Can you hand me that stool, please

I had an interesting thing happen to me this afternoon. Well it started last night. I was putting away my TPN order. I had a bag that had a small vial of iron and 100 cc of fluid. I set it on the washer to get it out of the way for right then. Then a little later I needed to use the washer. I quickly picked up the bag to set on the dryer and I heard the vial of iron hit the floor behind the dryer. GREAT!! I climbed up on the washer and could not see the vial anywhere. I thought of telling my supply company that the vial was not in the bag (at that point it was true).

So this afternoon I decided that I was going to find that vial. I pulled the washer out about a foot (I didn't want to move the dryer out, which would have been much lighter, because the exhaust hose thingie for the lint would come off.) So I climbed up on my stool and got on the dryer. I carefully thought things through before going back there. I was home alone. 1st, I made sure that I had my cell phone and 2nd, I figured out that I would need the stool behind the washer to be able to get out of there. I carefully set the stool back there on the floor and then climbed back there. I could not see that vial anywhere. That stool was taking up valuable space so I set it on the washer so I could get down on the floor and get a good look. Still nothing. So I tilted the washer forward so I could look under it. As I did that, I heard something hit the floor. Was that my stool? OOOPS. Still no vial. I was beginning to wonder if there really had been one in the bag. The story of there wasn't one in it was becoming more believable to me.

Now it would be nice to get out from behind the washer. If I had 1/2 the arm strength that I used to have, I could have pulled myself onto the dryer with little trouble at all, but that wasn't going to happen today. Mike would be home in about 5 hrs. I could stand there for that long (unless I had to go to the bathroom). I don't think so. ..... Let's see, I have my cell phone. I had gone visiting teaching just a few hrs before this. My partner lives not too far away. My back door is unlocked, she could come hand me my stool. Oh yah, I don't know her phone number. So whose number do I have? Oh yah, all kinds of relatives who all live at least 200 miles away. Maybe I could call Rachel so she could laugh at my perdicament. I did think of a couple of friends in town whose numbers I knew but by then I was becoming determined to get out of this on my own. I was only a few inches away from being able to get out. I started looking at what I could reach to stand on. I saw some cans of dog food. (Dang dogs were usefull for once). I stood on one can but couldn't quite reach. I stacked 2 cans on top of each other and I made it. Yippee. All by myself.

Now I was even more determined to find that stupid vial. I tilted the dryer up and there it was under it in the very back corner. Without thinking, I pulled the dryer out just a bit so I could reach. Dang it! I pulled the lint vent thingie off. I wasn't happy about that. I climbed back behind the washer again, this time leaving the stool on the floor. I got the vial of iron and even hooked up the lint vent. I remembered to pick up the cans of dog food before I left. I climbed out and was able to reach down and pull the stool out.

I don't know how expensive a vial of iron is but it couldn't have been worth all that trouble. Next time my iron comes you can bet that I will be extremely careful with where I put it.

Just another day in my "why do these things always happen to me" life.