See? It's everywhere.Theo is sick today, so we all donned surgical masks and threw incense at him. I would have bought hand sanitizer but (no joke) the local Harris Teeter is sold out. Panic much?
Larry is still away, which explains why I haven't been able to blog. Seems that there are a lot of little things Larry does around here that free up some me-time for yours truly. Who knew? I would thank him when he gets back, but he's going away again. So the hell with that.
How about some fridge pictures? Maybe somewhere in that petrie dish I call a refrigerator there is some incipient cure for our latest could-be pandemic. Where are those people from the CDC when you need them?
Here's the picture I took on Monday, when I realized I couldn't wait until Wednesday. You see, the refrigerator replete with food-filled containers was making the kids think there was actually something they could eat in there; and I hated hearing them cry when they took off the lids and found out the awful truth. So I cleaned out early.
Pretty, isn't it, flanked by those vases of dead flowers? Gives it a sort of eco-friendly feel, don't you think? And, hey! We just had Earth Day!
Top to bottom:
- Oven-roasted potatoes and veggies (called "boppies" in our household, because that is what Theo named them when he was 2 years old)
- Cranberries left over from a girls' club popcorn-and-cranberries stringing project - the woman who organized the project gave them to me saying, "Here, I have no idea what to cook with these." Apparently, neither do I.
- You tell me. I haven't the foggiest.
- Potroast (with carrots) gone bad. That wouldn't have happened if we hadn't gone away over the weekend. Maybe I should hire someone to babysit my leftovers?
- Refried beans that we forgot to freeze
- chopped-up celery that I thriftily saved for another meal - celery shouldn't be brown, though, right?
- leftover oatmeal (look, it's a compulsion, all right?)
- a neighbor's baked beans from our neighborhood picnic - that's right, now I am storing other people's leftovers in my fridge because I just didn't have enough of my own.
if it is clean; maybe it should be in the pots drawer under the stove instead? That would make sense to me. Anna, apparently, doesn't agree with that line of reasoning; so, whenever she washes a pot, she leaves it on the counter for the magic dishes fairy to come along and dry it and put it away.It's so cute when they cling to childish beliefs like that, isn't it?
My fridge desperately needs to be cleaned out, but I'm not doing it because if I put the stuff in the barrel, the raccoon will manage to get the lid out from under the wicked heavy rock AND the bungee cord and spread the trash all around. I'm tempted to just dump the leftovers next to the trash for him, but with my luck he'd scorn them without the challenge. Anyway, usually cleaning up after the raccoon is my husband's job, but he's traveling internationally. You know, like the swine flu. I'm tempted to quarantine him when he gets home, except I'm sick of being the single parent.
ReplyDeleteAre you suggesting that the cranberries in my fridge from December are dead? I'm afraid to look so I keep shoving them toward the back, hoping they'll freeze and stay fresh. (Darn those huge Costco bags anyway!!)
ReplyDeletePlease stop saving your leftover oatmeal, unless you plan on making oatmeal pudding or something. (Kind of like rice pudding or bread pudding, perhaps?)
And my husband wants me to make a trail mix cake. Got any ideas?
Anna's reluctance to put a pot away reminds me of my girls. Instead of washing a pot directly after using it, they fill it with water and soap and let it sit in the sink. When I ask why they didn't wash the pot, they'll tell me it's "soaking." So they...I mean, I...can wash it later.
ReplyDeleteThe mystery food in the first picture looks a lot like the oatmeal in the second picture. And I do think the flowers are a nice touch.
Cheri's comment has compelled me to say: "I see dead people."
ReplyDeleteSoylent Green!
My husband still believes in the dish fairy, apparently. There are always a few things that get strewn about the countertops when he puts the dishes from the dishwasher away. Kinda seems silly to volunteer to put them away if one is just going to leave them on the counter, but maybe that's just me. :P
ReplyDeleteI have an 11 year old home sick today, who talked to his grandmother on the phone and is now convinced that he must have swine flu. I am trying hard to stifle my desire to put masks on the rest of the family and tell him how much we all love him and will never forget him. I know it sounds mean, but, he is driving me nuts.
ReplyDeleteThe reason they leave the clean dishes out is so that you'll say, "Oh honey, you put the dishes away! Thank you!" If they had put them all away, you would have seen no dishes and just smiled to yourself.
ReplyDeleteI've started labeling the leftovers with a small piece of tape with the date on it. Anything over 6 days old is history. But I still suffer from dried and/or mouldy lemons and limes in the fruit drawer. The only reason I know they're there is that when I finally want one, it's bad. :(
We are certainly panicking here so close to the Mexican border. We have recently been passing around a virus at our house, and we are frantically looking up the symptoms for Swine Flu, oops, I mean H1N1.
ReplyDeleteI was tickled to see you are still cleaning out your fridge. I missed knowing that there is someone else who can't immediately throw food away, but must first store it for a while, and then throw it away.
Pretty much everyone in my house believes in the dishwasher fairy...damn fairy.
ReplyDeleteI'll clean my fridge in my spare time soon, maybe before Memorial day weekend when my sister and her hubby are planning to visit. The childless ones who describe children as grubs-in their larval stages. :) A few hours here and they will be congratulating themselves on their long ago decision not to have children.
ReplyDeleteMy kids brought home a stomach bug from school to share. Even the baby seems to have a mild case, though it does not seem to be bothering her. Her diapers smell as bad as Sam's, 2 1/2, who has been ill today, though she is strictly breastmilk fed. Mommy isn't feeling that dreat either, though I haven't puked, like some of them.
See, this is why I'm getting chickens. I HATE throwing away food. But keeping it is gross. I have turned over a new leaf in fridge clean-out since I started viewing your weekly purges, but chickens will lay the remaining guilt to rest.
ReplyDeleteI was wondering just today why it is when I go to Costco I bring it home and put it away and when my husband goes to Costco he brings it home and I put it away. Hmmm.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure why, but I seriously look forward to when you post your leftovers and empty containers from your fridge.
ReplyDeletePerhaps because it makes me feel less like an idiot for thinking that I will also use the cut up celery and leftover salad.... It's not just me!
You really have a lot of Tupperware---I am really impressed.
ReplyDeleteIt hasn't worked assigning the weekly fridge clean out to my teenage girl either and dirty pots get left out like that when she washes the dishes. I'll have to have a frank talk with her about fairies.
ReplyDeletetake a look at this photo:
ReplyDeletehttp://catholicnotebook.blogspot.com/2009/04/swine-flu.html
and you think YOU'RE worried about the swine flu! :)
Also, you had me burst out laughing with your "the hell with that" line. But I'm wondering . . . does Larry read your blog? Will he get his feelings hurt?
For the record? I am totally on your side, though.
I wash pots and pans and put them out on the stove to air dry. I don't know why but my towels get less soaked that way. (no dishwasher)
ReplyDeleteI look forward to the weekly fridge clean out too. Shows you the type of exciting life I lead. The dead flowers really added a funereal tone to today's picture, but what else would we expect from a true artist.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter can't put away pots either. What's with that?
I have those same storage bowls! (is it mashed potatoes?)
ReplyDeleteThat you keep leftover oatmeal just kills me.
ReplyDeleteI have the perfect solution: You need to get a pig so you can feed it the leftovers!
ReplyDelete(my sense of humor might be a little bit morbid today)
I was at the hospital today filling in pre-admission stuff and a nurse behind the counter coughed and then gave an oink. She freaked when she looked up and realized it wasn't just staff there, I laughed and she calmed down.
ReplyDeleteWe have plenty of people in quarantine here but no confirmed cases so most of us still have a sense of humor about it.
As for #3 from the fridge... I refuse to guess until I know if the white is it's original colour or the colour of the swine flu cure it's growing.