My Quarantine Week, April 12-18

Emotionally speaking, this week has been a lot easier than the prior weeks of this pandemic. I’m settling in to new routines and am still doing more outside chores than normal.

Click here to read about last week’s pandemic activities here on the farm.

After abandoning my planner for 2 weeks, I started using it again. That has helped me stay focused on the important tasks I need to accomplish. I use the Full Focus Planner by Michael Hyatt, and love it! He has videos and a podcast to teach you how to use the planner for planning, prioritizing, and accomplishing your goals.  

Got Yarn?

After my last Quarantine post, I had many customers tell me that I SHOULD be selling yarn online right now! Coronavirus has not stopped them from building their stashes!

I was encouraged by this feedback, so if you have a project that you need yarn for, send an email to store@mtnhollow.com and let me know the pattern name, amount & type of yarn it requires, and I will respond with photos of what we have in stock.

If you like what you see, I can take a credit or debit card number over the phone and mail it to you or you can come pick it up.

Knit Along Club

I’ve been wanting to move the Knit Along Club to its own website for a while. This will give it more stability and new features for our members.

I finally hired a web developer to do it and I’m excited about the progress! I don’t know how long it will be until it’s finished, but here’s a little sneak peek into the new look…

Though my web developer is doing most of the work, I have spent a significant amount of time working on it this week.

Gardening

I was hoping to get the paths around our raised beds mulched this week. On Tuesday, I had to go to the post office, so I decided to stop by the free mulch pile and get a load of mulch. I figured it would be my workout for the day.

I got my mulch, but not a workout! As I was pitchforking mulch into my truck, there was a tractor loading a dump truck full of mulch. The truck driver came over and asked me if I’d like him to fill my truck with his tractor. Um… Yes!!! I left there with a HUGE smile on my face!

That evening, my neighbor Trevor, texted me to say that he was coming down to move my compost pile for me.

Our compost pile had gotten out of control and was infringing on our campfire circle. It was mostly hay that we had mucked up from the feeding areas (goats won’t eat hay they’ve stepped on or soiled).

If you need compost to improve your garden or flower beds, you are welcome to come get some. We’ll never use it all!

While he pushed my compost pile back toward the mountain, I spread the mulch around our garden.

On my task list for next week: deciding what to plant in the garden and spreading grass seed around where the compost used to be.

Trials and Tribulations of Home Ownership

Our home was built in 1914, and has undergone years of bad DIY work. We started to notice some “soft” spots in the floor that had us concerned, so we called foundation repair companies to give us estimates for the repairs we knew needed to be made.

The first company came out this week and gave us a $12,000 estimate. While I’m not crazy about having to sink that kind of money into our home, it will be worth it for the peace of mind.

Goat Kids Galore

We are still posting cute goat kid videos on our FB page. They are sure to brighten your day!

Many of the kids, and some of the adult goats, are for sale. If you’ve been thinking about getting into goats – or you’re curious about what’s involved in owning goats – check out A Primer on Keeping Goats, a blog post I just wrote.

My Knitting

This week, I’ve been working on my Crazed Scandinavian Cowl. It’s been in time out for a while. I’ve decided I like the look of colorwork more than I like knitting colorwork.

It is a Fair Isle pattern, but I am double knitting it instead.  It’s a slow-go, but I’m determined to finish it!

Final Thoughts

I’ve been thinking a lot about what I want my life to look like when the quarantine ends. I don’t have the details worked out yet, but I’m sure that change is in the air. I’m excited for it.

Last week I felt dreadful; this week I feel hopeful! It’s amazing how much can change in 1 week.

Are you contemplating any life changes as a result of the pandemic?