February 20, 18 for 2018: Home

18 for 2018: Home

1. Learn how to can
2. Learn how to make jams and jellies
3. Host a dinner party
4. Perfect my kombucha process
5. Have a movie series watch party
6. Hang up all our pictures and decorations

I absolutely love being a homemaker. I love looking around with everything in its place, finding a rhythm I can fall back on when I’m exhausted, or sick, or depressed. I’m just starting to find my own in this area, though, and this year, the Year of Renewal, is the perfect time to accomplish all that I want to in this area of my life. These goals in particular aren’t just a list that I want to check off: they are goals that give me a reason to do the every day little tasks that have to be done before I can get started on any of them.

We have planted gardens over the past 2 years, and our zucchini, tomatoes, peppers, and other vegetables have all flourished each summer. We have to give so much away, though, because we can’t possibly eat everything and I haven’t learned how to preserve what we have. My goal this year is to can the fresh vegetables, make them shelf-stable so we don’t have to crowd our freezer, and enjoy home grown vegetables all year round, not just in the summer and fall. Along with this goal is to learn how to make homemade jams and jellies: my aunt made the best every summer and we would eat them year round. At the very least, they would make delightful and easy Christmas gifts.

I love cooking for others, and find a special joy in creating and serving delicious food to people who aren’t my husband or daughter (although I love cooking for them too). My ambition is to host our extended families for Thanksgiving as many years as possible, and I actually know I could do it. Now that we have the space and the kitchen for company visits, I’m determined to have a dinner party or 3 before the end of the year, inviting other couples to sit and enjoy a well made dinner and dessert. Along these lines is the movie series watch party. I’m tempted to do the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but I’m still looking for ideas (my personal deadline for this is before the new school year starts in August). My husband would of course vote for the Fast and Furious franchise, and there are a few other series that more people might enjoy (Ocean’s trilogy, Bourne series, even something lighthearted like Legally Blonde). Having a buffet style meal that people could contribute to would be a lot of fun.

I’ve been planning on making kombucha since my 28th birthday, and almost a year has gone by. I actually make a batch this year, and in the process of making my second batch, was hit with mold. Luckily, I got a second SCOBY from my dad, who didn’t have the time right now to make bottle any kombucha for drinking (it turned to vinegar and while still alive, didn’t taste too good. I know, I tried it yesterday). So I used one of his own for a new batch. My first and only successful batch so far turned out to be too sweet and not at all bubbly, so my technique has much to improve upon. I also want to experiment with different flavors until I find one I can fall back on. For example, the Mango Goji Berry one I made was delicious, but the mango slices were difficult to get out of the bottle. Have to find a way to fix that. I have 45 weeks, so about 45 batches, to try and experiment with times, flavors, and strengths to find the perfect mix.

Finally, hanging up all our pictures and decorations. We moved at the beginning of December into an old (1870’s-1880’s) house from a relatively small 2 bedroom apartment. Our living room, dining room, and kitchen are 3 times (quite literally) the size of the same rooms in the apartment, we have 3 bedrooms instead of 2, a basement, 2 bathrooms, and our own laundry area (instead of using the shared laundromat in the building). We literally had to start from scratch as far as painting and decorating go, because of a problem with the previous renters, everything had to be painted or at least primed. It’s a story for a different post. Ultimately what I’m getting at, is that we now have pictures and other hanging objects, a bunch of blank walls, and a need to combine the two. My personal goal is by Thanksgiving (the first one of many I hope to host!), but my husband says it can be done well before then.