Sunday 20 December 2015

List making.

Are you the list-making type or do you just muddle through expecting it will all be alright in the end?   And is it?   I expect so.  After all, we are all different.

I could not exist at times like Christmas if I did not make copious lists and then tick things off the list as and when I do them.   So far I am totally up to date with my lists for Christmas - so far, so good.

Yesterday all I had on the list was to deliver a Christmas cake to a friend (her Christmas present) and to collect my clock from the repair man - lovely to seeing it going merrily on the mantelpiece in the sitting room in time for the big day.

Today I planned an easy day.   My only task was to hand-deliver the local cards.   I drove the car and the farmer (who is far more agile than I am) nipped out and put them through the appropriate letter boxes.   And we arrived home just in time to welcome the farmer's sister on her usual visit at Christmas to put a wreath on the parents' grave.

Now, having watched a lovely, very Christmassy Country File from Cornwall, we intend to sit and play Rumikub.   We are not particularly sporty and really don't want three hours of Sports Personality.

Tomorrow's list?  Do the last wash and iron before Christmas and after my cleaner has been to put up the decorations.  There might be photographs later although I am not one hundred percent good yet at getting them on to my blog.   Fingers crossed.
 

30 comments:

Anonymous said...

Definitely a list person here. I couldn't function without them! We hand delivered cards to our neighbours this afternoon on a lovely walk down the lane in the gloaming with the dogs. Tomorrow I have to make some truffles, otherwise all is organised (so far!).

Rachel Phillips said...

I do not make lists, and nor do I "muddle through". It is all in my head and there it is organised. We also do not wish to watch Sports Personalities which is a programme all muddled up in its exact meaning being nothing whatsoever to do with personality There are other things on other channels and we are currently watching a rendition of the Sound of Music. Enjoy your games and no rows please. P and I never ever row but we shout a lot.

Heather said...

I couldn't cope without my lists. It is all too easy to forget something. I spent a long time feeling very lethargic and found that writing a list of jobs to be done the following day gave me the impetus to work through them. Just about ready for the big day - only the last minute cleaning and shopping to be done.

A Heron's View said...

Ha'h Pat when you said about your cleaner putting up the decorations I had an immediate image of a gadget that the clever Mr Dyson had invented. I thought to myself "we could do with one of those too...." and then I re-read what you had written. :)

Dawn said...

I have some lists written and some in my head at the moment everything has a tick :-)

Frugal in Derbyshire said...

Had a bit of a panic here today when I lost my "List List" (which should have been paper clipped to the front of my lists) it was under my granddaughter's ingredient shopping list for her home-made hamper list!
Christmas is pretty busy here, but nothing unmanageable with a good list or two.

Mac n' Janet said...

I make lists and promptly lose them. But that's ok because the act of making the list helps me remember.

Barbara said...

I have been thinking about writing a post about lists, too.
I am a definite list-maker married to a non-list-maker. That makes for some interesting times, let me tell you!

Joanne Noragon said...

The queen of lists, here. Though I did everything from memory that was on a list the youngest granddaughter wrote for me recently, when I lost it.

angryparsnip said...

Lately I have to make lists. I just can't remember anything.
Your day sounds lovely.

cheers, parsnip

Terry and Linda said...

Lists and lists of lists and more lists...but it won't be long now until the big day then DONE!

Linda

Virginia said...

I am a list-maker too, but I'm notorious for leaving the supermarket list on the bench at home, and coming home with its of things that weren't on the list, and having forgotten the vital item that was!

Happy Christmas to you and the Farmer, and thank you for your interesting and thought provoking blogs.

coffeeontheporchwithme said...

I have multiple lists: groceries, weekend, work, overall goals and plans... -Jenn

Frances said...

I like this question about the use of lists.

My lists are generally written on scraps of paper I recycle from the blank parts of junk mail envelopes I receive. I like the idea of benefitting somehow from these uninvited mailbox contents. Ahhh, but do i remember to take the lists with me beyond the boundaries of this apartment. This depends on whether the weather required wearing a jacket or coat with pockets.

December does call on a bit more time organization than other parts of the year. This December has been a tough one for me, with lots of stuff I did not invite cluttering up my free time.

I am now at the stage when I think all will be well, no matter what the state of my lists.

Please let me know, what is Rumikub?

Getting chilly here in NYC. I have located my favorite warm gloves.

xo

Wilma said...

I make lists, too and find them very useful. And like MacnJanet, said, just writing the list is all it takes (usually!) to get things straight in my head. I used to be be like Rachel and have the list only in my head, but the problem these days is getting the list back out of my head as needed. sigh A big caveat here - I retain the right to chuck any list out the window and do whatever strikes my fancy; I refuse to be held hostage by a list if better options present themselves! Fun to read how others approach list making.

Doc said...

I am most definitely a list maker, in fact I carry a three by five post card in my shirt pocket every day with the days chores on it.

JoAnn ( Scene Through My Eyes) said...

Oh for sure list maker. I even make lists of my lists. Tomorrow I already have 9 items on the list - I sure hope I get at least some of them done. I must bake the three batches of christmas cookies ( dough is chilling in the fridge) so we can fill the baskets to be taken to friends. I have all the mailing done - and in good time. Just waiting for two more gifts to arrive so I can finish wrapping them for under the tree. I feel very satisfied when I complete a list.

Cro Magnon said...

I am surrounded by lists. Shopping this morning, shopping on Wednesday, menu for dinner party Christmas Eve, dinner on Christmas day, menu for Lady M's birthday, blog postings over the coming week, you name it; I've got a list for it!

Penny said...

Yes I make lists, had to for the trip to the Island as we stay in a rental cottage, but it is the same one for the last 16th or so years so I know what to bring, but shopping lists, I am hopeless at, either forget to take them with me, or they sink to the bottom of my hand bag only to resurface weeks later. Have a very Happy Christmas.

Mary said...

My dear husband taught me the importance of lists - between the two of us and our respective lists there's not much we forget! I love really nice notepads with magnetic backs for the 'frig to write my lists - must be good quality paper too.
He cuts up copy paper and I hate those pokey bits sitting in an untidy stack on the microwave in the kitchen! Oh well, nobody's perfect, even me, and it's nice to know we're quite an organized, aging 'listed' couple, lol!

Mary -

Derek Faulkner said...

I too am an avid list maker, I have them everywhere, although it doesn't involve Christmas because it's my least liked part of the year, I simply hate it. However, I do send a very few Christmas cards to special friends. Clearly here too, I differ because I firmly believe that the cards should be posted, I think it's much nicer to receive cards through the post. Perhaps silly of me but I think it has more meaning because delivering by hand can seem as a chore rather than something meaningful. As for the Sports Personality programme, the title needs to be Sports Person because "personality" certainly doesn't describe Andy Murray.

Robin Mac said...

I am an inveterate list maker too - stuck on the front of my fridge. I am not very good with supermarket lists though - I tend to stop looking at it half way round, especially if someone is standing in front of the shelf where I need to look next!
So far I am up to date with my Christmas list, all the presents done, only the last minute cooking to do now. Happy Christmas to you, I hope you have a wonderful day with the sort of weather you want.

Coppa's girl said...

Apart from the weekly supermarket shopping list, which I frequently forget to take with me, I'm not much of a list maker. The occasional "aide memoire" perhaps, on a tatty bit of paper. But rarely one of those impressively long lists I see other people referring to so avidly, with pen in hand ready to strike off each item as it goes into the trolley.
So no, I'm not really very well organised list-wise, and as we are eating out over the Christmas holiday, I haven't even got a whole lot of shopping to do.

Midmarsh John said...

No lists here but Penny and I have a very quiet Christmas. We also spent Sunday delivering Christmas Cards around the village.

Anonymous said...

Why all these lists relating to/for one day in the year?
Monthly shopping list only here.

Linda Metcalf said...

I make lists for everything...I don't like to leave things to chance. Tick off the list and all's well :)

Polly said...

I love lists, everyday "to do" lists, holiday lists, Christmas lists, weekend activities lists. Your cake in a previous post looks gorgeous. Merry Christmas.

jinxxxygirl said...

Well i'am definitely late to leave a comment Pat.... I'am a list maker or... i was when i worked. I had so much on my plate at work that it really was a necessity. It was either that or pull my hair out... But since retiring with hubby our life is alot less hectic...and i don't quite feel the need to make a list anymore. Although i'am still far more likely to make a list than hubby is. Even when i see that keeping track of everything that needs doing is stressing him out he still refuses to make a list....go figure...

We will not be celebrating much this year.... As you know we are still remodeling. Hubby believes we still need a ham and the fixings and his sister may come over....but really its still all about the house. Today i will be sanding the computer/office room. That will no doubt take today and tomorrow...Then next is the guest room.....It could go quickly...i always keep my fingers crossed.... Will you cross yours too..?? :) Hugs! deb

The Weaver of Grass said...

Frances: Rummikub is a game played by two, three or fourplayers (we like it best with just two). It is a numbers game where the tiles are put down either in sequence or in groups. We play almost every night for a short while. It was introduced to us by dear friends from the Netherlands. If you go on Google you will see what it looks like.

Thank you for all your most interesting replies. I went to the supermarket this afternoon with the farmer (hell on earth in there I cantell you)- what I would have done without my list I can't imagine.

thousandflower said...

I definitely need my lists, particularly at this time of year!