Make-A-List Monday - Oops! Tuesday!

Hi, all!

Monday has come and gone - and I missed writing my post on time, so I am up early early early on Tuesday trying to get it done!  My Monday disappeared in a flash of unexpected activities (more on that later) and ended up with an ornament exchange party and a long drive home in the pouring rain.  Here's hoping Tuesday will be a little less eventful!

But let's get down to the nitty-gritty, and see how last week's list went...

1.  Make some samples for the Joann's class open house this weekend.

Done!  I made the blocks for the first two months of this year's quilt-along...

...and this cute doll sleeping bag!

2.  Clean up around the house.

Done!  I didn't have time to take any pictures, but trust me, it's a whole lot cleaner than it was!  Dust bunnies are cowering in fear in dark corners....

3.  Finish decorating for Christmas.

Done!  I do love my Christmas decorations, even if it's hectic getting it all out for just a short time...

Isn't our new coffee table gorgeous?  My husband made it!

4.  Find ornaments for two ornament exchange parties.

Done!  This is the ornament I took last night...

...and this is the ornament that Bill took to his party.  His only requirement was that it be something that people would fight over, and he tells me that it was a success!

5.  Ship off some Christmas presents.

I didn't get to this, but I'm hopeful that I will today!

6.  Prep for a class on Thursday.

Done!  No pics, though...

7.  Prep for our ministry Christmas party on Saturday.

Done, and it was a great success!  

We met up at church and worked on Christmas quilts for ourselves!  I taught them how to do a "stack-and-whack" block using Amy Smart's Patchwork Forest pattern, and we had a blast!

8.  Make a back for Emmy's annual quilt.

Done, but no pics.

9. Quilt Emmy's annual quilt if time allows.

Time? What's that???  This didn't get done, but I'm hoping to make time this week.

10.  Hem those curtains!

Done!  My husband came home, saw them, and said, "Oh, you didn't mean to have them dragging on the floor?"

11.  Keep up with any quilt ministry needs that come up.

Only two quilts this week, the first to a man who was diagnosed with thyroid cancer...

...and the other, to a woman with ongoing medical issues.

OK - I didn't get everything done, but I did make a good dent in that list.  I'm satisfied!

So Saturday, after the quilt ministry Christmas party, a thing happened....

We put in an offer on a new house!  Late Sunday evening, we got a counter offer and accepted it, so we will be moving early next year!  It's still in the same general area (Middle Tennessee) but nearer to our daughter and her family (actually three minutes door-to-door, as she tells me!) so we are excited.  It also has several benefits, including much better internet service, cable, a great entertaining space that will hold a LOT of people comfortably, and a HUGE quilting space for me!  I'll share more pictures later, I promise...  

But for now, my life will probably be consumed with filling these...

We learned the benefits of banker's boxes several moves ago - they are small enough to not be too heavy to carry when full, have built-in handholds, and being uniform in size, are easy to stack and store. Plus you can use them in the garage or attic to store "stuff" easily afterwards!  

Because of the weekend's activities, Monday was consumed with all the fun little things that go with the beginning of a home purchase - speaking with the lender, setting up home inspections, delivering the earnest money check, searching for those documents the lender will need... oh how fun!  Hopefully there will just be a couple of days of overwhelming activity, then it will slow down until close to time for closing.

And what's on my list for this week?  Here it is...

1.  Return borrowed chairs to church.

2.  Transport and deliver quilts to our local elementary school that will be given to the support staff and a few teachers that were hired  since we gave them to the teachers last year.

3.  Quilt Emmy's annual quilt.

4.  Take pictures of Lilli's annual quilt for Friday's blogpost.

5.  Get those packages in the mail!

6.  Review the Christmas gifts I have and make a final shopping list.

7.  Gather and send financial documents to the lender.

8.  Work on the plans for this year's pre-H2H quilt-along (and maybe ask for a little help from my friends!)

9.  Keep up with any quilt ministry needs that come up.

I'm sure there's more I need to do, but this is what comes to mind right now!  

And here's a tip about the value of lists - I find that making lists helps clear all the jumble of "OMG I've got to do this and that and that thing over there" out of my mind.  With a list, I can clear it out and do other things (like, for example, SLEEP!) without everything pushing for recognition.  Once I know I've put it down on a list I can relax, knowing I won't forget something.  I now have a notebook that will follow me everywhere for the next month or so, with sections like "Daily Lists" and "For House Purchase" and "For Move".  Eventually it will have another section called "To Get House Ready To Sell" but that will come later, as it is much easier to get a house ready to sell when it's empty!

So now, the question is - - - what are YOU working on this week?

Hugs!

Sarah