Food Drive

I'm feeling a bit like Old Mother Hubbard, whose cupboards were bare... But believe me, that's a good thing.

In my zeal to Purge my house of all that is evil and past its "sell by" date, Carter and I set out on a mission to go through the kitchen cupboards and discard anything that had expired or looked like it should have.

Turns out, we had a lot of past-due dining opportunities up there. There was even one can without a label. No, I was not brave enough or curious enough about its contents to open it. We also had a challenge with a leaking can of cranberries on the top shelf (when the heck did I buy cranberries?!). I actually had to remove the shelf and soak it in hot water to get the can off!

I'm embarrassed to say how long some of those cans and boxes had been there. Apparently, we get new food and just push the existing cans toward the back until there's no more room to push -- and there's no chance they'll see the light of day (until someone comes along once every 5 years on a pre-spring cleaning binge).

When all was said and done, Carter and I filled up a very big garbage bag. Then we ran into a little problem. We couldn't move it. Couldn't lift it. Couldn't budge it. So we divided up the goods into two bags. Guess what? Still super heavy. I did manage to get them out in the garage. All I could think was what a waste. Oh those poor starving children in the world!

Yesterday, in the frigid windchills, I literally dragged those bags out to the curb. I was wearing Jim's boots and heavy winter coat and had a blaze orange ski mask on. Sort of looked like I was ready to rob a bank during deer season or was up to some other mischief. With my laborious efforts, to the passerby I must have looked like I was dragging a dead body -- or two. (Not that I would know how heavy one felt in a garbage bag.)

Later in the day, when I went to make something for supper, that's when I noticed: "We have no food!" Alas, Old Mother Hubbard's cupboards were bare. Good thing we still have some good stuff in the freezer. (Until next week, that is!)