Day Three - Making Lists

 My plan of attack for any project is to first make a list.

Christmas is no different.

 

So this morning I gathered up some goodies and prepped them for an after dinner wish list extravaganza. At that time everyone gets to write down anything they wish for.

There is no guarantee that everything on the list will be acquired but if your very, very good chances are you'll be happily surprised!

 

We've done this for several years now and it has proved quite helpful. Often I try to have a theme to my list. Last year it was "consumables." This year however, it's "black" as in black Sharpies, black composition notebooks, black tea, and my really hoped for, black skeins of yarn for some granny square goodness I have a hankering to try.

 

 Then, during tea time, I settled down with a cuppa and the last of the Tree Nite cookies and started a list of possible Christmas projects from my stack of Mollie Makes magazines. Let me say this was lots of fun...well maybe not the part where I realized there were no more cookies left!  

 

My third and final list was made once everyone had hunkered down for the night. It is very secret and so I'm only telling you. I keep it in this itty bitty notebook but its pages are chock full of secret shopping plans. Based on the results of our wish list making after dinner I devoted the first couple of pages to shopping destinations. More detailed information follows but that I cannot

show even you!

 

 Did you notice Dunkin Donuts is up at the tippy top? That is most essential first stop for someone like me who would really prefer sitting home warm and cozy making their gifts. Not only does having a cup of hot coffee in hand help to keep me toasty while roaming the plazas, it also gives me the energy to keep up with the crowds and stand in the lines. And so, until such time that I can maneuver the ins and out of stitching a Nerf Gun Alpha Trooper CS-12 into being, you'll find me walking the aisles of Toys-R-Us sipping away on my paper hot cup.

 

A Sigh of Relief

For 20 years this thing has followed me around.

 

 How it did so is beyond me considering its tremendous weight and cumbersome build!

All in all it wasn't a bad looking piece.

 

 Although on most days its virtues were obscured by whatever superhero/transformer/alien Child #3 was currently obsessed with. On top of that the poor thing was squished in a corner and its keys rarely saw the light of day. 

 

Combine that with my new found desire to clear the clutter and dust from our home and it was time for that dear old piano to go on to greener pastures.

 

 

Enter Mario, a musician by trade but also an expert piano mover of sorts.

Yesterday as I stood on the porch and watched the two of them drive off together I had myself a huge sigh of relief. Not only were musician and instrument delighted to have found each other but I myself had found tremendous joy in the act of letting go.

 

Granted this is only a first step of many to come but it was a huge one and one that makes my new so-called "Cottage Quest" a reality. Yes I want to live in a cottage. More specifically, a summer cottage. You know the ones where possessions are bare bones, natural light is in abundance, and there is always time for a game of cards. In such a humble abode housekeeping would involve no more than the sweep of a broom or the swipe of an apron's edge and meals would revolve around the seasonal offerings at the local market.

 

Now, considering the basic architecture of our home is in that of the garrison style, it actually looks nothing like a summer cottage. But guess what? I don't care. I will do the best with what I've got and in the process hopefully experience some of the joys I imagine summer cottage living bestows on its inhabitants. 

 

So get ready....there's clearing and carting ahead along with a good deal of prying, parting, and painting. Who knows how long it will take? Who cares?

 In fact, do they even keep track of time in a cottage?

I know I won't.

When the sun rises it'll be time to get up. When the sun sets it'll be time to go to bed. And anything in between I shall consider time for fun! 

Care to join me....

 



Made Good On My Word

I love checking off  little boxes!!!

Now if only I had a gold sticky star to give myself!

 



Made Sense

I awoke this morning with steadfast determination to keep to my weekend list.

Here it is in case you missed it...

 

Turn off the alarm clock

Keep a basket of handwork nearby at all times

Cozy up with a bichon

Read about Tasha Tudor

Ponder Christmas

Have a mug up

Sleep  

 

And it was, I want you to know, to the rising sun and not the ringing alarm to which I awoke. As I rolled out of bed, the bichon was scooped up in one arm leaving the other free to snag my handwork basket as I tiptoed through the sewing nook and headed downstairs to put the kettle on. By the time puppy and I had attended to business out of doors the water had boiled for my first mug up of the day! Within minutes I was sipping away in the company of Harry Davis's book The Art of Tasha Tudor.

 

Or at least I was until page 7 on which I read that, "She is notoriously slow-paced and something of a procrastinator, at least with commissioned or contractual art." Hmmm...I had my own share of such so called "commissioned" work awaiting me. Should I be attending to it instead of hanging out in the cozy chair? Was I procrastinating? It wouldn't be the first time that's for sure! The one thing I did know is that I would not be able to enjoy my weekend until I evaluated the situation and got some answers.

 

 First things first, I gathered up all the goodies pertaining to outstanding orders, arranged them on a tray, made a list of each and every one, and then.....I went back to stealing!

 

 Thank goodness for my new favorite guru, Austin Kleon! This post by him and its tips for achieving guiltless free time is amazing. I wasn't shy about stealing his concept and by doing so assured myself that all the "commissions" could be completed in a timely manner without practicing a nose to the grindstone approach. I'm so happy.....and so is my nose because it's so much more pleasant to have it in a book!

 

 



Made My Mom Do It

Oh how I wish I had a "before" picture to show you!

All of this had been a giant jumbled rat's nest, stashed in a tattered gift bag, and my worst nightmare for over a month now. I'd had the best of intentions to sort through it....eventually. But then, this afternoon, my mom popped in for tea and took matters into her own hands. The results are amazing. THANKS MOM!!!