Pastoral Inspiration Through an Absent Gerbil

(This is not meant to sound all woe is me. I'm doing fine, honestly!)

So Mrs Gerbil is off in Highland Cathedral, and I have the house to myself.  Not a big problem, as I am relatively well house trained.  But most of my problems seem to come from the kitchen.

I am not a complete stranger to the kitchen, as I will claim the title of its designer and chief builder, but once I handed the keys over to Mrs G, it became her domain.  She is an outstanding cook, but I tend to get in the way, so I stand well back.  A quick visit at meal times to collect cutlery and set the table, then I retreat.  It's safer if I stay out of the Kitchen Work Triangle.

So now I've got to cook for  myself, and I've barely a clue where anything is.  I have a few recipes up my sleeve, but cooking is a slow process as I just don't have that rythm.  

My vegetarian friends will be pleased to know that I have, for the first time in my life, purchased a carrot.  I've even taken the chance to learn how to cook soup, and I have peeled the said carrot, chopped an onion and flung in some garlic.  Note the subtle difference between a bulb and a clove. Recipes tend to ask for a clove or two.  Not a whole bulb.  I've not seen a vampire in weeks.

And then there's the washing machine.  Now I'm not a stranger to it, but I had to look in the manual to find out exactly what constitutes a small load, when the timesaver function is useful (when you want to save time apparently) and how to prevent myself from setting the machine up on a four hour wash cycle.  By way of diversion, how many of the programmes on your machine do you actually use, or are you strictly a 40c Colourfast Cotton (Setting D) sort of person?

So it got me thinking about supporting those in our communities where a person suddenly finds themselves living on their own, for exmple through death, divorce or a long hospital stay.  Suddenly the person left behind has to pick up on those tasks that the other party.  I have spoken to one lady who doesn't have a bank account of her own.  That's what husbands are for.  And it's his car, so she has never encountered tax, insurance or MOT's. 

And what about the men where the kitchen is completely uncharted territory?  Where the wife has done all the washing and cooking.  I know of one man who came to work wearing a very shiny suit one day.  His wife had left him, and he had no idea how to press a suit.  By ironing it rather than pressing it with a wet cloth he had flattened all the fibres in the fabric giving it a sheen.  

It's just another thing to think about for future pastoral encounters. 

And besides, I'll never starve, as long as there's takeaway!