What not to do (a/k/a I never learn)

hmmm...vacation has been bad for my blog-posting.  Perhaps because I haven't actually been able to cook?  I am hoping to change that soon...as in...tomorrow. 

So today's post is not about a meal.  Although it involves something that could have been a tasty part of a meal...if I wasn't a complete idiot. 

1) When it smells like something has died in your kitchen, you should immediately search for the cause of the smell and not give up until you find it.  (Don't be like me and shrug it off saying "I probably don't want to know what is causing that smell")

2) When a myserious yellow/brown puddle appears on your kitchen floor, look for the source, remove the source, and clean the mess. (Don't be like me and say, "Oh, I must have spilled something while I was cooking and not noticed.  I clean it later.")

3) When that puddle grows and turns black, look for the source, remove the source, and clean the mess. (Don't be like me and continue to ignore it)

One day, I was getting something from the hanging shelf on the back wall of my kitchen and noticed a rotten sweet potato.  It had been dripping all over everything on the shelves below it, and on the floor.  It smelled disgusting.  It was right at eye level.  How did I not notice it sooner?  Into the trash it went, floor was cleaned, smell disappeared, problem solved. 

Now, there was a second sweet potato on that shelf.  That was fine.  But surely, if the first one rotted, the second would too?  (Why, oh why, did I never get around to cooking those damn things before they rotted?  I had every intention of making sweet potato soup...I guess life got in the way...)

2nd sweet potato was still looking ok, but I left town for a week.  I told myself I was going to throw it out before I left, just in case it was on the verge of rotting.  Did I remember to throw it out?  Of course not.  I came home a week later...and...rotten dripping smelly sweet potato creating a mess on some of the food boxes that had been untouched by the 1st sweet potato.  (These shelves mostly hold things like pasta...barley...cous cous... olive oil...tomato soup...)

Moral of the story: If you buy sweet potatos, cook them within a week.  Don't leave them for a month or two so that they can wreak havoc. 

PS:  Shouldn't I have learned my lesson after the bag of potatos I left in a dark cupboard for too long, which rotted, causing a stink I didn't locate for a long time...and which was NOT fun to clean? Maybe someday I'll learn...there's always hope...right?