Creative Problem Solving

This blog will seem more casual and certainly not serious. I feel like I’m a 12 year old telling someone what I just accomplished. It is at the urging of a friend who said, “Those who have been following you will want to know what you’ve done,” that convinced me to write this.

Our current life is about problem solving, some solutions working out better than others. Some ideas work well, others not so much. But, bit-by-bit we’ve borrowed or created ideas that make life a bit simpler. I think often about the years of coaching OM (Odyssey of the Mind). A friend and I coached our children and others from our local elementary several years in this awesome, creative, problem-solving competition. OM includes spontaneous (name as many things as you can that are red and round) as well as long-term (multiple months) problems, and over time the students became amazingly adept at problem solving. Adults could not help so the students, not the adults, would develop their skills.

Alan has been a bit like the OM coaches in encouraging me to do whatever I possibly could. What I can’t do (yet), he graciously does. Things that have remained pretty much in his domain are hot stove and oven tasks. The danger risks are too great for me in my wheelchair. Anything cooking on the stove is above what I can see. Moving in a wheelchair involves two hands at all times or the only place one goes is in circles. There is no way I would put a hot pan on my lap. Well, this week I made the entire dinner which involved two very hot stovetop dishes. Shrimp scampi, angel hair pasta, green beans, and fresh fruit. Not one ounce of help. 😉

After seeing a unique dresser/desk configuration in a friend’s condo, I noticed that our counter stovetop had a drawer face just below the stovetop. I was convinced there was dead space behind it so when our remodel wizard was here one day, he checked it out, verified that the drawer face could be removed, found some long, smooth sliding supports, built a shelf, and installed a hidden 22”x25” shelf which is at a convenient height for me in my chair. I can work on it once it’s pulled out from any of three sides. Our kitchen is galley style and not large. I discovered some and predicted other things; therefore, concluding this meal could work.

• If I put a heat trivet on the pull out workspace, I can lift a small or medium size pan off the burner and onto the trivet to check on cooking progress.
• Salted water can be brought to a boil, (check once sauce pan is on the pull out shelf, trivet), broken pasta can be added, lid can be replaced, and it will continue to cook on the burner which has been turned off.
• Marinated shrimp will cook quickly, and I just needed to add a couple ingredients to complete necessary flavoring. Again, I could move the hot, sauté pan to the trivet to monitor cooking.
• By having the shelf pulled out all the way, I could position my wheelchair sideways between that shelf and our sink. After positioning a stable colander in the sink, I could reach the saucepan (water no longer boiling) from the shelf and empty it into the colander in one fluid movement, where it could drain. No need to rest pan or colander on my lap.

Lightweight, microwave dishes with handles and vents have long made microwave cooking safe for me. Fruit, well, that is more delicious eaten fresh. Not only was the cooking of the meal successful, it tasted delicious. This might not seem earth shaking but it sure brought a smile to my face. Enjoy the fun and whimsical things in life. Watch for your blessings.

Shalom, Collene