I love a good list!

Lists are things that help us get through our daily lives. Most of us have some sort of shopping list - for groceries, for Christmas gifting, for hosting a party, and lots more. We also sometimes have a list of people - for addresses, for invitations, for calling, for texting, and for many other purposes. When we prepare a meal or a dish, we have a list - for ingredients and for steps of preparation and sometimes to help remind us for serving so that we don't leave the salad in the fridge and only think of it after the meal has been enjoyed. (That's the voice of experience speaking there.) Some of us have a list of books we want to read or books we have already read or books we have collected or books we have gifted. At some point in all of our lives, I think we encounter a good list and are thankful for it. 

I am a prolific list maker. I use lists for, oh so many things! Some of my lists are written, some are stored in my head, some are digital and I access them through an app. I also subscribe to some lists. One that I subscribe to is called The Good List by The New York Times. I've referenced it here before a time or two. It is described as, "A weekly inventory of ideas, rituals, and cultural artifacts to add joy to your day." It truly does generally bring me joy. I learn a lot of off the wall things that I probably would not have thought about. I often find myself pausing as I read and thinking about something more deeply because it was brought to my attention in a clever way. I frequently follow links included within the topics and my thinking makes twists and turns that probably would not have occurred to me otherwise. I wonder if other people have a list or a post or a source that tends to make them pause and ponder...

One of the things I like best about the weekly list is the interesting titles. This week the titles were shared like this:

On this week's list:

1. Honey, please
2. Why run?
3. Going local
4. Be free
5. Special cheese
6. Side of Bacon?

Those titles alone made me pause and ponder what I might be getting ready to take in and think about. I also admired the author's skill at creating a good title and how it really drew me into the different topics.

I found myself bobbing my head up and down and smiling as I read the first item, "Honey, please." It just so happened that I had paused from my stitching and stirred up a cup of spiced tea for myself. One jar of tea mix was almost empty. So, I splashed a little hot water into the jar and gave it a stir before pouring it into my cup and adding more tea mix, stirring it all up, and zapping it to a hot temperature in the microwave. Then, I cupped my hands around the mug and carried it back to my desk where I began to read "The Good List." In my own way, I already had applied the little hack that the author, Melissa Kirsch mentioned.

Within the writing, Kirsch also mentions that a friend suggests using the dregs of a jam jar to make a cocktail. That might also be a good way to flavor a simple tea and sweeten it a bit at the same time! Kirsch likes these ideas, "because not only are you getting every last drop, but you’re also using the original vessel, a tiny gesture of efficiency." I almost chuckled aloud about that because it really hit home for me in so many ways.

Why just this morning I stirred up a sauce or gravy to top off some beef tips that I'm cooking in the crock pot to serve for dinner tonight. The recipe listed (See what I did there?!?) cream of mushroom soup, a soup can of water, minced onion, and a packet of brown gravy mix as the sauce/gravy ingredients. Then, instead of following the listed steps (Again!) for preparing the sauce/gravy, I stirred together all but the water and poured it atop the beef tips already in the pot. Then, I splashed the soup can of water into the bowl and gave it a stir to get the last little bits of flavor mixed well and added that atop the mixture so that not a drop was wasted and I efficiently used only one bowl. I even used a rubber spatula to clean every little bit off the sides and swirl it into the sauce/gravy. My grandmother, Muffa, would be so proud! She was a true believer that we should waste not.

Well, I just got a notification that a shopper is about to start assembling my groceries for delivery and reminded me that I might want to review my list and make any last minute additions. So, I'm off to double-check my list.