Ranch Journal ~ February 8, 2018

Waking up without a plan for the day is dangerous for me.

I'm liable to do something rash.

Like move the coffee pot.

I decided it would look better and occupy otherwise wasted space

over there in the corner. Then because the coffee pot moved, the coffee mugs

and the sugar bowl and the coffee filters would have to make the trip as well,

and there went the entire day, heretofore known as the great kitchen purge of 2018.

 For me, the hardest part of any reorganization is deciding what to keep, what to donate

and what to toss. I cannot remember the last time I made a martini. It could have been 1992.

(The glass isn't frosted...that's dust.)

But I cannot bring myself to get rid of my set of martini glasses. 

One never knows when one will crave olives.

I took a more brutal approach in the spice cabinet and finally let go of a few items

long past their expiration date. This container of parsley flakes proved to be the oldest.

Would you care to guess how old and win a prize? Let's have a contest.

Guess the expiration date printed on the top of the parsley flakes and put the mm/dd/yyyy

in the comments. Whomever comes closest will win some goodies for their kitchen.

Be sure to include your name with your guess if you post anonymously.

(The prize is not a box of expired spices. I've been crocheting and that's all I'm saying.)

I'll close the comments Friday evening at 7 p.m. mountain time

and announce the winner on Saturday.

I'll swear I stared at this scene for an hour, paralyzed by the indecision of where to put things.

I finally gave up and just started with the coffee. As long as it ended up next to the coffee pot,

I would be happy.

I also wanted to find a new home for the pots and pans because 

I hate crawling into this stupidly deep and awkward cabinet to find them.

 When the day was done, all was right with the coffee and 

I can spin the pots and pans on the twirly thing to find the right one.

Give me about six months and I might open the right cabinet on the first try.

p.s. They make shelf liners for refrigerators. Who knew?

p.p.s. The novelty of being retired is bound to wear off eventually.