SUGAR BABIES

My pantry needs a good cleaning. It seems like a big project, so I’ve put it off, but now the need for a thorough cleaning and reorganization is great. I decided to tackle it shelf by shelf, starting with the floor. (Yes, the floor acts as a shelf.) As I scrubbed, my thoughts turned to our old dog, Nellie.

In old age, Nellie became my faithful companion, and the kitchen was the center of our activity. If I hadn’t started fixing supper by 5:00, she would remind me of the time. Then she would stay with me, sometimes gently touching my knee with her snout, probably to remind me that she was willing to assist, especially with clean-up. And then when the bowl or pot or pan was ready to be licked, Bess, who appeared to be snoozing on the pillow, would dash in with her licker and claim the prize. Poor Nellie.

The late Nellie, taken in June 2018

But – Nellie had a secret. She knew about the treats on the floor in the pantry. Mike is a dropper of Sugar Babies and peanuts but not a closer of doors, traits which Nellie discovered when we first moved to this house. The first time she found a Sugar Baby on the floor, she was hooked. She would check several times a day for those tasty morsels and was often rewarded. Bess was clueless, and I didn’t enlighten her. It was Nellie’s secret, and she had so few.

Bess today

The other day I spied a Sugar Baby on the pantry floor and decided it was time Bess learned the benefits of pantry patrolling. “Bess! Look!” I said, pointing to the Sugar Baby. She immediately jumped in to snarf up the sweet little morsel, but she apparently saw it as a one-time event because she still ignores the pantry. Or – maybe she just doesn’t like Sugar Babies. KW