My Big List of Things I’m Going to Do in 2021 – Week 7 of 52

Hello Sunday.

It’s shaping up to be another beautiful day here in Maine with a high of 30 degrees and snow in the forecast for tomorrow night. Yee-Haw! That view, it never gets old. 😉

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

Weigh ins will be on the first Sunday of the month.

• My February 7th weigh in was 137.3
• My January 3rd weigh in was 140.7

Keep My Husband Busy 

That husband of mine…

I left a to-do list for him on the counter last Thursday and would you believe he grabbed my sharpie marker and made a bunch of squiggly lines AROUND the stuff I wanted done so I couldn’t ADD anything else to the list? 

Part of me was like… WHO DOES THAT!?

And the other part was… it took you 27 years to figure that out? 

He’s almost done with removing everything in the bathroom. All that’s left it to remove the toilet {he bought a new one yesterday} and the baseboard trim along the back wall and then he can get started. 

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
• 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

The Adirondack chairs arrived and I absolutely love them. Once the weather warms up we’ll be able to set them outside and sit down by the water and enjoy them. 

• 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 {ordered, should arrive this week}
• 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. 

This past week I’ve been watching Mad Men in the evenings while I hook {I borrowed it from the library} and really haven’t even missed Netflix or streaming music from Amazon Prime. In fact the only thing I’ve ordered from Amazon this year was the book At First Light which I only paid $10 for since I had a $25 gift card to use up.

• Goodbye Amazon Prime {Done!} 
• Goodbye Hulu {Done!}
• Goodbye Netflix {Done!}
• 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}

New Recipes I’ve Made This Year

• 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 picked me up the book Bernard Langlais at the Colby College Museum of Art this past week and I’ve really enjoyed looking through the pages and learning more about the artist since our trip to the Langlais Sculpture Preserve – Cushing, Maine.

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

1. Christina Olson Her World Beyond the Canvas. 
2. At First Light: Two Centuries of Maine Artists, Their Homes and Studios
3. 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

It’s been busy around here the last few days, I need to get crackin’ on this one!

• Pineland Farms in New Gloucester, Maine

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

There are currently 2,482 photos on my phone. Up a few from last week but I took a ton of photos of wool yesterday that I need to delete and of someplace we went last week that I need still need to tell you about. 😉 

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. I also added a pair of deck shoes to my shoe collection this week. I’m pretty sure they’ll come in handy this summer out on the water. 

My House Projects For This Year

I didn’t get the window trim painted last week so it’s still on my list but with the bathroom remodel underway, I’m totally in high gear on the home improvement front so I know I’ll get it done today. 

• 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
• Paint the entryway trim and 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}

My Garden Projects For This Year

I miss my old birdhouse! We left it behind when we moved but luckily I took lots of pictures when the HH made it so he can make me a few more just as soon as he’s done working on the bathroom. 

Also, I ordered oodles of poppy, foxglove, Shasta daisy and lupin seeds for the flower garden we’ll be installing this year in the side yard for the bees and the birds so I’m pretty excited about that. 

My List of Garden Projects For This Year:

• 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 6289 sales on Etsy}

Only 3,711 to go! 

This past week I worked on putting rug hooking kits together and added a bunch of hand dyed wool to my Esty shop. 

Create 12 New Rug Hooking Patterns or Kits

I also finished my big flower basket rug {that I’ll soon offer as a pattern and a kit} and now I’m working on some mini rugs for my next Etsy update for finished goods on March 5th. I also have another super large rug I want to try and see if I can get done before the next update and I’ll probably start that one next week. 

Rug hooking is such a fun and relaxing hobby and I love that I can pick it up and put it back down again when life gets busy. 

Create 12 New Ornaments for 2021

I didn’t create any new ornaments this past week but I make a bunch of garden markers again and now I think I’m stocked for summer orders. 🙂 

2021 Ornaments I’ve Made So Far

#1 ♥ Ladybug Heart ♥

I am currently working on bunnies and foxes.

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

• Ash Cove Pottery in Harpswell, Maine

 

Visit 6 Lighthouses in Maine

We didn’t visit any lighthouses this week but the Girl and I have a roundtrip planned to go WAY up north in a few weeks and lighthouses are on our list {and bakeries too!}. 🙂 

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

Lighthouses I’ve Been to in Maine So Far:

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

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