Hit or Miss

It's always the kitchen first for me when settling into a vacation rental. Open all the cabinets and drawers, check out the tools and provisions, unpack the cooler, find some pantry space, put the groceries away. That's how it started tonight, too, at our weekend beach house in Southern Maryland. We pulled in about 6:30, unloaded the car, and then hit the beach for a quick walk before dark. Once back in the house, I stationed myself in the kitchen ready to get organized and make dinner. 

The first thing I noticed was that the pots and pans were scattered across two cabinets and several shelves in the tall pantry. Pots and their lids were asunder; mixing bowls were here and there, and three colanders were in three separate locations. This would never do! I spent the next 20 minutes reuniting the stand mixer with its bowl and attachments, stacking stock pots and skillets on the lazy susan in the corner cabinet, and nesting a set of casserole dishes and their glass lids in a low cupboard along with some serving bowls and platters. 

At the same time, I put a pot of chicken stock on to simmer, chopped some veggies and rotisserie chicken, and cooked some pasta for the soup we would have for dinner. By the time the rest of our group arrived, it seemed like the kitchen was ship shape and ready for all the cooking that we would we do this weekend.

When the soup was ready, I pulled six bowls down from the cabinet and reached into the cutlery drawer for some spoons. There were only five, and we were a party of six! Unbelieving of this turn of events, we scoured the kitchen, turning up a couple of curious unidentifiable implements, but not another spoon. 

"Who has a stand mixer, crock pot, and this thing," I gestured at a sturdy cast aluminum device with a lever and suction cups, "but not a single teaspoon?"

"I'll eat my soup with a measuring cup and fork," volunteered my brother, and ridiculous as it sounds, that is what happened.