One Hundred Dollars a Month

My 14 Goals for 2020

Goal #1 – Take Full Advantage of Having My Husband Home 24/7

This past week we had two date days, one with our neighbors to lunch, and another one exploring the Rockland, St. George area. I’ll post more pictures about one of the {many} light houses we saw that day once I go through the gazillion photos I took.

Goal #2 – Take Better Care of Myself. 

Slept in on Saturday {we’ll until 6:30 am, which is sleeping in for me} and played hooky from the blog. I also discovered Constant Comment tea comes in decaf {and was VERY excited about this} as I am no longer drinking caffeinated tea anymore.

Goal #3 – Get Organized

The good new is, the HH is making some progress in the kitchen {like actually putting up tile} the bad news is, it’s a little slow going. What I thought would be an easy peasy it will only take a week or two project has stretched into a two month long project and it’s eating away at my soul.

I need to have the kitchen done. I need to have the eating nook free of wool and I need a bedroom without folding tables {and wool}. Basically if I can’t get it together in the next few weeks, I am going to explode. But hey, I was able to get 80% of my bins of wool strips refreshed, so there’s that.

But I feel like right in this moment, everything in my world is 80% completed. And it’s driving me nuts. If only I could hit the pause button, clone myself 5 times over and have 72 hours to get all that I need to get done, done… all would be well in my universe.

• January 12th -18th – Hooking and Pottery
• January 19th – 25th – Paint and Make Shades for the sunroom {6 left to make}
• January 26th – January 31st – Finish up new offerings for my February 7th Etsy Shop update.
• February 1st – 7th – Dye Wool
• February 8th – 14th – Kitchen Backsplash and Fixtures
• February 15th – 21 Hooking and Pottery

Goal #4 – Get Proper Window Coverings on All Our Windows. 

Still not a stitch of fabric in sight. {Where are the magic fairies that work magic while people are sleeping? I need some.}

Goal #5 – Master Bedroom Make Over

Nope.

Goal #6 – Kitchen Update

As much as I think a patterned tile, or a splash of color would have been fun in the kitchen, we are both confident in our decision to have chosen the white subway tile for the kitchen update. The current house we are in is a very modest 1920’s home with classic details and to have put anything else in wouldn’t have seemed right to us.

Still need to:

• Repair drywall, put up tile
• Install new hinges on all cabinets 
• Swap out the 3 can lights that don’t match the other 2}
• Paint walls {I’m waiting until the backsplash is up to decide on color}
• Decide if the chalkboard stays or goes STAYS!
• Decide if we should get a rubbed bronze facet for the sink or keep the polished nickle one {keeping the polished nickle one}

Goal #7 – Install Vegetable Garden

So far 10 of the 36 artichoke seeds, are up as well as a few of the purple coneflower and rosemary seeds I planted. The English lavender is still chilling in the fridge and won’t come up for at least another month.

Goal #8 – Explore More of Maine 

On the radar for exploring Maine this month:

• Bar Harbor, Maine {moved to March}
• Lincolnville Center General Store in Lincolnville, Maine {moved to March}
• Wallace’s Market in Friendship, Maine {drove by but didn’t go in. Husbands. Enough said}.
• Port Clyde, Saint George Maine The trip reinforced my wish to live on an island someday.
• Find a good {non-chain} quilting store Found one!! 🙂
• Harpswell, Maine and Bailey Island

Goal #9 – Host Some Sort of Get Together

Hopefully before Spring!

Goal #10 – Read/Listen to 12 Books

I had to put We Took to the Woods aside because Olive Kitteridge became available in my audiobook queue from the library. What an interesting story. Or rather short stories. The one about the daughter-in-law and the shoe had be laughing SO HARD.  Over all, I’d give the book an 8 out of 10. Some stories were better than others, but I’d totally recommend it.

Other Books I’ve Picked Up From the Library This Year:

• Olive Kitteridge
• Smitten Kitchen Every Day: Triumphant and Unfussy New Favorites
• Natural Color: Vibrant Plant Dye Projects for Your Home and Wardrobe 
• The New Bungalow Kitchen 
• Container Gardening by Stephanie Donaldson 

Goal #11 – Learn A New Skill or Craft

My neighbor has offered to teach me stained glass! I have a specific project in mind that I want to do and with a little luck, we’ll be able to figure it out.

Goal #12 – Visit 12  Museums, Historical Homes or Botanical Gardens {and bakeries too!}

We had plans to visit the Maine Lighthouse Museum but it was temporarily closed on the day we went so we missed out. 🙁

January

• Maine Maritime Museum
• Maine Mineral and Gem Museum
• The Island Market 
• Cafe DiCocoa
• Hungry Hollow Country Store

February

• Two Fat Cats Bakery
• Portland Museum of Art
• Speckled Ax 
• Atlantic Baking Company
• Rockland, St. George, Cushing and Port Clyde Maine

Goal # 13 – Reach 5,000 Etsy Sales by the End of The Year 

As of this morning, I have made 3120 sales on Etsy. That’s up from 2804 on January 1st. Last night I added a few wool bundles to my Etsy shop and I was able to hook a few more pieces for my next Etsy shop update on Friday, March 7th at 6pm EST. The theme for March is pillows and kits. So far I have 7 pillows finished {my goal is 12} and 2 kits {my goal is 3} for the next shop update.

Goal #14 – Once a Month Menu Planning {for 2}

The kitchen is still a mess {hopefully not for much longer!} We did use some of the Ritz cracker chicken and a tub of meatballs from our freezer meal stash but there is still plenty in there for now. We’ll add a few more freezer meals to the stash once the kitchen is done.

Have YOU made any goals for this year? If so, DO TELL! We all want to hear about them.

Have a great Sunday everyone,

~Mavis

Mrs. Hillbilly’s Update

Week 8
I am sooooo happy that I didn’t lose any weight this week! I bet you are thinking she must be insane. But if you read last week’s
post you know my birthday was Sunday. And well the family took me out for dinner at which I had a glass of wine, shared appetizer of artichoke dip and petite oysters and for my main meal, as the little Hillbilly’s call it, I had surf and turf. Yummy it all was.

Then they took me home for a big ole slice of Marie Calender’s key lime pie. Key lime pie my most favorite desert ever. And the birthday week went on and on as two of my close friends took me out for more birthday meals. One to lunch, we shared an appetizer of shrimp and grits, amazing!!! Then I had the seared ahi tuna salad and of course a glass of wine.

The other friend took me out to dinner. That night we shared calamari for an appetizer. We also shared our main meals. We ate a cocktail shrimp dish and fish and chips. Dessert, I had crème brule. We also had drinks.

SOOOO as you can see I am VERY HAPPY I didn’t GAIN any weight. I am also very sore muscle wise from my new body movements. I figured I might have gain with all the decadent meals and water retention for sore muscles. But I didn’t! Yay!!!

Besides working out an eating this week, I have started designing my garden and even I have also been coddling my chickens. As you know I got a new coop a few weeks ago. That was in preparation for three gifted yearlings. Two golden sex links and one bantam. Adorable!!! They have already been accepted into the flock.

However, after placing the new coop in place, I had to dismantle one side and part of the netting up top, I got lazy and didn’t replace the netting above which kept birds of prey out. Those several weeks when by and on the same day we received the new ladies, a falcon swooped in the itty-bitty hole and killed Pepper. She was one of my barred rocks and very very sweet, full of personality.

She was THE one that would ALWAYS let me pick her up. I think she was protecting the others. I hate myself for being lazy!!!! Netting is now up. Tip of the week: Don’t put off tomorrow what you should do today!!

Until next week which I know will be a great one,

Mrs. Hillbilly