I saw a funny book today at Barnes and Noble. I kid you not, it was called Found Grocery Lists.

And it was scanned grocery lists, in their crumpled glory, with scrawls of notes from disparate homes. Some had large punctuation, some the 4 year old was told to add CHIPS in barely legible print. Some included lawn fertilizer and cat food and pounds of crab meat. Specific wine names appeared, along with peanut butter and detergent. Lists were scratched and scribbled on every torn up surface, from back of receipts to a torn edge of the last grocery bag to extra white space on that cover fax sheet---rarely did a normal sheet of paper suffice. Torn, perforated but insisting on Crest toothpaste, these lists were amusing to say the least.

I always chuckle at my own, random, currently turquoise sheets of paper, magnetized to my fridge. It separates Costco from my Trader Joe's list, and has another column for another, closer market. Even the drugstore or Target show up non-grocery items. My list now contains pecans, milk, kitchen garbage bags, tea lights and face wipes. Eh, not all things are table-worthy. I always tell The Husband that 'grocery' as a line-item budget number is a very loosely held term (hey, do half-price culinary books count?).

I thought I had lost this particular list yesterday, but found it today:

small vaseline bandaids honey dijon vegetable oil (canola) mouth bands (for son's braces) bread milk kid juice 2 lemons avocado balsamic olives colander large drinking glasses

This list basically says: we are on vacation and forgot a few things, a few ingredients are still required to attempt putting my deep-fryer to use (and to make the honey dijon sauce for the chicken), my turkey sandwich really does need an avocado, my pasta needs to be strained and these glasses are just too small. And the band aids? Well, long story, but my finger is going to be just fine.

Next week's list includes snail bait; they are eating my herb garden. I will also buy reams of Roma tomatoes and vats of mozzarella balls and pounds of Italian sausage and red pepper jelly. The large quantities will be necessary for feeding the masses (family reunion); the red pepper jelly the start of my latest quick assembly appetizer (stay tuned).

What I love about grocery lists? They tell a story. Sometimes practical, sometimes funny, sometimes about 'places to go, people to see, things to do.' A grocery list often reflects the season, might be a well-organized list that boasts a week of planned meals, or simply covers those few items that 'fills in the blanks.'

What story does your current list tell?