The Mystery of the Missing Cooking Utensils

I am missing a one cup measure, a slotted spoon, and most of my teaspoons. I have written about the missing teaspoons before, but I cannot remember which blog contains the entry. I am not down to about three or four teaspoons, which is not a problem if I wash dishes every time I use one. The biggest problem is the missing measuring cup and the slotted spoon because I use those when I cook at home.

I remember using both the measuring cup and the slotted spoon on Thursday or Friday, so they have to be around the house. When I mixed up the dry milk I could not find the measuring cup or the spoon both of which I use to mix the milk. I made do with a half cup measure and a wooden spoon. The problem is that using the wooden spoon to mix the dry milk are the lumps left in the milk. When I use the slotted spoon I do not have lumps left in the milk.

Not having those items is inconvenient and makes cooking some foods difficult. I can us the half cup measure, but I prefer using the one cup when I have to mix the dry milk. On the bright side, I can use the experience of cooking without the proper equipment in a short story or a poem. I might even be able to use it in my NaNoWriMo novel in November.

The door to the coat closet and the new thermostat

The door to the hall or coat closet opens by itself at random intervals. Before I had the new digital thermostat install, it was a complete mystery. However, the new thermostat has helped solve the enigma.

The closet door opens when the temperature changes. I know this because the new thermostat is sensitive enough to record one-degree changes in temperature. Every time I see the door open, I check the thermostat before I close the door. I also check the thermostat when I to the bathroom or one of the bedrooms. This way, I am aware of the temperature inside the house at all times.

I suspect the door only opens when the temperature goes down, but I am going to wait a couple of months before I make a definite decision on that. That closet is below the entrance to the attic, which no longer has an entrance cover. I think that may be the reason the door opens by itself. I am going to have to get a cover for the entrance to the attic.

In the mean time, I am going to use the door opening by itself in a short story. I think I will use it in a ghost story, I have not written in this genre; therefore, I am going to let the door inspire a ghost story.

Life’s Little Mysteries

A writer's daily life is full of little mysteries that appear to have no solution. I have about three mysteries that I could use as the basis to a fantasy or science fiction story. I don't think these puzzles would make good novels or short stories, but they would make good flash fiction stories. These mysteries are

1. What happened to all my spoons? I still have several full sets of knives and forks, but only half-a-dozen mismatched spoons. The logical explanation, of course, we inadvertently threw away, but if that was the case then why do we still have the knives and forks to the sets.
2. What happened to all my socks? I have about a dozen mismatched pairs of socks, which I can't wear any place except at home. The logical explanations are lost in the washing machine, in the wrong dresser drawer or under a piece of furniture, but those explanations raise other questions.
3. Why can't I get all the laundry done in one day? My mother and myself are the only two people in this house, but we have to do laundry every day to stay even with the never ending pile. My grandmother did laundry for seven people once a week and we had enough cloths to last us all seven days, while changing cloths several times a day. However, if I let the laundry go a single day then it takes me a week to catch up.

These are only a few of the little mysteries I've noticed the past year or so. Maybe now that I'm 62 they just seem more puzzling. I don't know what the explanations to these mysteries are, I just know that I would like them solved. Therefore, I'm going to write a flash fiction story about each one. The stories may not solve the mystery, but at least I'm using the mysteries creatively and constructively.