Wednesday, February 22, 2012

The Tale of the Coffee Can

Once upon a time, there was a Folger's coffee can. It contained the coffee that Farmer Joe and his wife drank nearly every morning. It lived a good life, housed in the family pantry, on the second, left hand shelf, next to the strawberry Nesquick. It breathed life into the tired Webel family, providing the necessary caffienation that is required for raising four kids, calving 120 cows and surviving on the farm.

It lived a happy life.

Until it turned up empty and in the dishwasher.

Seriously.

The dishwasher.

Am I the only one who thinks it's kind of weird to constantly wash coffee cans (and I say can, but it's the plastic tub...but who wants to constantly write plastic tub...I'm digressing.)? Joe thinks that coffee cans (tubs) are necessary on the farm, and if I "accidentally" let one slide into the garbage can, it is fished out and placed back in the dishwasher for another washing.

Sigh.

You see, there are a lot of nuts and bolts on the farm, and I'm not being frilly and metaphorical. I'm serious. There are a lot of little pieces, parts, nuts, bolts, screws, nails, syringe tips, hoses, pieces of plastic that go with one thing that could also go with another. So, I am to keep the coffee cans, wash them, and place them around my house to keep aforementioned do-dads.

Generally, the coffee can gets put to use immediately after leaving the dishwasher, and that is well with my organizational soul. However, sometimes, the bright red can (although red is an accent color in my house) sits on my counter for days...just waiting for its contents.

Just teasing me to try to throw it away.

Mocking me with its stupid black lid and happy white and yellow writing.

Making me crazy as I hold myself back from throwing it in the yard...where it would stay longer than on the counter, so what's the point?

Anyway, I love coffee, but I hate coffee cans. I have one in my dishwasher currently, taking up valuable space, as I try to cram sippy cups and bowls around it. I refuse to wash it by hand, but know that if Joe finds it in the garbage, I'm in for a discussion of the necessity of coffee cans in the machine shed's shop.

So, if you have a lovely pantry with fancy glass or clear plastic organizational containers, or a shop that houses nuts and bolts in Mason jars, like the ones I have seen in softly lit photographs on Pinterest, good for you.

I'll take an artsy picture of my coffee can and post it so you can "repin" if you wish!

2 comments:

  1. I feel the same way about my barn boots. =)
    Suzanne Fairchild Farmgirl
    www.fairchildfarmgirl.blogspot.com

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  2. The house we live in was built in the 50s by a carpenter. In the basement, we found a few dozen baby food jars whose lids had been nailed to the ceiling. Each jar contained a different type of nail, screw, eye hook, and other little hardware items. When he was tinkering in the basement he could reach up and unscrew one of the jars from its lid, get the items he needed for his project and screw the jar back into its lid on the ceiling.

    We had to take the whole thing down when we remodeled the house, but thanks for the reminder.

    <A href="http://homeintheworld.typepad.com> @ Home in the World </a>

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