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SUMMER’S GETTING CLOSE TO DONE! Have you begun panicking yet? So many spring dreams left unfinished! So much fun left to be had! How’s your list compare to mine?
Cat’s must-accomplish tasks this summer
- Stain the deck. This hasn’t happened yet. First, we had wasps, then we had heat, and then I got lazy. Thankfully, I’ve still got fall!
- Swim. Check and check. Didn’t realize at first how close our new house is to a swimming area at Des Moines’ downtown lake — happily, I figured that out just in time for hot weather.
- Host a raging house party. Fail! We hosted an all-day 4th of July-er, but our first house party is still pending.
- Garden. Major success. I’m not surprised, but I’m pleased with the turnout.
- Set up a rain barrel. Fail. Oh well — next summer.
- Continue the less-car approach. Success. I got a little lazy when it was hot, but Scott bused or walked to work most days, and I managed a ton of longboarding-as-transporation.
- Go to a baseball game. Faiiiiiil. I think the last I-Cubs home game was last weekend.
- Go camping. Half and half. I’d like another go at it.
- See a drive in movie. Always a fail. I will probably continue to fail at this until no more drive-ins exist.
My primary goal for fall: use the deck more (and the grill!)
What’s left on your summer list, and what have you managed to check off? Let’s compare in the comments.
ooh I havent been to a drive in yet this summer
maybe I should plan to surprise the boy with a trip to one this weekend?!
I’ve had lots of fun, trips to London, the lake district, tall ship festivals, graffiti shows, loads of band shows (although never enough)
I’ve failed at the responsible things like sorting out the shelving in the living room, painting the outside of the boat and making my mountain of clothes smaller.
I’ve also failed at swimming more only been once this summer but it was in a lake surrounded by mountains so it was pretty cool. 🙂
Oh and I forgot the massive blanket I started at the start of summer and i’ve just started the edging so I should be finished soon! I’m working to this pattern and these colours.
http://attic24.typepad.com/weblog/granny-stripe.html
We still have to get our backyard into shape; it’s so hard becasue I work Monday through Friday and my partner works Wednesday through Sunday.
We got our roof mostly fixed like we needed to.
I have a giant painting that I am working on that I really have to finish this week. And a bunch of other art projects that have fallen by the wayside.
this isn’t a complaint, because i love this site and yes, it’s hard to cater to everyone, and yes, i know we’re in a minority, but for some of us, spring started today!
I forget this sometimes, but OTHER TIMES! I don’t! We have stuff planned for you Southern Hemispherers, too. 🙂
Hmm, this summer my to-do list was kinda intense:
1) Get married- done with flying colors!
2) Buy first home- uh…still working on that one
3) Fix million dollar laser system- thankfully I’m starting to make some progress on this
4) Prepare presentation for oral candidacy exam for PhD program- epic fail 🙁 I still haven’t started
5) Finish painting I haven’t touched in 2 years- definitely a fail
6) Get to the beach at least once, and do some drunken river rafting – done.
Mmmmmm well living in texas its so freakin hot my todo list doesn’t start until fall it’s too damn hot to do anything, we are still having 100+ degree days and 90+degree nights. I am hoping we kick off the “idea” of fall by putting up our Halloween tree this weekend.
halloween tree! i love it.
i don’t even want to talk about my summer to-do list.
the 100+ degree weather killed the garden, and killed the plans to re-build the porch (but not until *after* the part where i destroyed said porch…)
the plan to finally (3 years in) get our house together where we want to live in it was nearing 90%. cue major leak/mold/crumbling wall problem. we’re back to about 10% – looks like we just moved in, only less clean (furniture in the middle of the floor+ no time to do basic chores=ugh!).
but i did finish building the bunk beds! the future kid room looks great!
“See a drive in movie. Always a fail. I will probably continue to fail at this until no more drive-ins exist.”
THIS. Exactly this. This time a million. Or at least times 25 years.
I never make terrifically lofty goals for the summer. I know I hate summer and there’s just no learning to love it for me.
I saw a drive in movie seven years ago and have been meaning (no, SERIOUSLY, this year we’ll go twice to make up for not going at all the last six years) to again ever since. Given that this seems to be a common problem among the Homies, I wonder: does anyone ever actually get to go to a drive-in? Maybe it’s a big hoax!!
I wish I could go to a drive in. The only one within a three hour radius closed about seven or eight years ago. It especially sucks because they STILL haven’t done anything with the site- it jtst sits there, all forlorn looking with he empty screens wasting away.
Movies in the park on small, inflatable screens jest aren’t the same. And it’s hard to track down where they are on a given weekend. I’ve only been to a drive in once in my life. Sad face.
Theres a drive-in the next town over (15 minutes away) so we go all the time! gotta get in one or two more nights before the summer ends though
I missed out on my chance to go to a drive-in in Fort Wayne (Indiana). But all my friends went! They are definitely dying out though…. 🙁
Sadly, the main ways movie theaters make money is by selling food, and too many people take their own food to drive-ins. That is my theory anyway (the money from food thing is real though).
You know what’s worst? I have a drive-in that’s, like, twenty minutes away. I could go ANY NIGHT I WANT.
I just don’t have anyone to go with.
And
stick shifts and safety belts.
Bucket seats have all got to go.
I wouldn’t mind going to the drive-in more often if the last movie didn’t end at almost 3am!
My list for this summer:
1. Get married, have awesome reception: DONE!
2. Have amazing honeymoon in Belize: DONE!
3. Pine that because of amazing honeymoon, we had no vacation time left over to join my family on the yearly family vaycay to Maine: Done. 🙁
4. Buy a home: DONE!
5. Paint the living rm, dinging rm, kitchen, second floor bedrms and library: 3/4 done (we did the LR, DR and kitchen and the library, by no bedrooms yet)
6. Paint a chalkboard in the dining room: DONE!
7. Get some real grown-up furniture (not hand-me-down stuff we barely like, and not from Ikea): DONE!
8. Have super-fun housewarming party: One the books for Sept. 17!
9. Go camping: FAAAAAIL. All that other stuff ate up all the time. Which sucks cause we got some great camping gear as wedding gifts. But there’s always the fall and there’s always next year!
Write and submit a paper for publication: Done!!
Clean and organize the garage: Done, then it was messed up a week later. Groan.
Visit PA for my dad’s retirement: Good times!
Register for the GRE: Hahahaha NO. My husband and I are both putting it off because then we’ll have to remember how to do math.
Sew something: I made pillow covers but didn’t get to my dress yet.
Organize little pockets of house mess and make some freezer meals in preparation for the fall semester: Done!
Trips: in progress. Got to visit Omaha, PA, and going to Kansas City this weekend, and Vermont in October.
It was kind of a weird summer, but I have some things to be proud of. Small house projects wait until the dead of winter. Now to be a serious student again!
Well, we don’t have a toilet yet! That’s a biggie!! The footers are poured and we’re hoping to hang some ledgers to start framing this weekend. Nothing like waiting until the last minute/month.
Clear out my guest room to make it actually habitable for guests – check!
Get rid of all the clothes I never wear because they don’t fit/are ugly etc and make a list of new clothes I need for autumn and winter – check!
Plant flowers and veg in my barren back yard – sort of check. I planted tubs of things, but they look kinda sad and wilty.
Make a photograph book of my wedding – epic fail.
Put up all the art and photos that I have in the pile of things to go on the wall – fail, although I did put up 2 yesterday.
Housetrain my new kitten – generally done, although I think the original cat may have more to do with it than me.
All my planning and preparation for the new term at the school where I work – EPIC fail. Oooops!
Get Married – Done!
Go on a holiday (but not honeymoon) – Done!
Host multiple rooftop parties – ehhh..we only managed one, and I doubt we’ll be able to get another in…so FAIL.
Use rooftop patio more – Halfies…we grilled a ton, and ate up there a few times, but I still didn’t use it as much as I wanted. It also didn’t help that June and July were FULL of rain. Boo.
Clean and organize 2nd room – DONE!
Drink Bulldogs – DONE!
The big thing now is SEED THE LAWN. It’s a big mission, but I’ve heard seeding near the end of summer/ start of fall is better than in spring. Other than that, I finally got around to making gazpacho, so I’ve checked the final summery thing off my list!
My list this summer ended up being a mostly total fail, which is actually ok because we found a lot of better things to do. The only thing thats really bumming me out is that we didnt get to really get the back yard figured out and have our garden party 🙁
I managed to work, finish two classes this summer and get A’s, and plant both my summer and fall garden (I still need to plant the oats, barley, and garlic, though).
But, we need to build a bigger, more secure chicken coop for the winter. Ugh.
Des Moines is only a few hours from Luverne, MN and their drive in movie theater: http://www.vernedrivein.com/darksite/default.asp Luverne is my hometown, although now I live near Washington DC. Luverne would make a great summer trip, since the Pipestone Monument is just a bit further north, the Mitchel Corn Palace is another 2 hours west, and the Black Hills (with Mt. Rushmore, Custer State Park, and Wall Drug) is 4 hours beyond that. It would make for an excellent summer road trip. My husband and I will be doing the Luverne out west and back later this fall for my annual pilgrimage home. 🙂
Take 4 college classes and ace them all. CHECK! And if my house fell into disrepair while I studied, oh well! haha!
I didn’t finish Chrono Trigger, and now school’s started 🙁 I was sooo close!
It’s only the second day of spring here in NZ, so I’m in the first flush of springtime optimism …
I’m planting my vege patch this weekend — the first time I’ve done any gardening since I was about 11! Wish me luck … I’m also trying to knit my mumma a mohair throw for Christmas, so I’ve got a couple of months up my sleeve. Other than that, getting through my first year of my diploma would be great!
Seriously downsize my stuff – check, though it’s a never-ending process.
Repaint an old croquet set in a Tim Burton-esque color scheme – 2/3 done. Still have to paint the stripes.
Take my first surfing lesson – Not gonna happen this summer, either. Damn asthma is still bothering me.
Find new full-time job – no luck yet. Arrgh!
Go out for roller derby – need health insurance first. And there’s the asthma thing, too.
Start new relationship – getting a job is more important.
Take former utility provider to small claims court (for fraud) – check. Settled out of court.
Turn old display case into a dollhouse room box – check.
Embroider two pillowcases – check.
Well, it’s a mixed bag, but overall I’ll call it a win…
Enjoy summer for what it is – CHECK! I usually bitch about the heat and pine for fall, but somehow I managed to go with it this year. I even enjoyed feeling a little roasty!
Travel – CHECK! While it was almost entirely for work, circumstances conspired to find me tearing up New Orleans for 4 days with one of my best friends, with 5 days notice and a last minute cancellation of the work I was supposed to do while there.
Grow all our own herbs – Fail. I did well for the first part of summer, but then traveling and a partner who forgets plants need water…
Go to the beach a bunch – Fail. I didn’t go once. Making it worse, I live in Vancouver, BC, about a 5 minute walk to the water.
Adopt a dog – CHECK! Betty will be coming home in a couple of weeks.
Besides getting Weddinged, honeymooning, and going to my brother’s wedding, I also wanted to:
1) Harvest my summer garden – this is a fail. Apparently I was having too much fun at weddings to water my now pathetic and scraggly garden patch. Bring on the fall veggies I guess.
2) Organize my Studio – WIN! I got my new sewing machine set up, art hung on the walls, closets organized and everything. perfect for when it gets chilly and rainy
3)Start working out again – WIN! With all the wedding madness, my routine got put on hold. I now get up an hour earlier and treadmill to music or tv while the dogs play in the yard.
4)Learn to Boogie Board – This wasn’t even on my list, but going to the beach more often was. Learning to Boogie Board in FL during epic post-hurricane waves was a bonus.
5) Do the farmer’s market every week and buy local foods/ grassfed meat for the majority of the food we eat. WIN! Barring the weekends we were away or getting married, I did this, and the reward is delicious.
6) Have a BBQ at least once with all my friends. WIN. You’d think with throwing our wedding, we’d have covered this but a handful of awesome people didn’t get to make it. A laid back kid-friendly BBQ with blankets under the string lights from our wedding was definitely a perfectly chill summer night. A friend hosted a pool party another evening and that was another perfect Summer Night.
7)Do a photo shoot with the dogs and husband. WIN! It’s for a 2012 calendar and it was our first effort at combining our skillz (me modeling and postwork, him photography). It turned out great, and we’re throwing around the idea of doing a photo studio session together every season with our friend Melody who does hair and makeup. Fun for the whole family, and great for the marriage too. 😉
I’m already amped for my Fall List, which includes doing something fun for Halloween, hosting a Hooping Class at my house, planning our Thanksgiving meal/party/plans (my favorite holiday), going wine tasting, and planting a fall garden.