three on thursday {a purely practical post}

My One Word ’23 is Ask. So while I’ve always wondered…, this year, I’m more likely to Ask — and Answer.

(Gretchen Rubin’s Four Tendencies come to mind a lot these days. I’m an Upholder. So, whatever it is I should do, I most likely do it. Or try to. My son, on the other hand, is a Questioner. So he has always wondered…asked…maybe pushed back. One Worders talk about ‘Life Words’? His might be Ask!)

Anyway. I asked a few questions this week. Purely practical questions. And I thought the answers might interest a reader or two.

{one}

Home alone on a rainy weeknight, Elsa and I mixed up a batch of cookie dough and settled in to finish last season’s Great British Baking Show. (We were rooting for Sandro. You?)

On the back of the bag of mini chips, it said to chill the dough for at least an hour before baking. I’d never heard of chilling chocolate chip cookie dough. Sugar cookies, yes. And cut-outs, of course. But chocolate chip?I asked…Do we really need to? Why?

The short answer — Yes. The longer answer, per King Arthur Flour, is three-fold: less spread, more flavor, a chewier cookie. (The last is the linchpin for me.)

As it happened, I ate enough dough that I didn’t even want a cookie. But the taste-testers confirmed — chilling chocolate chip cookie dough for at least an hour is a no-skip step! Definitely chewier cookies.

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{two}

I can’t even remember where this came from. I think it was one of those freebies — a ‘gift’ to choose, alongside a toaster oven. Or handheld vacuum. A 5- or 10-year anniversary gift from a company, maybe? A bank? Credit card?

Something like that.

We used it at the cottage for years. It sat on top of the fridge; we draped the wire antenna over the ceiling beam to get my favorite Ontario radio show, The Lounge, which came on every evening just as we started making dinner. (I always missed The Lounge when summer came to a close.)

It was a decent little radio.

…Was.

While we used to live in a city with recycling facilities at our fingertips, now it takes a little more effort. But not nearly as much as I’d thought! Thanks to BestBuy.

BestBuy recycles your dead or done electronics — whether you bought them at BestBuy or not. (Though, when I called, the young woman who answered asked me, A radio? A radio… I’ll have to put you on hold and see if we still take those.) (Needless to say, they do. And I was thrilled.)

In case you need it, click.

While I’m thrilled that they’ll take it, I feel a sense of urgency. That way she said, A radio…? I better get there before they change their mind.

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{three}

Okay. A little less practical, depending on your household. But still. Here:

Our youngest child is a lot like my dad. Both are lefties. Good-natured. Creative. Hopeful. When she started germinating seeds in a Ziploc, I immediately thought of him…someone who’s rooted and coaxed life from nearly nothing and has planted trees — no matter how small — everywhere he’s ever lived.

The epitome of hope, if you ask me.

In that vein, I’ve been wowed by Elsa’s recent success with mangoes, avocadoes, and an apple seed. The mango was her lesson in overwatering — but. The avocado and apple are seriously holding their own!

The apple seed (R) came out of the core already germinating. It’s from a student teacher Elsa adored, so it’d be extra-special if this tree takes off! (They were having a snack together, and she showed it to Elsa…who had to grow it. That’s how we ended up with someone else’s apple seed!)

My question for Google this morning was How long do we wait before planting this little bitty apple tree in the ground?

The standard answer is once your seedling is 6″ tall, it’s ready to move outdoors. But there’s more. Nighttime temps need to consistently be above 50 °F, so…late-late spring where we live. (Even as late as early fall in warmer climes; that’s not us.) The avocado tree will never move outside here in the Northeast, of course. But I’m just as happy watching it grow on our sill!

If you or a patient young gardener you know feels adventurous, I recommend having a go at this. Currently, Elsa has a cherry pit (somehow left on Troy’s nightstand) and an apricot stone (on the edge of the bathroom sink) awaiting their turn. It’s her project, not mine. She looks up the how-to (but seems to use the same technique for everything), then tends to them. With more attention than she gives her betta fish, come to think of it…

It’s definitely a little bit of magic ’round here, watching these tiny trees grow.

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And that’s it for this week! See you Monday or Tuesday… xo.