So I got up at 5:00 with my husband...

[Jenise]

...and was trying to decide whether to go back to bed or not. I have much to do today, and the 30 lb box of pork neck bones was on the counter, thawing, and two 30 qt stock pots were on the stove ready to receive them once they're browned. Should I get started on that demi glace or not? Hmmm..."Self," I said, "have a V8, sit down and play with Tammy Faye for a few minutes, and then decide." So I shuffled to the refrigerator and opened the door.

CRASH! There are two shelves on the inside of my refrigerator door that hold condiments. The one that holds the tall bottles had sheared off on one side, and on the floor were, among other things: beer, sweet pickle relish, Indian mango pickle, chile garlic sauce, anchovies, Dijon mustard, oyster sauce and horseradish. Broken. Glass had scattered about five feet in every direction, and there was shit everywhere. Smelly shit. Sticky shit. It looked like a Superfund site.

So much for going back to bed.

Reminds me of the time I came home to discover that the washing machine supply hose had developed a hole, which had been spewing a stream of water for who knows how long. The floor was ankle deep in water, but the coup de grace was the stream was directed in a high arc toward our upright freezer, which had a box of wine on top. The box had disintegrated and the bottles of wine had crashed onto the floor, making a lovely melange of water, wine, and broken glass.

BTW, if you haven't already, replace your washing machine hoses with ones covered in stainless steel braid. A word to the wise.

The silver lining is that your day could only get better after that start!

[Jenise]

Mike, you're so right. Thank God I have a brand new fridge sitting in the garage awaiting remodel/installation. This one is disintegrating before my eyes!

[Robin Garr]

The silver lining is that your day could only get better after that start!

Reminds me of a classic Internet sig, Mike: "Eat a live toad first thing in the morning, and the chances are that nothing worse will happen to you all day!"

[Robin Garr]

CRASH!

Oh, bother! Condolences and all that. Any hint of a minor earth tremble or anything, or did it Just Happen?

[Jenise]

Nope, just the plastic parts on a 23 year old Sub Zero disintegrating. We'd actually already seen cracks in other shelf and screwed it together. This one seemed okay. Until Tuesday!