Do You Believe...

....in Fairies? Or to be more precise (just for the purposes of this discussion)... in Pixies? You're looking a little confused and that's understandable. You thought the blog was about restoring the skills lost between our Grandparent's generation and ours... You're not wrong. No... I haven't been smoking the origanum (oregano) again (it was one time and to be fair, the Other one was smoking it and I took it off her in disgust... she thought it was pot. I did not. I only took a drag to see if it was really making purple bunnies come out of the ceiling tiles. For the record... it didn't and it was really unpleasant.) In fairness though, there were some pretty cool Fairies in the time of our Granny & Grandpa. And I'm not just talking about the closet queers of stage and screen... So, back to the fairies with the wings... you're still not so sure? Check these out... The Cottingley Fairies... They were very famous back in 1917...! Ok, so now that we've established that fairies are a part of the "Just Like My Gran"... can we continue? Thank you.



Ok, so whether you believe in fairies, pixies, gremlins, ghosts etc or not, at one time or another we've all blamed something from that list for something... "The email gremlins must've stolen the attachment"... "The fairies must've done it"... etc :-) Well, I have another one to add to the list. The Kitchen Pixie! Who scoffed? Come on... own up. I heard you... Was it you? No matter. The kitchen pixie is very real. And I can prove it! I've established this theory after many hours of deep contemplation and much investigation and there simply is no answer that fits better than a small, quick witted vixen in a Swarovski studded ruby gown who dwells in your kitchen and ... "does" stuff.

"Like what?" our beloved Miss Twinset asks. As well she might. Here it is. My Theory. The Kitchen Pixie... hereafter known as "Ruby".... is responsible for many of the almost unnoticed things that happen in our kitchens every day. The missing lid to your favourite Tupperware? She hid it. The plate on the stove that mysteriously stayed too hot and burnt that dish? She wiggled the switch. The loaf of bread that wasn't sealed and went stale? Yup, that was her too! Now... it's not all bad. In fact, it's more good than bad. You see, she has a wicked sense of humour and the pranks are just to keep you in line.

She's also largely responsible for the strange and inexplicable good stuff too! Examples? Well, you know that silver serving spoon that you've hunted everywhere for? The one that's well and truly gone and might have been pinched by your dotty Aunt Gertrude? Well, it's Murphy's Law that when you open the silverware drawer to prove that it's gone... there it will be, glinting happily at you from the top of the pile. You stare at it in disbelief while the family member shrugs and puts it down to your failing memory. If you listen closely at that point, you'll hear the tinkling bell laughter of the little minx as she darts out of view... ! Her favourite trick though is car keys! No matter where you leave them in the house (even the freezer... don't ask, it was a long day), she'll find them and return them to where you thought you left them, hours after you looked there (twice). It's enough to drive you mad, but it's all in a days work for her!

In fairness, while she may move the whisk totally out of reach so that the sauce curdles, she's equally likely to find that missing recipe card and slip it under a magnet on the fridge (where you definitely wouldn't have put it yourself). She's actually an asset to the kitchen and her favourite thing is to watch you while you work and she's happiest while she's plotting her next escapade or surfing on sunbeams! Now, as she is the "kitchen pixie", you may wonder if she's any good at cooking. Truth is... from what I can gather... no. She's really good at eating though... as evidenced by that last cookie or slice of pie that simply disappeared from the fridge! And no... I didn't eat them! Hmph!

The trick to keeping your resident Kitchen Pixie happy is this... Provide plenty of yummy dishes for her to nibble off of. Leave the odd sparkly thing in the kitchen for her to play with (and keep) and always have something shiny (pot, spoon, bowl of water) for her to examine herself in. Oh... and don't take the pranks too personally! What happens if she's unhappy? You won't like it! I don't take any chances.... no, not even in the interests of providing a comprehensive blog on the subject. Ruby's here and I'm going to keep her happy!

So - all of you out there. Keep your eyes open and you may just catch a glimpse of a misplaced sparkle as it passes or hear a distant giggle... or find that missing pyrex dish :-) Proof that you may well have your own kitchen pixie. In the meantime... I'm going to stock up on sparkly things and see if I can't invite mine to participate more in this blog...

Until next time....