He Doesn't Ask For Much

Frankly, I should have seen this coming. Something terrible happened last week and I am completely responsible...not one person can be blamed, except for me. It was a dark chapter in our family history and since this is my blog...my place for "putting it all out there"...I have to air my "dirty laundry" today....right now...

To understand just how terrible this incident was, you must know a few things about my dear husband, Ron:
His demands of me are very simple. He never holds me back or complains when he may not be at the top of my priority list on any given day. He just doesn't ask for much. He is easy to live with and love. (By now, you are nodding your head yes, if you know him). It is easy to keep him happy.

Another thing you must know is that he LOVES Ketchup...LOVES, LOVES the stuff. So much that, while we were dating, he converted me to eating Ketchup after a life time of NEVER eating it. This is a man who would be happy to find a bottle of Ketchup in his Christmas Stocking...really.

As our marriage began, with very few words spoken,
there were TWO SIMPLE REQUESTS....
1. Always Have Ketchup in the house
2. Not just any Ketchup...The Ketchup must be HEINZ
(This I learned quickly when I tried a store brand-NEVER AGAIN)

Very simple requests. Heinz Ketchup is in our Food Storage. Heinz Ketchup is always in our house...until last week....the unthinkable happened. We took the last bottle of Heinz Ketchup from our Food Storage and it did not look so good. A quick check of the expiration date explained the "off color"...the reason it did not "look so good". It was over ONE YEAR past the "use before" date. Hard as it was...Ron even agreed that it should not be consumed.

There we were ....Burgers and Hot Dogs hot off the grill and NO KETCHUP...or at least that is what we thought. How could I have allowed this to happen? As important as this Food Group, Ketchup, is to Ron, you guessed it...he was disappointed, but did not complain. I was probably more upset than he was, just because I know how much he LOVES to have a little hamburger WITH his Ketchup.

Just as we were exploring Ketchup alternatives (which, there really are none, in Ron's opinion) almost all at the same time, we remembered the Heinz Ketchup packets from Mc Donalds that Ron brings home (another thing to know about him...he SAVES everything) We broke out the Back Up plan and all was right with the world....

The Ketchup snafu...yes, it was all my fault, however, I promise...this will NEVER happen again...and the out of date Ketchup...that will not happen again, either. For the past year, I have rotated my Food Storage (except, obviously, for the Ketchup that just sat there) and written a date on every can with a sharpie marker.

This unthinkable chapter in our family history will never happen again.
Speaking of Heinz Ketchup, our family has another story...this one deals with a Glass Bottle of Heinz Ketchup and Jeffrey's front tooth being knocked out. Another day....I will share the story of Jeffrey and the Ketchup Bottle.

Is there something you must always have stocked on your shelves?

Do you love Ketchup like Ron does?

Do you know Ketchup Lovers like this?

Do you Rotate and Date your Food Storage items?

Thank You

Russ and Linda!Through the tireless efforts of Russ and Linda Lance, our Ward had the opportunity to borrow the Dry Pack Canner from the Bishop's Storehouse in Davie, FL. Many of us ordered Wheat from the Bishops Storehouse, which totalled over 500 pounds that Russ and Linda had a team of helpers load up and bring to the Wellington Chapel. The Canner, the Wheat, The Cans, Lids, and all supplies were transported right to the Wellington Chapel.
For whatever reason, I can never make it when there is a trip to the Bishops Storehouse that is over an hour drive one way, so this was a HUGE lifesaver for me to have the supplies right in my own "backyard" and at a time I could actually take advantage of the opportunity.
Linda had the Dry Pack Canning operation organized from A-Z for those members of our Ward who wanted to can the wheat they ordered. Many people also brought their own rice, oats, powdered milk, etc. and made use of the Dry Pack Canner to store these items.
I was able to get 20 cans of Wheat for our Food Storage...AND....drum roll......
I went home and MADE homemade Whole Wheat Bread!
(yes, that HAD to be in large, bold print!)
Thank You, Thank You, Russ and Linda for organizing this project.