FRIDAY FLASHBACKS are earlier posts I have decided to republish.
The summer of 09 I opened my kitchen cupboard and found something, well, how can I put it? I found out something disturbing about myself.
The summer of 09 I opened my kitchen cupboard and found something, well, how can I put it? I found out something disturbing about myself.
OMG, I AM COLLECTING McDONALD COFFEE CUPS! You know the paper/Styrofoam, orange/brown ones with a white McCafe scribbled on a field of brown. The one that has the disclaimer, “CAUTION handle with care I’M HOT,” in two languages (and we all remember that fiasco don’t we?).
Well, I have 20 of them lined up in the dish cupboard; four sets; five to a set. Have I gone completely nuts? I turned around after realizing what I was doing and spied 10 more (yes, you read right, arranged in two sets of five) sitting on the counter next to my range. I have completely gone around the bend. A quick look around netted 6 more in the dish drainer. OMG, I’M COLLECTING McDONALD COFFEE CUPS and I'm washing them!
Wait a minute, wait a minute, no, I’m not senile, over the hill, demented or anything like that. Yes, I’m a little eccentric (ok, a lot), but I must have a reason (and hopefully I can come up with several plausible reasons) for such bizarre behavior.
So, I began to ponder (oh, no here I go again pondering can be a dangerous thing for me to do). Why on earth am I amassing a flotilla of McDonald coffee cups ? Incidentally I have numerous lids too. Therefore, over the next few days I monitored my collecting and use of said cups; this is what I found:
Every day my Dad brings home a coffee cup from his lunch at McDonalds. Instead of getting a refill on his coffee he has me fill the empty cup with diet Coke before we leave. This comes home with him for his afternoon refreshment. The cup eventually ends up on the kitchen counter. I usually rinse the cup out so a not to attract ants (see blog #92 on ants). But, here is where it all goes wrong … … I begin to think of uses for this empty cup. To use as a pet food scoop, a disposable drinking cup, a plant starter, bacon grease container, scrap food receptacle, a poop scoop, ... and on ...and on ...and on. That is why the cup goes into the dish drainer and eventually into the cupboard.
The next shock occurs when I go to the cupboard for a glass. I see the McDonald cups, but do not take one. Why, you ask? Well, I might need one for something else later (see why I am alarmed!).
Uses for the lids were found, too. I heat Dad’s vegetables in the microwave. I discovered that large ceramic coffee cups do the trick (since the alarming news about the danger of heating stuff in plastic containers). But, without a lid the stuff can splatter. Like a lightening bolt it hit me, place an inverted coffee cup lid on top. It was a perfect fit. Not only that the leftover veggies can be left in the cup, covered by the lid and placed in the frig. NEAT! So, now there are even lids by my cups in the cupboard, and lids by my microwave.
At this point my mind is actually mulling over saving a matching set of covered dishes. I mean, those Styrofoam breakfast plates are great for keeping things warm. Hummmmm… … …
PLEASE stop me now, I am actually considering it!
1/27/11 (Still save them, but the good news is I don't have a collection of the covered dishes! Well, truth be known I do have 3.)
kt2011
1/27/11 (Still save them, but the good news is I don't have a collection of the covered dishes! Well, truth be known I do have 3.)
kt2011
Karen, you certainly offer lots of valid reasons as to why you collect those disposable cups! No faulting you there. After all, we're living in a world where 'going green' is the responsible thing to do. So, you get 10/10 for that. You could even market your extras, with little instruction pamphlets listing all those many uses you've so diligently thought up! Now, if I were a Mac Donald's fan, I might be tempted to steal the idea myself :) Aren't you lucky. I pose no competitive threat at all!
ReplyDeleteBTW I think you sound like a really marvellous daughter! Your Dad is lucky to have you to take such good care of him.
And I loved this post...thanks for a good giggle!
Yeah, you should be alarmed.
ReplyDeleteI bet when you were a teen you used those large Tropicana frozen orange juice cans to curl your hair! Maybe you used the glass ones for juice glasses? And did you use the twist coffee keys with the metal part of the coffee can for a Christmas tree decoration ,,,,,, So funny what we save.
Thanks for taking me down Memory Road.
And to think I was the only one who saved up stuff a regular person would throw away....:D
ReplyDeleteStop you? Why? I'm going to start collecting them too! Let's see, tomorrow morning is garage sale day. PERFECT time to start! Ya got me motivated, my friend.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think you're smart and all get out!
:)
Uh oh, I think we might be seeing you on an episode of Hoarders....and it will be sponsored by McDonalds! We're all a little our of our minds, aren't we? It makes for good fellowship.
ReplyDeleteMy mom washes straws in her dishwasher silverware bin to reuse. So this is nothing. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm following you from the Fun Follow Friday! I'd love for you to return the favor and follow back! :)
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