After a rather stressful day for my husband, and a usual half lazy/half productive day for me, it was time to eat.
Remember, we’re 2nd shift, and so our big meal of the day is “lunch” at about 7pm, and sadly heated in the microwave. For our 3rd meal of the day, we usually do our own thing (usually eggs for him, and leftovers for me), though I do sometimes cook.
So, still stressed out, hubs starts preparing to cook his dinner as I’m reheating a lovely grass fed burger and some green beans in my cast iron skillet, and starts complaining that he can’t find his tortillas AGAIN. This would be because he insists that all of his items be in the front and easy to access while everything I cook with gets shoved to the back. When I cook, I don’t care and shove things in wherever they fit.
So, being the loving wife that I am (ok, just irritated because he’s whiny in the kitchen) I shooed him out of the way, lifted up the plate of leftover pancakes and pulled out his tortillas. I did notice that they dripped a bit as I put them onto the counter, but just assumed it was condensation from one of the many stupid things that we keep in the fridge and hoped he wouldn’t even notice it.
Unfortunately, he not only noticed it, but he noticed that it was milk.
Milk? Impossible. I’ve been buying milk in glass bottles, and glass doesn’t just develop a leak! Maybe I didn’t put the lid on tight and milk that was under the lid dripped out?
I started checking all of the milk bottles that I’d opened (raw for me, pasteurized for him, chocolate for us), and none of them were dripping. And then, through the clear glass of a half empty milk bottle, I saw an unattractive thick yellow smear. Surrounded by clear glass.
The bottle in the back had not only cracked, the entire front was shattered. And there was about 1/2 inch of milk left in the bottom. A half gallon of milk (my precious raw milk at that!) was gone. Literally gone. As in, maybe a quarter cup was scattered over items in the lower two shelves.
Well, I’ve been meaning to clean the refrigerator anyway…
Our fridge is kept ice cold. Milk kept in the back ALWAYS freezes. Always. And I know this. But when I was putting the groceries away, our fridge was already packed full to the gills (it’s a cheap, small fridge provided by our apartment complex management). I’m still not sure if it froze and burst the glass, or if it was from other glass bottles being shoved against it repeatedly.
I did pretty well, too. I only got stuck with a glass shard once, and it only took a few minutes to clean off the food and shelves (despite my husband’s dire predictions of how the fridge would reek of spoiled milk- raw milk doesn’t really spoil, it sours, and the beneficial bacteria in there more or less just gave our entire food supply a healthy dose of probiotics… assuming that any of it got into the food itself).
Problem is… where did the rest of it go?
There’s a kind of grating in the back on the bottom shelf, which I’d always assumed led straight into the bottom drawer. With a sick feeling, I pulled the drawer out, expecting our produce and deli meat to be swimming in milk- only to find it dry as a bone.
The thing is, that drawer broke within weeks of us moving in, so as I pulled it out, it came out. I mean, really came OUT. And that’s when I found out where all the milk (and some crumbs) had gone.
I used up almost a whole roll of paper towels, knowing that hubs would not want me to run a pile of laundry, and me being unable to find the worthless towels anyway since hubs always insists on hovering exactly in my way when in the kitchen. Not really a problem except…
The bottom of the drawer had been sitting in the milk and was now sitting on the space carpet. And, as I was swishing around in there, a bunch of milk swooshed out and ran under the fridge. I think I got it all…
So while I didn’t cry, I think I finally, finally understand where the saying “No use crying over spilled milk” comes from. You just get on your knees, mop it up, regret the loss of $4 worth of milk plus the $2.50 deposit for the bottle, and realize that you’ll have to go milk-less for a few days.
I’m also more determined than ever that when we’re able to buy a house, that it will have TWO kitchens. One for him, and one for me.
BTW- if you want to know about the real food that I cooked this weekend, go ahead and click that link. 
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This would happen all the time at my house if I used the glass jugs. Seriously.
I laughed out loud reading this and am so glad you commented on my post today so I could find this little gem. (Thanks for stopping by!)
.-= Maggie´s last blog ..Buying Local And Balancing Needs =-.
It’s funny- from day one I’ve been paranoid about dropping one of the glass jugs, or breaking them in transport. While simply stored in the back of the fridge? Hadn’t even crossed my mind…
Thank you so much for the compliment, and I loved your blog too!
LOL!!! I’ve heard of couples requiring two bathrooms, but two kitchens is a great idea too!!
I think I’d settle for 2 refrigerators, honestly. And a much bigger kitchen. I’m impressed that you can use glass and not have that happen every day!
.-= Jerseygirl89´s last blog ..The Godless Heathen Heads to Bible School =-.
CJ- *lol* We already have 3 bathrooms and it STILL doesn’t feel like enough (mostly because hubs has to go between two different bathrooms to do all his stuff).
Jersey- 2 refrigerators would help immensely, but my husband has decided that he can’t cook on the right side of the stove if I’m cooking on the left side, so, basically, we can’t cook at the same time. At the very least I want a huge kitchen with an island with one of those mini-fridges and a mini-stove top for him.
*lol* I’m amazed every day when I don’t have more broken glass!
I decided the expression came about from people losing their buckets of fresh milk from the barn. It seems much more personal to lose the milk that you have actually taken from the animal. I’ve been known to use slightly salty language in the barn after getting a goat foot in a nearly full bucket of milk. At least the chickens can still get it so it isn’t a complete loss!
Have you tried making your own tortillas, by the way? They are pretty easy and very yummy. I found a recipe recently for soaking the flour overnight, and it is my new tortilla recipe because it’s so tasty. (Here’s the link: http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2009/10/21/recipe-connection-100-whole-grain-homemade-tortillas/ )
~Jenny~
.-= Jenny´s last blog ..HBinFive- Whole Grain Garlic Knots =-.
Oh no, I would almost cry if some of my delicious raw milk spilled, apart from the fact of having to clean out the darn fridge too. Funny about your man being whiny in the kitchen, they can be such children about their food!
.-= CatJB´s last blog ..Healthy chocolate crackles- with coconut oil =-.
Jenny- Oh you poor thing! Wait… Do you think that’s where the expression “put my foot in it” came from? Hubs has flat out told me no goats, ever. He thinks they’re creepy looking (and while I agree about the adults, baby goats are hands down the cutest animals EVAR).
I haven’t tried making tortillas yet, but it’s on my to-do list. I wouldn’t mind so much, but the whole rolling out thing promises to be back torture (counters are a bad height for me).
Cat- You said it! He’s a lovely man most of the time- just not in the kitchen!
I am way late to this comment party but couldn’t find your email address to send a ping from our conversation over on Melissa’s Blog. I hear ya” on the no veggies at DisneyWorld. It is a tiny bit easier at the IF&WF but still a challenge. I don’t have too much of a problem as I can be a near carnivore at times.
I am also on the Raw Milk wagon, usually Jersey cream now but I have done the Jersey Cow and goat milks. Love that raw milk!
TPSW – dianne
.-= TPSW´s last blog ..10-18-10 Link to a great- hysterical blog =-.
*lol* No problem- I post so rarely that being “on time” would be more a matter of luck than anything else. Also, my email is WordVixen {at} gmail [dot] com.
WDW is so great for so many things, but there are just a few things that…er… irritate me. I do like the occasional carrot and celery sticks, but when that’s your only veggie option? Not so much. I’m not actually Paleo, but I’m a Real Foodie who comes close when I can plan meals for just me (as opposed to conventional hubs), but since I don’t react well to grains and don’t want veg oils, my options at WDW are pretty much the same as Paleo anyway. I usually order the apple slices or grapes instead of fries anyway, and this year I’ll probably go bunless. I’m also planning to bring my sprouter with me and a bag of lentils. They sprout in about 12 hours and taste just like hull peas, so it’s perfect if I can’t find other veggies on site. I know lentils are legumes, but I believe sprouting gets rid of most issues? I’ve been trying to find out more about their gluten free options, but most of what I’ve seen is “the tapioca roll was excellent!” and so on. I’m definitely thinking that those Tanka bars could be a really good option. Even if not for the parks, on a 16 hour drive without dinner breaks, the convenience has to be worth it. We’re actually skipping a year to save up a little, so I’m hoping to have a good battle plan by the time we go. I’ve been making notes.
Mmmm… I wish I could get Jersey cream! I HAVE found a local farm that sells it, but their price is so cheap that I’m afraid to try it. I pay $8 a gallon for my Dutch Belted raw milk, and this other place is charging only $3 a gallon for Jersey raw… it just makes me nervous.
Teamwork is an option. Patience and understanding on different behaviors that can avoid quarrel. Spices of marriage life to help proper relationship and together fight trials in life.
Ghena´s last [type] ..puffy eyes from crying