I was going to tell you all about my holiday cookie plan, and find out if you have any great cookie suggestions that I should try this year. But I’m going to save that for tomorrow. Today is all about finishing a few jobs around the house that have been bothering me. It even involves a trip to the hardware store, so I’m going to make a list and actually consult it while in the store. Revolutionary, I know.

Here’s the plan:

1. Replace the set screw in the kids’ bathroom toilet paper holder. The original screw fell out and disappeared, and the whole thing keeps threatening to fall down.

2. Install the closet door knobs already on the master bedroom and linen closet doors. I’ve had these for…a year? Not too long ago I bought the correct size screws, so I have no more excuses.

3. Finally, I have vowed to anchor the very tall china cabinet to the wall, for the safety of both my children and the china. This story on the Today Show this morning put me over the edge. The cabinet used to be anchored (especially when we had toddlers in the house), but when we renovated and rearranged the room, I failed to anchor it properly. It’s an annoying project: I have to remove everything from the cabinet, get the big ladder (the step ladder is too short), and pull the cabinet away from the wall to install the bolt (the cabinet comes so close to the ceiling that there isn’t room to maneuver the drill).

4. If I successfully complete the first three projects, I might treat myself to a fun project: spray painting some pinecones gold. It’s time to put away the plastic pumpkin that’s been lingering on the sideboard, and we have a surfeit of pinecones littering our yard. I think a basket of gold pinecones will make a nice wintery decoration.

What do I need to buy? The set screw, some wallpaper paste (so I have no more excuses to put off the larger project of redecorating the bathroom), and gold spray paint. Oh, and eggs. We keep forgetting to buy eggs.

I’ll report back on my progress. It’s going to be riveting.