Crazy Ma Strikes Again

Once upon a time there was a Nice But Crazy Ma.

Now NBCM decided in the middle of May that it was high time to do some spring cleaning. The fact that New Zealand relatives were coming the following week had nothing to do with it.

So NBC Ma went to work on the kitchen. The first day she cleaned off the stove, CLEANED UNDER THE MICROWAVE, re-potted a cactus and wiped down two ledges AND cleaned the knicky knacks from those ledges. She cleared off one terribly cluttered counter and using nails, attached some lovely color-coordinated baskets to the side of her cupboard.

NBC MA did the nail/basket thing because a)..she thought it looked cool, b)..it got some of the clutter off the top of her fridge and c)..she knew that sooner or later her husband would make fun of it and that gave her something to live for.

But mostly she did it because she could.

That very same day NBC Ma also did a quick sweep of the floor and and even quicker washdown. (rumor has it that the latter chores were initiated after breaking a glass followed by experiencing sharp pains in her feet)

Nevertheless, one day was down and ALL WAS WELL.

On the second day NBC MA, feeling OH SO INSPIRED, cleaned off another (really messy) counter, washed off the top of the fridge, washed off the tops of the window frames, cleaned the white ceiling fan!! (even though it doesn't work) AND.....took down all the curtains and washed them.

It was while ironing the curtains that NBC Ma saw the little tag, "dry clean only."

NOT TO WORRY :-)

NBC Ma is no dummy. She knew they would be fine and they were.

The ironing was completed and the curtains were rehung, all the while interspersed with the fixing of a YUMMY supper, which was only half an hour late but nobody cared because they all KNOW she never has it done when she says she will.

It was about this time that NBC Ma noticed copious amounts of smoke emanating from the oven.

Now, small amounts of smoke are not too alarming. Certain foodstuffs do cause smoke...baked potato pieces, to name a couple dozen.

However, THIS smoke seemed a tad abundant even for butter dips baked at 450 degrees.

NBC Ma opened the oven door and discovered this...
...which appears to have once been a potholder.

It apparently hitched a ride on the bottom of a glass pan, which NBC Ma did not notice in the midst of being smug in her overwhelming sanitary success.

Keeping quite cool, she fetched the offending hot pad with a handy grilling fork and deposited it out in the grass, where the freshening breeze whipped it into a smoldering mass of perverse cotton.

After supper it looked like this...
...but NBC MA does not care.

She does not care that the kitchen with her newly cleaned curtains was then filled with smoke.

NBC Ma feels she gets points for putting in her time no matter what the outcome.

Also, she now thinks that 350 degrees would be a more reasonable temperature at which to bake hot pads.

But most importantly, NBC Ma needs a long hot soak in the tub.

*sniff*
 

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