Do you ever think about who touched what and whose germs are on which spoon when attending a potluck—RV park, church, firemen’s fund raiser, etc.??? Well, after reading Take To The Highway and her experiences I stumbled across this news article about a church potluck!! Holy moly—I’ve avoided buffet lines in restaurants for a long time and never more so than when I watched a young woman in the line remove something from her plate, insert it into her mouth with two fingers then pick up the next spoon—watch people sometimes in lines—happens all the time! Food poisoning is one thing but botulism!!!!! That’s another whole ball of wax!
Two more sleeps as John and Brenda would say—and the wheels will be rolling—we both have a minor case of hitch itch and it’s time to go! We paid Jerry and Caryl a visit today, they will be keeping an eye on our place for us—it gets hot in Arizona and that’s an understatement!! We’ve left four large containers full of water in various sinks and bathtubs—it helps keep some moisture in the house through evaporation. The watering system to the trees and shrubs will be left on but we will turn off the water inside the house—the two systems are separate, thank goodness after reading about Rod’s disaster! Owning a house adds to your departure list for sure! We had a good visit with Jerry and Caryl, I got to see some of the beautiful quilts she is creating before she headed off for a massage appointment. Emmi got to meet their cat who let Emmi know in no uncertain terms she was trespassing!
I spent some time baking—cookies, pound cake—traveling and ATVing food. We’ve all been busy reading blogs and gathering info about the Bluff and Blanding, Utah area as well as Moab. Nina’s blog as always is a wealth of information. Pam and John are just ahead of us, they are now in Moab but were in the Bluff area recently. We spent a short amount of time in the Bluff area in 2011—back when we were in our “we have to get there mode” and we only stayed a couple days hardly seeing anything so we are looking forward to doing some hiking and sightseeing.
It was a beautiful day here, cool and breezy. It will be sad to leave our new home but we are looking forward to being back in Montana too.
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We think about who touched what, who's cat is on the counter that didn't get washed off before preparing the food etc all the time. We've both been very sick with food poisoning in the past and you'll rarely find us at a pot luck and eating. Depending on the circumstances we may be there to visit but for sure not to eat.
ReplyDeleteI know you are busy but thanks for keeping us updated.
ReplyDeleteThat church potluck is 50 miles north of where we are now. But what I always found interesting is that I had to take a week long course at Ohio State to be licensed to sell my jams and jellies at the farmer's market (where we sold for 18 years).... but scouts, churches, schools or whoever could sell at bake sales outside of Walmart every Saturday morning and who knows what kind of kitchen that stuff was made. I had a kitchen that was certified by the Dept of Agriculture just to process foods. I know, I'm on my soap box on this one.... but I'd rather just give the organization some money and let them keep their food.
ReplyDeleteI thought of you yesterday as a group of ATVers passed us leaving Bull Canyon as we were coming in to see the Gemini Bridges from below. The road is quite rough and we decided an ATV would be much better. But so many areas don't allow the ATV just Jeeps.
ReplyDeleteWe were also in Bluff for ten days in May 2013 and spent a month in Moab in April 2013. Check out those posts as well for more ideas. We'll be in Moab til the 29th. I'm not sure when you plan to arrive.
Safe travels back to Montana. We won't be there until June. We loved the Bluff area. Have fun.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the shout out, Janna. That RV Park does have me adding Clorox Wipes to my Walmart list for sure! Your upcoming trip on the road sounds exciting. I love southern Utah with a passion, so I will look forward to following along!
ReplyDeleteSuzanne
Safe travels on your journey north!
ReplyDeleteWe try to avoid potlucks and buffets, but sometimes social events require it. I guess there are a lot of greater risks out there:)
ReplyDeleteHoly Moly is right!! We don't do potlucks unless the potluck is within our "family" of friends. Here's another scenario..check out where the tongs lie after being used...ahem...sometimes on top of the food in most buffet places. When I took the food handlers course, I learned that lettuce and sun tea or iced tea left on the counter were the two worst culprits for food poisoning. (Think used tongs on top of lettuce bowl). Even if "Genius" would have used gloves with the sewer hose, how would he have removed them and would he have continued without washing his hands thinking that he was germ free? After you use a public bathroom, do you waddle to the sink with your pants down and wash your hands before you tuck in? I could go on and on... :-)
ReplyDeleteYou're pros at closing up a house for a season, but imagine it feels a little different to be anticipating high temps instead of freezing ones. It's great that the water lines for outdoors are separate! I'm looking forward to seeing how you get all the wheels back to Montana :-) I should stay away from potlucks and buffets for different reasons!
ReplyDeleteSeveral years ago I was at the CeCe's pizza salad bar. The lady in front of me put some dressing on her salad then she................licked the spoon and put it back into the dressing! I am not lying I promise.
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