No Problem

What do I do with the cream of tartar?

That may seem like a silly question for most of the world, but I am putting all my spices into small Ziploc bags and I have chosen the ones I will use. I threw away items like Garam Masala, which I haven't used since my Indian cooking stint back in '98. I have kept all the italian herbs and spicy peppers, but now I am sitting here dazed, looking at my last can in the spice cabinet.

Cream of Tartar.

Now I have it for 2 purposes, making homemade play dough and royal icing for cookies. Will I have the chance to do either of these things while we camp for the next year? Will that be a priority? What if the kids are bored and I whip up some play dough just for fun... Will I do that? Or will I just go and buy the play dough for 99 cents at the market? We won't be making any cookies anytime during the trip, that is unless of course any of you have any tips to bake cookies in a Dutch oven. I feel so stuck on this decision, I have decided to take a break from making one, to blog today.

It is Thursday. I am leaving for a month long trip to California on Saturday after 3 hours of soccer. That means I have 2 days left to finish packing up the house, sorting out what we will need for the month of December and putting it in our guest house, where we will live for a few weeks when we get back, (for those of you who don't know, we have to come back to Seattle for the month of December to tie up loose ends, such as the close of the house, leaving notice at husband work, taxes and planning our first destination. The big trip starts the beginning of January.) and pack for the month long trip to visit my family, go to Disneyland and stop off in San Luis Obispo where I am getting the Eurovan suped up with a roof rack to add storage, a bike rack for our 4 bikes, and add a few more items to create a better suited home for four at a great place called Go Westy. Researching from dealers to Ebay, Go Westy was the ONLY place that said, "No problem!" See, you are not supposed to have a roof rack on the Winnebago pop-top. So it seems to make most folks out there stumble a bit.

Have I told you how much I LOVE people who say, "no problem" ? I do. After remodeling 2 homes and dealing in the world where I never can seem to find what I had in mind already made, I have learned to love those who say, no problem. I don't care, if it costs more. I don't care if it will take some time. I don't care if they need to order a part for another part of the world and do their best to jimmy-rig it to make it work. I love no problem!!!

No problem is a way of life. The people who speak it have an aura about them that brings a sense of peace into the world. They are not reading scripts, they are not going by the book, they are confident in their abilities, and they do not understand the concept of I can't. Some countries say it regularly. In Mexico, "no problema, seniora." In Austraila they say, "no worries."

Sounds like a movement. Maybe it could hit our country big. Make bumper stickers that say, 'My way of life is No Problem' or 'No Problem and NoWorries' or 'Just say No Problem' or 'No Problem = Problem Solving.'

So I look at the cream of tartar again and tell myself to put it in the Ziploc bag realizing how little space it is going to take and say, "No problem."