I’ve never been one for New Year’s resolutions. I’ve always seen them as an excuse for people to get really excited for a few weeks (or even a couple of months) and then lose focus. After listening to The Survival Podcast Episode-2121- Time to Start Planning for the 2018 Spring Garden, I got to thinking though. It’s a great time of year to set some goals, and my 41st birthday seems as good a time as any to record them for posterity.
Microgreens
The other day when I was going through my small pantry, I had a moment of inspiration. I forget what I was looking for in there, but as I looked at the shelves, I thought, “If I could only find another place for all this stuff, this pantry would make an excellent spot to grow more microgreens than I could shake a stick at!”
While I can’t actually grow microgreens in that pantry until our housemate moves out and my initial estimation of how many I could actually grow in that space might be overblown, it still left me wondering. Why is it that I haven’t been growing microgreens? I love them, they’re easy, they’re inexpensive to grow, and they could be a potential revenue source.
To be honest, I got lazy. I allowed things to get in the way that shouldn’t have, and before I knew it, I had no microgreens. I have all the stuff here to start some, and I even have a handy shelf over my sink now. So, after I finish all the Christmas baking and gift making, there will be microgreens at the homestead again! I have decided, therefore it will be!
Cottage Food Business
For those who’ve known me for a while, how long have I been talking about this? I think it’s been two years now at least, and I haven’t sold a single item. I have, however, been more proactive over these past months testing recipes that could work for me. Before I sell anything though, I need to establish the business entity and get the right insurance. Fortunately, those are fairly low barriers to entry, but I’ve been suffering from “paralysis by analysis” for far too long now.
Homestead LIvestock
As many of my readers know, we are currently without chickens. With a myriad of predators around, we were feeding the local wildlife (and stray dogs) rather than getting eggs for ourselves. I miss homestead eggs, especially since I go through a lot of them, but I don’t miss the predation of my chickens.
We’ve talked about various thoughts on predation where the chickens are concerned, and I’m sure we’ll figure out a way to address that issue. Fred and I have talked about something else though. I told him that I wanted to hire a friend to build a hoop coop for us so we can grow some turkeys for next year. Turkeys are something we’ve always wanted to do, and we knew they’d never be able to live in the chicken coop, so we knew we were going to have some sort of containment to raise them on pasture. Next year is the year! I really want to celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas with turkeys that were raised on our property!
Health Goals
Lastly, I’ll be pressing forward with my health goals. A ketogenic diet is working well for me. I’m losing weight and seeing positive changes every day. For instance, today I needed to leave the house for an appointment. Rather than wearing a sweatshirt and pants that were too big for me, I put on pants that are a size smaller than I was wearing and I tucked in my shirt! It felt good to walk out of the house not feeling frumpy, and that was a great realization to have on my birthday. I’ll have no trouble keeping that momentum going.
In closing, I know that it’s a busy time for everyone right now. I also think though that it’s completely reasonable to take a bit of a time-out and figure out where you want to go next year. A ship that’s just sailing around randomly covers a lot of ground but doesn’t necessarily get where it needs to go. Put some forethought into things. Set goals and write them down. You might be surprised at how far you’ve come next year when it’s time to do it all over again.