The other day, Elvis showed his skills at cleaning out peanut butter containers. Now, Chappy’s nose isn’t long enough to reach the bottom of a PB jar, but he wouldn’t want you to think that he doesn’t take recycling seriously.

First, there’s the milk carton. I’ve mentioned before that, once empty of milk, they make excellent toys. We rinse them, let them dry, and then I put his morning vitamin in it, set it on the rug in the middle of the hallway (while he Sits on the rug by the door) and then give him the go ahead and he charges down the hallway to tackle it. After which it becomes one of his favorite toys–the vitamin makes a fun rattle (before it finally falls out), the handle gives him something handy to carry it with, it crunches nicely into a shape he can fit in his mouth, and it skitters so nicely across the floor that it’s great fun to chase. Great invention, those milk cartons.

And then there are the cream cheese containers. We prefer our cream cheese to be easily spreadable and so get ours in these bright, pink plastic containers. Of course, once they’re empty, they need to be recycled, but all those sticky bits of cream cheese need to be cleaned out first. So, again, Chappy helps out. I put his vitamin in here, too (because why not make vitamins fun?). Since cream cheese–even tiny amounts–on an empty stomach sometimes makes him spit up on the floor, I usually add some kibble, too. (You know that he doesn’t normally eat kibble–I make my own food for my boy–but it is handy to have around for toys and emergencies. We use Innova brand. In case you were wondering.)

Anyway, once the cream cheese container is ready to go, with its lid back on, Chappy goes and sits in the corner of the kitchen. I haven’t taught him to close his eyes, but from this spot, he can’t see anything but the kitchen cabinets, so it’s close enough. And while he’s sitting….

…I hide the container. This is getting harder and harder because by now, he knows where all the possible downstairs hiding places are.

As soon as he gets permission, though, off he goes. He almost always follows the same route, trotting through each room with his nose busily trying to find the container. The better hiding places can keep him searching for 5-10 minutes…

…but usually he finds it fairly quickly–on the first or second lap around the house.

Then, the fun part–getting it open so he can get in to all the yummy, creamy, crunchy goodness inside. (If you look really carefully, you can see him licking his lips in this picture.)

I did try to get a picture of him happily cleaning out the inside, but he’d nudged it under the dining room table by then and that kind of made anything like a decent camera angle impossible. He’s really good at getting inside these, though. He lays the container on its side and then uses his nose to press the sides, near the lid, to break the seal. No wasting time trying to pull the lid off from the top, oh no. This way, the lid will pop off on its own and out pours a delectable pile of cream cheese-flavored kibble. Mmmm.

In other recycling, I’m trying a new recipe today. I’ve had this Oatmeal Cake recipe for about 18 years now, but in the current issue of Cooks Illustrated, they have an updated version–including putting it under the broiler to carmelize the topping. I don’t know if I’m going to like it more than the other one–I mean, we’ve been together for quite some time–but it seemed worth a shot. Besides, I’ve never broiled a cake before….

The verdict? Very tasty, as all the C.I. recipes almost always are. But do I like it better than the recipe I’ve been using for the last couple of decades? Well … I don’t know that I’d go that far! The crispy, broiled texture on the top sure is tasty, though.

I have some other leftovers to recycle, too. Some leftover singles of that pretty, pretty blue roving. Which is great. I’ll ply these together and then have some accent yarn to go with my sweater. I don’t know how much (yet), or what I’ll do with it, but . . . yum!

Because, of course, bobbin #2 is done! It just needs to be skeined, washed, and dried and it will be ready to go. Since the first bobbin had something like 500 yds, though, I’m thinking that I’ve got a little time to play with, here. No rush.

Because, yes, my knitting bag is no longer empty. Phew!

• Tags: Baking, Chappy, Family, Finished Spinning, General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Recycling //