The Hard Stuff

Some days I am inspired to clean/purge something and other days I am too tired to face my messes. Today was the later. But I am committed to this blog so I chose to clean an area I had an issue with last week. On the night the relatives came for dinner I had an incident that drew my attention to a mess of a disaster waiting to happen. Daughter #2 was cooking Spanish Rice at the stove and I reached over her to get a bottle of bourbon out of the "liquor cabinet." I have noticed that approximately 95% (don't take me seriously when I use math - I would never actually figure a percentage - I am only making a wild guess here) of the people I know keep their liquor in the cabinet over the oven. My parents did, so I do. Anyway, as I pulled the bottle out of the cabinet I accidentally knocked over a champagne flute. The glass fell from the high cabinet, to the floor, and shattered into a million pieces (again, the math thing - probably not a million pieces - I didn't count). As I was sweeping up the mess, Daughter #2 threw the Spanish Rice in the trash and announce she was going to the store to get new ingredients, as she wouldn't serve anything that might possibly kill someone. Good call. Remember the glass shattered - smithereens is a word not often used, but it comes to mind, odds are glass got into the pan of rice. So, the liquor cabinet was my project for today.

The liquor cabinet is a fairly small cabinet over the oven. Keep that in mind as you read the items I pulled from the cabinet:

• 2 Golden Goblets from Excalibur Hotel/Casino in Las Vegas - Home of King Arthur's Tournament - DONATE - Maybe someone, somewhere, will want these.
• 15 shot glasses - KEEP 12, TRASH 3 - Sort of an odd decision, considering we don't "do shots", but you never know when a wild streak might possess us and we have a need for 12 shot glasses.
• 2 clear glass Christmas mugs - DONATE
• 2 brandy snifters - KEEP
• a glass ice bucket and matching tumbler, Wedgwood blue with a Grecian pattern - KEEP - these belonged to my parents, remind me of my parents - I'm keeping them.
• 8 Koozies - KEEP 5, TRASH 3
• a set of 8 coasters featuring the labels from wines from our local winery - KEEP
• a set (15 assorted) of "authentic" British Pub Mats (coasters) still in the package - KEEP
• 4 wine corks - KEEP - I save them in a big jar, are you surprised?
• a clay pot Daughter #1 made in elementary school - KEEP - wonder what it was doing in there?
• An Aerolatte - The Original Steam Milk Frother - KEEP - but put it somewhere else, with cappuccino maker, perhaps.
• 2 on-the-rocks glasses with Chivas Regal emblem - KEEP - nice heavy glasses.
• 2 champagne flutes - KEEP - one can always use champagne flutes
• 3 cordial glasses, 2 matching, 1 odd - KEEP 2, DONATE 1 - we aren't big cordial drinkers.
• a glass pitcher with a red plastic spout - KEEP - this is another item from my childhood, go figure.
• 2 crystal wine glasses that belong to the ever-diminishing set of my mother's crystal - KEEP
• an orange plastic cup in the shape of an orange with "Smirnoff Screwdriver" on it - KEEP - this is also from my childhood. It was kept in my parent's liquor cabinet and my Daddy put his pocket change in it after work. This change was used the next day for our school milk money. Memories.
• a miniature plastic beer bottle that is labeled "Twang The Original Premium Beer Salt" - TRASH
• a sombrero shaped container of Jose Cuervo Margarita Salt - KEEP
• 2 empty, purple velvet Crown Royal bags - TRASH - why did I keep these?
• 7 packages of assorted cocktail napkins - KEEP
• a stainless steel cocktail shaker - KEEP
• a battery operated electronic timer - KEEP
• 2 Christmas-themed wine bottle stoppers - KEEP
• 4 Christmas-themed swizzle sticks - KEEP
• 12 wine glass charms - KEEP
• a brocade flask holder with plastic flask - KEEP - this is one of my crazy estate sale buys. I laugh out loud when I think of the woman who might have owned this. Anything that makes me laugh out loud gets to stay.
• an assortment of Texas Wine promotional pamphlets and wine coasters - KEEP COASTERS, TRASH THE REST

Have you noticed anything missing? Now for the good "stuff"

• an almost full bottle of 100% Agave Tequilero Hecho en Mexico Tequila - KEEP
• a bottle of Crown Royal Special Reserve with less than a 1/2-inch left in the bottom - DONATE (I am actually donating this to my grandmother's liquor cabinet where the odds are better that someone at her house will drink it.)
• a bottle of Southern Comfort 100Proof I know I have owned for over 20 years. We bought it on a trip to the Virgin Islands in 1989, talk about aged! DONATE - ditto the above recipient
• a bottle of W.L. Weller Special Reserve with about a 1/2-inch left - DONATE - ditto
• a bottle of Old Charter Kentucky Bourbon with about a 1/2-inch left - DONATE - ditto
• a bottle of Tequila Reserva 1800 Reposado 100% de Agave hecho en Mexico - KEEP
• a tiny bottle of Guzano rojo Mescal from Oaxaca - KEEP - souvenir bottle from Daughter # 1's summer in Oaxaca
• a bottle of Triple Sec Liqueur - KEEP
• a bottle of Bacardi Rum, again with only about a 1/2-inch remaining - KEEP - I might one day feel like a Mai Tai
• a partial bottle of Malibu Caribbean Rum - KEEP
• an unopened bottle of J&B Scotch - KEEP - neither of us drink Scotch, but you never know...
• an empty bottle of St.Remy Napoleon Brandy - TRASH
• a partial bottle of Praline Pecan Liqueur - KEEP - this is awesome on caramel apple pie
• a partial bottle of Amaretto di Amore - KEEP
• a Mogen David Deluxe Concord Wine in a Limited Edition Collector Decanter - TRASH - this has been around for way too long.

This cleaning/purging exercise would have been way more fun if it weren't Lent.