{"id":984,"date":"2016-05-19T15:37:44","date_gmt":"2016-05-19T15:37:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/?p=984"},"modified":"2021-07-10T20:36:55","modified_gmt":"2021-07-10T20:36:55","slug":"the-secret-obsession-of-a-refrigerator-detective","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/2016\/05\/19\/the-secret-obsession-of-a-refrigerator-detective\/","title":{"rendered":"The secret obsession of a refrigerator detective"},"content":{"rendered":"

You should never judge a book by its cover, but is it possible to judge a person by their refrigerator? For example, when you open a refrigerator, you can usually tell if it belongs to a domestically challenged individual, an aspiring chef, or a family with five children. As for the five children, hopefully their refrigerator would be stocked with all kinds of edibles, a couple gallons of milk, and no cold pizza in sight. After all, if there are any teenagers in the clan, the pizza would be consumed in one sitting, with several siblings fighting over the last piece.<\/p>\n

If there is a self-proclaimed chef in the house, in the fridge there\u2019s usually an abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables with uncooked meat ready to be prepared. A man or woman who enjoys cooking might even have some tasty leftovers on hand, that they could transform into a delicious meal when an unexpected visitor stops. Then there is the person who never cooks, whose refrigerator contains white boxes stained with soy sauce from Chinese take-out or half-eaten meals from Bob Evans. <\/em>I really like these people, because they make me feel that being domestically challenged is not the worst thing in the world. So, I\u2019m not Rachel Ray, I can still make a pretty mean meat loaf.<\/p>\n

However, it\u2019s not the inside of the refrigerator that tells the real story. It\u2019s the outside that helps you discern what the refrigerator\u2019s owner or owners are all about. There are exceptions, as some individuals are either too young, transient, or minimalistic, to realize they can share their entire life story with magnets, treasured photos, important phone numbers, and inspiring quotations.\u00a0\"RefrigeratorOnce I realized the significance of refrigerator decorations, I must admit it was easy to become a bit obsessed. For example, people get a little uncomfortable when they are giving you a tour of their home and you stop dead in your tracks inspecting their refrigerator door. It\u2019s usually best to do a little investigative reporting and get them involved in your quest.<\/p>\n

Just ask a doting grandmother about the photo of the little boy or girl that is held in place by a smiley face magnet. You\u2019ll find out more about that child than you ever wanted to know. The proud grandma might even point out the school paper bearing an A <\/em>and a star, or the scribbled image of some unknown object that this same grandchild painted held in place by another magnet. Just nod agreeably when she explains that they were unaware of this artistic gifting in their bloodline. If there are numerous children\u2019s photos everywhere, it\u2019s best not to ask unless you have a lot of time. \"ListThe phone numbers and lists on the refrigerator door can even provide some insight into the medical issues of an elderly relative or friend. In explanation, people experiencing a health crisis will often have all their resources attached to the fridge. Phone numbers for physicians\u2019 offices, rehab services, clinics, and even medication times might be posted. As for the refrigerator\u2019s magnets, they are sometimes gifts. Therefore, you have to find out if they really define the owner\u2019s personality. There are also those artistic individuals whose refrigerator doors closely resemble the countless badges worn by a proud Eagle Scout.<\/p>\n

There are humorous magnets like \u201cI clean house every other day, but this is not the other day,\u201d <\/em>or \u201cHand over the chocolate, and no one will get hurt.\u201d <\/em>I am a firm believer that there is truth buried deep within this kind of humor. However, it\u2019s the magnets bearing a faith-filled quotation that can define a person\u2019s belief system. Many refrigerator doors are adorned with encouraging statements like, \u201cLove bears all things.\u201d <\/em>You can\u2019t help but wonder how many trials of faith these magnets have weathered, especially when they appear to be yellowed or cracked from age.\"Refrigerator<\/p>\n

Speaking of faith, it was an inspirational Facebook post quoting famous author, Max Lucado, that made me think it was time to confess my refrigerator sleuthing. It said, \u201cIf God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it\u2026.Face it, friend. He is crazy about you.\u201d The post made me smile, so I hope it will make someone else smile too. \u00a0In the end, maybe you shouldn\u2019t judge a book by its cover, but lately I\u2019ve come to believe that you can find out a lot about a person by their refrigerator.<\/p>\n

\"ChristinaChristina Ryan Claypool is an\u00a0Amy-award winning\u00a0freelance journalist and inspirational speaker. Contact her through her website at www.christinaryanclaypool.com. She is also a Chicken Soup for the Soul contributor.<\/em><\/p>\n

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You should never judge a book by its cover, but is it possible to judge a person by their refrigerator? For example, when you open a refrigerator, you can usually tell if it belongs to a domestically challenged individual, an … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,1],"tags":[739,738,88,741,35,737,736,742,743,740,735],"class_list":["post-984","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-a-spiritual-path-on-the-road-less-traveled","category-uncategorized","tag-bob-evans","tag-chef","tag-children","tag-domestically-challenged","tag-food","tag-grandchildren","tag-magnets","tag-max-lucado","tag-quotations","tag-rachel-ray","tag-refrigerator"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/984","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=984"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/984\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1758,"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/984\/revisions\/1758"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=984"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=984"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=984"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}