august 12 of 12: tasks left undone

last night i sat down and made a list of all the chores and projects i wanted to finish this summer. suffice it to say, there is much left to do and precious little time in which to do it! here's a pictorial representation of only a dozen tasks that i really wanted to have accomplished before school kicks in again next week!

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i bought these impatiens in june because they were so unusual. i loved the yellow petals and the pinky centers and had planned to have them grace the step by the back door. they're at the back door, all right - still in their original nursery pots and looking terribly leggy.

this spring i broke down and finally bought a good scanner. i have so many photos of my own family and recently acquired many more from my childhood. best to have them in digital format, i rationalized, so they can be identified, shared and preserved. yet the only photo i've scanned so far is one of my mother that i posted as a profile picture for mother's day. perhaps it will be a better winter project...

i have to get a new cellphone. in the great cellphone scheme of things, this one does nothing. i was going to make the switch this summer, actually walked into a store to do it. but it was crowded and overwhelming and i left. that was weeks ago. i'm embarrassed to say i am two years out of contract. two. so neither my cellphone nor i is very smart. 

i love the tv show the big bang theory but came late to the party and missed the first two seasons. i so wanted to get caught up this summer. episodes are 30 minutes - only 25 without the commercials. and i still have a whole disk left to go. or maybe it's two. 

my desk is a mess. i think i'm organized and it ends up looking like this. those are all the important papers i need to save. not bills, mind you - those i have filed carefully. these are warranties and yearly notices and cds of the girl's wedding five years ago. i need to organize this space. if not, it will only get worse. much worse.

i'm pretty short for a grown-up and for years i've used this old oak school chair as a step-stool. the finish has always been ratty but now it's spattered with every color paint in the house. this was the summer i was going to paint it mustard yellow to match my decor and put it in the kitchen for the little girl to sit on - and for me to continue stepping on. if i wait another year, the little girl may be too big for it!

this is one of my five gmail accounts. i use gmail because you can archive your messages out of (your) sight but they're still searchable because they're on google's servers. all i have to do is remember to read/delete/archive on a regular basis. and i don't. i need to clean up these accounts for the same reason i need to clean up my desk (see above).

months ago, an old friend left this on my doorstep filled with my favorite flowers. i leave this on my kitchen counter to remind me to call. and i have not. of all the things i've not done this summer, this is the one that nags at  me the most.

this collection represents about a third of the baskets i own. before i buy any more, i need to find a purpose for these or give them away. but i love them all.....

and if that's not bad enough, i need to get rid of this piece of furniture. i have no room or use for it. i've shuffled it from room to room for three summers now, procrastinating because it's so near and dear to my heart. it's the first piece of furniture i ever finished, forty years ago this summer. and i love those tombstone doors as much today as i did then.

see the fading on these curtains? the others in the room are worse. i've been throwing different color and pattern dishtowels and cloth napkins over the curtain rods all summer trying to find something i like as much as what i already have. time to decide - and hope i can live with the decision!

and look. i haven't even gotten my june pedicure yet.  maybe i could get a september one instead!

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lest you think i'm a pitiful, whiny so-and-so, know that, in my own right, my summer has been quite productive. and i will keep working on this list. maybe i'll be able to complete everything by the first day of fall!

impatiens and basket.  check!