The infamous vacation list

While it felt great to sleep in a bit this morning, I can't exactly spend the entire week sleeping. Well, I could, but it would hardly be good stewardship of my time. Hence, the vacation list.

1. Trip to the Elegant Farmer for apple picking, cider doughnuts, ham and pumpkins.
2. Take coffee to Abigail Lila's mom, snuggle with Abigail and give her the quilt.
3. Have a craft day with Pam - use the day to start something I can't reveal here because someone reads this... Pam was sick, and while she called me very early to let me know, I was already at the coffee shop. So I hung around a bit longer than I would have, then went home and sewed, cleaned and put curtains back up before going to meet Elyssa and Mike. Disappointing, but not pointless.
4. Run out to the CornerStone in Genesee for lunch with Michelle. Coincidentally, Genesee is where my favorite quilt shop resides...spend too much money (or the bonus money) on batting, thread and fabric. Wonderful lunch with Michelle, and a great find at the quilt store: they carry belts for treadle machines!!! At $7, I couldn't pass it up. Now I need to figure out how to put it on... I also came home with a serious amount of batting for those four tops languishing in the sewing room. Really - a yard-sized black garbage bag stuffed with 90" wide batting.
5. Bake cookies - molasses spice. Freeze some. Eat a couple, accompanied by a cup of coffee, while sitting on the porch in the late afternoon reading. Note to self: do this Sunday, when the temperature is going to be 65, not Wednesday, when the high is only going to be 52. Well, I did bake them, and I have eaten a few, but it has been much too cold to sit outside. Sometime today I need to hook up with Holly or Chad to pass off the dozen and a half destined for them. The rest will be lunch treats this week - yum, soft, gingerbread like cookies!
6. Bake bread. Once upon a time I did this regularly (and not in a breadmaker). Don't bother freezing any (there won't be any left to freeze). Eh. Never did get the urge - maybe next weekend, since I have the supplies anyway.
7. Do the annual reread of Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes. Preferred reading place: on the front porch, drinking coffee and eating molasses cookies. This is a bit of a fib; I did begin reading it, but have not quite finished it yet. I've only gone out for coffee (alone) twice this entire week. The change of venue is needed, as if I read at home, I try to multitask and do laundry and other things at the same time.
8. Layer, quilt and bind the birds wallhanging. Mission accomplished. Both girls were thrilled.
9. Put the borders on the Civil War quilt, piece the backing (or iron it; this may already be pieced - I can't remember), layer the thing. Hum. At least I have the batting.
10. Decide on quilting pattern for violets quilt. Mark top, layer quilt. (every time I type "layer quilt" I cringe, as the ones I'm currently working on are bed-sized; layering them involves massive amounts of crawling around on the floor to spray baste them, or sore fingers from inserting and closing hundreds of safety pins) I think I know what I want to do, but this is not the first quilt on the list - I could change my mind when the time comes.
11. Get a few lessons ahead on the early morning Bible study. We restarted just after Labor Day, but with taking the bus, I couldn't make it until this week. I'm up to date, but like to be a few weeks ahead so I have a bit of wiggle room. The study is on 1 John.
12. Figure out what to give people for Christmas.
13. Take the last little bit of rummage stuff to Goodwill. Does taking it out to the car count? It's one grocery bag full of stuff.
14. Household stuff: take old paint to city yards, put plastic film on windows Shoot. I cannot find the package of insulating film that has been kicking around the junk drawer for the last two years. I have no clue where it went - it belongs in that drawer. I have a nasty feeling I put it in the rummage sale stuff (you know, the stuff I finally took to Goodwill last weekend after MONTHS of having it sit in the foyer?). It now has to wait until after the next payday, at which time it will most likely be too cold to put it up, replace sheer curtain in bedroom with window quilt, <s>launder all curtains, change out decor on porch, wash floors, clean and put away grill, clean pantry (yes, that particular item has been on the list since, well, forever, but since nothing falls on my head when I walk in there, and everything has a place, it isn't a priority).
15. Car stuff: replace the passenger side windshield wiper, have the car washed, put another coat of RainX on the windshield, vacuum the inside (trunk as well).
16. Buy vacuum cleaner bags. I'm not sure why this is such a trial; the local hardware store carries them. But then, I can lose myself in a hardware store for hours. A simple errand run turns into a half day excursion. This may qualify as a peri-menopausal moment. I went to check the type of bag I'd need, and discovered not one, but two new bags AND a new bottom filter. I have no idea when I bought these - maybe last fall?

The list is in no way complete, but it will do. At some (soon) point I need to make a meal plan and go grocery shopping - the larder is almost completely bare. I'd like to squeeze in an oil change (for the car, not me) and a trip up to Bayshore. Regular cleaning and laundry will go on as well.

The weather is supposed to be slightly cooler than seasonal - highs for most of the week in the mid-fifties, with rain on about half of the days - which is very conducive to staying in and working on the stack of unquilted quilt tops.

And I'm going to get a start right now. Off to find batting to piece for the flamingos...