The Short List of Things to Do

Another morning of undecided weather--the sun peeked through and then skulked away not to reappear.

There are always the necessary things to do which don't change much from day to day: simple meals to prepare, kitchen clean-up after meals, laundry, pet care, mail.

I had in mind to go downstairs and sew when J. inquired if I would like to clean the harness which he acquired with the vintage buggy.

I made noises indicating a lack of enthusiasm, but within moments he reappeared laden with an armload of leather straps of varying lengths and widths, held together with a confusion of buckles.  This unwieldy heap was deposited with a clatter on the living room floor.  A brief rummage produced a variety of leather cleaners which he lined up encouragingly.

Seeing that my help had been assumed, I spread newspapers atop an old tablecloth and pulled a section of harness free from the tangle on the floor.

While I fetched a pile of soft rags Bobby leaped to the table and settled himself in a circle of leather.

Cleaning the harness wasn't strenuous work.

I made a mug of green tea which I set within reach.

The leather straps were fairly supple and I quickly established a pattern for working the leather dressing in with a soft brush, one side then the other; a swipe with the cloth and the cleaned piece could be draped over the chair and the next section brought to the table.

Over the years I've been drafted into various of J.'s 'projects.'

Quite often this has meant hand sanding of some object, painting, clearing up behind the men at a house construction site, or doing detail work which required a steady hand.

As I rubbed at the leather straps I decided that the scent of beeswax, lanolin and other oils in the leather dressing was preferable to the harsh odor of paint, polyurethane and various solvents such as mineral spirits or paint thinner.

My hands were grubby when I finished my task and my nails needed the scrub brush, but after a good lathering with soap and warm water, I realized that my hands were soft and smooth and smelled faintly of the leather cleaner--as did the room where I had been working.

I should have had a paste for shining the buckles and clasps--that will have to wait for another time.

I brought my quilt blocks upstairs and spread them on the table.

The colors of this fabric line are lovely.

None of the block patterns have been difficult, but it has been a fiddly process as the component pieces are cut for one block at a time, thus stream-lined assembly is not possible.

There are a lot of short seams to press and line up with the adjacent blocks.

This will be a true 'sampler quilt' when finished and more of a display piece than a bed cover.

I'm feeling ready to do something more traditional, something with a timeless appeal.

By the time I had caught up with a few chores, it didn't seem worth while to build a fire downstairs for an hour or two of sewing.

I was pleased with my progress on Sunday afternoon, having divided my time between the quilt and a bit of genealogy research undertaken for a friend of my sister, M.

The list of quilting projects that appeal to me, turn over in my head.

I am haunted by notebooks full of genealogy 'research' which needs to be sorted and typed.

Wrestling with bank statements and income tax is a looming chore which I dread.

Today I have been fascinated with many articles on-line dealing with the discovery of the bones of Richard III. I've had a least a vague grasp of the succession of dynasties in England, although I've read more historical fiction than solid biographical and historical works.

I was loaned Josephine Tey's "Daughter of Time' not long before leaving Wyoming and the reading of that reminded me of the mystery of Richard's nephews in the tower and the suspicion that he had been responsible for their disappearance.

After supper I wallowed through a long and poorly organized article in wikipedia re the Plantaganet families. I confess to nodding off several times.

I seem never to run short of things-I-want-to-do or things-that-must-be done.  Surely there is a third rather blurred category--things-that-ought-to be done!

I've never managed to juggle it all as well as I'd like!

Pondering aside, I need to give the kitchen one last tidy or be greeted with a mess in the morning.

Tomorrow is another day--and the list will be reworked, a few tasks ticked off with ever more queing up for attention.