I posted a meme of wicker paper plate holders on social media, and it reminded me of something pretty funny.

In 1993, I moved into a condominium in Centerville, Ohio. It was a pretty spacious townhouse, and I loved living there.

The kitchen was spacious and had enough room for a kitchen table and chairs. It also had a nice size dining room.

 The kitchen had a stove and oven, and above it was a matching cooling cabinet with a rack inside. I had never seen a cooling cabinet and thought it was pretty, well cool, despite the fact I would probably never use it. Instead, I stored my wicker paper plate holders and quite a few wicker baskets.

Since cooking has never been one of my loves, I seldom used any of the kitchen appliances. One day, I was preparing to go to someone’s house for dinner, and decided I would bring a Jell-O cake. I turned on the oven as I prepared the recipe for the cake. When I got ready to put the cake into the oven I noticed it was still cool inside, but I could feel heat in the kitchen. For several minutes, I attempted to rectify the problem but the oven would not heat up.

I called maintenance to let them know. They were there within a matter of minutes. At the same time, my friend, Susan Cook, arrived. The maintenance man said, “oh, I see the problem. You’ve got your upper oven on.“

 Upper oven? I don’t have an upper….

I opened the door to what I thought was my cooling cabinet only to discover ashes, the remnants of my wicker paper plate holders, and baskets.

The maintenance man, Susan, and I stood there laughing so hard that each of us had tears streaming down our faces.

Since we were going to Susan’s grandparents for dinner, she suggested we stop at the Washington Township’s Dorothy Lane Market to select a dessert. 

A cooling cabinet….