Losing what is left...

...of my ever-loving mind.

At least, i think i must be.

Our local Mom&Pop Grocery Store sells great produce.  And when the produce is just a bit "less than great," they often mark it down for quick sale.

When they do, i stock up on whatever is thus marked down, and either freeze it, use it for that day's meal, or get a good bit of mileage out of it.

For example, when they mark down bananas, i buy a huge amount and take them home, peel, freeze on a baking sheet so they don't stick together, and then put in a freezer bag for smoothies.

Apples get peeled, cored, bad spots cut out, and sliced thin, then cooked down to make fried apples 'n onions as a side dish.

Tomatoes are either cut up for salad right away, or made into home made tomato sauce.

So when i was making both chicken and vegetarian fajitas last night, i pulled out the marked down for quick sale tomatoes i had in the fridge to chop up for them.

The marked down items are put on small flat foam boards and wrapped, then weighed and labeled.  So i took the pack out of the fridge, and noted it had 5 Roma tomatoes in it.  Or at least, i thought so.

At the sink, which i had just cleaned out with soap and rubbing alcohol (side note;  i always clean the sink thoroughly with soap and rubbing alcohol before putting any food in it that will be consumed; did you know your sink can actually be dirtier than your toilet and needs a thorough cleaning like that), i tore open the plastic and dumped the five, as i thought, tomatoes in the sink.

Then i turned my back, tossed the plastic in the garbage can, put the foam board in the recycling bin, and turned back to wash the tomatoes.

There were only four tomatoes in the sink.

Turning to Little Girl, who was helping with dinner prep by shredding cheese next to the sink, i asked where the fifth tomato went.

"What tomato?" she asked.

Didn't i put five in the sink? i asked her, thinking she was playing a joke on me and had removed one while my back was turned.

"I don't know, I haven't taken my eyes off the cheese grater," she answered.  "If I had, I would have grated my hand!"

Still thinking she was playing a joke, i poked at the other side of the sink, which held a couple of items waiting to be washed.  When it wasn't there, i rechecked the garbage can, to make sure i hadn't tossed it by accident.  Then i checked the floor, looking behind things, in case it had hit the floor and rolled off.

Are you sure you aren't playing a joke on me? i asked her.

"I promise, I am not," Little Girl said, and i believed her.

She looked around, also, and neither of us ever found that fifth tomato, if it ever existed.

So either i've lost my mind and can't count straight, which is possible, or i'm going to find a dead tomato somewhere in my kitchen in a day or so.

Somehow, i'm not sure which one to hope for.




Today is:

Banquet of Fairies, Goblins, Pixies, and Elves -- Fairy Calendar

Burning of the Clavie -- Burghead, Scotland (ancient ritual to ensure good luck through the year)

Carmentalia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (festival of the goddess of childbirth)

CHA Winter Convention and Trade Show -- Anaheim, CA, US (largest Craft and Hobby Association show of the year; through the 15th)

Cuckoo Dancing Week begins -- in honor of Laurel & Hardy, whose theme song was "The Dancing Cuckoos"; watch some of their fabulous material this week, and introduce it to a new fan

Death of Prophet Mohammad/Martyrdom of Imam Hasan -- Iran

Feast of Sokar -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Independence Manifesto Day -- Morocco(1944); Western Sahara(1944)

International Thank You Day -- as declared by Adrienne Sioux Koopersmith

Juturnalia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (goddess of prophetic waters festival)

Kosrae Constitution Day -- Micronesia

Milk Day

National Hot Toddy Day

Scalloway Fire Festival -- Shetland Islands (viking festival)

Secret Pal Day -- no info found on the origin, it's a secret!  do something nice for someone, secretly.)

Step in a Puddle and Splash Your Friends Day -- just don't do it to your secret pal

Sts. Paldo, Taso, and Tato's Day (founders of the monastery of San Vincenzo)

St. Theodosius of Cappadocia (Patron of file makers)

Tattoo Pride Day

The Big Chill -- Racine, WI, US (formerly the Flake Out Festival, lots of snowy fun; through Sunday)

Whittlesea Straw Bear Festival -- Whittlesea, England (the "straw bear" goes through the town collecting gifts and performing, and on Sunday, the costume is burned amid much celebration; a festival celebrated since medieval times)


Birthdays Today:

Kim Coles, 1962
Ben Crenshaw, 1952
Naomi Judd, 1946
Jean Chretien, 1934
Rod Taylor, 1930
Grant Tinker, 1926
Alexander Hamilton, 1755


Today in History:

Prophet of Islam Muhammad leads an army of 10,000 Muslims to conquer Mecca, 630
The first recorded lottery in England is drawn in St. Paul's Cathedral, 1569
Isaac Newton is elected a member of the Royal Society, 1642
Mt. Etna erupts, 1693
William Herschel discovers Titania and Oberon, the moons of Uranus, 1787
An earthquake in Martinique destroys half of Port Royal and results in about 700 deaths, 1839
Charring Cross Station opens in London, 1864
Milk is first delivered in bottles, 1878
Martha H. Cannon becomes the first woman state senator in the US, in Utah, 1897
The Hudson, the first sedan type automobile, goes on display at the 13th Auto Show in NYC, 1913
First use of insulin to treat diabetes in a human patient, 1922
Amelia Earhart flies from Honolulu to Oakland, California, 1935
The first recorded snowfall in Los Angeles, California, 1949
United States Surgeon General Luther Leonidas Terry, M.D., publishes a landmark report saying that smoking may be hazardous to health, sparking nation- and worldwide anti-smoking efforts, 1964
The Gateway Bridge, Brisbane in Queensland, Australia is officially opened, 1986