Weapon or Spice ?

I straightened my spice shelf the other day. Okay, so they aren't all on one shelf. I'm not that organized, folks.
Mine are stretched out across the kitchen. We use a tremendous amount of some spices, so we buy them in 55 gallon drums. (Okay, maybe not quite that big. But we do buy the large economy size!) Those of course, really never quite fit anywhere specific, so they tend to sit out on the counter most of the time.
Then, there are others that sit across the back of the top of the stove. NOTE: I know that's not how you are supposed to store spices due to the heat but we do it anyway and have for years.
Some actually reside in a legitimate "spice rack" mounted on the side of a cabinet. Unfortunately, it's an old rack and not really built to accommodate more modern containers so many just don't fit there. The remainder are arranged on a Lazy Susan in a cabinet near the sink. (I use the term "arranged" loosely, of course.)
As I moved the can of mace, I remembered a funny conversation with The Big Guy last Fall:
We had been out to dinner and were on our way home when he asked the standard question: "Is there anything we need, want or desire before going home?" In other words, "Do we need to stop at the store?"

I knew I was going to make my grandmother's pound cake the next day for a family event and knew it called for mace. Our ensuing conversation went something like this:

Me: I should probably stop and get a can of mace.
Him: Mace?
Me: I'm not sure I have an open can in the cupboard.
Him: I guess not!
Me: I don't want to have to run out for it first thing in the morning.
Him: Yeah!
Me: I really do need it. I'm just going to go ahead and pick up a can. (With this statement, I pulled into the parking lot of the grocery store.)

Now, since I was driving, I had not seen his facial expressions throughout this talk. Now, he stared at me in disbelief, shaking his head and saying, "You've GOT to be kidding, right?"

It was then, I realized he only knew mace to be a weapon! He had absolutely no idea it was a cooking spice!! (Just what did he think I expected to happen at my family's dinner?)You do know, mace is a spice made from the bright red covering that partly encloses the nutmeg kernel, don't you?

I'll give you a chance to run out and get a can of mace and then I'll share my Gran's pound cake recipe with you tomorrow! It's really, really good!!!