Chip the glasses and crack the plates!
Blunt the knives and bend the forks!
That's what Bilbo Baggins hates—
Smash the bottles and burn the corks!
Cut the cloth and tread on the fat!
Pour the milk on the pantry floor!
Leave the bones on the bedroom mat!
Splash the wine on every door!
Dump the crocks in a boiling bowl;
Pound them up with a thumping pole;
And when you’ve finished if any are whole,
Send them down the hall to roll!
That's what Bilbo Baggins hates!
So, carefully! carefully with the plates!
J.R.R. Tolkien, from The Hobbit, "An Unexpected Party"
~~~
Another of my favorite and most useful pots has met an untimely demise.
Rats.
No point in crying over spilt milk (or broken glass),
but that saucepan - my last big saucepan - will be missed.
I really must pay more attention to the excellent example of
Miss Ruth Kellogg:
 |
| Miss Ruth Kellogg demonstrating correct posture for dishwashing. 1921-26. Div. Rare & Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library |
~~~
But while I'm off improving my posture
and searching the thrift shops for an uncommon Pyrex saucepan,
I'll be thinking of Bilbo Baggins.
And here is a nifty little half-minute gem for your entertainment:
a recording of the Dwarves' clearing-up song,
sung by J.R.R.Tolkien!
~~~~~
