I have a love/hate relationship with NJ News (their headlines are atrocious) but I do always find myself loving their lists. Here is a neat list of where to get prohibition era cocktails in NJ. Lot’s of interesting looking bars to visit!
This is actually a pretty boring article about Jean-Paul Gautier stepping back from his fashion empire. I certainly hope his next creatives moves are in more costume design.
I’m pretty interested in trying this Going Vegan workbook and diary. I’ll be waiting until there are used copies available.
The oldest stuff on earth is stardust.
I liked following the story of Perdita, the mean cat. I have one of those.
Mad Cat Garden | January 2020
Winter may not be the best time for gardening where we live, but there were some surprises this month and some progress. We are still lamenting that we didn’t get it together to create a winter garden. Especially when there were January days that were in the 60s.
The garden is mostly bare… except for some lingering radishes and spinach. It’s a waiting game now until we can clean up the beds, turn them and start again.
Meanwhile, we have this little elephant to watch over it.
We are also taking the time to build our compost. Winter means winter veg and winter scraps. We are waiting to turn the compost, too, but for now, we are happy to add to it.
Irving helped us check out the garden in the snow this month.
We worked on your seedlings and plantings this month. Many of the small plants we are propagated have sadly died died. But our jackfruit trees are trying to hold on.
Did you keep a garden this Winter? What are your thoughts?
2020 Monthly Goals | January Recap and February Goals
January is over, we are 1/12th of the way into the year. We had a great month, there was a lot of joy and progress although there was also loss. If this is any indication of how 2020 will go, we are in for one heck of a year.
Think slower - act slower
For my 2020 monthly goals, I want to incorporate more mental and health goals. These might be more vague and not as easy to quantify at the end of the month. For Jan I want to take more time to be slow. Act slow by stretching, reading, working, and thinking with more mindful purpose.
I feel like I did try to think about this goal and incorporate it this month. I’m not sure I totally succeeded. Looking back at the month, much of it seems like a blur, which I feel makes it clear that I was not overly mindful. But I was able to take some time to rest, relax, act slowly, and reflect.
Create
I want to make sure to write, draw and sew this month.
The month started off very strong for this goal. We did some sewing and drawing but we petered off pretty quickly.
Read every day
I’ve found that for many of my goals for 2020, a little goes a long way. Even if it’s only 1-2 pages per day, I want to make sure that I read.
I have been really good about reading a little bit everyday! I want to keep this up for the rest of the year! In future lists, I want to keep a running tab of goals such as this.
See two friends
I really go back and forth between wanting to be alone with my family, and wanting to spend quality time with my extended family, my friends. Setting some goals to make sure I balance this this year will be key.
I’m keeping this for future lists as well. This needs to be a mindfulness practice I keep up this year.
Enjoy our anniversary
Feb 1st marks 7 years married. One thing we’ve been trying to do it mark special occasions and make sure we are taking time to celebrate.
Seven years is a long time! We were able to visit some of our favorite places, see new sights and something even more rare; I was able able to almost fully relax for 4 days. Being with my husband, both not working, for that long is especially rare and it made going back to normal especially hard.
On my list of monthly goals, inspired by @tinywhitelights, I added a few highlights of the month. I’m not sure where I’m going with this method of goal setting, but I’m interested to find out.
Here is my list for February. I’m still trying to keep it simple, physical and mental health goals I can achieve and feel good about. February is always a short month, but always packed. Here are some things I want to do.
Beach at least four times
We ended January at the beach, I’d like to make sure I get there in Feb, too.
Take a yoga class
I’ve never taken one before and it seems intimidating as hell.
Watercolor
I’ve been thinking about painting a lot lately. It’s a good month to stop thinking and start doing.
Dance more
February always puts me in the mood for dancing. I’d like to dance more at home, listen to more music, play more records, and I’d like to get out to dance once this month.
Stay warm - stay slow
In January, I tried to have a slow mindset. I want to make sure that I continue this practice. I also want to stay warm, both in body and spirit.
Sometimes February feels like a “why bother?” month. It’s cold, it’s short, it’s not the first month of the year, or the best, but I feel motivated in Feb. This month can be the done messing around month. What are your goals for February?
January Plant Update
I thought January would be slow for plant observations but it was pretty packed. We traveled a little, saw indoor and outdoor sights, remnants of the holidays, and many critters.
Every month is a good time to observe our house plants.
Irving agrees.
He also lets the neighborhood know.
George is a friend.
The last of xmas.
I only saw this interesting display after the holiday.
A great plant display at Montclair Vegan.
Twilight moon.
Some new additions.
A day at the beach.
Feathers and sand.
A fellow visitor.
Big sky.
I was startled by this bright fellow on vacation.
It was a cold January and we are deep in the heart of Winter. It’s been making for many winter plant observations. Is it winter where you are? What have your observations been this month?
January in Review
Another year, another January. This one felt long and short. It was a a month for hard work, travel, taking care of family and friends.
There was beauty in everyday life this month. We lucked into seeing so many amazing everyday sights. We traveled to some of our favorite places and we visited friends and family.
We saw #watchercats and and took care of our furry family. We took care of the house and we tried to love some of out new year resolutions.
For 2020, I would love to find some ways to mark the months, make sure I am being mindful of time passing. What are some of the ways you reflect on your time?
January is the year off to a great start. What will February bring?
6 More Months of Zero Waste: January and Giving Up Fast Fashion
In 2017 I started my zero waste journey. Zero Waste is the goal, mindful practice is the action. When I use the term Zero Waste, that is my ultimate goal, but Less Waste would be a more accurate description of my evolving lifestyle.
In 2019 we started a monthly journey towards a more zero waste lifestyle. Each month you can follow along.
Fast Fashion is like fast food, it’s cheap, quick and easy but it’s junk, not healthy for you or the world. Chances are 99% of your clothes are fast fashion. If you shop at target, the gap, banana republic, the mall, amazon, etc… you are buying fast fashion. Fashion is one of the most impactful industry on the environment using millions of tons of water, creating millions of tons of pollution, enslaving men, woman and children all over the world, and creating millions of pounds of trash as most fast fashion ends up in landfills.
The myth of buying cheap clothes is also similar to fast food. It seems cheap at the time, but the long term cost is huge. The impact on our health and the world is terrible. The monetary cost is far greater than you think when you buy too many “cheap” items. When you are accostomed to buying a few new things every week, or month, you spend way more money than you would if you bought less clothes but at a high price point. That being said, switching to slow fashion doesn’t have to cost a lot of money.
The mental cost of adhering to the latest trends and constantly shopping, never loving what you are wearing, decision fatigue, wearing ill fitting or unflattering clothing that makes you feel bad about your self, mental and physical clutter, plus more, are all hidden costs of fast fashion.
A great step to take towards a more zero waste and low impact lifestyle is to give up fast fashion.
As with all the steps on this journey, this one starts with a mental shift. The hardest part is changing the way you think about clothing, shopping, and how those things make you feel. Once you have accepted and resolved not to purchase fast fashion and start your slow fashion lifestyle, here are some things you can do to help you on your way.
Do a closet declutter.
Get rid of the items you don’t love or don’t wear.
Remember older clothes are slow clothes.
Fast fashion wants you to believe that old clothes are obsolete, but our most loved and most worn clothes are often ones you’ve had a long time. Slow fashion starts with the clothes you already have.
Shop your closet.
Revisit what you already have instead of buying new.
Start a capsule wardrobe
Make a capsule for each season, put the other clothes away. When you go thru those clothes in a few months, it’s like you have all new items!
Have a clothing swap.
With all those items you decluttered! Your friends and family, or larger community might also be trying to give up fast fashion and become more low impact. A clothing swap is a great way to get new items (for free!!) And get rid of what you don’t want or need at the same time. Pro tip: Arrange to donate all the clothes that are left over immediately after the swap.
Buy second hand.
While not as easy as shopping fast fashion, the thrill of a good thrift find can be just as up lifting. This is also a great way to still get the fast fashion brands you might love and not be ready to give up yet. Shopping second hand forces you to slow down, avoid impulse shopping, and saves clothes from the landfill among many other benefits.
Shop ethical and sustainable clothing.
There are more and more ethical brands out there!
Choose only natural, sustainable, and ethical fabrics.
Now you are shopping second hand or ethical and sustainable, another way to be more low impact is to only shop fabrics that are renewable, sustainable, and ethical.
Concentrating on giving up fast fashion this month will make it easier for us to now revel in slow fashion. Each time you are tempted, remember the environmental and social impacts of Fast Fashion and how you are actively working to combat them.
Here are other things you can do to move closer to a zero waste and low impact lifestyle.
November - Zero Waste Kit
December - No Gifts
January - Clothing and Fast Fashion
February - Mass Transit
March- Bathroom Make-over
April - Grow Your Own Food
Below are the previous month’s projects:
January 2019 - Trash Audit
We separated and looked our trash to see what we are throwing away and what we can reduce.
February 2019- Declutter Everything
We went thru what we have to declutter and reduce.
March 2019- Switch to Paper
This month we moved to paper to get one step closer to reusables.
April 2019- Compost
Composting is an easy way to reduce food waste and prevent it from reaching the landfill.
May 2019- Meatless Monday
One of the best ways to improve the environment is to stop eating factory farmed meat and industrial fish. Small steps lead to big change so this month we gave up meat (or dairy or fish)
June 2019- No Bottled Water
We gave up bottled water as an avenue to give up more disposable plastic in Plastic Free July.
July 2019 - Plastic Free July!
Go plastic free this month!
On My Mind on Friday Morning
I love this sweet, short glimpse into where Chuck Palahniuk was when he wrote Fight Club.
I feel that protecting my home choices, my animal and plants friends, and being a rad older lady like this one, is in my future.
I’ve never been to Paris, but these zero waste staples in the city make me want to check it out.
The Guardian ranked all of Tilda Swinton’s movies, but I just see it as a list of things I should prob watch.
Bullet Journal Check-In | New Book for February.
Last year, I decided I wanted a new book for my bullet journal. I bought two. I loved the one I chose to use first. It was big, easy to use and cute! The other book is very different. But since I bought it, it must get used.
I’m not sure I will like this journal as much as the last one, but I’ve had a different book for all of my journals so far and that’s part of the fun. In the future, I could see myself sticking to one type of book, having a set of neat and tidy, uniform, books over the years. But for now, variety is still king.
Off Season | The Book Garden
One of my all time favorite places to visit is a used book shop. We passed Book Garden in Cream Ridge, NJ, a handful of times before we finally stoped in. Now we try to visit every time we are in the area.
Selling since 1977, in the same building since 1989 and boasting over 100,000 used books, this is a must visit for those that love used books. For book shop tourists this is also a gem!! Hand written signs, custom shelves, ridiculous organization and maze like long stacks to get lost in, Book Garden hits all the marks of a great vintage book seller. And it used to be a florist also? Amazing.
I think we will always check in on book garden when we are in the area. There’s always something new to see.
While researching this book shop, I found a list of other indie shops in NJ. I can’t wait to visit some soon!
Do you have a favorite used book shop where you live? Leave it in the comments!
2020 Monthly Goals | January
I finally got around to making me January Goals. I wanted to draw my lists this year. My inspiration is @tinywhitelights who writes her monthly goals list and they are always so pretty. We’ll see if I can keep it up, but might as well try. Here are my Jan goals.
Think slower - act slower
For my 2020 monthly goals, I want to incorporate more mental and health goals. These might be more vague and not as easy to quantify at the end of the month. For Jan I want to take more time to be slow. Act slow by stretching, reading, working, and thinking with more mindful purpose.
Create
I want to make sure to write, draw and sew this month.
Read every day
I’ve found that for many of my goals for 2020, a little goes a long way. Even if it’s only 1-2 pages per day, I want to make sure that I read.
See two friends
I really go back and forth between wanting to be alone with my family, and wanting to spend quality time with my extended family, my friends. Setting some goals to make sure I balance this this year will be key.
Enjoy our anniversary
Feb 1st marks 7 years married. One thing we’ve been trying to do it mark special occasions and make sure we are taking time to celebrate.
What are your goals for the first month of the year? Now that we are half way thru Jan, how are you feeling about them?
Tattoo Story: Cat Jaw Bone
My third tattoo is on the back of my upper leg. By this time in my tattoo jounrey I had gotten two in two months and I was hooked! I thought for several months about what I wanted next. I decided I wanted something cat related, something natural, and earthy. I landed on a cat jaw bone. I found several pictures online and worked with the same artist that did my first tattoos to come up with an image that I loved. I tried soemthing diferent with this tattoo and let the artist do some shading. I really love how it came out, but it is the only tatt I have with shading and probably will be the only one. Bc of the placement, I barely ever think about this tattoo, I never see it!! I still like it, it goes with the overall vibes of my tattoos, and it’s a beautiful peice. I do want to get it touched up and possibly add to it in the future, not bc I don’t like it but be it might need some love!
A few words on taking a picture of the back of your leg: It’s hard. And not flattering. But oh well.
Do you have any tattoos that you never see?
On My Mind On Friday Morning
I’m pretty sure that I’ve posted Brian Rose’s Atlantic City photos before, but I’ve been thinking about that city a lot again. I want to explore AC more this year, but it’s intimidating! Do any of my readers have any tips?
Extremely long and a little confusing history of the blacksaber, last seen at the end of the Mandolorian.
Colgate has made a greener packaging for toothpaste. But can you really trust a company like that? And is recycling packaging really what we need, or should we be rethinking how we use items like these?
Super excited for this fairy tale theme park and restaurant to be refurbished and reopened.
I can’t wait to try this Naan recipe.
Mad Cat Capsule | Winter 2020 (Jan Feb Mar)
In Fall, the weather was all over the map. I think my capsule treated me well, but all I really wanted was big snuggly sweaters. I was excited to go thru my sweaters in Winter and get more of that cozy vibe. That’s where my head was at when starting my Winter Capsule.
I‘ve been doing capsules for several years now, trying not to buy any new clothes and trying to limit the second hand clothes that come into my closet. Every season I pare down my back stock of clothing. But I’m still surprised every three months about what I have, or in Winter’s case, what I don’t have. I was pretty surprised that I thought I didn’t have very many cozy sweaters.
This made me think about a few things: Where did all my sweaters go? How many sweaters do I need? Am I going to get some new sweaters?
I love making a post for each season’s capsule bc this is the time that I really get to answer those questions or any questions I’m having.
Here’s my Winter 2020 Capsule.
5 Jeans - Can I do three months with only 5 pairs of pants? Everlane blue high waisted (ethical, sustainable) , everlane grey button fly (ethical, sustainable), white button fly (thrifted), black wide leg (vintage and thrifted), fleece lined wranglers (vintage and thrifted).
11 tops - Mostly long sleeve and for layering. American Apparel green waffle (ethical, sustainable, 10 years +), grey stripe (10 year +), blue henley (hand me down), grey ribbed henley (5 year +), Grey waffle henley (5 year+), Baseball tee (local biz), floral waffle (10year +), green waffle (10 year +), snake skin turtleneck (vintage and thrifted), ribbed mock neck (vintage and thrifted), rainbow mock neck (thrifted).
10 Sweaters - To answer some of my earlier questions: I have plenty of sweaters! And quite a variety. Sparkly mock neck (vintage and thrifted), teal (5 years+), chenille (hand me down), eye sweater (vintage and thrifted), grey light (5 year +), grey kimono (thirfted, 3 year +), John cardigan (vintage, hand me down), grey wool (hand me down), black cardigan (5+ years), Katie sweater (hand me down).
3 dresses - Denim (10 year +), silver (ethical and thrifted), burn out (hand me down).
4 tanks and under shirts - I mostly use these for layering. Salmon crop (thrifted), grey tank (10+ years), teal (5 year +). black (10 year +).
1 shirt - I’ve used this black skirt (8 years +) in just about every capsule.
12 t shirts - Again, I layer with these a ton in every season. Teal talula’s (local biz, gifted), white floral (thrifted), minutemen (10 years +), grey waffle (10 years +), AA green crew (ethical, sustainable, 10 year +), AA grey crew (ethical, sustainable, 10 year +), green band (local artist, 5 years +), spiritualized (artist tee, AA ethical, sustainable, 10 year +), Happy Birthday Sandwiches (thrifted, AA ethical, sustainable, 10 year +), Mets (thrifted, 10 year +), long sleeve black (local biz, gifted)
4 shoes - velcro vans (3 years +), floral vans (3 years +), brown boots (thrifted), black boots (3 years +).
This capsule rounds out at 50 pieces. The color theme is grey (as always), black, sage green, teal, with a bit of white. I would like there to be a few more pops of salmon, so if I find anything like that, I might swap some items out. I feel good about this capsule, I’m interested to see how it treats me for the next three months. I’ve got plenty of cozy sweaters!
Are you switching out your capsule every three months? Do you change it seasonally? What arre some of your Winter staples?
Life Admin Day 1/14/20
Hooray for the first life admin day of the year! I haven’t had one in a long time and it is over due! This year, I’m trying to work a little less each month, and I think monthly life admin days are going to be really helpful for me.
I had a lot to get done this week.
-meeting 3pm-5pm
-clean fridge
-water plants
-dirt in plants
-clean old car
-call care care
-call rx
-pick up rx
-clean table
-clean desk
-bills
-finish capsule
-clean bathroom
-call insurance
-blog photos
-hungry puppy
A lot of these things have been on my list before, either bc they are reoccurring items or bc they are things that I keep putting off. One of the main goals of the life admin day is to get those nagging things finally crossed off!
Here’s where I got to on the first day. I admit, I didn’t try too hard.
On the second day I was able to get a lot more finished. I still put off a lot of the major things. I find that that is common for my LADs bc I end up choosing the things that have a greater impact on my day to day. The longer term tasks often get pushed back. Littler things like laundry, cleaning, cooking and taking care of cats and plants often get pushed to the front. There’s something more satisfying about those things, as I can see the tangible work. Things like calling the car place just doesn’t feel as good. But all these items are important.
For this life admin day, I really really didn’t want to leave the house and that was restricting. There are a lot of reasons that I like to just stay home on my days off. I love my house and I love uninterrupted days at home, but staying home also helps me save money, keeps my waste low, and makes me take time to take care of my cats, plants and family.
Overall, I feel good about what I got done and how I spent my time. In the future, I would like to get better at limiting the time I put aside for getting things done, and getting them done within that limit.
Do you use Life Admin Days? What are some methods you use?
2020 Goals
It took me a very long time to come up with my 2020 goals. When I told a friend I was struggling she said, “you love goals!”. And I do. I like them to focus and anchor me and my time. This year I’m feeling an odd relationship with my yearly goals. I have some very specific things that I want to achieve, but I also have a need to change some practices in my life but am not sure how to do that. It makes some of my goals sound vague. Hopefully by setting the goal, I will figure out how to bring them into fruition. I think 2020 is the year to tip the scales on sustainability, creativity, and health.
Creation Over Consumption
Be More Self Sustainable,
Live slow
Forage more
Grow more food
Build a greenhouse
Cook more
Beach more
Cat health
Work less
Spend less
House Projects
Kitcehn
Basement
Woodstve
Piano
Clean and reduce
Travel and Explore
Explore where to have a vacation house
Johnson family trip
Bermuda
NOLA
Read 1 Book per Month
Shroud for a Nightingale
Salt
Magical Herbalism
Exercise
Walk
Swim
Stretch
Health and suppliments
Was setting your goals easy this year? Or did you struggle with them, like I did? Although writing down my goals didn’t come easily, I feel very positive that they will help me move forward. Are you feeling optimistic about achieving the goals you set for 2020?
Mat Cat Capsule | All the Clothes I Didn't Wear in Fall
As I was sitting down (ok, running up and down the basement stairs) to create my Winter 2020 Capsule Wardrobe, I realized just how many clothes that were in my Fall Capsule that I hadn’t worn once. Many might think that 65 items of clothing is too few to get them through 3 months of wear. But I only actually wore 48 between Oct and Dec bc there were 17 items that I didn’t even touch.
Here’s what I didn’t wear and my thoughts on why not.
I didn’t wear any of these white tops. Each of them is not my favorite for different reasons. The Bahamas shirt is too tight at the collar, the floral is cropped, the Japan shirt is very fitted.
I’ve never worn this vintage wrap shirt/over shirt but I would like to fit it into my wardrobe.
A few more t shirts taht I didn’t wear. I love the deep v, and they used to be my uniform for many years, but now it can be too tricky. I often wear the other two shirts, but always ended up grabbing other shirts in my capsule.
This new hyper color t is also tricky to wear. The tank was just too summery.
This cardigan is not overly easy to wear or match with other items. It works really well over lighter clothing, but is hard to pare with fall/winter items.
I love this dress, it has pockets! I never reached for it this Fall.
I got this Eileen Fisher silver dress this summer, but haven’t worn it yet.
I thrifted these leather joggers a long while ago, but I have never worn them. I really want to, I think it would be a look. This super soft leather skirt was bought at a stoop sale many years ago, and I wish I wore it more.
I love this light over shirt that was found at my old bar but it never worked out this Fall. The next shirt is just a little tight around the middle and a little stiff. I This I’ll like it when I can wear it in, but I haven’t yet, The last denim dress, I really enjoy, but it wasn’t right for this capsule.
Setting aside the clothes that I didn’t wear in my capsule was an interesting experiment. I would like to try it again at the end of Winter. I ended up putting some of these items into Winter, let’s see if they end up on the didn’t wear pile again in three months.
On My Mind On Friday Morning
I am really hoping to go see this extensive exhibit of Duchamp’s work in DC.
This is a neat little recap of the fashion trends for Spring. I mostly just looked at the pictures.
Tonight is a good night to howl at the moon. Make sure you check out the sky and the wolf moon.
We love Laurence Fox in Inspector Lewis, but I might prefer his television personality.
I’m super excited for this custom backpack I just bought from Farewell Frances!!
Minimalism, Simple Living, Curated Living
In this series I explain terms used in the low impact movement, lifestyle terms, and other verbiage that I use on my blog and in my daily life, simply, in case they are new to readers. In some cases, I have done some research on them, but these definitions are mostly what I understand them to be and how I use them.
These terms are often used in conjunction with the low impact and zero waste movements. Have you heard them before?
Minimalism
Technically minimalism refers to movements in art, music, and literiture but here we use it to refer to a lifestyle that involves minimizing ones possessions, things, thoughts and activities that take up ones time to lead an easier, more simplified life. Minimalists often give up many material goods, have pared down wardrobes (some even adopt uniforms), declutter technology, thoughts and actions among other aspects of their lives. .The extent to which each individual minimalizes their life and surrounding is up to them. Some argue to be a true minimalist you have to have less than a certain number of things to qualify, but this theory is largly disputed. Ultimately, Minimalists are people who minimalize their lives as much as possible and to their own satisfaction.
Simple Living
”Simple living encompasses a number of different voluntary practices to simplify one's lifestyle. These may include, for example, reducing one's possessions, generally referred to as minimalism, or increasing self-sufficiency. Simple living may be characterized by individuals being satisfied with what they have rather than want.”
Simple living can be any number of ways to simplify ones life. Many people who fit into this category are minimalists, but many are not. Homesteaders also often fall into this category. But this is a much broader term to encompasses all who want to pare down their living to be more simple and less complicated. By leading a less complicated life, one strives to improve health and metal well being, as well as the health of the planet. Ultimately, someone who strives for Simple Living, strives for a sustainable, self sufficient, simplified life with mainly the essentials to their own satisfaction.
Curated Living
This term can fall between the previous two or be something totally other. Curated living to me is just making sure that you are examining everything in your life, being mindful of what you keep in your life and take pleasure with all that you have. You might be a minimalist, or a homesteader, or you might have tons of items but each are picked with care and passion.
Are these terms familiar to you? Do they fit with what you think of these terms?
What are some other words and phases that you associate with the low impact movement?
2019 Goals | December Goals Review
With all the thoughts and ruminations on goals, it’s taken me a little while to get to my December 2019 goals review. Looking back on these, I didn’t fulfill any of them totally, but setting and referring to them made me more mindful of some things that I wanted to achieve at the end of the year..
Make 10k steps every day!
Walking is something that I know helps me improve my depression, maintain my weight, and keeps me active and limber especially in cold weather.
Definitely didn’t happen, but having this goal let me strive for it.
Post to insta every day (hopefully twice a day!)
I only posted 12 times in November - sad! I like to be able to look back and see more of each month.
I think I did better with instagram this month but it was not an every day activity.
Create an image every day
This a challenge that my husband set for us. Let’s see if this can kickstart some creativity in our house.
This might be my worst failing goal.
10 min meditate, stretch, exercise
I know even only 10 minute a day of these routines will help me a lot this month.
I think I only did this two or three times, but it is something I would like to continue towards.
Be mindful and plan for the coming year
I want to use this month to reflect on 2019, and plan for 2020.
This goal didn’t really set uin until after 2019. I thought about my 2020 goals and plans in December, but couldn’t come up with anything that really inspired me. I think it’s been easy for me, in the past years, to reset old goals, but for 2020 (maybe the decade change has something to do with it?) rehashing old goals just doesn’t seem right. There will be some that carry over, I’m sure. but this year feel different, more momentous somehow. I’m looking forward to sharing a new year of goals and plans.
How did your goals get wrapped up in 2019? Do you feel satisfied with them?
Mad Cat Garden | December 2019
December was definitely a slow month for the garden, as expected. We spent little time outside this month, but we cleaned up all the beds, and tidied the yards. We go out to check on things every few days, but for now we are mostly waiting for Spring.
All the bluebs have lost their leaves and are looking only like sticks now. Hopefully they all come back in the spring. It’s always a little scary to see them in this state.
Our wood pile is in a better state than it was a few month ago. We didn’t have many fires in 2019, but I would love to change that in 2020. My dream is to supplement our heat with a wood stove and all foraged wood. Maybe the new year is the time for that, as well. I see this going hand in hand with the garden and becoming more self sustainable.
Our orange thyme is still going strong, even in the snow. We will need to turn this bed ion Spring, so hopefully we will find a good new home for it.
December was mostly about propagating seeds and starting plants indoors. We’ve been saving or foraging seeds and some, especially those that are tropical, we’ve started growing early.
Although December was mostly dormant, there are new things popping up. Hopefully January will see more new growth and plans for the future.
What method do you use to plan your Spring garden? What tools do you use?