Ten Things Tuesday

Ten things that are stuck to my fridge! A note should be made here that the inspiration for this topic is SaintSeeseter’s “Crap on my Desk” segments. I’m afraid, though, that my entry won’t be as funny as hers…

1. A digital timer/thermometer. Mr. Chili bought this for me after we watched a few episodes of Good Eats. The timer/thermometer part is magnetized, and so lives on the side of the fridge for easy access (the probe for the thermometer lives in a drawer near the oven). It’s the same model that Alton Brown uses, and it has done wonders to improve the quality of my roast beef.

2. A bumper sticker that says “Whatever you do, is it necessary, truthful and kind?” The sticker isn’t actually stuck to the freezer – it’s held on by magnets – but I like the sentiment enough to want to see it every day.

3. The girls’ to-do lists. We have three of them; a “Good Morning!” list, a “Welcome Home from School!” list, and an “After Dinner” list. They spell out the barest minimum of things that the girls are expected to do for themselves every day, and has saved my having to repeat endlessly the same things all the time… now I just repeat “check the list” all the time…

4. Photographs. Specifically, there’s a picture of Auntie and the girls at the Sweetheart Social from last year (we couldn’t attend as we were in Vegas celebrating Dudley and Squeaky’s wedding); two pictures of the girls when they were little, little; two pictures of our nephews – Bowyer’s sons – from last year around Christmastime; a really lovely shot of my grandparents, and a picture of the Chili family on vacation in Florida a couple of years ago.

5. The girls’ artwork. Specifically, two dragon pictures (one in pencil with a mermaid in peril and a knight with a sword and one in vibrant crayon and watercolor of a Loch Ness type creature in the water) and a fairie portrait.

6.  A magnet with the eightfold path of the Buddha on it.  It says “Right views: accepting four noble truths; Right intentions: selflessness and love; “Right speech: avoiding lies and maliciousness: Right conduct; nonviolence, honesty, temperance: Right livelihood; work that doesn’t violate path: Right effort; promote good and prevent evil: Right mindfulness; attentiveness in your thoughts and actions: Right concentration; meditation.“

7.  The girls’ school calendar.  Without this, I’d have completely forgotten that Columbus Day was a no-school day for the daughters.  I also have immediate access to vacation weeks and important phone numbers.  What I DON’T have, though, is the school lunch menu for October – Punkin’ Pie, being in middle school, doesn’t get one and Beanie managed to lose hers somewhere between school and home.  It doesn’t matter much – both girls take lunches to school, but I do like to give myself a break every once in a while, and it’s nice to send them lunchless on days when the cafeteria offering ISN’T vile.

8.  Two postcards from England.  Mr. Chili’s middle sister and her husband and twin 13 year old girls moved to England last spring, and the girls are trying – though not with much success – to be one another’s pen pals.  The postcards are from London (with Big Ben, Buckingham Palace and red-coated guards on the front) and from the town the family chose to settle in; a quaint little place with a small river and adorable old buildings.

9.  A calendar.  This is the main calendar from which all other calendars are synchronized.  It’s an 8 1/2 x 11 deal with a month on a page, and when the pages get torn off they’re put back in the plastic sleeve so that, when I buy next year’s model, I can transcribe all the important birthdays with a high degree of accuracy.

10.  Beanie’s “Things I Will Eat” list.  After a long bout of frustration caused by her coming back from school with a nearly-full lunch box, I told her to sit down and write me a list of things I can put in her lunch box that she knows she’ll actually eat.  The list itemizes 12 things and an instruction and reads as follows:

1. tuna

2. grapes

3.  cheese (sandwich)

4.  cold apple slices

5.  juice boxes

6.  Whips yogurt

7.  raisins

8.  pretzels

9.  granola bars

10. Cheez-its

11.  surprises

12.  desserts

(for homemade treats, slip notes under the wrappings!)

Happy Tuesday, Everyone!