Making a List and Checking it Twice...

Monday morning begins a marathon week of Christmas set-ups for my interior clients. And I mean marathon...Thank heavens, superwoman (my cutest sister, Denise), is on a red-eye tonight arriving from Denver. Having her on my team is a gift from above! She is, as my darling mother described her many times, "capable of so many things...". She works with me side by side, endlessly. She entertains us all. She has long arms ( a true plus for me, with the T-Rex arms as described by my daughter). She has a great sense of humor. She has great insight. She is a great cook ( not that we will indulge in much gourmet cooking time this week...). She can stand the cold for the outdoor work. She can sew on demand. She can be on the "night shift" team. She can relate to the primping gene.

Well, as you can see, there are many reasons I am looking forward to the 5:30 a.m. departure time to the Philadelphia airport!

In preparation for her arrival, these are the things that I checked off my "to-do" list:


I was inspired this year to dig in and unpack my vast Halloween collection prior to the arrival of my power team to do the retail Christmas set-up. This was a little over a month ago. Little did I think that the first of December would threaten to find Halloween still decking the halls at my house. Oh, dear!

So, first on the list, was to repack and store said Halloween decos! Here they are, neatly packed and stacked in my storage room a mere 30 days past the season. *note to self* remember this next year when so tempted...

Crow collection repacked and safely stowed until who knows when...

Pumpkin figures, trees, and all things glitter right below...

There was a moment of panic when I contemplated this looming box in the same storage area...

Then on to ironing the sheets for the guest room. Check.

I dug out the seasonal feather bed, called Sneelock up to help with the weight involved, and made up the bed.

A load of clean towels, neatly folded from the dryer.

Ah, yes. Guest bedroom made up and calling Denise's name. (Did I mention that more than likely, this cozy retreat will get minimal use for the next week?) Sad, but true.

Mercy, when I made another trip to the basement with assorted Christmas purchases, I found these stragglers...they may just have to wait until next year to find their resting place.

In addition, when I did the final wipe-up of the kitchen, yet another missed Halloween deco. Ugh.

I feel a sense of accomplishment when I look around at the completed preparations for super woman's arrival. I just hope she's bringing an extra cape.