Yes--A paralyzing affliction indeed! My challenge is using the lovely food items given me as gifts. The need to preserve the stores of such items seems multiplied when the gift are brought back from friends and family who have gone overseas, or, for that matter, anywhere that I do not expect to be travelling soon. I realize, also, that it would probably even be a bit insulting to the gift giver (assuming a reasonable care was taken in the choosing of the gift) to know that the giftee (me, in this case) was actually refusing to make use of a perfectly good and lovingly selected olive oil, or wine or condiment, because of some odd sense that it is better to hold on to said gift for as long as possible, even at the very real risk, nay likelihood, that the gift will spoil and never be consumed by ANYONE AT ALL, nonetheless the giftee!! Whew-- Upon reflection, this is in fact a greater affliction than I believed at first thought! So glad you brought it out into the light!
