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Wednesday, April 5, 2017

I Can See Clearly Now


The weather improved slightly from the oddness of the past winter. Yet, it's still rainy but at least the sign of spring are appearing and it's brightened mouse's mood. Weeks and weeks of endless gloomy weather left mouse despite feeling great about everything else, it just becomes very weary. In other news mouse's chauffeur company is back in action and she's finding it difficult to juggle all the family comings and goings.

All this led to mouse to make an odd request of Master, she asked if we could purchase a slow cooker, which sounds funny probably to some that we don't already have one, but it's something that mouse never thought much about. He said he'd consider it, but also said that he found them useless devices that take up counter space.  When mouse mentioned recipes she's been finding lately, he simply countered that as a competent home cook, mouse should be able to figure her way around that and often the ingredients used are often suspect. He despises things that come in a can or packet, no matter how good the outcome is professed to be, he can always tell the difference.

In the end, Master decided that it would become just another thing used in the beginning and tossed aside. He could be right about that, all that could be said is that mouse made her case, and it was rejected by him. A simple thing, and yet, not; because it left mouse feeling slightly irritated by his dismissal. It's not like she goes around asking for a lot -- it seemed like a simple request that he should have just rubber-stamped and slid it into the OK bin.

So, mouse sat with that feeling for a day or so, and discovered it really wasn't about making her life easier, but really about the idea of making her life easier.  As if this gadget would solve her driving around dropping and picking up, then rushing to cook a hot meal -- and the bigger question seemed to be that if such a thing would lead to her becoming more inventive with her meal planning? Sure, chicken legs or quarters tossed with some spices and thrown into the oven -- the larger question is what would she make differently?

All the mental gymnastics mouse was doing to justify her need, when all she was doing making excuses for her poor planning.

The simple fact is mouse is bored with cooking and tired of trying to think of new recipes to try within the time restraints, equally tired of dietary restrictions. Master can't eat this or that, kids don't like this or that -- it leads to very dull meals punctuated by maybe one decent meal a week. In preparing that decent meal mouse takes a lot of thought and effort and puts into a wonderful meal. It shows too. It's also not like she doesn't have the resources either, she's got a wall of cookbooks -- maybe it's time that she started reading them?

Wow, what a concept. 

2 comments:

ancilla_ksst said...

I really feel you on the sameness of trying to make things that people will eat. I've given up on one kid- if he doesn't like it he is old enough to microwave something. And he barely likes anything. :( So I just have to make something me and Master like. The other kid is old enough to cook his own food too, but he likes more things. I have a slow cooker too, but somehow that doesn't help in making dinners we all eat.

julie said...

I have a slow cooker and haven't used it very much, it mostly sits in a cupboard. Most slow cook meals can be cooked in the oven, the difference is that instead of preparing chicken or beef and vegetables at 9 in the morning, you need to do it at say 3 or 4........ Still i can't say much, I have lots of gadgets!