My Big List of Things I’m Going to Do in 2021 – Week 31 of 52

Stay Healthy! 

I guess the pie and cheeseburger diet is finally catching up to me. 🙂 Darn. 

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

Weigh-ins are the first Sunday of each month.

• My August 1st weight in was 131.4
• My July 4th weigh in was 129.0
• 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 
• 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 

Grill boy is obsessed with the new Cheez It Snap’d crisps.  He circles back to the pantry several times a day for a handful and says he is never eating Doritos again. Have you tried them? I’m not a big fan of chips, but these are pretty good in small {3 chips at a time} doses. 

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

The hunt for a new washer and dryer set has been put on the back burner for now. Mostly because according to my husband it seems silly to replace something that’s still is good running condition.

I guess we’ll just wait until it dies and they’re all sold out in the stores and then the wait list will be like 6 months and we’ll have to to wash our clothes in saltwater. Yep. That sounds like a solid plan to 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}

Watching turtles cross the lawn… does it get any slower than that? 

Unplugging is cool…. 

• Goodbye Facebook {Done!}
• 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} 

Hmm… What should I unplug next? 

* 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} {19 down, 5 to go!}

Last week I made a batch of savory bacon cheese and onion scones and they were so good, I think I’ll make another batch tomorrow to go with the Copy Cat Panera tomato soup the HH is going to make me. 

New recipes I’ve made this year:

• Savory Bacon Cheese and Onion Scones
• Banoffee Pie
• Chicken Salad with Costco Canned Chicken
• Classic Strawberry Jam Recipe
• Lobster Mac and Cheese Recipe
• 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}

I listened to the Life of Pi on audiobook for about 1 1/2 discs before giving up. I just couldn’t get into it. Have you seen the movie? Maybe it’s better than the audiobook? 

The last few nights I’ve been reading The Lobster Coast by Collin Woodard and I’m enjoying that. But I do like the audiobook format a little better because I can listen while I am working on my craft projects. 

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

1. Christina Olson Her World Beyond the Canvas
2. Andrew Wyeth: A Secret Life
3. Finding Freedom
4. Maine’s Favorite Birds
5. At First Light: Two Centuries of Maine Artists, Their Homes and Studios
6. Bernard Langlais at the Colby College Museum of Art
7. The 3,000 Mile Garden
8. Becoming Teddy Roosevelt 
9. Here On The Island

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  ** SEE NEW GOAL BELOW **

Try Everything That Head Tide Oven Offers This Summer

Head Tide Oven is located in the small town of Damariscotta, Maine and is only open a few months out of the year… so I will have to be super diligent if I’m going to try everything before the bakery closes shop at the end of summer. 

The HH did the bakery run this week and came back with a peach pie, walnut raisin sourdough, Vollkornbrot sourdough and a raspberry jam bar. Everything was fantastic as usual and I’m looking forward to seeing what other seasonal pies are offered. 

Items I’ve Tried From Head Tide Oven in Damariscotta, Maine this summer:

Breads

• Dark Rye Sourdough Bread
• Light Rye Sourdough Bread
• Sourdough Kalamata Olive Bread
• Sourdough Bread 
• Flat Sourdough Bread
• Baguette 
• Walnut Raisin Sourdough Bread
• Vollkornbrot Sourdough Bread

Cookies/Bars

• Raspberry Jam Bar
• Ginger Cookie x2
• Swedish Cookie
• Almond Bar 
• Anise Sesame Biscotti
• Pan Forte x2

Pies and Cakes

• Chocolate Cake with a chocolate ganache 
• Peach Pie
• Lemon Thyme Pie x2
• Blueberry Pie
• Cherry Pie
• Cherry Rhubarb Pie

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

*I am down to 1423 photos! Wahooo!

Clean Out My Closet

Working on it.

My House Projects For This Year

I am happy to report that I have totally finished the front of the house and the garage and now I’m on to the back. Which luckily won’t take as long because there are so many windows across the back. 

Now I just need to figure out what color I am going to paint the foundation when I’m done with the siding. I had assumed I’d paint it grey, but now I’m wondering if red would be a bit more fun. The foundation at the Pemaquid Point Lighthouse in Bristol, Maine is red and if I painted our front door red to match, that might be kind of fun. But I don’t know yet. 

• 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 {DONE!}
• 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

Current garden projects include building a lasagna garden, weeding, planting new seeds and harvesting tomatoes and other vegetables from the garden. 

All the projects left on my list are fall ones. 

Still left on the list:

• Install a simple flower bed border in front of the house {Done}
• Star a lasagna garden
• 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 {fall project}
• Clean up and prune the area that faces the road {working on it}
• 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 7980 sales on Etsy}. Only 2020 to go! 

Last night I listed a bunch of new wool bundles on Etsy and have been keeping busy this past week with drawing out patterns and putting kits together. 

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

I’ve also been spending my evenings hooking again and coming up with a few new patterns for my next finished rugs update that will be sometime in mid-august. 

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 Done!

Last night I added my latest ornament, a rustic pear to my Etsy shop and that makes 12 new ornaments I’ve listed this year! I still have a few more in the works, but this has been a fun goal to be able to check off my list. 

2021 Ornaments I’ve Made So Far

• #1  Ladybug Heart 
• #2 Strawberry
• #3 Mr. Turkey
• #4 Whale Tails
• #5 Bee Skep
• #6 Loon
• #7 Simple White Cross
• #8 Miniature Candy Canes
• #9 Miniature Red Mittens
• #10 Sgraffito Owl
• #11 Penguin 
• #12 Pear

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

Part of me feels like I am slacking a little with this goal, but the other part of me knows I’m holding back a wee bit because I plan on doing a few “Maine” giveaways later this year and don’t want to spoil the surprise. 🙂 

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! 

Lighthouse adventures have been put on hold until the fall {when tourist season is over} and that’s fine by me. 🙂 

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:

• The Farnsworth Art Museum 
• Owls Head General Store
• Hedgerow Market in Martinsville, Maine
• 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
• McLoons Lobster Shack

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