Accountability

Just after Michele left in February, I made a list of things I was going to work on during the four months she was away. I've been asked a few times whether I completed my list. In an effort to be accountable, I need to admit that I only completed one thing that was on the original list: our friend's birthday present, which became a housewarming gift. I have, however, completed several projects that I did not include on that list. I've shared several with you already, and thought I would share a few more with you.

First, Deb's birthday/housewarming gift. This is a quilt that I named "A Librarian's Joy" (Deb is a librarian.) Michele and I gave this to Deb yesterday. It was nice to be able to give it to her together, especially since I'd been working on it long before Michele left in February.

Next, I made a gift for my mom. I actually started this quilt after I started Deb's, and finished it before I finished Deb's. Michele helped me design it over the phone and via email, so that was pretty fun. We called this quilt "A Night in the Forest." Mum loves owls, so we had fun with that.

Third, I reupholstered the sun porch furniture. The furniture came with the house and is a really beautiful antique cane couch and two chair set. The cushions were covered in a pretty gold fabric, but after years of use, the fabric was crumbly and incredibly scratchy. We'd wanted to re-cover it for four years, but couldn't find the right sun-resistant fabric for the right price. While Mum was here, Joann's had a wicked sale on indoor/outdoor fabric, so we now have a bright and colorful sun porch that Michele has really been enjoying while I'm at work.

And, finally, there is an awkward corner in our downstairs bathroom. The previous owners installed this bathroom in what was once a pantry. Since New York doesn't allow plumbing in exterior walls and the interior walls were plaster, they erected a wall to house the plumbing for the shower stall. This new partial wall created an 18 inch alcove that has been unused and pretty useless space. Michele and I decided to install shelving there since there is very little storage in this small bathroom, but, for the four years we've lived here, we hadn't gotten around to it. Well, I finally got to it. I also painted some unfinished wood boxes to keep the toiletry items prettily contained.

So, as you can see, although I did not complete the items on my original list, like my thesis and the upstairs bathroom floor, I did keep myself busy and accomplish several unlisted projects. And had a lot of fun doing it!! I do have a new list of projects that I shared with you a few posts ago. Now if Michele would hurry up and leave, I'd once again be productive and get to working on the newest list.