2024 Goals Weeks 22-29 of 52

Holy cow, it’s been almost two months since I last posted about my goals!

Here’s what I have been working on:

GOAL #1 Home repairs professionally done – New kitchen countertops, rip out over-the-oven microwave and replace with new exhaust hood, trim all fruit trees and cut down all sumac in the hedgerow.

I restarted this goal because I just cannot take my kitchen counters any longer and the vent on the roof for the exhaust has been leaking with all of these heavy rain storms and I need to get it fixed asap. Our contractor came out last week and measured again and looked to see what the issue was with the vent on the roof and will be getting me another quote. Looks like we will be going with a laminate countertop. With my baking and constant use of the sink and water splashing up laminate would be much more durable than butcher block.

As far as the hedgerow trimming we took 3 loads of brush and branches to the transfer station a couple of weeks ago and will continue to work slowly on this goal ourselves. Getting there!

GOAL #2 Home projects done by us – Paint all trim in kitchen, re-paint upper kitchen cabinets, paint ceiling and walls in hallway, finish painting and put up picket pallet fencing, finish painting master bedroom and hang mantle over bed, front porch stained or painted, new brick patio in the backyard.

Just a few more tweaks on the brick patio and it will be finished!

GOAL #3 Sewing projects – Finish Joyce’s Rose, New curtains for kitchen window, new seat cover for kitchen chair, new curtain over cat’s window seat, Christmas tree skirt, finish winter and summer season x-stitch projects

Summer House is done!

GOAL #4 Read 30 books (It’s my goal every year)

I finished four more books since last update. Going Rogue“, by Janet Evanovich, “The Peach Keeper“, by Sarah Addison Allen, “A Girl Called Samson“, by Amy Harmon, and “Graveyard Girl: part 1 of 6“, by Stephanie Bond. Hey I love how all of these works were written by women. Didn’t even notice that till just now.

A Girl Called Sampson is based on the true story of Deborah Sampson a woman who disguised herself as a man and joined the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. Absolutely captivating!

Thank God for listening to books in the car and while I wash dishes. It’s been hard for me to find time to actually sit down and read.

Books read so far in 2024:

1. “Not Quite Prince Charming”, by Liz Talley

2. “Buttercups in the Basement”, by Jane Harvey

3. “Searching for Sandra”, by Jane Harvey

4. “Christmas at Hummingbird House”, by Jane Harvey

5. “Perfectly Charming”, by Liz Talley

6. “Home for Christmas”, by Lloyd C. Douglas

7. “Witch Is When I Said Goodbye”, by Adele Abbott

8. “The Sun and Her Flowers”, by Rupi Kaur

9. “God Never Blinks“, by Regina Brett

10. “The Mysterious Affair at Styles”, by Agatha Christie

11. “Witch is When Stuff Got Serious”, by Adele Abbott

12. “The Murder on the Links“, by Agatha Christie

13. “Game On: Tempting Twenty-Eight”, by Janet Evanovich

14. “The Echo of Old Books“, by Barbara Davis

15. “Going Rogue“, by Janet Evanovich

16. “The Peach Keeper“, by Sarah Addison Allen

17. “A Girl Called Samson“, by Amy Harmon

18. “Graveyard Girl: part 1 of 6“, by Stephanie Bond

That’s 18 books read. 12 to go.

GOAL #5 Take at least 2 mini vacations and see my step-daughter’s new house in NC.

We have our tickets bought for the Chiefs/Panthers game in November in NC!

GOAL #6 Garden goals – raise 500 lbs of produce, new kitchen garden in front and new fruit garden in back, compost all dug and reset, raised bed garden re-imagined.

Tons done on this goal!

So far I have raised approximately 23 lbs of produce between the herbs cut, rhubarb, spinach and black raspberries, beets, beans, jalapenos, a few potatoes and peppers and squash.

The new kitchen garden is booming! That’s where all the beans, beets, spinach and squash are coming from. It’s amazing how much you can get out of a small space.

The big gardens are just coming into their own. I will be harvesting potatoes in about 2 weeks and onions next week. garlic is pulled and drying. The pumpkins and squash and tomatoes and sprouting broccoli are doing really well too!

We worked on cleaning out the compost area yesterday, which had become an unruly mess of cut tree branches. Still more to do but lots of great compost already from years of breakdown to be used!

GOAL #7 Exercise somehow every single day concentrating most on core and pelvic floor and mobility.

I am back at it!

GOAL #8 Get all of my Etsy listings listed by March 31st so I can enjoy my garden in the Spring and summer months.

I only got 17 more listings up since last update. I have been so busy in the garden that Etsy has kind of taken a back seat.

GOAL #9 Explore the Western NY Antique Trail (Yes, there is such a thing).

Nothing more on this one.

GOAL #10 Explore at least 3 local walking/biking trails.

Hubby scouted out a trail this week so will do that sometime in the next 2 weeks.

GOAL #11 Sell 300 listings on Etsy this year.

I sold 21 more listings in the past few weeks! 129 down, 171 to go!

GOAL #12 Church goals – Six thrift sales this year, Work on baptism records and historical info, work on getting our church info out there for weddings, one historical themed event/fundraiser this year.

I spent a couple of hours down at church one night going through the 200+ year old history of the church. Did you know that vital records were not officially kept by a municipality in NY state until at least 1880? Our town’s records start around that time. Before that, many churches recorded their birth, death, and marriage in their books, but they are not official vital records.

GOAL #13 Pay off one of the two credit cards.

Here is my latest update: https://marymargaretripley.com/2024/07/08/not-impressed-with-our-debt-june-2024/

That’s all I have for now.

What have you all been up to? Got anything good growing in the garden?- MM

P.s. if you would like to check out my Etsy shop here is the link https://redmillvintageandnew.etsy.com