Thanksgiving Prep

I started my Thanksgiving prep this morning, but it's not what you're thinking.  Let me start from the beginning. 

We're expecting the possibility of  severe weather this afternoon into the overnight hours -- see, I even sound like a meteorologist-- so first thing I did was move my plants into their winter home. 

I'll move them back outside on warm days, but for the most part, this is where they'll be until spring.  

Ignore the cardboard boxes.  I'll toss them eventually.  But they're really good boxes, so I might ought to save them...

Once that was done, I started my Thanksgiving prep, but not food prep.  No, the prep I started involved dragging all the pots and pans and various and sundry dishes out of the cabinets under my bar and sink.  

Truthfully, I've been meaning to do this for a while, and since we're off this week, I figured it would be the perfect time to get started.  And it'll keep me from making all my Thanksgiving food too early.  So, I dragged everything out and set it up on top of the counter.

Then I wiped down and sanitized the shelves, and while they were empty, I took a good look to try to find where these dadgum mice keep getting in.  I know that back wall isn't in the greatest shape, but I didn't see any obvious holes anywhere -- I mean, except for where the drain is, and I've got steel wool stuffed into that one.  

However they're getting in, it's got to be behind that dishwasher. 

Speaking of, I figured out why my dishwasher isn't working right any more.  I found a hose that had come detached, but I couldn't figure out where it was supposed to be hooked up.  Somewhere inside the inner workings of the dishwasher, I reckon.  Oh well, it wasn't that great of a dishwasher, and I want to get it replaced eventually anyway.  

When I get it replaced, I'll ask the installer to let me clean up really well before he puts the new dishwasher in, and maybe I can find where the mice are getting in then.  In the meantime, I tossed some mouse poison back there, and put a jug of water in front of that space so the cat couldn't get ahold of it and poison herself. 

Once it got everything as clean as I could get it and disinfected, I started laying down some shelf liner -- removing the cat as necessary -- I'd bought way back when I first moved into this house, but had never used. 

Man, I tossed out an astounding number of old jars and bottles I'd saved for who knows what reason.  Pickle jars, cheese dip jars, YooHoo bottles and the like.  Because I might need them some day.  But I won't, so I chunked them.  Yay me!

It looks so much better now, so long as you ignore my baseboards.  I want to get my entire kitchen remodeled, and when I do, all this will be replaced with new cabinets, fixtures, everything.  That's going to be a minute, though, because it costs money to do stuff, and that's something I don't have right now. 

With the cabinet under the sink as good as it's going to get for the time being, I moved on to the ones under the bar.  I ran into a slight snag when I ran out of shelf liner, but a quick trip to Walmart resolved that issue.  If any trip to Walmart can be quick.  

I'd thought about just going to the dollar store on the corner, but I also needed more deer corn, so to Walmart I went.   It was pretty crowded, which is understandable for it being a holiday week, but the biggest issue was the numpty in the checkout line in front of me.  She was there, with her groceries already partially loaded onto the conveyor, checking her bank balance on her phone to see if she had enough money to buy what she had in her buggy.  

Um, shouldn't you have done that before you left the house? 

Finally determining that she did indeed have enough money to make her purchase, she began loading her the rest of her groceries onto the conveyor, but for some reason, she wasn't putting them in the big empty space at the front of the conveyor.  She started about halfway down and kept piling them up where my six little items were.  I don't know why I didn't film it and put it up on People of Walmart.  I guess because I didn't think of it until just now.  

Anyway, she finally got finished, and I finally got finished, then made it home and put liner on the rest of my shelves.  

Now, I just have to start washing and sanitizing that huge mound of dishes, so I can put them all away. 

Which brings me to Thanksvember Twentieth:  I'm thankful for running water, bleach, and modern sanitation practices.    I'd hate to have to be scrubbing all that with sand and twigs.  

Well, I guess I'd better get to it...