Progress Report 38

Ya, I know it is Thursday and the progress report should have been posted days ago, but.... the nasty procrastination bug has struck again. I feel like I'm being pulled in a hundred directions and nobody is getting exactly what they need from me. Hah! Including me. So, in response I'm slowing down. Makes sense, yes? No, of course not.

I actually don't think I'm slowing down, but maybe treading water instead of swimming. I am hoping to be part of a trade show this weekend. If everything works out I will be one of many exhibitors at the Forum for the Fall and Winter Expo. It was short notice, so I am not completely ready, but the exposure is worth it. I want to have a raffle for free business card design and 250 cards to try to bring in some potential client information. Probably a lot of them will be junk, but there is bound to be a few good leads in there too. I'm waiting on the word from Matt as to whether I will be joining him at a table or not. I should know today.

I have also teamed up with Samantha Marie Photography to do photo Christmas cards. We are going to start that marketing in the next few days. I would like to see a nice strong response from that. I need to be making about $100 per day, five days a week to be able to get done work. It really isn't that difficult a goal if I look at business card designs or logo work. It is really only a couple of hours of work a day. I can do it. How? How do I get my name out there and make people want what I have. I guess it is time to start advertising.

I have my new driveway and we painted the outside of the shop barn red two weekends ago. So the renovations for this year, are done. The siding and landscaping will have to be put off until the spring. I have heat in my shop now too. Jay plumbed the propane tank into my fireplace. It keeps the shop at a beautiful temperature. Of course it has been warm the last few days, but I think it is going to be wonderful this winter. It should be efficient too.

Jay and I have also decided to get a pellet stove to supplement our heat in the house. Kerosene is so expensive and we use quite a bit of it. Jay has done a lot of research and talking with Matt to get just the right one that will be efficient on pellets, run long enough without being tended and won't cost and arm and a leg. Actually he found one through a local business that is getting ready to shut it's doors. Bargain...

...And I'm 100 pages into A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. :-)

This list will cover the rest of this week and next week:

1. Actively search out new clients, hopefully starting with the Expo.
2. Design some Christmas cards ahead
3. Complete a couple of client jobs, bill another.
4. Try to decide on a name for DbR
5. Clean my house. :-P

That's a good start. Hoping to do more, but will see about time.

Progress Report 38

It's Monday. I feel like I should be doing something. I was so busy last week (mostly with preparations for Ella's birthday party) that I feel like I've forgotten something today. I can't imagine what though.

The birthday party went very well. Ella was a princess and in her glory with little girls running around wanting to play with her and take part in the activities. We made fans from paper doilies, had a dress-up relay race, and feather boas for all the little girls. Two of her friends spent the night before the party. It was exciting for her but very tiring. By the time things were winding down Saturday afternoon, little Ella was ready for it to all be over.

Sunday afternoon we took Ella out shopping with the birthday money she received. She is a very good, efficient shopper. Before the day was over, she had spent every last cent, but I was pleased with her purchases. She bought 2 new shirts and 2 new skirts, an outfit and accessories pack for her new baby doll, and a BIG pack of gum (her favorite past time).

So, today I'll be doing some laundry, dishes, and canning. I picked apples last week with Katie and the kids. I've got to put up some more apple sauce and apple pie filling.

On a side note: I've had two contacts this week for The Occasional Housewife. It's a good feeling to see real progress on something that was just a concept a few months ago.

This week I will:

1. Rest
2. Clean
3. Can
4. Do yard work

pro-gress (n. prog'res) 1. A forward or onward movement.

Webster is obsolete. It must be the end of the world.

I have been thinking a lot about 2010 Progress. We're almost in the 4th quarter of the year, fall officially starts tomorrow, and it's getting cooler outside. Alas, 2010 is nearing the end.

When I think of where I started in January and what my mindset was, I really think that my quest for progress has turned into regression. In these past months I have found that I have been journeying backward more than forward. My personal progress has been a quest of how to live simpler. I want to break away from the ebb and flow of every day life as we know it here in America and carve out an existence in God's country like the pioneers did.

Geoffrey asked me once if I could live in any era of time, when would it be? I want to be Laura Ingalls Wilder. No, I want to be her ma. Those were the days when your talents and hobbies were all centered around survival. When picking out fabric for a new dress was exciting! and harvest was a community affair. That's when people played instruments, sang, and told stories for entertainment.

I guess what I'm striving for is fulfillment at my work. I want to work for the betterment of my family, not for a paycheck. The Occasional Housewife is work that I enjoy doing, especially because it helps other people, but honestly, it's a side business. It keeps the money trickling in.

Some things that I've gone back to this year, particularly this summer, are making bread, sewing clothes, raising chickens, gardening, canning, even hanging clothes out on the line to dry. With

the cool nights, I'm longing to start quilting, knitting and crocheting again. There is great satisfaction in having a hand in the making and running of a household. And there is even more satisfaction in knowing that your family appreciates it!

A few nights ago we all sat down to homemade sourdough bread spread with homemade grape jelly. I picked, squeezed, cooked, and canned that jelly myself. I fed the sourdough starter and kneaded the dough for the bread myself. Maybe it's just me. Probably it is. But I love it!

Progress Report 37

This week has a jump on me already. Yesterday the family and I went to the Farmington Agricultural Fair. We like to go every year to give the kids a chance to learn about our local agriculture here in Maine. There were bee keepers, and blacksmiths, spinners and builders. We saw tractors, horses, sheep and chickens. We milked a cow and sampled fresh butter. Homemade applesauce and fresh cider samples were available. It's a fun day and a learning experience.

Since Monday has passed already, I have a shorter week to accomplish the things that I have planned. I have Ella's birthday tea party planned for Saturday afternoon. It will require a lot of advance planning to be sure everything runs smoothly. I need to pick up ingredients for the snacks and beverages, as well as prizes, crafts, and favors. Of course I also need to get my house in order. The laundry is stacking up and the dust is accumulating.

I've been gathering info on building a coop and I think I've found someone to build it for me. I'm weighing the cost but I think it's my best option.

This week I will:

1. Prepare for Ella's B-day party
2. Finish laundry
3. Cleaning job
4. Go to bank/ close checking account

Progress Report 36

It seems summer is wrapping up and harvest is now well underway. I've been spending the majority of my time canning the harvest for winter and preparing for colder months. My friend Katie has been a huge blessing to me this year by teaching me to can. I think of all the years that I could have been doing it. The money that I could have saved by putting away our own food. The crops are so bountiful this year that I'm jealous of those who were able to have a garden. Because of our unexpected move, I missed the growing season. However, I have put a great deal of effort into planning for next year and am grateful to those who are willing to share their harvest with me.

I received my magnetic business cards that Row designed for me. They are awesome! I'm very pleased with how they turned out and also with the response that I get from those who receive them. Row did an awesome job working with me to get the design just the way I wanted it, and she had great insight on the colors and fonts that would best fit the look and feel of my business. Everyone asks who designed my business cards and I'm more than happy to tell them about DbR!

You can quote me on that, Row! :)

This week I will:

1. Can Stew, Carrots, Tomatoes, Grape jelly
2. Clean bathroom
3. Catch up on laundry
4. Go to Lamoine Park w/ Sunday school
5. Work

Progress Report 36

My dear sister is so much better at keeping up with the blogging than I. So I will attempt to add an insight to my progress report this week to make up for the lack of numbers.

I used to feel free when I sat down to write, but now I worry about what I'm saying and how I'm saying what I'm saying. I read an article just recently, "10 things about kids from which entrepreneurs can learn," that reminds me of some of the things I have forgotten as I've grown up. I used to write and draw all of the time, for myself. I have started sketching again. That was a surprise result of starting DbR. I have found that I haven't lost all of my skills in that area. So much is practice and looking at objects as only so many shapes and shades of color. Uncomplicate the complicated. It's the small, the simple that can make the biggest impact sometimes. Saying thank you, offering a helping hand... I want DbR to be known for the added touches.

So much of my lists lately have been based on what I have to do for clients. This week, though I do have clients that I need to attend to, I also need to catch up on my housework.

1. Recover from terrible cold
2. Clean my house, dust, mop, windows... begin the fall/winter prep
3. Come up with a great idea for the Fall/Winter Expo
   
4. Client jobs
5. Keep reading and writing new and insightful things
   

Heatwave, Hurricanes, Raining Cats and Dogs

I guess you can say we've been having some odd weather, especially for Maine. This past week has hit 100 degrees repeatedly. The days have been torture and the nights unbearable. We even had some of the local schools close early due to the heat! Snow, maybe. But closing because of extreme heat in Maine is a phenomenon.

We also have a hurricane on its way. It should hit in about 3 hours. I guess it's actually a tropical storm now. Tropical storm Earl. The wind has already picked up and the sun is thankfully finally covered with clouds. After keeping the windows closed for almost the entire week to keep the heat out, I've now opened every window in the house to

invite the breeze through.

We are expecting some strong winds and heavy rains with the

ensuing storm front. But it started early last night. Raining cats and dogs. Well, cats anyway. I stepped out on the porch to let the dog out when I heard a loud yowl. Dapper barked and skittered back into the house like the sissy dog he is. The yowling continued though from a different position in the night. It sounded like a kitten so I stepped out to see if I could locate it in the dark. Sure enough, a small, long haired, gray kitten huddled in the bushes. Meowing with every breath. I tried to coax her for a while but she was unsure and would run by me, coming close but not stopping. A bowl of milk wasn't tempting enough, but a can of tuna couldn't be resisted. By inching myself closer in the dark and letting her sample the tuna, I was able to grab her and bring her in.

I guess she's about 10 weeks old. She's a ball of gray fluff, though badly matted with burdocks now. She hissed and clawed and hid from us in the screen porch, so we left her there for the night with the rest of the tuna can, the milk, and some water. She cried most of the night. This morning I picked her up without much trouble. She liked the cuddling and soon relaxed and purred loudly in my lap. We introduced her to Dapper, who was very jealous and curious about this bundle of fur. The kitten rubbed on his face and he lapped her ear.

We are looking for her owner, but don't hold out much hope of finding someone to claim her. We will be placing her in someone else's home as soon as possible. Though the kids are enthralled with the kitten and have tentatively named her Misty, we just can't have cats in our home. So, she's up for adoption.