Butcher's Twine

I was tying up my newspapers for their journey to the recycling center at the local landfill when I realized that my loyal cone of butcher's twine was about to be exhausted.  I've had this cone of twine for so long, I can't remember where or when I got it.  I think it might have begun its relationship with me as a two-pound cone.  And look at its emaciated condition now:

It saddens me to think that in a couple of weeks, I will literally reach the end of my rope.  (Good one, huh?)

The reason I bought the cone of twine in the first place was for a decorating project.  This was so far back in time, macrame was the hottest thing in crafts.  I failed at mastering anything but the basic knots of macrame, but I knew how to crochet.  I found a pattern for a crocheted wall hanging in a woman's magazine (as we called them back in the woman's day) and got to work.  It was a labor of love, but I was proud of my creation.  At some point many years later, Jenna and I dyed the wall hanging green for its move into her bedroom.  It's still hanging there.

And then the cone of twine took its place in a cabinet in the mudroom, always ready for some random chore that required sturdy string.  It seemed then that it would last forever.

A year or so ago, I stopped garbage pick-up at my house and began taking my kitchen waste and recyclables to the landfill, saving about $35 a month (which I see as justification for my wine purchases).  I receive two newspapers a day, so that part of the recycling effort is responsible for my twine coming out of the closet.  At least once a week, I secure my newspapers in a gift-wrap of twine and store them in the mudroom until my next trip to the landfill.

What will I do when my cone is empty?  A look into that mudroom cabinet revealed that there is a ball of twine waiting in the wings.  It's a ball, not a cone, so it doesn't hold the same appeal to me, but it will do the job.  I just cannot think about how flimsy its end will be.  Or maybe I will save my empty cone so that I can wrap the "new" twine around it as it nears the end.

Yeah, I need a life.