My Big List of Things I’m Going to Do in 2021 – Week 23 of 52

Stay Healthy! 

Getting plenty of fresh air, soaking up the sunshine, drinking lot’s of water, eating lot’s of pie, playing in the dirt, and a constant flow of art projects…. what more could a girl need? 

I weighed in in this morning and yee-haw! Only 1.6 pounds to go! 

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

Weigh-ins are the first Sunday of each month.

• My June 6th weigh in was 129.6
• 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 

It was a busy week for the maintenance guy… moving the field, the lawn, weed eating, painting the high parts of the barn, going to the recycling center, buying salt pellets and potting soil, putting together his new toy…

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 {we did 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

Well, after much deliberating… the HH decided not to buy a BBQ and instead bought a Blackstone Griddle and has now apparently decided to become a line cook. I’ll share more about this tomorrow when I post the weekly meal show and tell. It’s riveting stuff people. You’re not going to want to miss out on it, trust me. 

• 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 {He bought a Blackstone Griddle instead!}
• 2 More Kayaks

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

Rearranging watercolors by The Girl, hooking, and playing with clay, and hanging out in the garden…. who needs to be online with a schedule like that? 

• 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!}

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}

Currently reading Andrew Wyeth: A Secret Life, on the waitlist for Finding Freedom and the HH just brought home The Painted Drum for me from the library. 

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!}

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}

I spotted this perennial in the Lowe’s parking lot and I MUST HAVE IT!! Does anyone know what it’s called? 

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

The barn has been painted! Yee-Haw. I’m so glad to be able to check this off the list. Next up is painting the HOUSE! But that will probably have to wait until towards the end of the month because I want to finish getting the area around the barn cleared up a bit. There’s a lot of brush to prune back, that’s for sure. 

• 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 
• Paint the hallway bathroom {DONE!}

My List of Garden Projects For This Year I want to Accomplish :

Yesterday I planted 2 flats of zinnia seeds. I decided to start them in flats this time rather than direct sowing simply because I’m not exactly sure where I’m going to put them yet. 🙂 

Next up is planting a boatload of containers or lupine and Shasta daisies {more on that later though}. 

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 {decided for a row along the side of the barn instead}
• 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 7610 sales on Etsy}. Only 2390 to go! 

With all the work we’ve been doing outside lately, it’s been hard to make time for hooking, but this past week I was able to add new wool bundles, new garlands, a really cool sunflower, a giant rug and a few pillows to my Etsy shop.

Create 12 New Rug Hooking Patterns or Kits {5 down 7 to go}

I finally finished the Cape Cod 1829 New England Whale and Sailboat Rug I’ve been working on forever and 27 days. 🙂 I now have it available as a finished piece, a kit and a pattern. I also have the whale pillow above available as a pattern as well.

New Rug Hooking Kits I’ve Created This Year:

• Cape Cod 1829 New England Whale and Sailboat
• Nantucket Whale
• 1820 Flower Basket
• Bunny Love
• Old Mr. Squirrel

Create 12 New Ornaments for 2021

I don’t have a new ornament to show you this week but I did just finish a few whale tail garlands. 🙂 Perfect for that beachy vibe and I have them in two different colors in my Etsy shop. 

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
• #4 Whale Tail 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