2026 Goals - May Update

This has been a busy month.  The husband had cataract surgery on both eyes this month.  The surgeries were a week apart.  He is seeing so much better now.  Even better, for the first time since he was 10 years old, he is able to see long distance without his glasses. He wasn't able to drive for a while during the recovery.  And he hadn't been able to drive at night for a while.  All in all - I'm really glad that everything is over, and he is on the road to recovery.  

At the end of the month, I went to a crop in Delaware where I found myself catching up on the many photos that I had converted from Dad's slides at the Preservation Station in Baltimore County.  I feel like I have accomplished many of my goals! 

1) Lose 25 pounds.

Weight Lost This Month:  1 pounds

Total Weight Lost to Date: 4 pounds.

Slowly making progress! They say that slow weight loss is sustainable weight loss. I sure hope so.

2) Visit 1 new to me state.

Hawaii

I'd love to visit another new to me state this fall!

3)  3 repairs/improvements to the house.

Project #1: Add surge protectors to the heat pumps and the house.  It's not a sexy fix, but it will definitely keep the heat pumps around for a longer period of time!  We've noticed an increase in the number of power surges we've had lateley. The newer HVAC systems are very sensitive to power surges and they can damage the equipment. Honestly, who wants to spend to replace an HVAC system?  They are not cheap.

4) 40 Bags in 40 Days Challenge

It's been a while since I've done this.  You get 40 bags or boxes of stuff out of your house over the 40 days of Lent.  I did NOT get 40 boxes out over the course of Lent.  I got rid of 6 boxes.

I'm beginning to realize that I did this a little backwards.  My goal is to empty out the storage unit - and I'm making excellent progress on this particular project.  Once I get everything out of the storage unit and really begin purging things, then I will get the 40 boxes (and then some) out of the house!

Boxes out of the house during March: 6

Boxes out of the house during April: 4

Total to date: 10 boxes

5) Organize old correspondence/letters

I found a treasure trove of old letters and notes from high school.  I have them in a box to sort through next month.  The bigger question is - what gets kept and what gets thrown out?  Do I really want to save any evidence of high school me?  Most likely, NO.

On the other hand... I was given a box of old papers from a historical organization that I volunteer with to organize.  I was in my happy place, organizing that mess!  Many of the documents were of historical value, and there were a lot of photographs.  The photographs have been placed into acid free albums and labeled to the best of my ability.  The documents were sorted and organized into binders in acid free pages.  The next step - for someone else - is to digitize those documents so that back up copies exist somewhere.

6) Big backyard garden project.

I want to put in some sort of shelter for the local pollinators.  I've been searching through the garden catalogs for something.  I saw something when we were in England a couple of years ago that really tickled my fancy!  I have thoughts.  I just need to make some things happen!

7) Finish the cross stitch project I've been working on for 3+ years.

This is finished! Well over 3 years after I started, the project is finally finished!  I need to block this out and get it professionally framed later this year.  

From the end of February.

End of March

Finished!

8) Transfer Dad's slides to digital.

See my post here about transferring the slides!

9) Put those images into an album.

See my post here about the album.

10) Fill my America 250 Passport with lots of stamps!

I made it into Washington DC earlier this month and walked around the National Mall.  I added several stamps to my passport!

11) Clear out the storage unit.

Almost.  Husband can't haul out the last of the trash until his doctor gives the go-ahead after his cataract surgery.  We are literally 2 dump runs away from being finished.

 

12)  Do one totally irresponsible and fun thing each month! 

When I went scrapbooking with my friend - I count that entire weekend as irresponsible!  On the way down, I stopped at several places that were of personal interest to me.  Barnes and Noble.  A new to me library branch.  The outlet malls at Rehoboth.  The beach, the boardwalk.

Oh, let's not forget the food!  Crabby Dicks. Panera.  Agave.  Fishers Popcorn.  We ate well!

13) Go see Falling Water. (Frank Lloyd Wright) 

This is a Bucket List item. 

14) Visit 12 new to me bakeries.

        1) Eli Mochi Donut

        2) The Reister's Daughter

        3) Leonard's Bakery (Honolulu)

        4) Tour les Jours

Phoenix Upper Main Ellicott City

I took this picture in July of 2018. 2 months after the 2nd round of floods.

As part of my totally fun and irresponsible adventure for the month of January, I roamed through Main Street in Historic Ellicott City.  It's been years since the flash flooding destroyed much of the downtown area, and Howard County has been hard at work ever since, installing flood alert sirens and a tunnel project that should help divert flood water away from the city and down the tunnel to the river.  Above street infrastructure has been fixed and updated.  Some of the buildings at the bottom of the street, closest to the river are still being worked on.  Others have been demolished.  But the charm of the City is back, and many businesses are back up and running. 

More about the flood and the lessons learned here: https://umbc.edu/stories/learning-from-ellicott-city/ 

Most of the businesses on Main Street open around 10 or 11.  I arrived at 10:30, found a parking space and began exploring. I hit up many of the small businesses.  I did a lot of browsing!  

 

I stopped by the B&O Railroad Museum.  This is the oldest surviving railroad station in the United States.
It was built in 1831. Passenger service at this station ended in 1949.  I visited the ladies waiting room upstairs, the freight room, and the caboose. While I was there, a train went past on the tracks next to the station.  I LOVE trains, so I ran outside to watch the train go by right along with all of the kids!  If you'd like to know more about the B&O Railroad Museum, you can visit their website here: https://www.howardcountymd.gov/ecborail

After visiting more stores, I stopped by The Phoenix Upper Main.  This beautiful restaurant sits near the higher end of Main Street. If you are familiar with Chef Gordon Ramsey, he visited The Phoenix Upper Main in 2020, and helped them get back on their feet after the devastating floods destroyed their restaurant. Unfortunately, Chef Ramsey did this work in February 2020. Just days before everything shut down for the pandemic. Through sheer determination, The Phoenix Upper Main not only survived, but has since thrived. I stopped in for my very favorite treat - a hamburger and fries. Let me tell you - that was the BEST hamburger and fries I have had in a very long time!  From my seat, I was able to see into the microbrewery. 

If you're interested in finding out more about The Phoenix Upper Main, you can visit their webpage here: https://www.phoenixuppermain.com/