Tuesday, June 7, 2011

The Pam Syndrome


Back in the Bad Old Days, before Old Dog began doing the grocery shopping, we used to have a problem I called the Pam Syndrome.

Every Saturday morning would find us in the Baking Needs aisle, having this conversation:

Old Dog: Are we out of cooking spray?

Me: I think so.

Old Dog: It's not on the list.

Me: Yeah, but I remember noticing we were running low.

What I didn't remember, nor did Old Dog, was having this exact same conversation the week before.

It was like we were starring in our own version of Groundhog Day, but instead of having epiphanies and practicing at life until we finally evolved into good people, we just built up an inventory of cooking spray.

One memorable (or, you know, not) spring, we amassed 8 cans of the stuff before we managed to stop the madness.

Sometimes, instead of cooking spray, it was paper towels, or toilet paper. We once bought so much laundry detergent I had to donate it to the Food Bank (who, for your information, does not want laundry detergent, just food).

These days we get up on Saturday morning and I devise a menu plan for the week (which usually turns out to be a lot more ambitious than I actually feel when it's time to cook, but that's a whole separate issue) and then create a grocery list to ensure we have the stuff to make said menu. Then Old Dog heads for the grocery, a man with a mission, while I go hiking with my friend, Pauline.

So now that we've got the Pam issue under control, maybe it's time to work on Old Dog's sock collection.

5 comments:

  1. I buy ONLY black socks, grey socks and white socks (usually and mostly of the same style for each color)- thus no sorting is necessary as it is easy to find a pair...I dont buy cooking spray.

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  2. for us, it's butter. we have way too much butter in the freezer. i call us the yankee paula deen's.

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  3. Cool! So much time has passed, and I doubt that this would matter, but years and years ago, I met a girl in Cincy named Patty Brisben. I'm sure she has gone her way and I wish her well. We had an incredible evening that ended up at her place. That one night was so special. In the mix of it all, things got...kind of...dry. In a moment of desperation, I ran into her kitchen and grabbed a can of Pam out of her pantry. Later she told me my bold move allowed her to experience her first episode of Pure Romance. I've always wondered whatever happened to Patty.

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  4. My weakness seems to be toothpaste. Thank heavens it doesn't take up a lot of space. A few years ago it was potatoes. My grandkids started to call me strange names when I always sent them off home with a bag of potatoes!

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  5. I try and remember, should make a list, what we need each week, but hubby always manages to forget to tell me something, and goes on his own. Therefore we end up with twice the toilet paper and other things. I guess one could not ever have too much toilet paper...you always come up with cute writing material...I know I have said that before!

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