Halfway through February: Update on Goals

The last month or so has been absolutely awful in terms of my fibromyalgia and pain.  Actually, ever since I got the flu shot last December, it's been awful (see last post's footnote for that explanation).  That's made my goals a bit more difficult than I thought when I set them.  Between the weather and my body recovering slowly from the flu shot, well, it's been so much harder than usual.

January:
Morning and Evening Routines Update:
While I got a little better, I still completely fall apart if my pain level is too high.  I'm only getting my routines in about half the time, which I suppose is better than before, but it's still frustrating.  I've decided to continue this as my monthly goal each month until it's a solid routine.

Knitting Update:
I managed to finish the shawl I'd set as my January WIP-to-finish project, but I'm still not done writing and editing the pattern, and the knit-along I'm running with it is coming up super fast.  Must get that done asap!

Writing Update:
My writing daily and book plans have been entirely put on the back burner as I try to heal from this mess.

February (so far):
Water intake:
I'm doing better on this, but I'm still not front-loading the day with enough water, which means I'm drinking way too much of my daily water not long before bedtime, which is not a good thing.  Lol!  So far, though, I'm doing better on this, so I just need to flip my daily intake amounts to make it better.

Knitting Update:
I've added a new project, but I'm also working on my WIPs planned for this month.  I'm not sure I'll finish them, but I have a decent chance if I really work at them.

The new project is a pair of thicker socks for the women's shelter in town.  This winter has been a cold one, and while I donated several hats, scarves, and mitts to the warming shelters during that extreme cold snap, socks are always needed.  It's also an easier, more portable project than the two monthly WIPs.

Writing Update:
I have not done any at all this month.  That needs to change, but the fibro fog makes writing and keeping track of my writing very difficult.

New Project--Why Not? :)
Last month, I started learning more about herbs and trying to study herbalism.  I still have a long way to go on this, but as a part of my education, I am adding in two new herb beds to the gardens this year in hopes of growing beneficial and medicinal herbs for us.

This has really gotten me thinking more about our gardens and sustainability, which has led to studying more about permaculture and ways to make our gardens both prolific due to building up the soil and easier for me to manage.  We will be trying the Ruth Stout method in our gardens this year, which promises very little watering and weeding, both of which are tough for me to do.  My husband is excited to try it, especially since we have a free source of hay (his mom has a hay field and lots of old hay she wants to get rid of!) and it could make for bigger yields than we had last year.

So, the current plan is to rip out the decorative perennials in the garden beds by the back porch, transplanting most of them elsewhere on the property or selling them, and then putting in a big veggie garden there.  So, we will have the back garden (gets the most sun, has the most room for the big things like tomatoes, squash, peas, beans, and potatoes), the back garden beds (get decent shade, so those are for the brassica family, lettuce, some beans, and a few herbs), the beds by the pool (still mostly decorative and will need serious mulching this year with cardboard in some areas to kill an invasive trumpet vine), the Garden Tower (which I think I've figured out how to improve this year), and the two new herb beds (filled with herbs, aka weeds, so they should be not much work other than gathering).  Um, that's a lot.  I'm hoping to get more herbs and veggies put up this year, and I've been promised more help on that score.

All of that has also lead to working out how to grow my own starter plants.  Today, we went to Horrocks (an amazing small Michigan chain that's part farmers market and part nursery and part hipster store), and I got almost all the seeds we need for this year (and at least two more years if I store them right).  I spent a good hour today reading through each packet and planning out what I'm starting when, so now I have that calendar set.  Now I just need to measure all the beds once the snow melts again to figure out how many of each plant I need to start.  This has led to some research on how many plants I need to feed our family of four-ish (with Anna off at college but Stephen now on the swim team, my food numbers have definitely changed).


So, long story short, I've been researching more lately because I can't be quite as active as the little bit I was before the flu shot, and I need to get a lot more done, not just on my goals but also around the home if we're going to try to feed and care for all of us better.