Wrinkly Bits
A Blog by Gail Cushman
Thanksgiving was ten days ago and the turkey is almost gone. We cooked two turkeys, both home-grown, donated by Cowboy’s son, and they were delicious. One brined and one smoked. Our small group did a pretty good job of taking them down the bare bones, but now, ten days and two gallons of soup later, I am ready for a change. We also had the usual: potatoes, dressing, gravy, salads, cranberry sauce, homemade rolls, and four pies, which of course were already eaten. Actually, five pies, but we finished one before Thanksgiving.
Holy guacamole, enough is enough and the refrigerator was still jammed full of leftovers. The Cowboy can be OCD at times and his malady sprang into action today. “I can’t find anything, how about we clean out the refrigerator.” That seemed like a wonderful idea on this blustery Sunday afternoon, but as it turned out, it was the “Royal We”, meaning Gail. I started taking food stuffs out of the refrigerator and settled on three piles: Return to refrigerator for another day. Dump, which included everything with black or blue spots on it. And cheese. We love cheese.
It was almost 4:00, so I found a wine glass filled it, but before I could set it down, I dropped the bottle. Ugh, wine, glass, cork and all. The floor is red, so it wouldn’t show…dare I not do anything. No, I got the mop and cleaned it up and started again.
The black and blue stuff was easy, but there was more of it than I thought. Lady MacBeth said, “Out, out, damned spot,” and I did the same, tossing them in the trash. By now the trash was full, but Cowboy was nowhere in sight, so I emptied it. Trash disposal would be on Cowboy’s to-do list tomorrow.
I began to look at the “return to refrigerator” pile. Five bottles of mustard but no two alike. Stone ground, honey-mustard, and Dijon, plus two or three French’s. Six bottles of barbecue sauce but the “use by” labels were unreadable and inconclusive. Why do they print black messages on black labels? Even with a magnifying glass, it was an impossible chore. I dumped four of the six BBQ sauces in the trash. Two large Mayo’s, almost 55-gallon drums, we must have bought them at Costco, both went out.
Eggs, they were ok for the time being and then I attacked the vegetable drawer. OMG, what a mess, more black spots. Mushrooms are fungi, I think, but they went out. Onions, peppers, and a couple vegetables that I didn’t recognize and didn’t remember buying.
I tidied up and headed for the recliner, a good day’s work, and I felt good. I had cleaned out the refrigerator and it looked spiffy. Aaah, the feeling of accomplishment.
Cowboy reappeared, “What’s for dinner? Got any of that leftover turkey soup.” Uh Oh.
