One Hundred Dollars a Month

“The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams.” ~ Oprah Winfrey 

My goals for 2018

Goal #1 – Write Like No One is Reading.

“Close the door. Write with no one looking over your shoulder. Don’t try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say. It’s the one and only thing you have to offer.” ~  Barbara Kingsolver

Goal #2 – Slow Down

Mission accomplished.

Goal #3 – Shop Small

This week at the recycle center I picked up a white vase, a wooden candle stick and 2 old fashioned glass canning jars {that I plan to put flowers in next spring at my little pop up vegetable stand}. I also picked up a stack of free books to mail to a friend.

Goal # 4 – Have a Designated Meal Prep Day It’s Not For Us

I threw in the towel early on this one. Meal prep, and cooking in mass quantities is just not for my family at this stage in our lives. Although with the addition of a new freezer, I may have to whip up some new freezer meals. We’ll see.

Goal #5 – Install a Vegetable Garden Done!

Although we plan on expanding the vegetable plot this fall.

Goal #6 – Clear Land for a Chicken Coop and Future Raised Garden Bed Area 

The HH has been hard at work this past week building Lucy’s babies a chicken coop. With 5 nesting boxes and 3 roosting bars I think the coop will be plenty big enough.

We still aren’t sure where the chicken coop’s final landing spot will be, but now I’m trying to convince my husband we should move the coop back down to the lower garden area {near Harriet, the fruitless apple tree} and build a permanent enclosure around the coop {instead of a detachable one}. Kind of like the open and airy one I spotted at the French Laundry, {I like the idea of being able to stand up and walk around in a chicken run}. I do think we would need part of the run to be covered for the winter months though {because of snow}.

Luckily the HH’s pallet forks arrived the other day so we will be able to move it around the property and test out different areas until we find just the right spot. And those forks…. I’m thinking they’ll come in pretty hand this winter when we want to move a pallet of wood into the garage for burning in the wood stove. Just as soon as we re-stack the wood to make it a bit more stable that is {it seems to have shrunk!}. The work here, it’s never really done.

Goal #7 – Grow 500 Pounds of Vegetables

So far this year we’ve grown 34 pounds 10 ounces of homegrown vegetables in our {first year} garden. Although we have a fenced backyard, there is an abundance of wildlife competing to get their free samples each day. From wild turkeys, rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, an array of birds, to creatures unseen…. It’s all just part of living in the country I guess.

And honestly, unless we wanted to build an enormous screened off vegetable farm enclosure {we don’t} well then, I guess we are going to have to learn to share. I just hope the chippy’s leave enough blueberries for us to freeze and make jam with this season.

Goal #8 – Hook 100 Rugs

Only 32 more rugs to go before I can check this goal off my list!

Last week I finished another Flowers for Lucy rug, the giant chicken rug I’ve been working on since March, and two other smaller chicken rugs for the animal themed collection I plan to list in my next Etsy shop update on July 28th.

Goal #9 – Make a Set of Dolls

I plan to make a set {or two} of primitive dolls later this year after the garden has been put to bed.

Goal #10 – Make a Sampler, Frame it and Hang it on the Wall Done

Although I’ve already finished my sampler for this year, I have collected another 3 frames over the past few months and plan to make more samplers this winter.

Goal #11 – Visit 22 Bakeries

I wouldn’t exactly call J.J. Hapgood a full blown bakery, but a bakery/cafe? Yes. And it was delicious so it’s going in my collection of feel good bakeries/lobster shacks/small town goodness places to visit.

Goal #12 – Start a Collection

The furniture collection continues! As I may have mentioned before we have been on the hunt for 2 upholstered wing back chairs to fill the sitting nook in the family room. This week I finally found one that reasonably priced {$25!}. I still can’t believe my husband let me bring it in the house seeing how I found it at a thrift store and it wasn’t brand spanking’ new.

My husband firmly believes that all furniture and clothing that has been donated to a resell shop is the result of someone dying in it or it is riddled with fleas. Wood furniture for some reason though is acceptable {because you can wipe it down!}. Whatever. The chair is crazy comfortable {nice a firm} and I unzipped the seat cover {the batting was like new!} so I’m pretty confident the previous owner used the chair as a more decorative piece than for actually sitting on. The color isn’t as drab as the photo is showing {much brighter actually} and Lucy seems to think I bought it for her {of course she does!}

Goal #13 – Read {or listen to} 26 Books

This week I’ll be listening to Starry Night by Debbie Macomber while I wait for the books on my wait-list {Educated, Calypso, and a couple of other ones that I can’t remember the titles of. The Debbie Macomber books are totally predictable {like, you know how the book is going to end within the first 5 minutes} but it’s something easy to listen to as I work on my rug hooking {or secret holiday project} so I keep going back for more of them. Comfortable I guess, that’s what I’d call them.

Goal #14 – Try 12 New Canning Recipes

So far this year I’ve canned:

• Pickled Beets {without the funky spices}
• Cherry Almond Jam {freakin’ AWESOME}
• Susan’s Lilac Blossom Jelly

Goal #15 – Secret {for now} Holiday Project

Finally! A part that’s been on back order for the last 2 months is ready to be picked up {which should help things move along a lot faster}. I’m still in the experimenting stage but hope to be churning out an actual “finished product” by August. 🙂 The learning curve on my holiday project has been a little harder than I thought it would be, but I’m getting there.

How about YOU? Did you set any goals for 2018? How are they coming along?

~Mavis

Read About My 2018 Goals HERE.