My Big List of Things I’m Going to Do in 2021 – Week 22 of 52

 

Stay Healthy! 

The Girl is here this weekend and so the plan is to eat a lot of ice cream and go on some long walks, you know, to balance everything out. Ha! I ordered a bunch of aquaboards for her so she could paint more watercolors for the dining room area. 

She’s been focusing on the things {birds mostly} that we’ve spotted in our very own backyard. At the rate she’s going, I think we’ll have a dedicated wall of her watercolors by the end of summer. 🙂 

Weigh What I Weighed When We Got Married  {128 pounds}

Weigh-ins are the first Sunday of each month.

• My May 2nd weigh in was 131.0
• My April 18th weigh in was 129.9 {after 18 days of being on the low iodine diet}
• My April 4th weigh in was 133.4 {a few days into the low iodine diet}
• 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 

With picnic table #2 done, next on the list is installing some small whale tail hooks on the back of the guest room door and then making a boatload of birdhouses for the wildflower patch I’m going to plant next week. 

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. {DONE!}
• Build a picnic table near the birch trees for summer lunches {Done!}
• Build 4 or 6 garden boxes for his little lady {doing raised beds this year instead}}
• Build a boatload of birdhouses for the {soon to be} bird sanctuary 
• Create a garden path/walkway for the front garden {DONE!}
• Remodel the bathroom in the hallway {DONE!}
• Install some sort of driveway border
• Install a workspace for me in the basement for dying wool
• Install a fence in the front for Lucy {DONE!}
• Build a set of 3 bookshelves in the dining room for me {DONE!}
• Install a trailer hitch on the car {DONE!}

Things We’d Like to Buy

• A dinghy 
• 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 {Going the picnic table route instead}
• A set of 4 Adirondack chairs for the fire pit area  {I LOVE these chairs!}
• BBQ {Sayonara smoker?}
• 2 More Kayaks

Unplug As Much As Possible {but still keep the blog, FB and Instagram}

The water has been a bit choppy this past week so we only went out twice but I’ve been getting caught up on indoor projects, so that’s a good thing. 

• 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} 

* Hulu is actually now $64.99 a month for the live tv version {live sports, live news}. You can get it for $5.99 a month but all that does is play tv shows and old movies {with ads}.

Try 24 New Recipes {and remember to link them here} {14 down, 10 to go!}

This past week I made a rhubarb pineapple pie. It was fantastic and I plan to add it to my yearly rhubarb recipe rotation. 

New recipes I’ve made this year:

• Rhubarb Pineapple Pie
• Creamy Scalloped Potatoes with Ham
• Chicken and Green Bean Casserole 
• Chocolate Chip Sea Salt Cookies
• Lemon Meringue Pie
• Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Apples
• 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}

No new books this week {our little library was closed last week} but I am on the waitlist for Finding Freedom by Maine Author Erin French. 

Books about Maine {or written by Maine authors} I’ve read this year:

1. Christina Olson Her World Beyond the Canvas. 
2. Maine’s Favorite Birds
3. At First Light: Two Centuries of Maine Artists, Their Homes and Studios
4. Bernard Langlais at the Colby College Museum of Art
5. The 3,000 Mile Garden
6. Becoming Teddy Roosevelt 

Audiobooks I’ve listened to {or attempted to listen to} this year: 

• The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah {I give it a 10/10}
• 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 {I now dislike this goal!}

Here’s a picture of the potholders Mrs. HB bought from the Amish lady when we visited her basket/jam/fresh baked good stand last week. 

Stories I’ve Taken Off My Phone and onto The Blog:

• Ale House Inn – Portsmouth, New Hampshire
• Chicken Foot in the Pot Pie
• Pineland Farms in New Gloucester, Maine
• Sheepscot General Store and Farm in Whitefield, Maine

Get the Photos on My Phone Down to Less Than 1,000 {started the year with 2863 photos}

Thanks to Mrs. HB, there are now like 10 million photos on my phone again. Note to self: whittle them down again and figure out the name of this double white daffodil so I can order a boatload more of them to plant in my garden this fall. 

Last year I tried to place an order in September for bulbs and they were all sold out. So as soon as the peonies bloom in the front yard and I know what color to order, I think I am going to pre-order my bulbs for fall so I don’t miss out. 

Clean Out My Closet

I still haven’t worn about 50% of the clothing in my closet this year and so it’s looking like I’ll be donating a bunch of stuff to the little church in town towards the end of the year. A thinned out closet… it can be very liberating. 

My House Projects For This Year

Next week I’ll be painting the barn!! Yee-Haw! I’m so excited to finally get around to doing this. Not so much because it will look 100 times better painted white, but because that means once the barn is painted… the house is next. 🙂 We decided to go with Benjamin Moore Aura Exterior Paint Semi-Gloss. It wasn’t cheap, but it’s suppose to be really awesome durable exterior paint according to This Old House. 

• 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 walls and trim {DONE!}
• Paint the entryway trim and doors {DONE!}
• Paint the dining room walls and trim {DONE!}
• 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 List of Garden Projects For This Year I want to Accomplish :

This week I’ll be planting sunflowers and wildflowers {mostly lupine, foxglove, purple coneflowers and Shasta daisies} near the road and down in a low spot out front. I had started a couple of flats of sunflowers last week and set them out on the back porch under domes to germinate, but the chipmunks got to them so now I’ll have to direct sow them and hope for the best. 

Everybody’s got to eat I guess…. 

Still left on the list:

• Install a simple flower bed border in front of the house {Done}
• Install a boatload of birdhouses/feeders in the side yard {re-thinking this one}
• 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 {Done}
• Install a sunflower patch {next up on the list!}
• Plant 2,500 flower bulbs in the fall {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 7512 sales on Etsy}. Only 2429  to go! 

I dyed a wee bit of wool last week. 😉 I listed a few of the colors yesterday, but need to get the rest of the wool bundled up and online. 

Create 12 New Rug Hooking Patterns or Kits

My next Etsy shop update for finished pieces is June 4th. But I’ll need to set aside 2 solid days to finish up the rugs I hooked and turn a few of them into pillows if I’m going to meet my deadline. I don’t know if I’m getting slower, or just have more on my plate this summer than last year, but it seems like it is taking me forever to complete hooked pieces these days. 

New Rug Hooking Kits I’ve Created This Year:

• 1820 Flower Basket
• Bunny Love
• Old Mr. Squirrel

Create 12 New Ornaments for 2021

I’ve been working on an owl design but haven’t decided on which design I’ll be offering yet. {Hopefully I’ll have it figured out by next week}. 

2021 Ornaments I’ve Made So Far

• #1  Ladybug Heart 
• #2 Strawberry
• #3 Mr. Turkey
• #4 Whale Tails
• #5 Bee Skep
• #6 Loon

2021 Garlands I’ve Made So Far

• #1 Heart Garlands
• #2 Bunny Garlands
• #3 Strawberry Garlands

Discover 12 Made in Maine Products and Share Them on the Blog

We found a new local cheesemaker and so far have tried two of their cheeses. More research needs to be done though before I can share a proper post. 😉 Stay tuned. 

Made in Maine Products I’ve Discovered in 2021:

• Hearth and Harrow Tea Towels in Rockport, Maine
• Royal Rose Syrups in Newcastle, Maine
• Ash Cove Pottery in Harpswell, Maine
• Uncas Farms Pure Maple Syrup

Visit 6 Lighthouses in Maine

2 down, 4 to go! 

I was hoping Mrs. HB and I would visit a new lighthouse or two while she was here, but we didn’t have time for it. Oh well, this only means The HH and I will be including them into our date day adventures this fall. 

Lighthouses We’ve Visited So Far This Year:

• West Quoddy Lighthouse in Lubec, Maine
• Pemaquid Point Lighthouse in Bristol, Maine

Lighthouses I’ve Been to in Maine Before 2021:

• Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse
• Marshall Point Lighthouse
• Portland Head Light

Other places in Maine We’ve Been to This Year Are:

• Owls Head General Store
• Longfellow’s Greenhouses and Nursery in Manchester, Maine
• Fresh Off The Farm in Rockport, Maine
• 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