2016 Goals

I hate goal-setting because for me it is usually about things that aren't at all fun.  "Let's try to save $X by scrimping on everything."  "I'm going to exercise X times a week for X minutes."  "I'm going to stop eating everything that is tasty to try to lose weight."   BLECH.  Who wants to do any of that?

Instead, I want to try setting some goals for FUN things.  Sewing.  Gardening.  The FUN stuff!  I've never tried goals around fun things before.  No wonder I feel like I never succeed.  Also, don't you feel like once you set goals around something, you start to concentrate on that area more?  So, why not concentrate more on the fun things instead of things like finances or weight or why your house is never clean?  (Not that those things aren't important, but stop dragging yourself down with disappointment and/or obsessing over those things!  Bad feelings usually never help anyone.)

I want to try to get at least 5 (preferably 6) sewing projects done this next year.  One of which will be the overnight bag that I started working on about two years ago before we decided we'd had enough and finally needed a different house.  Five to six projects means that I have about 2 months per project.  I don't really know what kinds of projects I will end up working on, so if I have a mix of complicated and easy projects then 5-6 should work out.  I'm a little hesitant to say six projects because I know some weeks are out due to holidays, vacations, etc.

As for gardening, I want to plant as much stuff as my little garden plot will allow.  (Although I feel like I have SO MUCH more space now!)  To keep this list readable, I'm going to use bullet points:

• Tomatoes - I want to have a LOT of tomato plants!!  The first year I tried gardening, I had a lot of tomatoes and I'd love to do that again!
• Yellow bell peppers - I also want to try these again, although I didn't have much luck with them the one year I tried it.  I think I will try the seeds that I had purchased and also try to grow seeds from peppers that I buy in the store (although I'm not really sure those will germinate).
• Blueberries - I'm going to look more into blueberry bushes too.  I don't know anything about them except the soil requirements so far.  There are local farms with blueberries nearby, so I know they can be grown in this climate. 
• Basil - This is definitely going into the bottom of the tomato containers once the tomato seedlings get big enough.  
• Mints - I need to research and find out what the mystery plant around our mailbox really is (I'm pretty sure it's a mint but I'm not sure what type.  I've already harvested some and dried it out but am a little wary to use it in tea yet until I verify which mint it is.) Regardless, I'd love to have a peppermint plant to use for tea (I'm pretty sure the mailbox plant is not peppermint).
• I have some other random seeds in my freezer.  I need to get them out and see what's there.  I know there are some random herbs (an Italian herb mix is there for sure).

I'm excited to get started on my projects!  I just need my sewing table built and have to wait for spring to start my seeds.

Gardening & Sewing Update

I haven't written much about sewing or gardening for a while for a very good reason.  We moved!  We knew for a long time that our teeny townhouse was not big enough, so we spent a good part of 2013 & 2014 trying to de-clutter and get rid of things that we didn't want to move.  Then, the past year has been spent looking at houses, putting in offers, and finally buying a house!  Then it was packing, moving, contractors painting and carpeting, and selling the old house. 

WHEW!!!!

Needless to say, my sewing machine was one of the first things to be packed up.  Since I have known for a long time that a tiny backyard with bare spots (from my container garden pots sitting on the grass all summer) isn't so great, I didn't have any kind of garden in 2014 or 2015.

However!  We now have a giant bonus room that contains (among other things) all of my sewing equipment including a brand new desk/table that will be sewing central!!  (Thank you, office store, for going out of business and getting me a deal on the desk!) 

I have also picked out the perfect place for my 2016 garden.  Well, first we had to get our neighbors help to cut down the massive holly bushes that were planted there first.  Then we got the company who pruned our crepe myrtles to grind up the holly stumps.  The area is on the south side of the house (yay, sun!) but it does get some shade in the afternoon since the sunlight hits the trees as it goes over that part of the yard.  Since our backyard has so many trees, this spot is probably the one spot that gets the most constant sun during the day.  I don't want the garden in the front yard.  The spot is on the side of our house, but I don't think our neighbors will mind since it will be very close to our house and our houses aren't on top of each other.

When I start the garden, I am going to plant some wildflower seeds that I got from our local extension office.  It's a flower blend for honeybees.  Hopefully, this will work in attracting the bees and they will pollenate my garden when the blooms start.

This past fall, I did attempt to try scallions and spinach again, but they just did not grow.  I guess my dad was right; the cool weather growing season around here is really just too short to grow anything.  Although, I do see local farmers with greens (not just collards).  I wonder what they're doing.

I do have basil growing in the house, though!  I'm going to let them grow some more before I start picking off leaves to use in cooking.