Lists

I'm a list maker.

At one point in my life my lists were in a spiral bound note book, and there were segments for "Today" "House" "Garden" "Projects" etc etc.

It drove Bernie mad, as I could always add to the projects list faster than he was interested in completing the projects.

Years and years of the lists reflect mundane activities:

Laundry
Change sheets
Pick up L. at 2:30 from field trip
Call Dentist

(yawn...)

My projects were a bit more interesting. Lots of them were accomplished too.

Build hardscape into garden
Sew slip cover
Paint (what didn't I paint?)
Finish professional paper

As Barbara Bush said about motherhood:

"Long days, short years."

Its been years since I've had my lists in spiral bound. Now days I just grab a sheet off the printer and jot down my "memory prods" over my morning coffee.

Occasionally I make myself skip doing that, in order to follow whatever whimsical thing might interest me.

Today is "back to the grind stone" day.

Bernie is off to New York, leaving Tiggie in deep depression. I'm a little blue myself.

He'll be back Tuesday evening, so really, this response is totally over blown. It's just since we had most of December together, I miss him.

The grindstone is particularly dull, especially since it is sunny and clear outside. A perfect day to go ride my bike, or block a new hat with one of the six new hat blanks I got for Christmas from Laura.

So here's the dull as dishwater list.

1. Check my work email (I'm off until Jan. 18th...the perk of being a college adjunct.)

2. Figure out the details of tomorrow's professional development day (this is an event where I am assured I will be developed professionally, if not financially. Read: No pay, optional. I'm attending to just for the fun of it, and to catch up with my colleagues who will be there on the payroll, and purposefully to boot. I'm not at all clear where this event will be held, or what time either...)

3. Change the litter. (Ewww...at least I don't have to shovel poop out in the cold)

4. Tidy my bathroom counter. (A never ending battle for me...the one place in the house that goes disaster ASAP. B. and I have separate vanities, otherwise I would have to be more diligent about this. I think it is reflective of some character flaw that my most private space is always the messiest)

5. Get in touch with Gayle. (A friend who had back surgery and unexpected abdominal surgery just about when we were leaving town. I'm a lousy friend for not dropping every thing to be with her, on the other hand, she grew up here and has family here too, so I trust her needs were met.)

6. Plant pansies. (We went to buy pansies on Saturday, and I was greatly dismayed that the selection was limited to yellow, white and purple at FOUR nurseries. Last year the violas and pansies came in a pastel rainbow of colors. And I am SURE we got them in January then too.)

7. Email Kate about flight/travel options. (We're planning to go to see her in Switzerland in June, but flexing on best prices and options for connections. Amsterdam has a really good price from Houston. Kate: We'll talk!)

8. Plant larkspur seeds. (My in-laws have tons of larkspur, and gave seeds to my folks, so they have tons of it too. The heavy clay soil in Houston makes seed planting problematic. I'll have to put down potting soil in the one area they might grow, but that area also needs to be mulched, so I have to do some thinking about how to best do this.)

9. Take $ over to Greg, the cat sitter. I though B. had paid him, he thought I had...ooops.


PLUS, for added bonus fun:

Make dental appt.
Make eye appt. (new glasses, and PLEASE, do something about the Bell's affected eye!)
Make mammogram appt.
Get tickets to Minnesota for end of January. (A wedding there...)

Then there are the tantalizing PROJECTS:

Weed wardrobe (this was going to be a lot more fun when I was six pounds lighter)

Put the 12 generations of family genealogy onto a new sheet, put in safe deposit box, and GET SERIOUS about putting all the stuff onto computer, (add pictures) and print out in book form.

Tidy computer files in light of acquiring a new machine soon.

Create a practice blog site. (I went beta earlier and blogger destroyed my site for a while. I still can not post directly from picasas. I am envious of everyone else's whizbang features and updated looks, but I am not about to risk tinkering with this site until I am sure I know that I (and blogger) knows what they are doing.

Edit my novel "Shepherds"

Make hats.

There you have it. The list.

Time to stop being a slacker and get cracking.

You too. I see you there, reading blogs when there's all kinds of boring stuff begging to be done.

Go get a least one boring thing done from your list too, and then we can sit down and enjoy a cup of tea together.

OK?

OK.