– Time For A Tiara: Column by Ginna Young – - Got (unspilled) milk?

– Time For A Tiara: Column by Ginna Young –

I haven’t been grocery shopping in months; instead, I’ve relied on snacks picked up from gas stations and fast food, wherever I happen to be. It’s not that I don’t want to be home cooking, but April and May are extremely busy times, what with sports wrapping up, awards ceremonies and graduations.

There’s also been a lot of personal stuff happening, so, even when I find a few minutes, I haven’t been able to get to stores before they close. Yes, I could go to Walmart, since they’re open earlier and later, but I haven’t gotten much sleep since the middle of April, and frankly, I have trouble staying awake to make the drive there and back.

It’s lucky I can even make it home. I’ve actually nodded off a few times, while sitting at a stop sign, waiting for traffic to go by.

The other day, however, I was passing a small store in another town that was about to close at 9. I suddenly realized I’d promised to bring some items for our work party the next day (this was at 8:48 p.m.), so I wheeled it in real quick.

I found what I was looking for and as I was heading to checkout, I spotted Corn Pops in the cereal aisle. They sounded so good, I grabbed a small box and swung by the refrigerated section to pick up some milk, checking the expiration date to make sure it was good and I could finish it in time before it went sour.

This is a bad idea, I told myself, you know what milk does to your allergies. Well, myself didn’t listen and I found myself checking out. The clerk put the milk in a bag with other items and I headed out to the car, where I carefully situated the bag where it wouldn’t fall over.

I drove to the office, where I unloaded the bags, intent on getting the food organized for the party the next day. The groceries were all spread out in bags, but I figured I could make just one trip and grabbed them all up, along with other things to carry in.

Of course, just as I was setting the bags down, the one with the milk slipped out of my grasp and dropped on the counter, with the milk carton tipping over. When that happened, milk suddenly started pouring out of the jug.

What in the heck?! I knew it hadn’t banged that hard on the counter to break, so the cap must be loose. Once I set the carton upright in the sink and got the Niagara Falls-like spill cleaned up, I examined the carton.

Nope, the cap wasn’t loose, nor was the seal broken, the milk came from a crack in the lid. I don’t know if I missed it in the store or if it happened when it tipped over...which I don’t think happened, by the way it fell...but it was definitely cracked.

So, did I try to find a container to put the milk in or something to cover the top? I decided to just pour the whole thing out, because I didn’t know when or how that crack happened. The milk could be spoiled or contaminated, and I didn’t want to risk it.

That left me with one box of dry cereal and no supper that night!

The next day, when one co-worker said she was going to the store real quick to get sour cream and asked if we needed anything, I think I broke her eardrums, shouting, “YES!!!! I NEED MILK!!”

Her eyes got big, but she nodded and said she’d pick up a half gallon. I held out no hope that it would be unspoiled, with my luck, but wonder of wonders, it was just fine and the next couple days, I finally had cereal suppers.

Maybe I should send someone else to do my shopping for me, because I always seem to pick a lemon. That reminds me, I have lemons in the fridge that have been there for a while that I meant to use for lemonade and they’re probably no good any longer.

Well, perhaps I can use them to steam in the microwave for a natural way to clean the inside of food residue.

Yep, it’s official, I need a personal shopper and a chef!