Our resolutions for 2009 included a somewhat short list of projects.
- Getting our garden in order so we can grow almost all of produce
- Renovate and expand Stefan’s workshop in the barn so we can not only find things but also have a place to use his tools
- Clean up our attic and storage rooms so we can reorganize the rest of our junk
- Build the outdoor patio
Our garden is in much better shape now that at the start of 2009, but as with any garden it a continuous cycle of planning, weeding, planting, tending, harvesting and so on that needs to be done. This year we know we can plant things a whole lot closer together and where some things just aren’t going to be successful. We’re also going to expand out growing space into the courtyard and have a big container garden for our tomatoes and lots of herbs.We also want to put Lexan panels on the greenhouse to provide extra warmth and make everything sturdier and better protected out there. We did do some canning and made a few more wines as well. We also learned a few seed saving techniques for tomatoes, zucchini, basil and other things.
Stefan’s workshop is even more chaotic now than before and we can hardly find anything, but unfortunately it’s still not at the very top of our to do list for the farm. We ideally want to take out all the old cabinets in there and rebuild everything (including putting in some insulation on the back wall and maybe installing a wood burning heater for him during the cold months) but for now we’re just going to have to shift things around so we can find things and get to the tools.
We have gotten the storage buildings better organized but most of the junk has just been moved to the barn so we still have a whole of organization to do. I hope that little by little I can make some sense of the stuff, find homes for it and allow us to throw away stuff that is just totally useless to us.
One thing we did really well on in 2009 was building our harvest kitchen. We have a few more things to do to polish the place up but it is fully functional and has already hosted a couple parties with rave reviews.
We built our salad table and grew a lot of lettuce and a few herbs in there. Stefan also built a cold frame for the salad table which doesn’t help much when it’s below freezing out but we hope it will help extend our growing season a bit.
Stefan also built the pump house for our watering system that pull from the underground well. Now we just have to figure out why the water isn’t pulling all the way to the back of the barn. We also set up two of our three IBC tanks and covered one of them in pond foil to keep the algae from growing inside.
We also managed to get the storage buildings painted with a little help from family.
Resolutions for 2010 for the farm
- Get the garden going early and well, and produce all of our own fresh produce finally, can anything extra and have a full pantry by winter. Gardening is hard with a baby at home but she’s getting her own plot next year for sunflowers, maybe a few herbs and whatever else she wants to grow. That girl loves the dirt! I also want to establish an herb garden for us where we have culinary as well as medicinal herbs. I have a staggering list of seeds I want to order and now just need to get them here and figure out where I’m going to grow them all. We also want to lay down the paths finally back there and reorganize the layout of some of the beds.
- Build out our mudroom so it finally becomes part of the house and not just another storage space.
- Rebuild the shutters on the street side of our house that are looking so sad and weather beaten. Stefan is going to rebuild them himself if we can get the hardware cleaned up.
- Build a hot tub in our courtyard–from scratch. We’ll buy the pump and filter, but we plan to build the tub from concrete ourselves. A challenge and reward in one! We wanted to do it wood burning but unfortunately that’s looking like an expensive venture that may only give us trouble.
Personal Resolutions for 2010
- I’ve also gotten into essential oils and aromatherapy. It’s amazing what you can do with those oils. I plan to take a massage course to learn about full body massage and integrate that with aspects of aromatherapy too.
- Teach Mack to read and do math. I have the books from Glenn Domane and can’t wait to get started making the flash cards for Mack.
- Develop a workout routine and stick to it. I actually want to start a crushing routine that will only take about 30 minutes a day but should leave my muscles pleading for mercy. Here’s a preview video:
- Remember to ask for help more often. I’m notoriously bad about asking for help, even if I’m totally overwhelmed. I have gotten better about it this year since I know I just can’t do it all myself with one hand around Mack, but I still could use some more help with letting go of a bit more control.
Do you make resolutions for yourself and look back on them to see how you did? Or are you just going to fly by the seat of your pants in 2010 and see what happens?
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