The Case of the Missing Copper Pennies

Today, my next thing was to reorganize the recipes in my recipe box. It was a long overdue reorganization, pretty much brought to the front burner the day that I made those copper pennies for my meal on wheels. Stressful meal on wheels preparation is often accompanied by the recipe box lamentation.


The story unfolded that day much as it usually does: I headed to my little box to find the copper pennies. At that point, I was humming, as usual, with delusions of Betty Crocker in my head. I began flipping through the box in time to my little tune… Within seconds, I noticed that the desired recipe was not at its assigned station. At this point, the fingers began that frantic little running motion back and forth over the files. The humming stopped and was replaced with the titch and sigh. Finally, I pulled out that wad of random paper which resides at the front of my box and proceeded to slap jack each one on the counter, hoping each time to flip over a winner. By now, I was no longer titching and sighing… I was muttering. SOMEBODY had obviously dropped my recipe box on the floor and just shoved the contents together willy nilly - thus causing all this recipe card commotion.

Now, nobody ever goes near that recipe box without my direction, and deep in my heart, I knew perfectly well that I was very likely the cause of the chaos. But at that very moment, I was not rational. I was in recipe card hunt overdrive...

I never did find the recipe for copper pennies that day. I don’t know why. It should have been so easy to spot… scribbled on a 2X3 inch strip of paper ripped from a mini tablet… I can’t imagine how it got misplaced. At last, I remembered that I had posted that recipe on my message board. It would have been so much easier had I remembered that tidbit before the copper penny caper began.

But then, I wouldn’t have been motivated to reorganize my file box. Again.

For whatever reason, I just can’t manage my recipe file. I have tried repeatedly to organize it. I cut and pasted recipes onto cute recipe cards. I color coded the categories…. A green card for vegetables…. Brown for meats… red for soups and stews…. Blue for beverages…

But inevitably, no matter how well I organize it, it ends up looking like this:

Yes, my “recipe file” is an old box from a pair of baby shoes. Size O. I have had this box --and this recurring problem-- since The Practical One was a baby. With all good intentions, I plan to keep my recipes filed neatly in that box. But inevitably, I get in a hurry or distracted, and well…

So today, I tackled the box. I copied, cut, and pasted recipes and reorganized them. I tossed dozens of recipes. Most had been ripped from magazines or printed from the computer but never tried anyway.

At the end of the day, I had my neat recipe box back, ready to try again. I don’t delude myself that it will stay that way, but a girl can hope. Plus, this time, I have a secret weapon.

This time, I decoupaged the box...

One final note: I have discovered that my next thing is easily determined by figuring out what is causing the most confusion in my daily routine or home…. And fixing it.

Yes I know, well, of course!