Goals

I have never been one to make New Year's resolutions.  It's always just seemed like another day to me.  The horses still want to be fed, the barn still needs to be cleaned, the dishes washed, etc.  I have been sort of drifting this past year though.  Granted, the last few years have been very demanding and draining.  Buying and selling property, building a house, retiring long term equine partners, finding new ones, donkeys, Ramsey(!)...it has been a busy few years and I kind of took 2013 off.  I needed it, but I don't want to get lost in the drifting either so I decided to try to make a list of some of the things I hope to get done this year:

• Plant a decent garden.  This has suffered the most in recent years, being totally overshadowed by other projects.  I'd like to grow some real food. 
• Make a container garden on the deck away from marauding deer and moles.  This has been part of the plan all along and I would like to make this happen this year.  I think I have finally figured out how I want to do it, I just need to get it done.  The most frustrating part of gardening is dealing with the damned thieves.   
• Ride more.  My horse and I both need this. 
• Get a saddle that fits both Tessa and I so that the above might be possible.  I wish I could just go bareback, but my knees can't take it. 
• See the orthopedic specialist to find out if anything can be done to help bad knees.  I have an appointment the end of Jan.  Those will be some interesting x-rays.
• Get a harness for Emma and train her to actually pull something.  Not anything real heavy, she is too young for that, but she she is certainly ready to move up to the next level and actually start driving. 
• Keep studying and working on hooves and nutrition.
• Build the steps off my back deck.  This is something that should already be done, but has been pushed back repeatedly.  For whatever reason, it feels like an overwhelming task now.  The longer I put it off, the bigger the job seems.  If I could just start it, I think I'd be 90% done.
• Finish interior of house.  This is the other job that keeps getting bigger the longer I put it off.  The biggest problem here is that I just don't want to deal with the mess and upheaval that comes from any interior building project. 
• Add a second coat of paint to upper story of house.  The original coat was sprayed on by the building contractor and it is already in bad shape. 
• Fix trim around doors.  This is one thing that the building contractor really screwed up.  All the exterior trim around the doors was improperly installed and has already disintegrated.  It needs to be redone completely before the doors themselves become damaged. 
• Figure out how to fix the other mistakes that the building contractor made, such as the leak under the west wall in heavy rains and the electrical outlet that does not work.  These things drive me crazy, not just because they are a real problem, but because they are the things I decided I should leave to the "professionals".  
• Don't leave anything up to the "professionals" without making sure I understand exactly what is happening.
• Plant more trees, mostly more evergreens that will act as a windbreak, but I'd like some other species as well.

You know, I think I should stop there.  Goals are good, but now that I am actually writing out a list, I keep thinking of more things to add to it and this could get out of hand in a hurry.  One of my other goals for the year is to try not to expect quite so much out of myself and be a bit more forgiving towards myself.   I think that will be the toughest thing on the list.  It will be interesting to look back at the end of the year and see what I think of this list then.