Stay Healthy!
I have my first appointment with the endocrinologist next week. I’ll do a two month post op blog after the appointment. 🙂 In other news, Mrs. HB sent me a gift box filled with “spa day” essentials for my birthday.
Clearly she thinks of me as a plump tomato person {?} with thin hair that likes to pick flowers. Nice. I wonder what happened to my other finger? Is her card some sort of omen? Which of course makes you wonder… if you had to lose a finger…. which one would it be?
Included in the box of goodness was one of my favorite candles {vanilla bean} a bunch of girly potions and lotions, a cute pajama day sign and would you believe FACIAL RAZORS!!!! Mrs. HB and I have been arguing about facial hair FOREVER.
Basically she shaves her face, and I do not because 1. There is nothing wrong with a little {and I do mean LITTLE} peach fuzz on a persons face. And 2. I don’t want some sort of man beard/sideburns to suddenly appear one day because I felt the need to shave my face for 20+ years.
But that’s just me. And Mrs. HB will forever continue to tell me that lots of people shave their faces. And I will continue to ignore her. End of story. 🙂
Weigh What I Weighed When We Got Married {128 pounds}
On a typical day the meals I eat look something like this:
- Breakfast: Oatmeal or an English muffin with a little PB and jam
- Lunch: Big meal of the day
- Afternoon Tea: tea and chocolate or some other sweet treat
- Dinner: Usually something small like cheese and fruit, or a salad
I have always drank a lot of water and/or tea throughout the day {and if I had to guess, I probably drink close to my weight in water/tea each day} and I typically don’t eat after 5pm. That’s it. Nothing fancy, no fad diets, I don’t count calories and I keep my portions in check and eat like a person should.
I’m not a big snacker {although in summer, I do consume a lot of ice cream – but I’m also outside working in the yard quite a bit so I think it all evens out}.
I have made one change though. Normally I would add milk and sugar to EVERY cup of tea I drank each day {and I drink A LOT of tea}. These days though, I have switched up my tea drinking habits and now only drink one decaf Earl Grey tea with milk and sugar in the morning and one in the afternoon.
The rest of the day I drink plain mint tea {no milk, no sugar… sniff sniff} and I suspect all those extra milk and sugar calories that I was previously consuming, were probably the equivalent of an extra small meal. But really, other than that one small tweak, I haven’t really changed anything else.
- My March 7th weigh in was 135.6
- My February 7th weigh in was 137.3
- My January 3rd weigh in was 140.7
Keep My Husband Busy
Next up for the little bathroom remodel is a new shower head. The tile, vanity, mirror and new light fixtures are all in and we’re coming down the home stretch.
I’ll post before and after pictures when we’re done,
The HH’s Honey Do List {so far} for 2021 🙂
- Build a new set of stairs down to the water. The old set… it’s not exactly useable.
- Build a firepit near the edge of the property. {He’s handy, he’ll figure it out}
- Build a picnic table near the birch trees for summer lunches {NEXT on the list!}
- Build 4 or 6 garden boxes for his little lady
- Build a boatload of birdhouses for the {soon to be} bird sanctuary
- Remodel the bathroom in the hallway {In Progress!}
- Install some sort of driveway border
- Install a workspace for me in the basement for dying wool.
Things We’d Like to Buy
- A dinghy for zipping around the nearby islands and for summer ice cream runs
- Archery Set {every camp should have archery!}
- Kitchen table and chairs
- Sideboard
Bench for the entryway- A full size washer and dryer set {the house came with a small stackable w/d set}
- Deck chairs and a patio table set
A set of 4 Adirondack chairs for the fire pit area- BBQ {Sayonara smoker?}
Unplug As Much As Possible {but still keep the blog, FB and Instagram}
My phone is still on silent mode. 🙂 Not having to be interrupted by the noise of a ringing phone or text messages is really pretty awesome.
I am currently on Mad Men Season 6 and the HH is watching Game of Thrones {we borrowed the dvd’s from the library}. I also got rid of picmonkey this past week {a photo editing service}. I think I was paying something like $50 a year to edit my photos online. Which when I first signed up was great because I used it all the time and the format was super simple.
But then they went and changed everything and added a bunch more steps to the simple editing process and options for stuff I didn’t need and well, I can basically do most of that on my phone so I canceled the service.
Letting go of things you don’t use or need… it’s pretty rad. And it frees up so much time.
- Goodbye Amazon Prime {Done!} $119 a year
- Goodbye Hulu {Done!} $54.99 a month
- Goodbye Netflix {Done!} $7.99 a month
- Goodbye PicMonkey {Done!} $50 a year
- Goodbye keeping my cell phone in my back pocket and checking it constantly {so far so good}
- Limit time online to 3 hours a day {for writing, working, and Etsy} {so far so good}
Try 24 New Recipes {and remember to link them here}
This past week I shared a recipe for white beans and ham.
New recipes I’ve made this year:
- White Beans and Ham
- Colcannon
- Tuna Wiggle
- Grilled Steak Tips with Garlic Butter
- Seville Orange Marmalade
- Jalapeno Cheddar No Knead Dutch Oven Bread
- Hearty Cheeseburger Soup
- Meatballs and Brown Gravy
Read {or Listen to} 12 New Books about Maine {or written by Maine Authors}
The HH bought a few more books for my “Maine” collection from the card table at the library. I haven’t had a chance to go through them yet but I’m pretty excited about them. I am also still waiting my turn in queue for The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah.
Books about Maine {or written by Maine authors} I’ve read this year:
- Christina Olson Her World Beyond the Canvas.
- At First Light: Two Centuries of Maine Artists, Their Homes and Studios
- Bernard Langlais at the Colby College Museum of Art
Audiobooks I’ve listened to {or attempted to listen to} this year:
- The Midnight Library by Matt Haig {I’d give it a 7/10}
- Wintering by Katherine May {Hit the return button after 7 minutes}
Get 24 Stories Off My Phone and onto the Blog
The photo above? It has been sitting on my phone since 2017!
Stories I’ve Taken Off My Phone and onto The Blog:
Get the Photos on My Phone Down to Less Than 1,000 {started the year with 2863 photos}
I added more photos than I deleted this week. 🙁
Clean Out My Closet
I turned all the hangers around in my closet on January 1st and so far 85% of them are still backwards.
My House Projects For This Year
I am declaring next week PAINT WEEK at our house. All rug hooking / craft projects will come to a halt so I can finish up my painting in the family room, entryway and finally get the dining room painted {which currently, has a teal blue colored wall}. I feel like if I don’t get these things done now, they won’t get done until fall and well, I need to get cracking.
- Figure out new window treatments for the back of the house
- Come up with a game plan for the kitchen remodel {for 2022}
- Paint the family room
wallsand trim - Paint the entryway
trimand doors {halfway there} - Paint the dining room walls and trim
- Paint the master bedroom walls and trim
- Paint the barn and add a new fixture {okay, so the HH will be adding the fixture}
Paint the hallway bathroom{Done!}
My Garden Projects For This Year
My only garden plan for this week is to measure the area we want fenced and to order the fencing materials for the front garden area. 🙂 Hopefully we’ll be able to
My List of Garden Projects For This Year I want to Accomplish :
- Install a simple flower bed border in front of the house
- Install a boatload of birdhouses/feeders in the side yard
- Transplant evergreen saplings to the side of property for a privacy border
- Clean up and prune the area that faces the road
- Install a vegetable garden
- Install a sunflower patch
- Plant 2,500 flower bulbs {Why 2,500? It seemed like a good number to start with}
Reach 10,000 Sales on Etsy {as of this morning I’ve made 6444 sales on Etsy}
Only 3,556 to go!
This past week I added a few new bundles of wool, 3 rug hooking kits, 3 patterns and some sweet little bunny garlands to my Etsy shop.
Create 12 New Rug Hooking Patterns or Kits
New Rug Hooking Kits I’ve Created This Year
Create 12 New Ornaments for 2021
I have a bunch of new ornaments in the works, but this week I added a few more of my polka dot chocolate bunnies to my Etsy shop and a couple of sweet little bunny garlands.
2021 Ornaments I’ve Made So Far
- #1 ♥ Ladybug Heart ♥
2021 Garlands I’ve Made So Far
- #1 Heart Garlands
- #2 Bunny Garlands
Discover 12 Made in Maine Products and Share Them on the Blog
Last week The Girl and I tried Royal Rose Syrups from Newcastle, Maine and loved them so much, we decided to do a little giveaway for a few bottles. If you haven’t entered the giveaway yet, pop on over HERE to enter.
Made in Maine Products I’ve Discovered in 2021:
Visit 6 Lighthouses in Maine
This past week we drove all the way up the coast of Maine to the town of Lubec to checkout the West Quoddy Lighthouse and man was it ever cold there. 5 degrees! But we had a blast and it was a totally fun trip. You can read all about it HERE.
2 down, 4 to go!
Lighthouses We’ve Visited So Far This Year:
Lighthouses I’ve Been to in Maine Before 2021:
Other places in Maine We’ve Been to This Year Are:
- Owls Head General Store
- Wasses Hot Dogs in Rockland, Maine
- Langlais Sculpture Preserve – Cushing, Maine
So that’s it. That’s my progress report for this past week. How about YOU? Did you make any goals for 2021? Have you checked any of them off your list yet?
Have a great one,
~Mavis
Lolly says
Yeah, I already HATE shaving my legs and underarms…so no way I’m gonna add shaving my little peach fuzz, too! Who has time for that?!
Also it seems that alot of men shave their arms and legs (and prolly chests)… DH already doesn’t shave his face on the weekends, so what, when he’d snuggle me, he’d be all prickly on his arms and legs and chest?? I’m ok with facial scruff, but not prickly arms and legs. Lol!
Dee says
Hi Mavis,
what is your brand of Earl Grey Decaf? I can only drink decaf as well and love my Earl Grey Tea. But I find it hard to find brands who produce it.
Mavis Butterfield says
Bigelow. 🙂
Kelly Jo says
I have noticed one of your goals has been to get photos off of your phone for a couple of years now. Have you ever thought of using a service like Chatbooks. It’s a fairly cheap way to put photos you’d like to save into photo books. Then you could remove the photos from your phone. Just an idea!
Mavis Butterfield says
Yes, Chatbooks would be a great idea. Thank you. 🙂
Mel says
The past month or so has not been a good one (sick pets, 12 consecutive days of headaches, awful work schedules, and on and on), so I haven’t had as much time for goals as I normally do. Even the ones that are usually easy to keep up with (like running) have been so much harder lately. I have a relatively quiet week at work this week, so I’m hoping to get back into some of my goals (unless something else goes wrong).
The goals I have kept up with are:
–My cleaning schedule. I got behind with some of the craziness lately, but the system I’m using has made it so much easier to get caught up when that happens. I knocked out 70 chores yesterday, and the house feels so much more relaxing. I have all our bright, cheerful Easter and spring decorations up as well.
–Using up freezer meals. We’ve had to rely on more takeout this past week, but I still used up some freezer items.
–Buying local meat/produce & eating more veggies. Our CSA added a winter fruit share, so that has been handy. And we picked up an order of local meat last week and were able to buy some local milk. I have been doing much better with veggies but this past week was so chaotic that I need to refocus a bit this week.
–Organizing holiday decorations. This was actually a goal from last year that I never quite finished. I completed the last of it (organizing Christmas ornaments) last week, which will make December SO much better.
–Replace or remove things that don’t fit in the kitchen. I replaced the last of our bulky dessert carriers with collapsible versions. Granted, I have nowhere to take desserts at the moment, but that was a common occurrence prior to the pandemic.
Annette says
Mel,
Can you describe your cleaning schedule?
Thanks.
Mel says
I entered all my cleaning tasks into an app called Tody. You set the frequency each chore needs to be done, and it creates a daily list for you. I set up each chore to only take about 5 minutes (e.g., dusting one room at a time instead of the whole house), but you can customize them however you want.
loriann says
Hi mavis! Do you have a beginners rug hooking kit and instructions, or one you would recommend? I would love to give it a try but have no idea where to start. Currently taking a beginning tatting class at a local lt store, but I don’t think its my thing, haha, 1 hour later and I have about 4 inches of twisted stitches! I need to keep you hands busy productively in the evenings.
Mavis Butterfield says
The whale, heart and little cat rug hooking kits are all great for beginners. I give tons of information and a link to a “how to rug hook” tutorial in all the listings. Here is a link: https://www.etsy.com/listing/680594274
Christie says
So many Stephen King books are set in Maine. My personal fave is 11/22/63. Soooooo good. (And it’s not horror)
Lynne says
After being on Team Mavis (face shaving) for YEARS, in the last month I’m now on Team Mrs HB. My paternal Gramma and Aunt both had full blown mustaches, and I was quickly heading down that path. At 53, I couldn’t deal with it anymore. My face feels smooth, and I only have to do it about every 12-14 days. Not going back. LOL!!
Sue R. says
I think Mrs. HB was sending a self portrait in your card….SHE’S handing YOU flowers 🙂
Teri says
I thought that too! Happy Birthday Mavis!
Kris R says
Yes, I agree, Mrs HB is giving you the flowers Mavis. 🙂
Lissa says
The link to the give away goes to the delightful Etsy shop. Am I missing something?
Mavis Butterfield says
Fixed. Thanks for letting me know. 🙂
Debi says
current with my goals so far:
1) read 15 books this year. Finishing up book 5 – only 60 pages left. Read in “Wish You Well” by David Baldacci.
2) Walk dog daily when possible. Could not walk last week due to extremely low temps. Walked yesterday and today. Looks like next week will do most days. Rain and poss snow mix on Wed, though.
3) Cleaned part of basement floor. Need to slowly clean up basement, then rewaterproof walls. Have this done in pieces, esp since it is cold down there.
4) Budget for $100/week incl paper products, non-food, dog food and treats included. This past week = perfect.
5) Lose 1-2 lbs/month. So far, so good.
6) Sell as many items on ebay, local FB buy/sell sites. So far, only 2 weeks since Jan that I had no sale.
7) Eat from pantry/freezer trying to eat down what I have before getting new stock. So far, so good.
8) Print out color pics of house paint and decorating ideas. Still working on this. Have been doing this more recently.
9) Sell or trade off books that I have already read. Have numerous books on paperbackswap.com
10) Write out weekly to do chores list – been staying up with the list and chores.
tia in boise says
Mind
*Say what you mean; mean what you say–not sure if this counts, but I walked away from 2 social media posts that I wanted to write on but thought I’d be the “bigger boy”
*Read 50 books–I started 2 books that had to be returned before finishing them and checked out and returned 2 others before even starting. I’ve read 4 and have a good start on one that I’ve been waiting almost a year to read. Have to force myself to have relaxation time!
Spirit
*Plan one fun outing a month–last month took teaching partner on a beautiful walk in an area she was thrilled to discover and share with family.
*Have one date a month with DH–rented a DVD and had take-out!
Work
*Work 1 hour/day to plan, prep, grade–This has been difficult to time. Also, lots of meetings–phhhlllttttttttt….and I’m getting to school super early, BUT I have been working at leaving before 4:00! I think this may be more difficult with all students coming back full time, but I’ll still strive for it.
Home
*Put away the thing–NOW–I think I’ve been doing a decent job at not letting clutter accumulate
*Complete 1 cleaning/organizing project/month–last month was spice cabinet organization
*Create and implement cleaning schedule–I must not really want to do this one (thinking no one else will buy into it, so why bother?)
*Try out 1 new recipe/month–made a bazillion cookies for a hot cocoa bar to show my co-teachers how much I love them and to pump up their spirits for all the kids returning and made a gluten-free almond flour cookie. (pretty yum!) I am currently cooking my first-ever (at 51 years of age) whole turkey!
*Decrease credit card debt (1) by 33.3%–not sure where I am on this because I didn’t write down the balance last bill–and prior was feeling pissy about the giant interest…but I’m working on it…
Health
*Lose 20 pounds–nothing lost YET–I finally worked my way back to over 3 miles (got to 4.2 today) and need to keep working toward 6. Had a run of eating lots of cookies over the course of several days (and DH and then Mom both surprising me with MORE cookies was NOT helpful)–so now everyone knows no cookies for Tia, and I have been good about not treating myself…I bet I will have lost a pound by the end of this week!
*Always have water–I am not doing great at this–need to take a jug to school…but I’m usually carrying 3 bags plus my morning drink….
*Run a 5k, 10k, half, and marathon–got waylaid on this one with the removal of a *Track daily exercise–I’m on a several week streak!
*Track desserts–yah, not so good here–a streak going the WRONG way!
Lisa says
I need a whole post on how you got rid of Amazon when you don’t live near a lot of amenities. What do you do when you suddenly realize you need a new spatula or socks or pillows? Or you don’t like the light fixtures that they have at Home Depot? Teach me your strategies, oh wise one.
Beth Craven Connor says
Speaking of Maine Authors…Have you checked out the novels and short stories of Richard Russo, who wrote EMPIRE FALLS? I believe he still lives in Camden, Maine and Boston, MA.
Pj Truman says
Stick to your not shaving plan… too much maintenance. I loved Mrs. HB’s card… Happy Birthday! Thank you for making static ads rather than videos this week. The chillax vibe is back.
Cindy Brick says
Gee, am I the only one of your readers (besides Mrs. HB, that is) who DOES shave her face?
If you had a long streak of black hair on your neck that quickly shows up after only 3 or so days of not shaving…you’d shave, too.
Fortunately, most of my facial hair is blond or white, so I tend to do it every other day — it just takes a minute or two during a shower.
Pat from NY says
Happy Birthday Mavis! Please have your HH buy you a two or three step ladder (I love mine) for your paint projects. Please, please, please don’t stand on chairs. I cringe when I see you on a chair. Thank you.
Robin in WI says
I shave my face, and have been doing so for years. 😉 My hair is too dark not to remove it, and now that I’m 52 and post-menopause, it’s not just a little bit of fuzz. It’s a myth that shaving makes hair grow back thicker, and I actually get to shave my legs less now because the hair there isn’t growing as quickly. My husband is getting more furry; it bugs him and he trims it down. I love hair on a man and tell him not to shave his chest bare, though I wouldn’t mind if men shaved their armpits. 😉
Alli Aplet says
Happy (belated now) birthday to you Mavis! Somehow after reading your blog for 10+ years I never realized that you and my son Erich(now 24!) share the same special day. Hope you had a great day.
Deb says
Mavis, Happy Birthday! I noticed that you are painting standing on a chair. It might be a perfectly strong chair and able to withstand your getting up and down on it… but may I suggest something a little more stable? Like maybe a small ladder? Only a suggestion. Hopefully you are wearing shoes!