Fire!
Tue., December 9, 11:27 AM
“Imagine,” says U.D., “someone nearly burned the house down and it wasn’t me!” Oh, I could figure out a way to blame it on her – or on myself, since I should have been paying more attention. But I’m no longer the mother of babies, unless you count Husband.
U.D. brought home a sandwich for Husband, one of his favorites, but he wasn’t hungry. He eats according to his own schedule. So he put it into the fridge until he was ready for it. Yesterday evening, he pulled it out of the fridge, put the whole bag into the microwave, set the time and walked out of the kitchen.
I was watching the news, but I heard a funny sound and turned to see flames inside the microwave. “What the hell did you do!” I opened the door and realized I couldn’t beat it out, so I picked up the whole thing with tongs and took it to the sink.
What he neglected to do was look inside the bag; the sandwich was wrapped in aluminum foil. Thanks to the foil, however, the water I poured on the mess didn’t harm the sandwich much. I dried it out in the toaster oven, and I assume he enjoyed it. I haven’t heard a “thank you” from him in weeks.
He is now very meek and will probably behave for a day or two. I always thought he might set a fire with cigarettes, but I thought the microwave was safe.
Behave? I spoke too soon. I just woke him up to get ready to go to George’s funeral, and he thought I was bugging him too early. U.D. will be here in less than an hour. “How come? I thought it was at 3.” I don’t know where he got that idea; it’s at one, but we’ve told him twelve-thirty. If punctuality is important, I always tell him a half hour earlier.
I really hate to treat him that way, but the alternative is worse…
The snow removal guy phoned this morning to ask whether I had seen Miss Neighbor, since she usually comes outside when they’re here. I was glad to be able to tell him where she is. But who did I hear outside on Saturday morning?
Grateful for:
- Ears that still hear small sounds. I know when the cat’s misbehaving and when there’s someone outside, and I could hear the fire in the microwave.
- Knitting. I learned to knit when I was in college, and I did a lot of it when we were first married. (Because I felt I should keep Husband company. If I read a book, I wasn’t really in the room.) I have two sweaters I made from inexpensive yarn, still in good condition after thirty years. They are unbelievably warm in the basement or at my cold office.
