Stack

When the Mild Wife and I moved in to our apartment, we had to do a bunch of shopping in order to furnish the house. We each had items we could contribute to our new home, but even so, there were quite a few that we had to purchase. These days, I look back on some of it quite fondly. Sure, it would've been better had we not made three trips to the nearby store in the same day, but it's become part of our story. There's usually a laugh or two to be had for most of the items in our household.

However, the one set of items that has decidedly not made us laugh lately is a set of coasters. Yes, coasters. You would think that it'd be hard to get mad at coasters, but hear me out. Let me finish my tale of woe, and then you can judge for yourself.

In hindsight, I shouldn't be surprised. You see, it took forever for us to find a suitable set of coasters. We figured that it would be a relatively quick errand to choose and acquire coasters, but, astoundingly, this was not the case. I think we visited something like three stores and checked two or three online providers in the hopes of finding something suitable. We weren't looking for anything fancy, either. We just wanted something that wouldn't mold and wouldn't stick to glasses. That's it. Those were our main criteria.

Still, it took a very long time for us to find a suitable set of coasters. The things were hiding from us, I swear. Ultimately, we found a set that fit our criteria where we least expected them: Ikea. We were just walking through the last floor of Ikea, when we happened to stumble across these:

Note the alternating colors

They are surprisingly sturdy, they don't stick to the glasses, and they don't mold. Basically, they checked all of the boxes. The colors weren't our first choice, but over time, they've grown on us. They actually compliment the coffee table and dining room table halfway decently. All in all, they've done their job well.

However, notice that we got two colors. Given how the Mild Wife and I are, we immediately made sure to alternate the green ones with the orange ones. To me, it just didn't make sense to haphazardly lump them together in any old order. You might end up with a glut of orange ones that way, and there's something about that just looks off to my brain.

Now, what do you suppose happens if one of those coasters goes missing?

I don't like looking at this picture for very long

My brain develops a tic, that's what happens. Notice that the bottom coaster, the orange one, is not strictly part of the stack. I couldn't even bring myself to put the two orange ones directly on top of each other. That bottom one is there in case we need it, but I can't bring myself to disrupt the pattern of the rest of the stack. I just can't. We'll find that green one, and all will be right in the world again.

Speaking of the missing one, we have looked high and low for that thing. We've checked every single known location for those coasters, and even a few where it has no business being. We know it hasn't magically left the premises, but that green coaster is winning this particular round of Peek a Boo. If and when we find it, I am going to let out a huge sigh of relief (and possibly a victory bellow of some sort).

I've decided: the coasters are not our friends. If we ever have to get new ones, I am going to strongly suggest we get a set in a single color.