The Nagging List

For Rob’s birthday, since he did not want a gift, I gave him a “Nagging List”. It says:

The bearer of this list may ask for the following items to be placed at the top of the recipient’s list of things to do. The recipient will cheerfully complete this list before returning to other tasks.* The items may be presented singly or in a group.

And then there is space for eight items. Somewhat to my surprise, Rob gave me the list, fully filled out, about half an hour after opening it. I’ve checked off the first two items, but number three and four are taking a bit longer.

1. Iceland Income total – Salary and Per Diem
2. Cash receipts entered through 2004
3. Complete sink project – plaster/paint
4. Complete kitchen trim & paint
5. Package & dispose of toxic linoleum on porch
6. Send laptop off for repairs
7. Tidy two tables near front door
8. Sort and price all yard sale items

*a legitimate, work-for-money deadline is the only exception

So far I’ve finished everything up through plastering the area next to the sink. Today I started painting. All was going well until…I was painting the trim on the door and pressed a little too hard with the roller. The paint crackled underneath the pressure and popped off the doorframe. I realized that all around the kitchen these places that I thought were filled in with layers and layers of paint were actually places where the paint had blistered away from the wood. So I scraped it off and will repaint all the sections that I had already painted. But once I finish with the kitchen I’ll be able to cross numbers 3 and 4 off my list.

Did you know you can support Mary Robinette on Patreon?