Right on Target

We're now on countdown to our Greece trip as we leave a week on Wednesday.

I always try and clear down the fridge and freezer before we go away so I did an inventory yesterday and discovered we have exactly the right number of meals required. I'm not sure how it happens but it means I'm on target for cleaning the fridge freezer and oven on Sunday.

For some reason I'm always happier leaving for a holiday if I know that the house is clean and tidy before we go - I try to strip the beds, get all the washing done and hoover round at least - there's nothing spoils my post-holiday mood more than walking back into a mess.

I've also started the great gathering of items to pack. I was thinking we wouldn't be taking too much but not counting clothes we've already got:

• 3 large bags of Kettle Chips (you can't get them in Greece and SIL loves them)
• 3 boxes of biscuits for the in-laws
• 1 toy 'bath drum' for Lefty
• 1 Build a Bear outfit for the bear we sent Lefty when he was born
• 2 Quilts
• Michael Jackson CD for MIL
• 3 bags of Cadburys mini eggs
• 6 Crystal Whiskey glasses (wedding present)
• A breadmaker (also a wedding present)
• Car booster seat for Lia
• Wedding favours for SIL's party that she's ordered from Confetti for us to take over
  

And then there's a small case worth of toys!

Oh and I shouldn't forget my stitching. I have been wavering about taking Sleigh Ride because I know that next weekend I'll be getting Happy Haunting for my birthday and I really want to start it but I've decided that I will be good and take Sleigh Ride and The Big Zipper only. That way when I get back I can start Happy Haunting with less guilt LOL.

I'd really like to get Sleigh Ride finished this year but given I haven't stitched on it once yet I'm not sure how I'll manage it! It's quite a quick stitch (lots of half stitches) so I should really get my finger out - I think the problem is all the blues! Still, if I don't really have a choice of things to stitch in Greece then I'm bound to get on with some of it right?

I'm pretty much on target with my Quilting goals for this month too. I'm closer to getting all the jungle quilts finished (one's done, one needs binding and one needs quilting) and I've finished one of my other projects and just have two sides worth of binding to do to finish two other projects. The problem I have today is that my index finger is very sore from sewing bindings - I do have a leather thimble but I sew a lot slower when I'm wearing it. Still, a couple of nights of machining to get the third quilt done and I should be healed enough to be able to stitch the bindings without too much pain.

On a completely different subject, I don't normally comment on news but I'm rather sad to hear of the death of Mark Speight. I'm sure we all knew he was dead when he went missing last Monday but it's still terrible to get confirmation. Mark was one of the presenters of Smarteenies, a CBeebies programme that Lia adores, which is why I've spent quite a lot of time in the last couple of years watching him on TV and he was always good entertainment. It's a shocking waste of two lives and I applaud his family for emphasising that drugs killed him as surely as they killed his fiance.