
Guess what’s finally ready in the garden? Corn! Add it to the list of perishables. . .
Living alone- -that is, living alone with two inner selves- -presents many challenges. Today’s challenge has to do with travel. I’ve somehow purchased more produce and dairy than I can comfortably use before I make a trip west to my old home town. It’s a case of too many perishables.
Plus we just found out the corn is ripe.
Yes we did, Lily, and I’ve promised the cornstalks to my house sitter, so the plan is to leave her a few ears and harvest the rest of them to take with me. Fortunately, my family likes corn on the cob.
Good work spreading the left-over fudge frosting on graham crackers yesterday!
Thanks, 9. It had been in the fridge for three weeks.
Another experiment in shelf life.
Lily, your snarkiness is coming along nicely. Now, I’d better put the half-jug of buttermilk in the freezer. Lunch will be a mushroom omelet- -why did I buy so many?- -with the cubed ounce or so of cheddar that’s developing its own personality. Has the salsa fuzzed over again? I swear that stuff goes bad the minute I open it.
The last of the romaine, cottage cheese and garden tomatoes will be dinner. I have just enough fruit for tomorrow’s breakfast. What’s left of the quart of 2% can go in the travel cooler. It’s always good to have some on hand for morning coffee- -Mom takes hers black, and whatever milk my niece keeps in the refrigerator tends to be on the exotic side.
You still have to make bran muffins.
Thanks for the reminder, Lily. Most of the apricot sauce will go into those. I can stir the rest of it into tomorrow’s oatmeal. Hopefully the yogurt will keep until we get back.
Better put some Swiss cheese on our tuna sandwich for tomorrow.
Ugh, so many details, but you’re right, 9. It probably won’t be moldy by the time we get back, but- –
We’re going for six days, not six weeks.
Six weeks would be easier to plan for, Lily. Then there would be no question as to what will keep and what won’t. And there’s something else that won’t keep, a perishable of another kind: the opportunity to try something new.
Uh-oh.
You’re making 9 nervous.
Relax. All I intend to do is drive a different route. We go over I-90 and Snoqualmie Pass all the time. This time, I want to go over White Pass and up Hood Canal.
Isn’t that longer than the usual way?
Kind of. It’s about 100 more miles of driving but it takes the same amount of time. Going the usual way we catch the Kingston Ferry- -less driving, but we have to go through the Seattle area traffic to get there. Tomorrow we can have a rest stop and top off the tank in Yakima. We can do that again in Olympia if we feel like it. We’ll get to see a different part of the Cascade Range, and it’s been years since we’ve been up Hood Canal.
Sounds okay, I guess, but you’d better put some chocolate in our lunch bag for extra energy.
And fill both reusable water bottles.
Consider it done. Living solo (with two inner selves) does have its challenges, but it also provides opportunities, like taking a different route when you feel like it. Companionship is nice, but so is trying something new without having to negotiate it with someone else.
Did you catch that, 9? We didn’t have a say in this from the start.
Maybe because we’re not old enough to drive yet?
No time to dwell on the power dynamics of this particular situation, you two. We have packing to do. Bran muffins to bake. Vegetables to eat!
And who knows- -tomorrow, we may discover new delights on the road less traveled by.
Have a great trip you three!! Susan, please great your mother for me, we met many, many years ago over lunch at Gretchen’s table when my mother and I were visiting and collecting Rinkel family information from Gretchen. Eileen from Minnesota
Thanks, Eileen! I’ll be sure to pass your greeting on to Mom.
It is a beautiful drive. But, definitely pack the chocolate !
Good advice!