I’ve made a shortlist of the things I hope to do and enjoy this year. Keeping plans simple, manageable, and fun. Nothing restrictive or negative – I stopped making those kinds of resolutions long ago. A lot of play, a bit of design and organizing, and a lot of time in the garden.
1. Make 12 new recipes: I embraced cooking as a hobby a few years ago. I’m hoping to expand my repertoire a bit more, and make time for trying out new recipes.
2. Find 2 new hiking spots nearby: My standby spots near South Philly are too far now, so I need to discover some new favorites.
3. Join the local pool: I’m thrilled about having our neighborhood pool so close, as I love to swim, and Joey loves the water too. Planning on spending lots of time there come Summer.
4. Visit family in Maine: It’s been a long few years without a long visit. It’s important to me to stay connected to my family after losing my Aunt. I spent much of the last 10 years focusing my visits on her, and while I’m glad I did, I want to spend more time with the rest of my family as well.
5. Read 4 novels: This shouldn’t be too hard, as I read at least 10 last year. Hoping to simply keep how much I enjoy reading in mind, and find some new favorite authors.
6. Unpack all moving boxes: We never unpacked everything in the 3 years we lived in our rowhome in Philly. Giving myself the whole year.
7. Turn the basement into our workout & bad weather play space: Mostly a lot of empty moving boxes need to go, and we need to add shelves to create functional storage. Joey was gifted some great items to add to our basement, like a tiny basketball net, stepping stones, and he’s getting some other items for his birthday.
8. Organize bathroom closet: A year should be enough right?
9. Organize upstairs hall closet: Ditto.
10. Set up seed starting space: Adding this to the basement should be really fun, and I’m hoping to get started in only about a month.
11. Build cold-frame: Come March or April, I’ll need this to grow on and harden off my plants before planing them out.
12. Grow veg in raised bed: New home, new veg bed!
13. Grow 1 perennial from seed: It’s a goal of mine to see how economically I can create the lush landscape of my dreams.
14. Update front and side garden beds: Keeping my plans small and do-able in this first year while I get used to the climate and the light available here.
15. Clear out backyard & add fence: Our number one goal for our outdoors is making the backyard the best it can be for Radar and Joey.
16. Build greenhouse: A bit of a stretch goal here, but exciting nonetheless.
17. Finish painting the dining room (pictured), bedrooms & green bathroom: I’m awaiting some help from Edward to get the beadboard up in the dining room, but everywhere else, I just need to get my painting pants on.
18. Hang our art: Really excited for this step, especially to see everything we have up in our new space.
19. Add a cabinet to the living room for toys: Trying to find a vintage or secondhand cabinet to find this space is a challenge, but I’m ready!
20. Sew new curtains for the living room: And finally pick out the fabric!
21. Hang new curtains in the dining room: I think I know which ones I will add, just need to sit on it for another month or three.
22. Make family altar: In addition to adding lots more photos of our family on the walls, we also want to find a place for a small family altar to celebrate our loved ones who have passed.
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