“If I’d learned anything from last year’s ill-fated adventures, it was not to get overwhelmed by minor inconveniences.”
— Isabel Allende, Latin American author
“We may not be able to control the events, but we can always control our responses to them. We need to ensure that our perspective is an empowering and resourceful one.”
— Monjyoti Bhattacharyya, American author
About this time last year lightning took out our stove and a few other things. Appliances aren’t easy to find in this day and time, but we were able to find one. The new stove had lots of bells and whistles. Then last week it took on a life of its own. It whistled whenever it wanted and turned on the oven cleaning feature all by itself. It had gotten a little too big for its britches so the nice repairman came out and looked it over. Seems it needed a new electronic board. The first one came in and worked a few days then the stove started whistling a new tune so another electronic board came, and we’re kind of on a wait and see.
In the meantime, we have a microwave and a crockpot to cook in. There’s a small grill but Lord knows it’s a bit too hot to cook outside with a hundred-degree heat index. I gave thought to a hot plate like we used to cook on in the college days, but I wasn’t sure they even made those anymore. Turns out they do, but I’m still waiting it out and trying to be resourceful. People have always described me as resourceful, and I like that description a lot so I thought I’d try to see what we could do with what we have.
There was a slab of salmon in the refrigerator, but I wasn’t sure you can cook salmon in the microwave without the fish exploding. Naturally I googled “how to cook salmon in the microwave.” There were several recipes. I did what was suggested and smeared mayonnaise over the top of the salmon and added parsley from the garden, a bit of Mrs. Dash’s seasoning, and some chopped grape tomatoes. I covered the dish tightly and microwaved for six minutes just like the recipe said. At supper that night Sam said, “This is the best salmon ever.”
Whenever I cook an exceptionally good meal, we compare my cooking to a fancy restaurant in town we’ve never been to. We say, “This is as good as the fancy restaurant in town.”
I shared the recipe with a friend and she said, “Everything tastes better with mayonnaise on it.” That’s a little tip to remember.
Oh, and the air conditioner went out in the garage where Sam was working on his boat. Fortunately, we had a few old fans, and we could circulate some hot air. After that a sweet neighbor’s air conditioner went out so Sam pulled the window air conditioner out of the extra bedroom and took it over to her house until her air conditioner could be repaired.
We had company coming so we warned them about the air conditioner and the stove so they suggested they might just stay at a hotel and we all went out to eat for pizza. So far, the refrigerator is working, the washing machine, and the dryer too. Even if those go out, we have coolers with frozen water bottles, we have water and sinks to wash in, and we have the hottest weather ever to hang our clothes outside. There’s something to be said for being resourceful.
Shannon Bardwell is a writer living quietly in the Prairie. Email reaches her at msdeltachild@msn.com.
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