This felt like one of those days when anything that could go wrong would end up even worse than I thought. For sure, it started out that way. I had to do a Restart Repair on the computer this morning. Fortunately, it worked. Otherwise I would have stayed all day in the panicky, agitated mood I was in while waiting for the program to run. I’m much better at letting things fix themselves than I am at plunging in to do it.

It’s a good thing, I suppose, that I worked until after midnight last night, doing what I expected to spend the whole weekend working on. At first this morning, without a computer, I thought I wouldn’t be able to work. Then after wrestling with the machine, I lost all interest in doing anything but sitting and reading, an activity I’ve had precious little time for this week. So that’s what I did most of the day, and it was a good way not to get into any further trouble.

By this afternoon I was brave enough to do some cooking. We are having a meaty Mothers’ Day feast tomorrow, and I offered to bring a bean salad. This is a new recipe, so there’s always the potential for disastrous wasting of beans, but it’s also a simple one, reducing the risk by five or six levels on the Disaster Potential scale. (That scale exists only in my head. That’s as close to an explanation as you’re going to get.)

Even though I followed the recipe (as precisely as anyone who grew up in the Sixties is capable of following instructions), I’m not totally convinced that what I ended up with is what I set out to make. It’s a little too watery to be called a “salad,” in my opinion. I don’t think you should have to eat a salad with a spoon.

However, the flavor and texture are within tolerance, and it will definitely make a decent side dish for the chicken and scallops (and a likely main dish for me). I’ll do a little draining before I put it in the transport container. Since it can be served warm or cold, I’ll have to play it by ear tomorrow. But for today, especially considering how today began, it’s as good as it gets.