Here’s my big list of things I want to accomplish in 2022:
Remodel The Kitchen
We are currently on the hunt for a panel ready refrigerator and dishwasher. Unfortunately all of the ones we like so far are out of stock. 🙁
Sell Enough Rugs to Buy an AGA Stove {$8443.55 of $22,000 earned so far}
I sold a few new “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 April. 🙂 I am 40% of the way there!! Wahoo!
Fill the Canning Cupboard {This is where the canning cupboard will go}
No canning cupboard yet but the cupboard has arrived at the delivery facility so hopefully I’ll get a call soon.
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.
We are down to 2 oranges. 🙁
Keep The Crafts… In The Craft Room.
This goal was a HUGE SUCCESS this past week. 🙂 When The Girl was here we moved all the furniture out of the dinning room. Now I’ll be able to paint the ceiling and fireplace before the HH gets started on sanding the floors.
My vote was to pay someone to sand the floors… but my husband seems to think he can tackle to project himself {even though he’s never done it before}. From what I’ve heard, pine floors are the hardest and most time consuming to refinish. Great.
Tap Our 2 Maple Trees and Make Maple Syrup
The sap has started flowing again and I suspect today, we’ll get to collect sap and begin the process of storing it until we have enough to boil. It’s a good thing one of the mini freezers is practically cleared out. I’m so excited!
Make a Quilt Top
I knew the process of making a postage stamp quilt was going to be my least favorite goal for this year {the cutting and sewing part}. So while I still have to finish cutting out my white squares before I can piece everything together, I am staying optimistic that I will get all the cutting done soon and get a quilt done by the end of the year.
Be More Intentional With My Time
I got up, worked hard, stayed off the internet as much as possible and didn’t dillydally. It was a good week!
1 Craft / Blog Free Day
So far I’m 8 for 9 this year.
The Girl and I spent 1 day last week enjoying a Harry Potter Movie Marathon {we got through 6 movies} We texted our room service orders to the HH and it was lovely. 🙂
Keep My Husband Busy
The HH kept busy this past week clearing walkways, running the snow blower, tapping trees, taking Lucy to the Vet, baking a cake and basically helping make things run smoothly around here. I don’t know what I’d do without him. He’s a real keeper.
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}.
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}
This past week I shared a recipe for Bacon Cheddar Jalapeno Biscuits {They”re fantastic!!! You should make them}.
So far this year I have shared the following recipes:
- 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 just finished listening to Dolly Parton, Songteller and I really enjoyed it. And even though Dolly was the narrator, all I heard was Mrs. HB’s voice. It was like we were in the same room together having a conversation.
Although when Dolly used the phrase ”poorer than Job’s turkey” I had to look that one up. Dolly Parton is an absolute hoot! I love her.
Audiobooks I’ve listened to this year:
- Dolly Parton, Songteller by Dolly Parton 10/10
- No Time Like the Future: An Optimist Considers Mortality by Michael J. Fox 10/10
- Night Road by Kristen Hannah on Audiobook. I’d give it a 9/10.
- Mill Town by Kerri Arsenault. Interesting. I’d give it a 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. 😉
It’s still too cold to plant anything and since I won’t be starting any seeds until March 15th, I’m using this time to work on house projects before it’s time to get out there and garden 24/7.
4 true seasons. I think it’s my favorite thing about living in New England.
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 {10 out of 12 finished so far}
I added 4 new patterns to my Etsy shop last night. The one above is an adaptation of a Hickety Pickety pattern. 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.
52 Walks {We’ve gone on 2 of 52 so far}
We didn’t go walking this past week… I suspect though with the daytime temps on the rise now, we’ll be venturing out more.
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.
After reading the book Mill Town though, the towns Mexico and Rumford Maine are on my list.
How about YOU? How did you do with working towards your goals for 2022?
~Mavis
Kim says
How on earth will you keep the dust of the rest of the house? The wool, etc. Will all the floors be sanded at one time? The result will be fantastic, but the interim will be tricky.
Mavis Butterfield says
The wool is stored in an area without wood floors, so I’m not worried about that. I know the sanders come with dust bags that are attached to them, but still. I think it’s going to be be one big mess. But what do I know, right?
My vote was to clear out for a few days, and leave it to the professionals. But the HH… he thinks he can do it {and save big bucks}. I guess we’ll find out.
KC says
You’ll still want to cover the wool if it’s in the same building. The dust bags will not get everything.
Erin says
The dust isnt too bad. The sander will suck the dust into bags. You will need to change your furnace filter. The worst part is the odor from the polyurethane.
HollyG says
We finish our red oak floors with a hard wax oil product rather than polyurethane. We could walk on it after 24 hours and it smelled like watermelon candies.
Mel says
I am putting a second coat of paint on the nursery walls today and doing some touch ups in the bathroom. Next weekend I’ll paint the trim in both rooms, and then I can start decorating and assembling furniture. For the bathroom, I ordered all the decor but still need to potentially order one more wall print. For the nursery, I already ordered a crib (and it has gone up in price $200 since I ordered, so I’m glad I did). I have a few more pieces of furniture to order, but timing that is tricky as we still need to get rid of some furniture to make room as well, but we need to coordinate schedules with the friends who are taking it. I did order one or two things for the walls and some supplies to make a mobile as well.
We still need to get our floors replaced, but there have been major delays with that, so I need to call the company again and see where things stand.
Mavis Butterfield says
I love that you are making a mobile I have seen so many cute ones on Etsy, that I know you will create something great. Glad to hear you are feeling well enough for projects.
Mel says
Oh, I wish I could have found one on Etsy! There were so many cute ones that I loved, but they were just so incredibly expensive for what they were. I know Etsy sellers have to turn a profit, but I couldn’t justify spending so much on a single item. Anyway, assuming it turns out, I’ll be sure to take pictures and share!
KATHY HORT says
When my grandson was born, I took a wreath form and many scraps of material and made a rag wreath. Then I turned it on its side and hung a bunch of kids tools from a plastic tool set I found from it at varying lengths. When he was out of his crib, his mom took off the tools and then he had a toy set as well.
Mel says
Yes, they’re very simple to make, which makes the $200 Etsy price tags even more baffling. The cheapest I could find was $70, which is still more than double what materials would cost.
Linda says
I think your husband has caught the Mavis attitude, we can tackle anything.
Great news on the range fund. Will next year be a greenhouse fund?
I have flowers, slow growing herbs, onions and Tango celery seedlings under grow lights. Still have weeks before planting season but I’m hoping to fill all my hanging baskets this year.
Have a wonderful Sunday.
Brianna says
I looked into having our maple floors in our last house refinished. They were installed incorrectly by a DIYer and every time a kid got sick on them, no matter how quick I was, it would just eat through what little ‘clear coat’ was on top. The clear coat would come off in pieces as I cleaned up with just paper towels. Then the floor would have a grey tinge to the area. Anyways, it was over $4k/room because of the wrapping they do so the whole house isn’t dusted. The company I had look at the floors was in disbelief of the DIY job someone did as the tongue and groove had lots of seam separation, was not straight, and lacked the appropriate top coats. It would have been done in a few days, but I could not justify the cost for two rooms, and entry, and hallway. It was easier just to cover it all with rugs. Lesson learned if I ever buy a house with wood floors again, make sure they are properly sealed and installed correctly.
Jennifer says
We lived in Sevierville, TN, from 1998 – 2001 and drove by Dollywood all the time. I was even the assistant for Miss Doreen, who drive the Imagination Library train all over Sevier County promoting Dolly’s Imagination Library, where every child in the county would receive A book a month until they turned 5. I met Dolly at a fundraiser and she was breathtakingly gorgeous and just as sweet as she appears on TV. My daughter, who was 4, did a press piece about the benefits of the Library for Parade Magazine and Dolly told her how pretty the pictures turned out she wished she had a dress as pretty and proceeded to remember every detail of it – the color, the lace, the sleeve length. What a class act.
Jeanine says
Will you have access to the outlet with the 4 plugs after you put up the canning cupboard? Also, put up plastic sheeting to keep down the dust from sanding the floor. That dust gets into everything!
Pam T says
Well, well! All I can say is “serendipity “. I want to tell you I THOROUGHLY enjoyed the book Norwegian Wood by H. Murakami. As I was reading I kept wondering when they were going to stack some wood! The book is excellent.. but of course, THE WRONG BOOK! So, thank you for the suggestion, now I have to read the actual book you posted! And, happy belated birthday!
Diane says
I got excited when I saw the pyramid of paint cans. I’m looking for a white paint for trim and doors for outdoors. I was hoping I had an old can of leftovers. Unfortunately I didn’t.
Can you tell me what white paint you’re using?
Thank you and have a great week!
Mavis Butterfield says
Benjamin Moore Chantilly lace.
Audj says
So excited to see your finished postage stamp quilt, I love the colors. Are you going to use fusible interfacing to make the process smoother and keep the points aligned or are you doing it by just piecing?
Mavis Butterfield says
I won’t be using interfacing.
Mrs Hillbilly says
I LOVE Dolly Parton …..and you Ms. Mavis !