I think my goals, and my focus, for 2012 have to be mainly about getting ready for the move to the country house in 2013. For one thing, it may actually end up happening sooner than that, and for another, there is so very much that needs to be done between now and then.
1. We must get the water fixed in the country house. It is an inconvenience now, but it will be a disaster if not addressed well before the move. We also need to box up the knickknacks, get rid of most of the furniture and clothes, etc., fix the clothesline, and clear out the storage building....there are so many things we can do now to get the house ready.
2. We must have fenced in areas for the dogs.. This will be complicated by the feud between the two girls requiring that they be separated at all times. It took the loss of the usefulness of my right index finger to make that point crystal clear. They cannot be together, ever.
3. Choose and prepare the main garden area. I think it would be beneficial to test the soil, then spend some time building it up until I can actually garden there.
4. Get serious about livestock. This will require fencing pastures, building a barn, acquiring a trailer and a truck to pull it with, and finding a vet and a farrier.
5. Build a chicken coop and run. Oh, I can't wait to have my own hens. And guineas!
6. I need to learn how to operate the tractor. I secretly (or not, now) look forward to this part more than any other. Whee!
7. We need to make a big effort to get our suburban house ready to go on the market. Getting the roof fixed and repairing the rain damage will be the first step. Maybe putting in a floor would be a good idea, too? Then we can worry about the yard and paint and details.
A lot of other things will have to slide this year so that I can focus on these things. I will still have a small garden in my suburban front yard, but I won't try to replicate my mistake last year of having a huge garden 3 hours from home. That just didn't work. I will continue to can, and cook from scratch, and improve my skills with sourdough and I will make some sauerkraut (in the fancy German crock I got for Christmas!) but I have to get more organized about it so it takes lees of my time. I spend almost all of my time at work or in my kitchen. I never seem to get anything else done.
Purge, purge, purge. Cull that clutter. There is so much that just has to go. Yard sale, Craigslist, Freecycle, Goodwill here I come!
What am I not thinking of that needs to be looked at or dealt with at this point?
Such exciting goals. Amazing how your moving date is getting closer and closer! I know you are motivated and will accomplish a lot. Love that you included what you're learning as well. That's usually what helps me shape my goals for the future!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Leigh. I am excited!
ReplyDeleteWe just spent several days there and made a small start on putting away some of the clutter and knickknacks. I'm not great at visualizing things, so figuring out how the dog and chicken runs will work is a challenge for me. Fortunately the barn site is almost a no-brainer. It won't be hard to run water and electricity out there, thank goodness!
Oddly enough, instead of feeling like I will drown in the details, I am enjoying thinking through the Olympian process of making this move. I just downloaded an e-book about simplifying your life called "One Bite at a Time." That is exactly how I will have to approach eating this elephant.
I scratch my head when people tell me that they could never quit working because they just wouldn't know how to fill their time. I have a 1,300 sq. foot house on a 7,500 ft. lot and I'm pretty sure I could find projects to keep me busy 10 hours a day. By looks of your to-do list, you could fill your days, too!
ReplyDeleteYep, Christian, and all my waking hours and then some, I imagine. It seems that every minute is about choosing among the things I need to do and trying to be ok with letting the rest of it go. Logically, quitting work should ease that up, but I suspect I will really be trading a lot of chores I don't want to do for a lot of chores I'm happy to do. That's ok with me.
DeleteSeriously, though, I desperately need to learn to relax.