Monthly Goals: August 2018

Hey look!  I'm doing this post before half the month is over! 

*Looks down and mumbles, "Sure, it's 1/3 of the way over" then looks up and smiles like nothing has happened*

Yeah, not half of the way over!  I'm calling that progress!!!

You know, the summer just never seemed to get started up here this year.  We had a handful of good days mixed in with TONS of overcast and rainy days and today it was just pouring all day.  It's been a depressing summer overall, weatherwise.  Luckily, I didn't do a garden this year as EVERYONE'S gardens are failing up here this year.  Even things grown in greenhouses have had mixed success this year, the U-Pick farm just opened a few weeks ago (which is way behind schedule for them) and, yeah...I'm kind of glad I've been able to stay inside this summer and not been out fighting moose and slugs and weather.  Sure, I've made up for problems fighting inside bugs *grumbles nasty things under breath about larder beetles and all the various and nasty ways they should die*, but I can't imagine how bad of shape I'd be in if I was fighting battles both inside and outside.

I do still feel odd not having tons of things to do in the garden on my goals list, though.   Now, this month instead of harvesting various things from the garden and yard, I get to focus on a ton of things that need to be done in the house.  I'm kind of looking forward to tackling some of the things that need to be done around here, but it is challenging with not a lot of disposable income to speak of.  So, we'll see how it all goes as time goes on.

So, here is the long and varied list of things I want to get done this month still (or in some cases at least get started).

Sewing Goals:

• Make new curtains for master bedroom
• Finish embroidering daughter's jeans (first project in question seen up top there)
• Continue to work on quilt (I'm getting there...slowly) and hopefully get the first square done.

Organizing Goals:

• Finish Boxing up movies in living room.  Reorganize shelves with books and things.  Go through boxes, reorganize them to be more cohesive (as I know things have gotten shuffled bad over the years), label said boxes and see about storing them in the den (hopefully the boxes will keep Alvah out of the videos better).
• Work on weeding out things in laundry room.  Get rid of things not needed.  Start to try and reorganize the room better so that all cleaning supplies (like the carpet cleaner and things) can be stored in there in an organized fashion.  This is going to take some time as I know I need to find things to hang the broom, mop and things on the wall to save room, I'd like to get some brackets to hang cleaners and things from, etc.
• Start going through master bedroom closet more and start getting rid of things that we don't use or aren't needed around here.  Start to reorganize so that the space is used better.
• Go through desk.  Weed and organize.
• Move things around to make master bathroom more organized (this is basically taking things we already have and repurposing them to work better somewhere else, if that makes sense).
• Go through china cabinet, especially lower cabinet and see about getting rid of some things (or moving them) so that more room can be used for linens and other household items.
• Continue to organize around house so that the stuff coming in on the Amazon order goes into place neat and tidy.

Home decor goals:

• Redo decor in master bedroom to go well with new curtains.
• Hang up shelf in kid's bathroom (I made a small shelf in college and want to hang it up in their bathroom as it will go with their bathroom theme :).

Cleaning Goals:

• Continue to clean and battle the bugs.  There that was easy *laugh*.

Food preservation goals:

• If raspberries ripen at mother-in-laws see about going over and picking some.
• Make pea soup to freeze and use later
• Make tomato soup to freeze and use later
• Make chicken stock to freeze and use later (I love my soups ;).
• Keep eye out for good deals on produce and possibly buy some extra to preserve for winter.
• See about getting a few more flats of strawberries to freeze to use in things like strawberry shortcake over the winter months.

And there you go folks.  My most important goals for the month.  Yes, I have other satellite goals that I'm hoping to maybe get done, but doubt I'll be able to do it without finding the ability to spontaneously clone myself.  How about you?  What are you up to this month?