Ants and Spices

Our very quiet Sunday 'round the stick house was disrupted by an invasion: ANTS! We share a wall with a less than fastidious neighbor, who is now the suspected source of said insects. We spotted a few of the little creatures a couple of days ago, and put out a pet-friendly repellant that's a mixture of something sugary sweet and borax. The first ants you see taste the delicious stuff, take it back to their den and share it with others. Then, the borax kills 'em all. At least, that's the theory.

Today, they showed up by the hundreds for their sugar-n-soap cocktail, making a race track around our kitchen cabinets. We made quick work of going through two food cabinets to dispose of any open containers and wiping up any crumbs that might make a meal for an ant colony. This emergency project quickly evolved into a much needed purge. Boris discovered and disposed of not one but two jars of instant coffee crystals. We couldn't remember the last time we drank instant coffee!

I took aim on the spices. Curious about how old some of the little bottles might be, I jumped online and found McCormick's Spice Check Challenge. If your spice doesn't have an expiration date, I can tell you right now: It's old. But, if you're curious, type in the mystery code on the bottle or jar and the spice checker will tell you when your spice was "born".

I started entering codes. Waves of laughter followed as I discovered two jars of bay leaves born in the '90s, and an assortment of spices that share birthdays with middle school children. The best, though, was a big jar of rarely used garlic salt with a code that was smeared. So, I couldn't enter it on the site. The city on the label was Baltimore, MD, which according to the site means it is at least 15 years old. A second glance at the label revealed a copyright date: 1981!!

With the collection of vintage spices in the trash, I have loads more space in our spice cabinet and a list of a half dozen or so of our very favorite spices on my grocery list. It'll be nice to get something fresh, for a change.

While I'm shopping, I think swing down the bug killer aisle and pick up a can of RAID!