The year in review- 2009

It's almost New Year's Eve! EEEK! Where did the year go? It seems like just last week that I was setting goals for the year, now it's time to take stock of my progress and think about what I want to accomplish next year.

This has been a HUGE year for us. So much has happened and our lives have changed, for the better, I think. But how did I do on the goals I set last January? Let's see:

1- Food production- plant, weed and harvest a garden. Well, it was planted and harvested but the weeds were an issue this year. The combination of having no time and the unusually wet weather sabotaged my efforts to keep up with the weeds- but all in all- I didn't do too bad. The fact that this was the first time this land had ever been worked was definitely NOT in my favor on the weed front.

2. Food security- I had hoped to reach 50% of our food produced at home or locally grown. I don't think I made this one. We still do a much better job of eating locally than many around here do but I'd like to do better. We're probably at about 30% for local foods but honestly, things have been so crazy this year that this is one area I let slide.

3. Home Front- find and purchase our acreage. This one is a big definite accomplishment. There are still days that we wonder if we bit off more than we can chew with this house and how much work it needs but we keep plugging along. Having our own land is such a sense of security, now we're looking at the overall plan for developing it to it's fullest potential.

4. Health- Well, this one was hit and miss. I definitely am physically stronger than I was. Working on the house has helped that one along. I did not manage to lose any weight though, In fact, with the decrease in exercise that I'm getting since I no longer walk to work, I have put on a few pounds since we moved. grrrr...

5. Learn something new- well, I didn't learn to knit but I have learned several new skills. I can now add dry walling, tiling and framing to my list of skills. Not too bad.

6. The three R's- we have been really good about this one. We've become much more deliberate in our purchases- partly due to finances and partly due to being more conscious about it. We have also been good at reducing waste while we worked on this place. We have repurposed as much as was feasible and have scrounged many of the things we needed when we could.

All in all, not too bad of a showing for this crazy year. Now, we're looking down the barrel of a new year and a new decade. But more on my plans for the next step later.

Have a happy and safe New Year's Eve celebration. Welcome the new year.