[2022-12-21] The label avenger strikes again

Today, I bring you the sequel to The label avenger, a post I wrote about my husband's poking fun at me for my love of labels. As I explained in October, Chris thinks I label too many things, so he rebels by making anti-labels. That seems counterintuitive, but the irony amuses me. Mel enjoys the anti-labels too, and has even gotten in on the fun herself (as you'll see below).

Since the first installment in what now appears to be a series, Chris not only continued to make labels but started putting them in places we wouldn't expect, such as the fridge and the pantry.

Here are the latest contrarian stickers and the story behind those that have become an inside joke in our family:
  • Cold label (found in the fridge)
  • The big red pot lives here (discovered in the pantry in the dedicated spot for my cast iron Dutch oven)
  • The aforementioned big red pot (my daughter added "aforementioned")
  • Stay calm and keep on labelling
  • L_B_L Wanna buy a vowel?
  • Signs Signs Everywhere Signs
  • Made you look
  • 404: Label not found (also courtesy of my witty daughter)
  • Reusable label
  • Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me 1st (used when we have two of the same thing on the go in the fridge; thank you Costco!)
  • Be patient I'm in training
  • This label side up ñ
  • Was this for church? ("for the church" is our family's shorthand for a baked good destined for someone else)
  • Check the labels
  • Table 55 ð
  • Table 55 ici là!
Table 55 is a reference to an expression Chef Michel Dumas uses in his YouTube videos. When he finishes plating a dish, he often taps on a call bell and announces that the dish is ready for Table 55. His story is interesting. Born in Poitiers, France, Dumas emigrated to Montreal in 1976 in response to an ad for chefs at l'Hôtel Windsor during the Summer Olympics. He remained at that establishment for many years, becoming its executive chef. In 2013, with his son as cameraman, he recorded a video for his mother to show her how to prepare "des rillettes de canard et de porc" (potted duck and pork). His son suggested he post the video to YouTube, where it was well received. Since then, Dumas and his son have published new cooking videos twice a week.

Sometimes it feels like our kitchen table is the famed Table 55. We cook and bake a lot. This, in turn, generates many leftovers and extra for the freezer. To stay organized, we identify the dish and the date it was made. Creating labels just makes sense to me. If it means living with anti-labels, c'est la vie. (Truth be told, though, I love the anti-labels and keep every one.)