I thought I’d pop on this morning and give you an update on how things are going in my vegetable garden. It’s crazy to me that just 3 months ago this place was a soggy mess full of weeds and brush.

But look at it now!!

Not only do we have a nice green lawn, but a boatload of vegetables growing back in raised garden beds too. And a fence!! 

The roma tomatoes are coming in strong. 

And so are all the other tomatoes. All 32 plants have tomatoes growing on them. These are Tasmanian chocolate tomatoes. 

I’m so glad I asked for suggestions and planted a bunch of different varieties. 

Harvesting these beauties when they’re ready is going to be a lot of fun. Fingers crossed all goes well and I’ll be able to offer the extras on the trolley in another month or so.

The carrots still have a ways to go.

And so do the beets. 

The sweet peppers are looking good though.

And I suspect we’ll have some green beans to pick here in another week or two. Fresh green beans! Won’t that be a treat!?

All the radishes and turnips have been harvested, so I need to get something else in their spot. 

Maybe some fall beets? Parsnips? Is there still time? I could always do one last row of beans if I can’t find parsnip seeds. 

My second round of chives is looking pretty healthy in the Pro Mix. 

The cabbage is too, but we’ve got another heat wave rolling in so I’m not sure how things are going to turn out. I should have planted them earlier. 

I’m still swimming in rhubarb. It’s too hot to stick out plants out on the trolley for sale. Maybe I need one of those pop up tents to protect the rhubarb and chive plants from the sun. 

Then again, maybe people just want to BUY stalks of rhubarb and not bother with growing it themselves? I don’t know. 

The zucchini and cucumbers I started from seed and planted along the fence are doing great. I’m hoping the cucumber vines will grab on to the fence and grow upwards.

I also planted some zucchini and basil on the side of the house. We should be picking our first zucchini in a couple of days. We’ve already started harvesting basil and used it for caprese skewers.

I have enough to make pesto. I should do that soon.

Well that’s what’s growing in my garden these days… How about YOU? How is YOUR garden doing? Anyone bringing in major tomato hauls yet? 

~Mavis

P.S. I hope you have a great weekend.

OTHER

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I was wondering if you could help with a few suggestions?  

My daughter (28) is planning a trip to Portland to run the 1/2 marathon in October.  She is thinking she wants to spend a week in New England & make a proper trip of it.  

Where would you suggest she visit/stay for Oct 4-10?  

She will be renting a car, so can drive around to NH & VT and maybe even Boston.  She loves good food, history, art & outdoorsy stuff.  Thanks so much for your insight!

~ Sara

Hi Sara, 

In no way and I am expert on the area but I do have a few places that I’ve enjoyed over the years. I’ve gathered up my favorite spots and shared them below.

I am really hoping other people who love the area as much as I do will chime in and leave other suggestions for your daughter too. 

Here Goes…

Boston

Favorite Hotel in Boston – The Liberty Hotel 

The Liberty is within walking distance to The North End, Boston Common, Charles Street {and great restaurants and bakeries}.

There is SO MUCH history!!! A simple google search will help you narrow down what you want to see. The North End is a must though in my book. 

Rockport, Gloucester and Manchester By The Sea.

You can hit them all up on the same day and all are unique, walkable  and interesting. 

Portsmouth

Favorite Hotel in Portsmouth – The Ale House Inn

Small rooms but a fantastic location within walking distance to everything. The Strawbery Banke Museum is a must see. 

La Maison is my go to French pastries and savory crepes. 

If I was a single person and wanted to live in the city, downtown Portsmouth with all its history, shops and eateries would be where I’d want to live. 

Kittery, Maine

Lil’s Cafe for a crueller and Anju {for the ramen}

Kennebunkport

Favorite Hotel in Kennebunkport – Nonantum Resort

The hotel is clean, staff is great, rooms come with a glorious daily breakfast buffet, bike rentals and the vibe is fantastic. 

The Nonantum Resort is also within walking distance of Dock Square, the beaches and just about anything you’d want to see in Kennebunkport.

Portland

Favorite Hotel in Portland – The Press Hotel

The hotel itself is great. And if you like a “city” vibe and all that comes with it, well, you’ll probably enjoy the downtown area. 

I know a lot of people LOVE Portland, Maine. And the waterfront area can be nice on a sunny day. The Portland Head Light is pretty spectacular too.  

But other than a few food places; Standard Baking Co. and Becky’s Diner, it’s not a place I spend a lot of time in. 

Here’s a list of Things To Do Between Portland and Camden, Maine.

And Vermont?

Well, I’ve been to Woodstock, Manchester, Quechee, Shelburne and Burlington, Vermont and a few other random spots. 

J.J. Hapgood in Peru, Vermont is a great place to stop and eat if you are passing through the area. And the Shelburne Museum will always be a favorite of mine. 

Vermont to me is for meandering, stopping at mom and pop general stores and CHEESE. There is a lot of cheese to sample in Vermont.  

So while I know this isn’t a full list of all the great things to do and see in the area, I hope it’s a start. 

~Mavis

OTHER

The post A Week In New England? What Are Your Favorite Towns and Places To Visit? appeared first on One Hundred Dollars a Month.

If you are headed to Southern Maine this summer {or you just live in the area} and like to knit or crochet, I have a store for you!

The Yarn Seller in York.

Holy canolies this place has SO MUCH cool yarn.

I don’t even knit and I had a great time wandering around looking at all the different skeins of yarn and possible projects.

I am a firm believer that everyone needs a hobby.

Something to keep their hands busy. Gardening and rug hooking are my main hobbies and both of them keep me busy pretty much all year long.

I actually went to The Yarn Seller with a friend who offered to make me a granny square blanket if I hooked her a rug. 

All I had to do was buy the yarn.

How lucky am I? I tried crochet several years ago and while I LOVE handmade things… I will never be someone who will enjoy the process of making a granny square. Or anything else that requires yarn. 

Which is kind of a shame because something tells me yarn takes up much less room than rug hooking wool and all the hoops and frames that come along with it.

But then again… Maybe not???

Maybe knitters and those that work with yarn have just as much stuff as hookers? 

Seriously! There were so many different kinds of yarn to choose from at The Yarn Seller. 

And interesting projects too! A knitted chicken. Oh my. 

It took me a while, but I eventually found the yarn {superwash merino wool} I wanted my granny square blanket made out of.

The wool is crazy soft and apparently I’ll be able to toss the blanket in the washing machine. 

I thought I was on the hunt for some light pastel type colors. But once I spotted these Malabrigo Rios jeweled tone skeins, I knew I had found my blanket colors.

Now comes the hard part. Deciding which granny square blanket design I like the best. 

The Meadow Flowers pattern by Mama In a Stitch, or the Island Time pattern by NautiKrall. It’s a tough choice.

Have you ever made a granny square blanket before? Do you have a favorite brand/type of yarn that you use? 

I hope I picked out something that’s easy to work with. I was going 100% on texture and color. 

~Mavis

OTHER

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Last night The HH and I went to the Senior Center to play BINGO!  

Okay, so maybe I dragged him there but it was SO MUCH fun! I spotted a flyer a few weeks ago in a store and told him we should go check it out. 

Yada yada yada… Apparently you only have to be FIFTY to join our local senior center. 

We didn’t actually join {yet} because Bingo is open to the public, but still, how crazy is that? I had no idea I was a senior. I thought we still had a few years. 

Neither of us could remember the last time we played Bingo. Elementary school maybe?  We actually had to ask how to play. HA HA HA. Luckily they had print outs for newbies.

Do you play Bingo? How does this prize money payout look to you?

We each paid $25 for 2 ½ hours of entertainment. I didn’t really understand how many “cards” we bought since some {all?} were used twice {?}. 

But in my book $25 for 2 ½ hours of entertainment was a great deal.

And there were snacks!!

I bought a weenie for $3. 

And a few other things.  

Neither of us won any cash prizes… But we were both one number away several times. 

Maybe next time?

Bingo night at the senior center. It was so much fun. And probably the best date night so far this year. 

~Mavis

P.S. When was the last time you played Bingo? Have you ever won anything? Curious minds want to know. 

OTHER

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Get Back To The Basics + Learning to Unplug

Hello friends. Did you have a nice holiday? We strung a wee bit of bunting and the place looked SO FESTIVE. People stopped to take photos in front of the Lobster House all weekend. It was fun to watch. 

Family photos, photos with their dogs, Instagramers. Who needs a t.v. when you live in the Lobster House? 

Unplugging last week was a snap.  

In The Kitchen

I suspect we will be on the fruit train ALL.SUMMER.LONG. 

That subscription box for 10 weeks of peaches was an excellent gift. The HH is definitely getting his daily dose of vitamin C {and then some}.

He started his 33 radiation treatments for his ear and by the end of this week he will be at the halfway mark. Hooray! 

His ear is really red and somewhat puffy and he has some discomfort but he’s powering through.

Kitchen Goals For This Year

• Master the pear frangipane tart from Standard Baking Company. 
• Put my Weck jars to use.
• Use two bins of beans {working on it}

Rug Hooking

I didn’t get much hooking done this past week {we have visitors} but I did manage to get some wool strips cut for an upcoming project I plan to start soon.

Rug Hooking Goals For This Year

• Finish drawing out all my patterns, making kits, dyeing wool by March 31st. 
• Release 10 new rug hooking patterns/kits.  {4 down 6 to go}
• Hook 27 of the patterns from the “someday I’ll hook these” bin. {6 down 21 to go}

Go New Places – See New Things

Didn’t go anywhere new. No plans to hop on a plane. Staying home and working in the garden is where all the action is these days. 

A road trip in the fall might be fun though.

Travel Goals For This Year

• Travel someplace {internationally} that I’ve never been before.
• Travel somewhere in Maine {overnight} that I haven’t been before.

Places I’ve Been So Far This Year

• Boston {Birthday getaway}
• NYC {Girls getaway}

Walk And Stretch More

I think we got a walk in everyday last week. We even checked out a couple of cool stores in the area. One of which had this bird condo. 

What do you think? 

Have you ever had one of these types of bird condos before? Will 5 birds really occupy it all at once? I didn’t buy it {yet} but it’s one my radar. 

Walking/Stretching Goals For This Year

• Get into some sort of stretching routine
• Fast walk a 5K, 10K, and Half Marathon 

Garden

This is what my beautiful everlasting hydrangeas looked like last Monday.

This is what they look like now. Yikes!

The heatwave did a number on them and I’m not sure if they are going to bounce back. Even though I kept them watered {they are still in their original pots} they look awful.

I think I am going to try and re-pot them in with some Pro-Mix in larger pots and see what happens.

Garden Goals For This Year

• Rework the driveway and garden areas {DONE!}
• Go crazy and plant a ridiculous amount of flowers {working on it}
• Step out of my comfort zone and plant some flowers I’ve never planted before {DONE!}

Paint

The buoy cart was such a huge success over the weekend, I told the HH he should cut me a few more buoys so I can do it all over again. We’ll see what happens. Ha! 

Hey! It’s Monday. I hope you have a good one. 

~Mavis

Painting Goals For This Year

• The Van Gogh wall
• The gallery wall down stairs
• The captains wall in the hall
• Trim and walls 

OTHER

The post My Goals For 2026 – Week 27 of 52 appeared first on One Hundred Dollars a Month.

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