So. About those goals.

 I set some goals for this year.  And then I almost immediately regretted it.  And since then I've been ignoring them entirely.  

It's a bit flummoxing.  I mean, I absolutely rocked my goals last year, finishing 20 goals by the end of June.  And if ever there was a year with a good excuse to give up on goals, it was 2020.  But I didn't give up last year.  And I did give up this year.  Or actually, I didn't give up, I just avoided, which is probably worse.  I am not willing to admit to myself that I made a mistake, so I'm just not.  Not anything.

It is actually not at all confusing or perplexing, y'all.  I am spent.  All of the emotionally energy required to make it through the past 15 months, supporting and loving my family well, has emptied me, and I got nothing left*.  There is no more emotional energy to care about completing goals that I don't actually want to complete.

Anyway, it's not all bad news.  Or even any bad news.  Just news, I guess.  I may or may not complete any or all of my original 2021 goals, and that's ok.  I have given myself permission to not stress about it (which does not mean that I am, in fact, not stressing about it, but whatever.  Baby steps).

Well.  I'm glad I've got that off my chest and out there into the universe.  So how about an update**?

You guys.  I am so close to achieving a Superstar or better rating on all of the Extreme versions in Just Dance 2019 and 2020.  I am one song away.  What?  Who am I?  A superstar, that's who. (That was ironic.  There is no way on this earth that I would actually call myself a superstar.  Ha.  The very thought is preposterous.) 

I'll keep you posted.

Or not.

*****

* Are you as annoyed as I am by how dramatic I'm making it sound?  I mean, it feels dramatic, but also the human system tends toward homeostasis, which means we can become accustomed to anything, so it's not actually all that dramatic.  It just is.

** I believe what you just experienced is known colloquially as whiplash.

20+ for 2020 wrap-up

The other day, I published my 21 for 2021 list and promised an update/wrap up of my 2020 goals.  Here it is.

This 2020 goal wrap-up post is a little overdue, and slightly out of order.  Because I actually finished 20 goals by June last year, I sorta forgot about wrapping up the year.  Well, and then there was December.  And December is hard.

But there were a few more goals that I accomplished from my big ol' long list of potential goals in 2020, so I wanted to tell you about them.

• Light an outdoor tree.

I bought the lights in early 2020 when they were on clearance, and I put them in the tree in October or November, as high as I could reach, perched precariously on a ladder.  I had scratches on my arms and twigs in my hair, but it was so worth it.  The lights will be staying in the tree, either forever or until they don't work anymore, and the tree will be lit at night until we have to move the extension cord for mowing purposes.  Whenever I catch a glimpse of the lit tree through our front window, my heart leaps to see those little lights shining in the darkness.  I am so pleased.

• Can apple pie filling

I canned the apple pie filling in quarts and pints because it seemed like one quart was too little and two quarts was too much, for one pie.  I made enough for five full sized pies, and used the extra pint to make these two mini pies.  Someday, I hope to can cherry pie filling.  You know, for a little variety.

• Grow and can pickles

The pickles are on the right.

Accomplishing this goal was a bit of a surprise, since I didn't plant any pickling cucumbers.  What I did plant was zucchini, and the nature of zucchini is to overrun its masters in August.  I ended up canning 3 jars of zucchini pineapple, 2 jars of sweet zucchini relish, and 2 jars of zucchini dill pickles to use up that overabundance of zucchini.  We haven't tried the pickles yet, but the pineapple worked beautifully in a recipe, and I'm told the sweet relish is delicious.

• Make and install towel hooks/shelf in the bathroom.  

You are right, friends.  I am counting this goal twice, sorta.  This was the last of the 20 goals that I told you about in June.  At the time, I had finished the shelf, but it was not yet installed, because we were waiting for the bathroom to be painted.  Now, the shelf has been installed, and I love the way it looks and functions.  Now I just need to figure out what is worthy of going on the shelf.  Let me know if you have any suggestions--maybe a fun saying to put on a sign.

So that's it.  I'm impressed with myself.  

Stay tuned, because the next post in this series will be the January update for 2021.  Yeah.  I know.  It's February.  Grace, friends.

Menu Plan for the week of September 28

Hi friends.  I'm back.  Did you miss me?  Eh.  You didn't even notice, did you?  That's all right.   

I made apple pie filling over the weekend.  If you were paying attention earlier in the year, you'd know that making and canning apple pie filling was on my list of potential 20 for 2020 goals.  So that's 21, now.  Or maybe I'm one up for next year? I don't know if I have the emotional energy to complete goals next year.

Anyway, back to the food.  We're going to eat some.  No links this week, because it's Monday night and I'm tired (but leave a comment if you'd like any recipe links.  I'm sure I'll have more energy tomorrow).  Here's the list:

Supper:

• Pizza, salad
• Sunday night stew with mashed potatoes
• Leftovers/fend for yourself/waffles
• Spaghetti with meat sauce, broccoli, garlic toast
• Hamburgers, buns, chips, carrots, jello
• Grilled pork chops, mashed potatoes, grilled green veggie
• Hot dogs or brats, buns, chips, carrots

Other:

• Garlic salt (we're out, it's still #shelftember, and it's literally just salt + garlic powder, so...)
• Sugar cookies
• Bagels

I'm done! 20 for 2020 update

Well hello there, friends.  Guess what?  Yup.  You read that right: I finished my 20 goals for 2020.  Now I can sit around doing nothing for the rest of the year.  

Kidding!  Mostly kidding.  

Here are the two goals I completed in June, bringing my total to 20 for the year:

1. Remove a popcorn ceiling.  Well, I did it.  It wasn't necessarily difficult...  OK, it actually was difficult.  Most of the removal went well and was easy, but there were lingering bits, and I found it impossible to actually get the ceiling smooth enough to paint.  Let's just say, I understand now why popcorn ceilings are so popular with builders--they cover up all imperfections, meaning the builder doesn't have to put much effort into finishing the ceilings.  I gave it a valiant effort.  There was so much sanding, and so much dust.  I couldn't see, and I was sweating in my dust mask.  But I did it.  And I am never going to do that again.
   
2. Make and install towel hooks/shelf in the bathroom.  Oops.  I guess this goal is not fully complete, because the hooks have yet to be installed (pending painting of the bathroom), but I did make the shelf/towel hooks.  Finally.  I think this goal was on my to-be-completed list every month this year.  I was so intimidated for some reason.  Or maybe I wasn't really sure what I wanted.  Or possibly (probably) both.  It seems fitting that this would be the last goal completed for the year.

Here is the list of previously completed 2020 goals:

1. Make sauerkraut. 
2. Grow an amaryllis. 
3. Drink tea.
4. Make cloth napkins for more seasons.
5. Track something.
6. Buy a statement necklace.
7. Make a box to sit on our toilet tank.  
8. Make a particular wooden sign for a friend.
   
9. Make mayonnaise.
10. Make maple syrup.  
11. Watch the Star Wars movies in timeline order.  
12. Start seeds indoors. 
13. Make a reusable bag out of a chicken feed sack.  
14. Finish or decide to abandon that darn puzzle.  
15. Make a cast iron skillet handle cover.  
16. Plant something new. 
17. Wash outside windows.  
18. Log 50 activities on Strava.  

So.  Now what?  Well, I have a handy list of potential goals to choose from for next year and/or a handy list of projects to do if I feel like doing a project.  Conveniently, there are 21 of them, but I suspect some of the rest of these will still be completed this year.

Here is the handy list of remaining possible activities:

1. Crochet a cowl
2. Crochet a poncho
3. Make reusable food wrap
4. Make a pretty apron (I would have to find a pattern I like first.  Also, a sewing machine)
5. Make lip balm
6. Make soap
7. Make a console table/thing to keep the step stool from dinging our wall.
8. Make a frame for the B
9. String art
10. Install pallet wall
11. Install gallery wall (we had a gallery wall, but there was just something off about it.  I was never happy with it.  Too symmetrical, maybe.  Or the frames were too close together.  Or maybe too big or too small in scale for the wall.  So I'm afraid to try again, lest I not like it again.  I think a gallery would look better on the wall we're intending to palletisize (absolutely a word), but I don't know if I will want to cover up so much of that wall).
12. Light an outdoor tree (there is a sledding hill between our house and the tree I want to light, so I'm not sure it'll work.  Either there will be an extension cord that we will have to avoid while sledding, or the lights will have to be solar or battery powered, which, of course, would drive up the cost of this project).
13. Go to a movie by myself (not sure what's coming in 2020, but there's bound to be at least one movie that I want to see, but no one else in my family wants to see).
14. Hang the W (MC made a beautiful wooden W sign that needs hanging).
15. Repair moose pillows
16. Can apple pie filling
17. Grow and can pickles
18. Obtain a working sewing machine
19. Make and install towel hooks/shelf in the bathroom.  I have the hooks.  I think I probably have the wood (I need to go through the stack of pallet wood to see if I have a combination of sizes that will add up to the size I want).  It needs to happen.  Now it's just a question of how long it'll take for me to actually take action.
20. New floor.  It's time.  It's past time.
21. Stencil a welcome mat.  Because our storm door opens outward and is very close to the porch surface, we won't be able to actually use the welcome mat at our own house, but I really want to try the technique.

(Not) Empty Garden Tour

Welp.  I was planning on doing an empty garden tour for y'all this year.

That didn't happen.

So, here's how it looks this week.

 I have eight Roma tomato plants in one of the raised beds.  I was wanting Amish paste tomatoes, but couldn't find them.  Romas are determinate tomatoes, which means they will pretty much produce all of their fruits at one time, which makes them perfect for canning.  I'm not pruning these tomatoes this year, hoping for more fruits.

 Here are some sugar snap peas.  Only about half of them came up, so I replanted, and I don't think any of the replanted peas came up.  Hmph.  We love sugar snap peas around here, so I'm kind of sad about that.  No blooms yet.

I planted some Sakata's Sweet Melon (above) and Otome Watermelon (below) near the trellis on which the peas are growing.  The peas will probably be done by the time these melons begin climbing.

 I've got four strong zucchini plants growing.  I'm planning on eating some fresh, of course, and also freezing spirals.

 I've got about 10 sweet corn plants, and I planted an asparagus bean in each of the six corn squares in my raised bed.

I think I probably have beets growing in one of the raised beds.  Having never grown beets before, I'm not sure what they're supposed to look like, and only one of three squares in which I planted beet seeds actually has anything in it.  I also planted a dozen beet seeds in an egg carton inside, partly so that I could have more beets, and partly so I would know what they looked like, and none of them have germinated.  Hmph.  Well, hopefully we'll get at least one beet to show for my efforts.

The strawberries continue, and the little green worms are back.  I've been hand-picking them and feeding the worms to the chickens, and I think I must have started earlier in the infestation this year, because now I'm only finding about 5-10 worms per day on the strawberries.  Unfortunately, most of the strawberry leaves are damaged, and I think that's why the strawberries we're getting are small.  I've eaten a few strawberries, but most of them are going to the chickens this year.

 The carrot jungle is doing really well.  I really should do some more thinning, but it's really difficult, emotionally, to pull perfectly good food plants out of the ground.

 We have two cherry tomato plants this year.  Well, maybe three.  This one is a grape tomato.  It's flowering (obviously), and there are even a few tiny fruits.  Because cherry tomatoes are indeterminate, I am pruning these plants to encourage strong fruits on the main stem.  The other cherry tomato we're growing is a yellow cherry called Sun Sugar.  This is where the maybe three plants comes in.  I was pruning the sun sugar and came across a bigger sucker, so I cut it off and stuck it in the dirt.  While it's by no means fail-proof, I've had success propagating tomatoes this way in the past.

 One of the fun things about ordering seeds from Baker Creek is that they include a free surprise seed in each order.  This year, I received a packet of purple basil seeds.  So fun!  I definitely need to thin these as well, and will be adding the thinned seedlings to a salad.

And finally, here's what the radishes are looking like.  Whoops.  They bolted, so I guess we're letting them go to seed.  In my research, I discovered that the seed pods are edible, in the same way that pea or bean seed pods are edible, so my plan is to add a few to salads, and possibly save some seeds as well.

That's it for now.  Are you growing a garden?  How's it going?

18/20 for 2020

Yup.  Just two more goals to go for 2020.  And then maybe I'll get a head-start on 2021.

Just kidding.  That's probably cheating.

*****

Here are the goals I accomplished this month:

1. Plant something new.  Imagine a fruit that looks like, and has the texture of, a granny smith apple, but tastes like honeydew.  That's what I'm growing!  I'm also growing a new-to-me (and smaller, which increases the likelihood that it'll mature during our growing season) variety of watermelon, and yellow beets (along with a lot of things I have grown before).  The beets are already in the ground, and the melons will be there soon.

   

   These are my Sakata sweet melon starts!  They should be going in the ground soon.

2. Wash outside windows.  Oh, this was a saga, as my friend KT can attest (everyone needs a friend who will listen patiently to the latest window washing update).  But it is done for the year.  Feel free to judge me for only washing windows once a year.  Because actually, it's more like once every five years.
3. Log 50 activities on Strava.  This happened by accident.  When I envisioned the goal, I was thinking 50 outdoor activities.  But I joined some Strava challenges that were specifically for indoor, solo activities, and it just happened--I logged over 50 activities in Strava.  I'll take it.

*****

Here are the previously accomplished 2020 goals:

1. Make sauerkraut. 
2. Grow an amaryllis. 
3. Drink tea.
4. Make cloth napkins for more seasons.
5. Track something.
6. Buy a statement necklace.
7. Make a box to sit on our toilet tank.  
8. Make a particular wooden sign for a friend.
   
9. Make mayonnaise.
10. Make maple syrup.  
11. Watch the Star Wars movies in timeline order.  
12. Start seeds indoors. 
13. Make a reusable bag out of a chicken feed sack.  
14. Finish or decide to abandon that darn puzzle.  
15. Make a cast iron skillet handle cover.  

*****

Here is a goal I plan to work on in June (ha! I am determined to make this happen this year, but at this point, it's kind of a joke to put it on the to-be-worked-on-this-month list, since it's been there so many times):

• Make and install towel hooks/shelf in the bathroom. I actually cut the wood, y'all, which means this project is moving right along!  At turtle speed!  The current hold-up is I can't wrap my mind around how to clamp my shiny new pocket hole jig to the wood so I can drill the pocket holes safely.  I need to just do it, because my mind is not going to be able to picture the correct configuration--I'll need to try something, then adjust accordingly.  The chick-brooding is coming to an end, which means soon I'll be able to clean, take down wallpaper, repair walls, and paint, which means that sometime the shelf can go up.

I only have one goal that I plan to work on in June, because if I work on more than one, I'll be done for the year.  Which wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing?  But it seems wrong.

*****

Here is the list of remaining potential goals:

1. Crochet a cowl
2. Crochet a poncho
3. Make reusable food wrap
4. Make a pretty apron (I would have to find a pattern I like first.  Also, a sewing machine)
5. Make lip balm
6. Make soap
7. Make a console table/thing to keep the step stool from dinging our wall.
8. Make a frame for the B
9. String art
10. Install pallet wall
11. Install gallery wall (we had a gallery wall, but there was just something off about it.  I was never happy with it.  Too symmetrical, maybe.  Or the frames were too close together.  Or maybe too big or too small in scale for the wall.  So I'm afraid to try again, lest I not like it again.  I think a gallery would look better on the wall we're intending to palletisize (absolutely a word), but I don't know if I will want to cover up so much of that wall).
12. Light an outdoor tree (there is a sledding hill between our house and the tree I want to light, so I'm not sure it'll work.  Either there will be an extension cord that we will have to avoid while sledding, or the lights will have to be solar or battery powered, which, of course, would drive up the cost of this project).
13. Go to a movie by myself (not sure what's coming in 2020, but there's bound to be at least one movie that I want to see, but no one else in my family wants to see).
14. Hang the W (MC made a beautiful wooden W sign that needs hanging).
15. Repair moose pillows
16. Can apple pie filling
17. Remove a popcorn ceiling
18. Grow and can pickles
19. Obtain a working sewing machine
20. Make and install towel hooks/shelf in the bathroom.  I have the hooks.  I think I probably have the wood (I need to go through the stack of pallet wood to see if I have a combination of sizes that will add up to the size I want).  It needs to happen.  Now it's just a question of how long it'll take for me to actually take action.
21. New floor.  It's time.  It's past time.
22. Stencil a welcome mat.  Because our storm door opens outward and is very close to the porch surface, we won't be able to actually use the welcome mat at our own house, but I really want to try the technique.

15/20 for 2020

I feel like I need to slow down, y'all.  We're just 1/3 of the way through the year, and already 3/4 of my 20 goals have been completed.  At this rate, I'm going to overshoot my goal of completing twenty goals this year.  I do know, from past experience, that I will be less likely to complete goals during the summer and during the last few months of the year, so maybe it's good that I'm this far in already.

Anyway, here are the first fifteen of my 20 for 2020 goals:

1. Make sauerkraut. 
2. Grow an amaryllis. 
3. Drink tea.
4. Make cloth napkins for more seasons.
5. Track something.
6. Buy a statement necklace.
7. Make a box to sit on our toilet tank.  
8. Make a particular wooden sign for a friend.
   
9. Make mayonnaise.
10. Make maple syrup.  
11. Watch the Star Wars movies in timeline order.  I don't think I had ever seen any of them besides Episodes IV, V, and VI.  That is a travesty.  
12. Start seeds indoors. 
13. Make a reusable bag out of a chicken feed sack.  Don't look too closely at my stitches, because they're not pretty, but I love my new chicken bag.  Based on this goal, you might assume that I also accomplished the "obtain a working sewing machine" goal.  That's kind of true, but it's also kind of not true, since I feel like it could stop working at any time, and also, it's not working well (see: don't look too closely at my stitches).  
    
14. Finish or decide to abandon that darn puzzle.  This is one of those COVID-19 hidden blessings.  No way would we have finished this puzzle without our state's Safer at Home order.  We've had it, and it's been in progress, for 5 or 6 years.  There are 1000 "random-cut" pieces, and because they don't necessarily all lock into place with each other, we couldn't even tell if we had the entire outer edge done.  It was a very frustrating experience, and now I know to avoid "random-cut" puzzles at all costs.  Too late, I realized that I should have taken a photo every day to show the progress.  Oh well.  Here it is, finished (except for one piece that has been lost to the universe.  I feel like that's pretty darn good for sitting out where wild children congregate for 5 or so years).  
    
15. Make a cast iron skillet handle cover.  Cast iron skillets are excellent for cooking because they heat so evenly.  Unfortunately, the even heat means the handle gets hot, too, which is why I wanted a cover.  This was more difficult than I anticipated, and it didn't turn out exactly how I pictured it, but I managed.   
    

Here are some goals I plan to work on in May:

1. Make and install towel hooks/shelf in the bathroom.  I wonder how many more months I will intend to work on this goal.  It does seem a bit pointless to work on it right now because then I'll have to store it for months while I first brood chicks, and then paint the bathroom. 
2. Wash outside windows
3. Plant something new.  Imagine a fruit that looks like, and has the texture of, a granny smith apple, but tastes like honeydew.  That's what I'm growing!  And starting indoors.  I'm also growing a new to me watermelon and beets for the first time.  So fun!

And here is the list of potential goals, which is finally decreasing in length:

1. Crochet a cowl
2. Crochet a poncho
3. Make reusable food wrap
4. Make a pretty apron (I would have to find a pattern I like first.  Also, a sewing machine)
5. Make lip balm
6. Make soap
7. Make a console table/thing to keep the step stool from dinging our wall.
8. Make a frame for the B
9. String art
10. Install pallet wall
11. Install gallery wall (we had a gallery wall, but there was just something off about it.  I was never happy with it.  Too symmetrical, maybe.  Or the frames were too close together.  Or maybe too big or too small in scale for the wall.  So I'm afraid to try again, lest I not like it again.  I think a gallery would look better on the wall we're intending to palletisize (absolutely a word), but I don't know if I will want to cover up so much of that wall).
12. Light an outdoor tree (there is a sledding hill between our house and the tree I want to light, so I'm not sure it'll work.  Either there will be an extension cord that we will have to avoid while sledding, or the lights will have to be solar or battery powered, which, of course, would drive up the cost of this project).
13. Go to a movie by myself (not sure what's coming in 2020, but there's bound to be at least one movie that I want to see, but no one else in my family wants to see).
14. Hang the W (MC made a beautiful wooden W sign that needs hanging).
15. Repair moose pillows
16. Log 50 activities on Strava
17. Can apple pie filling
18. Remove a popcorn ceiling
19. Wash outside windows
20. Grow and can pickles
21. Obtain a working sewing machine
22. Make and install towel hooks/shelf in the bathroom.  I have the hooks.  I think I probably have the wood (I need to go through the stack of pallet wood to see if I have a combination of sizes that will add up to the size I want).  It needs to happen.  Now it's just a question of how long it'll take for me to actually take action.
23. New floor.  It's time.  It's past time.
24. Plant something new .  Imagine a fruit that looks like, and has the texture of, a granny smith apple, but tastes like honeydew.  That's what I'm growing!  And starting indoors.  I'm also growing a new to me watermelon and beets for the first time.  So fun!
25. Stencil a welcome mat.  Because our storm door opens outward and is very close to the porch surface, we won't be able to actually use the welcome mat at our own house, but I really want to try the technique.

Our Free Trial

In the interests of finishing my watch-all-Star-Wars-movies-in-timeline-order goal, and in acknowledgement that my primary method of consuming movies (the library) is closed right now, I signed up for a free one week trial of Disney+.  We've made great progress on the Star Wars goal, and now we only have three films left (I think?  I don't have my list here right now and it is too much work to look it up and filter through all those millions of results again).

We're not watching those final three right now because Hubby is watching along with us, and someone has to work around here, and also, the third of those three isn't available yet.  In the meantime, I asked the kiddos if there was anything available from Disney+ that they wanted to watch, and MC said he'd like to watch Marvel.

So we're watching Marvel in release order.  We're up to Iron Man 3.  Y'all, I admit that I am not paying very close attention, but these movies don't make a whole lot of sense.  There's a whole lot of people stabbing and shooting each other and blowing things up, and not a lot of story.  Why do people like these movies?

AKD tells me that the Marvel universe makes more sense if the movies are watched in timeline order.  He also said that you kind of have to watch them twice to actually be able to follow the story.

I am not watching these again.

I do like Tony Starks' house in this one.  Well, until it got destroyed about 10 minutes in.

12/20 for 2020

It's April, friends, which means it's time for another 20 for 2020 update.  I'm still plugging along on my goals, although I kind of lost momentum when my kiddos and hubby all started working and schooling from home.  It's strange to go from pretty much being alone all day every day to suddenly having four other humans in your space all.the.time.  It threw me off my game a bit.

Anyway, here are the first twelve of my 20 for 2020 goals:

1. Make sauerkraut. 
2. Grow an amaryllis. Well, it didn't grow the way amaryllis usually does, but the amaryllis found a way.  There are shoots coming up on three sides of the bulb and from the center.
   
3. Drink tea.
4. Make cloth napkins for more seasons.
5. Track something.
6. Buy a statement necklace.
7. Make a box to sit on our toilet tank.  
8. Make a particular wooden sign for a friend.  I did it!  And I gave it to her, so now I can show you!
   
   
   
9. Make mayonnaise.
10. Make maple syrup.  Isn't it beautiful?  This year's syrup season seemed particularly ... not really difficult, but ... fraught with issues.  Right now, I don't see myself doing this again.  Maybe I'll remember this feeling the next time I get the urge to make syrup.
    
11. Watch the Star Wars movies in timeline order.  I don't think I had ever seen any of them besides Episodes IV, V, and VI.  That is a travesty.  We've watched up through Rogue One, but the library isn't circulating materials right now, so I'm not sure when we'll be able to continue.  We might have to bite the bullet and sign up for Disney+.  The free trial, of course.
12. Start seeds indoors.  I did it.  I planted carrots and radishes the other day.  And I promptly forgot which veggie variety was in which container.  No worries--I'll be able to tell once they sprout.  While my intent with this goal was to start seeds for later transplanting, I decided that planting seeds in containers indoors was close enough.  I have the dates in my calendar to plant seeds for transplanting, too.

Here are three goals I plan to work on in April:

1. Finish or decide to abandon that darn puzzle.  We've had it, and it's been in progress, for 5 or 6 years.
2. Make and install towel hooks/shelf in the bathroom.  I wonder how many more months I will intend to work on this goal.  It does seem a bit pointless to work on it right now because then I'll have to store it for months while I first brood chicks, and then paint the bathroom. 
3. Make a reusable bag out of a chicken feed sack 

And here is the list of potential goals, which is finally decreasing in length:

1. Crochet a cowl
2. Crochet a poncho
3. Make a reusable bag out of a chicken feed sack (this, and the other sewing-related potential goals, are complicated by the fact that my kiddo just declared my sewing machine officially not-worth-fixing.  I am definitely not up for handsewing this, or anything, in 2020).
4. Make reusable food wrap
5. Make a pretty apron (I would have to find a pattern I like first.  Also, a sewing machine)
6. Make lip balm
7. Make soap
8. Make a console table/thing to keep the step stool from dinging our wall.
9. Make a frame for the B
10. String art
11. Install pallet wall
12. Install gallery wall (we had a gallery wall, but there was just something off about it.  I was never happy with it.  Too symmetrical, maybe.  Or the frames were too close together.  Or maybe too big or too small in scale for the wall.  So I'm afraid to try again, lest I not like it again.  I think a gallery would look better on the wall we're intending to palletisize (absolutely a word), but I don't know if I will want to cover up so much of that wall).
13. Light an outdoor tree (there is a sledding hill between our house and the tree I want to light, so I'm not sure it'll work.  Either there will be an extension cord that we will have to avoid while sledding, or the lights will have to be solar or battery powered, which, of course, would drive up the cost of this project).
14. Go to a movie by myself (not sure what's coming in 2020, but there's bound to be at least one movie that I want to see, but no one else in my family wants to see).
15. Hang the W (MC made a beautiful wooden W sign that needs hanging).
16. Repair moose pillows
17. Log 50 activities on Strava
18. Finish or decide to abandon that darn puzzle
19. Can apple pie filling
20. Remove a popcorn ceiling
21. Wash outside windows
22. Grow and can pickles
23. Obtain a working sewing machine
24. Make and install towel hooks/shelf in the bathroom.  I have the hooks.  I think I probably have the wood (I need to go through the stack of pallet wood to see if I have a combination of sizes that will add up to the size I want).  It needs to happen.  Now it's just a question of how long it'll take for me to actually take action.
25. New floor.  It's time.  It's past time.
26. Make a cast iron skillet handle cover.  Cast iron skillets are excellent for cooking because they heat so evenly.  Unfortunately, the even heat means the handle gets hot, too.  I'll be making a heat-resistant handle cover.
27. Plant something new .  I ordered some seeds!  Imagine a fruit that looks like, and has the texture of, a granny smith apple, but tastes like honeydew.  That's what I'm growing!  And starting indoors.  I also grabbed a small watermelon and a beet variety.  So fun!
28. Stencil a welcome mat.  Because our storm door opens outward and is very close to the porch surface, we won't be able to actually use the welcome mat at our own house, but I really want to try the technique.

9/20 for 2020

Y'all!  I am totally rocking this 20 for 2020 list.  Like, completely crushing it.  We are only about 1/6 through the year, and I have already accomplished 45% of my goals.  I have to say, I am really appreciating the fact that I didn't commit to all twenty goals at once.  I am loving the flexibility that I have to look at the list each month and decide what I want to accomplish short term.


Here are the first nine of my 20 for 2020 goals:

1. Make sauerkraut. I did it!  Truthfully, it still tastes like salty cabbage to me, or at least it did when I put it in the refrigerator--I haven't eaten any since.
2. Grow an amaryllis. I think I need to change this goal to: attempt to grow an amaryllis.  I don't know if it's too cold by the window or I've been giving it too much water, but I've got zero growth.  I moved it away from the window to the tiny piece of countertop between the fridge and the stove.  It's warmer there.
3. Drink tea.  I did it!  I drank tea.  And I'm going to do it again.
4. Make cloth napkins for more seasons.  Valentine's napkins, so far.  I was hoping to find something flowery or springy or Eastery, too, but all of the ones I liked had prominent white in the patterns.  It's all fun and games until someone wipes taco juice on a white napkin.  I'll keep looking.  We already had fall/Thanksgiving and Christmas/winter napkins, along with a generic, anytime pattern, and a summery pattern.
5. Track something.  I added this to the list, and I started tracking two somethings, because I'm an overachiever like that.  And then I realized that I already track something (egg production).  Winning!
6. Buy a statement necklace. A friend of mine hosted a Trades of Hope party, and I found the necklace I've been looking for for the past 3 years, made by an artisan in India.  Yay!
7. Make a box to sit on our toilet tank.  I attempted to do this last year, but the box was too big.  I tried again, and I love it.  Since it's made out of pallet wood, it's a little wonky, but it is beautiful and just the right size.
8. Make a particular wooden sign for a friend.  I did it!  I just can't show it to you yet, because it's a surprise.
9. Make mayonnaise.

My box.  It's a little wonky because I used pallet wood, but I love how it turned out.  It's perfectly sized, and has a rustic feel.  Now, of course, I need to get serious about painting this bathroom.

Here are three goals I plan to work on in March:

1. Make maple syrup.  I tapped the trees over the weekend, and the sap is flowing.
2. Make and install towel hooks/shelf in the bathroom.  I have the hooks.  I have the wood.  I bought a jig.  It needs to happen.  The installation portion of this goal will probably take place after the bathroom is painted, which will happen after we brood a new batch of chicks beginning in late April.
3. Make a reusable bag out of a chicken feed sack 

And here is the list of potential goals:

1. Crochet a cowl
2. Crochet a poncho
3. Make a reusable bag out of a chicken feed sack (this, and the other sewing-related potential goals, are complicated by the fact that my kiddo just declared my sewing machine officially not-worth-fixing.  I am definitely not up for handsewing this, or anything, in 2020).
4. Make reusable food wrap
5. Make a pretty apron (I would have to find a pattern I like first.  Also, a sewing machine)
6. Make lip balm
7. Make soap
8. Make a console table/thing to keep the step stool from dinging our wall.
9. Make a frame for the B
10. String art
11. Install pallet wall
12. Install gallery wall (we had a gallery wall, but there was just something off about it.  I was never happy with it.  Too symmetrical, maybe.  Or the frames were too close together.  Or maybe too big or too small in scale for the wall.  So I'm afraid to try again, lest I not like it again.  I think a gallery would look better on the wall we're intending to palletisize (absolutely a word), but I don't know if I will want to cover up so much of that wall).
13. Light an outdoor tree (there is a sledding hill between our house and the tree I want to light, so I'm not sure it'll work.  Either there will be an extension cord that we will have to avoid while sledding, or the lights will have to be solar or battery powered, which, of course, would drive up the cost of this project).
14. Go to a movie by myself (not sure what's coming in 2020, but there's bound to be at least one movie that I want to see, but no one else in my family wants to see).
15. Hang the W (MC made a beautiful wooden W sign that needs hanging).
16. Repair moose pillows
17. Log 50 activities on Strava
18. Finish or decide to abandon that darn puzzle
19. Make maple syrup
20. Can apple pie filling
21. Remove a popcorn ceiling
22. Wash outside windows
23. Grow and can pickles
24. Obtain a working sewing machine
25. Make and install towel hooks/shelf in the bathroom.  I have the hooks.  I think I probably have the wood (I need to go through the stack of pallet wood to see if I have a combination of sizes that will add up to the size I want).  It needs to happen.  Now it's just a question of how long it'll take for me to actually take action.
26. New floor.  It's time.  It's past time.
27. Watch the Star Wars movies in timeline order.  I don't think I've ever seen any of them besides Episodes IV, V, and VI.  That is a travesty.
28. Make a cast iron skillet handle cover.  Cast iron skillets are excellent for cooking because they heat so evenly.  Unfortunately, the even heat means the handle gets hot, too.  I'll be making a heat-resistant handle cover.
29. & 30. Plant something new and start seeds indoors.  I ordered some seeds!  And they've been shipped!  Imagine a fruit that looks like, and has the texture of, a granny smith apple, but tastes like honeydew.  That's what I'm growing!  And starting indoors.  I also grabbed a small watermelon and a beet variety.  So fun!