Forget the Lobster Squad, call the fire brigade!

This is what comes of trying to be a little martha.

This morning I was on the phone to my mother, while tapping away at the computer. So far, so usual.
But I started to notice a weird smell, something burnt. I freaked out, thinking it was my computer, and me without backups (also usual).
My mother inmediately jumped into a cab, with my sister María. That´s how things are in this family. All for one, even if they know nothing about computers. Moral support is all.

By the time they arrived, I´d Remembered All.

Here´s the reconstruction of events. Play C.S.I. music in your head.

Earlier this morning, I´d opened the freezer to take out some bread for toasting. I´d then spotted some beef stock I´d had for over six months. I´d been reading that stock keeps for only a few months, so I decided to boil it up and see if it was ok, before refreezing it.

I buttered and salted my toast, brought it over to the computer, munched away while tap-tap-clicking again.

And one hour later the Smell came. I decided it had to be the computer. Well, what else? It was the only piece of equipment in use in the house. I fretted and fumed, and sniffed , thereby managing to get a lot of dust into my nostrils. It didn´t seem to be the computer, but what else could it be?
In the end, I decided to drink some water to take my mind off things.

Oh, the smoke! Barbecuers, you won´t know what liquid smoke is until you´ve seen the sight of a pan totally engulfed in the thickest, most burblingly angry fog.

I recieved my mother and sister at the head of the steps with the smoking pan, looking like someone out of the Addams Family. I will never live this down, obviously.

And what´s worse, I now have to go back to Ikea to buy a new one. It was a very old and favourite pan. O well.
Livia turned up for lunch, and we had pasta with Godfather sauce, and it was a lot of fun, and the pasta didn´t taste burnt, even if the kitchen still smells disgusting.

Here´s my lesson for today. Never mind about freezed stock not keeping for months. Go back to square one and write 500 times "I shall not leave the stove unnattended".