Dumb

Over the past few months, I have had several opportunities to utter the words, "Well, that was just plain dumb." Life can be buzzing along at a semi-normal pace and then an event occurs that is guaranteed to keep me humble. Here are a few examples.

1) Whack-a-Mirror--I have backed out of my garage no less than a thousand times over the past 20+ years and yet, I managed to wallop the integrity out of my passenger's side rear view mirror one early morning. I confess I was mentally distracted but there is no rational reason for putting a vehicle in reverse and not watching the garage door perimeter. Some part of me believed the mirror would right itself once I scraped my way through the yawning door. The shards scattered on the driveway and the dangling mirror on the side of the vehicle proved otherwise. My long suffering husband dutifully duct-taped the sad remnants to the vehicle so I could maintain a little dignity until the costly trip to the body shop. Paying the final bill added salt to the wound. Rest assured, I am easing my way out of the garage these days.

2) Case of the Missing Scallions--Most Saturdays, I begin my time in the kitchen with a chopping extravaganza so I have fresh vegetables ready to go for the upcoming week. Onions, peppers, garlic and carrots are frequent victims. I pile the vegetables on the counter and begin working through them until the last veggie is diced and tucked into containers. A couple of weeks ago I purchased a bunch of scallions to add to the mix. That evening I reached into the fridge for my chopped scallions and despite my best efforts, I was unable to find any evidence of their existence. I distinctly remembered the bag on my counter top but my memory was a little hazy as to the chopping experience. I finally decided I had accidentally tossed them out with the cutting scraps. Fast forward one week. I reached into a cupboard for a box of angel hair pasta and there, nestled in with the dry goods, was a bag of scallions. Needless to say, they were a little squishy and aromatic. Also needless to say, dumb.

3) Crispy crisp--I have been making rhubarb desserts for as long as I have known the joy of applying sugar to rhubarb. I decided to make a strawberry rhubarb crisp for guests last week because it is a no-brainer, go-to favorite. I sailed through the assembly of ingredients and put it in the oven for its usual thirty minutes. I heard the timer ding but was in the middle of some laundry issues. Surely, I would remember to check the dessert within a couple of minutes. More than a few minutes later, I hesitantly opened the oven door. The crisp had taken on a toasty glow, and not in a good way. I pulled it from the oven and willed myself into believing it would be just fine. I had no time to make another dessert so the crispy edges were removed from the pan and ice cream was plopped on each dessert as a tasty cover up.  My husband thought it tasted great but he is also well aware of who makes his next meal.

I am smart enough to know I am not finished being dumb. I only hope I can keep the vegetables in the fridge and the rhubarb leaves out of the desserts.