects I need to before gardening season hits.
My List of Garden Projects For This Year I want to Accomplish
- Map out this year’s garden by April 1st
- Plant apple or pear trees
- Plant raspberry and blueberry bushes
- Plant asparagus and rhubarb
- 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
The plan was to create at least 1 new pattern each month. So far I have added 6 new patterns/kits to my Etsy shop:
- 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.
52 Walks {We’ve gone on 1 of 51 so far}
Things are finally starting to warm up around here and we have a nice adventure walk planned for this week. 🙂
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
Ellie says
Appliances hidden by cabinet doors are the norm in Europe, we had it like this my whole life and it’s so much nicer than big dark boxes that don’t match the kitchen.
Teri says
Love that kitchen you showed. So nice and crisp and clean. I do not like stainless appliances at all.
GrannyB says
I like the dishwasher behind a cabinet panel. The refrigerator is ok without. I especially love the counter top all the way around the kitchen in that picture. Even though it’s a small kitchen it makes it seem much bigger and open.
Allison Kitfield says
I keep thinking about the mass of the AGA, the small kitchen, and the fact that you cook/bake/can more than just about anyone I know. Since the HH is so insanely talented, and since this is your forever home, is there any way to bump out a wall, probably the where the canning cabinet would be so you don’t have to disturb the layout too much? Even 4 or 5 feet would make for so much more room as well as counter space, allow you to maybe have an island, make the AGA more proportional to the space, and maybe get more windows in the kitchen? Just dreaming along with you…
Mavis Butterfield says
One of the things I like most about the English cottage kitchens I see online {and in movies} is that they are cozy, warm places.
We actually like the footprint of the house and don’t feel the need for a giant kitchen. It’s the perfect space to grow old in.
We don’t need/want a bigger kitchen, we just need to maximize the space.
Maxine says
Curious, would you paint rooms before having the floors redone or redo the floors first? I know you have have already painted but I’m trying to plan out some home renovations. Thanks!
Tanya says
Maxine doing the walls first means you don’t have to be as careful about drips and spills while painting. However, you may have a few touch ups to do after the floors are done. If you are sanding floors though be aware that no matter which order you do you will have VERY dusty walls and will have to vacuum and then clean the walls.
Diana says
Paint first, then floors.
If you do the floors first, then you have to worry about any drips from painting after.
If you paint first, then redoing the floor takes care of any drips.
Cindy says
I like the picture of the white kitchen and hidden dishwasher panel. That makes the kitchen more warmer. The dining room looks nice and clean not full hall to hall furniture.
Elise in the SF Bay Area says
I would cation against paneling your appliances, or at least take this tidbit of knowledge: a friend bought a house with paneled appliances, and both the dishwasher and built-in ($10k) fridge were broken by the weight of the paneling. The door fell off the dishwasher, and the doors of the refrigerator were distorted to the point that they didn’t work anymore. Both appliances had to be replaced within 5 of buying the house. So if you do it, KEEP WEIGHT in mind. Lesson learned (by her and me!)
Mavis Butterfield says
If we go this route we would place a special order for “panel ready” appliances that are designed to accommodate the weight of the wood.
Diana says
Suggestion for the kitchen. The one you have pictured looks nice, but consider that both corners in the design are totally lost and wasted space. Remember to design in your corner spaces.
Tracy M says
Just out of curiosity, what made you decide on an AGA stove? I have never heard of an AGA and was wondering if you considered a Lacanche Stove? Almost endless ability to customize it to fit your space and what you want it to do. The only thing is that they are about 16 months out on delivery right now as they are so popular. My husband is the CIO of their only American distributor so I might be a teeny bit biased lol, I am sure whatever you decide it will be amazing.
Mavis Butterfield says
Lacanche Stoves are very nice, but it’s not the look I’m going for. I have pretty much been in love with AGA stoves for about 20 years and now that we are “home” I finally get to have the house done up the way I want.
JT says
I spot a birch tree, therefore curious if you’re planning on tapping it as well? Hoping to make proper birch beer this spring….
Mavis Butterfield says
No, we are just planning on tapping the maple trees this time around.
Dee Patterson says
Thinking about increasing fruit and vegetables……
I’m also aiming for around 30 different plant sources per week on top of the usual 10 a day fruit and veg.
So it’s slowly becoming normal to add say some lentils to wholemeal pasta or if I make a soup , to add different types of lentils and not just one.
We certainly eat a lot more pulses, legumes , beans and nuts than we did say 10 years ago.
I’m English with Irish in me.
I try too, to add something fresh salad wise to most meals , even it it’s just small bowl of grated beetroot or carrot.
I deliberately buy a huge amount of fruit ( crowd funding- organic farmer gets the money directly ) or have organic delivery.
It never gets wasted,
I put say 25 bananas in a bag thinking they’re never eat all this but it magically vanishes .
This years aims are to grow a bit more fruit, eat a lot less sugar and be more conscious about simple things like fibre .
Yesterday’s food was porridge with sunflower seeds, a scatter of walnuts and almonds and a date .
Lunch was red and green lentil soup with a parsnip , onion, garlic , herbs, stock cube, cheated a bit with a spicy pork jar spoonful I added.
Some oranges, a pear.
Dinner was stir fry sweet pepper ( I know you call them something different but for the life of me I can’t remember what you do call them , anyway they come in orange, red yellow and green ) onions, garlic, fresh ginger, mushrooms, tofu ( and yes, that’s a hard one as none of us love it ) with rice noodles and a pudding of red mulberries ( frozen in august , picked wild ) some frozen blueberries and frozen blackberries, a fresh sweet apple topped with a crumble of oats, pumpkin seeds, sesame , sunflower and a sprinkle of sugar with a bit of butter .
Snack was another orange as we’ve got 82 staring at us on the kitchen table .
I’m quite sure we got our fibre .is it true I wonder that 95% don’t get their 25-32% of fibre daily ?
I do a menu plan weekly , and make sure to think veg .
I’m also on a trying extra hard to support local small businesses and cut down my plastic waste .
I clean our local beach and you’d be amazed at the plastic washed up.
Your blog is highly enjoyable , I’m rambling on to show you that eating more veg isn’t so difficult really .
Jamie says
I enjoyed reading this update! These posts help keep me motivated with my own to do list. In regards to paneling the dishwasher – we are going to redo our kitchen in the next two/three years and will probably do away with the paneling on the dishwasher. The dishwasher model we have (which is great and we don’t want to replace it) gets warm on the door when it runs and has caused the paneling to warp a bit. The top of the paneling has further warped from steam coming out of the dishwasher when we open it after a run. When we talked to our contractor about the issue he said we should just do away with it or budget in repair/replacement of that panel piece every 3 – 5 years.
I got most of our 10-8 week seeds started this week and pruned and mulched the foundation beds. I will do a bit more pruning around the sides of the yard and will spray our cherry and crab apple trees for fungus today as it will be in the 60’s most of the day with little wind and no rain. Then I have some general cleaning to do (my least favorite task of scrubbing the tub/shower) and will bake bread for the week.