The confusion around the coconut flakes

But I KNOW I bought coconut flakes. I vividly remember looking at the various brands of coconut flakes in the store and not being able to choose, and ultimately going with the cheapest brand because they're coconut flakes and probably all taste the same, especially when sprinkled atop a baked bar. I remember the bag: baby blue plastic with the tear-off-supposedly-resealable top, and a little window displaying the flakes themselves. I REMEMBER IT.

I remember purchasing the coconut flakes at the self checkout and going on my normal route home. BUT here is where it gets interesting: I DON'T REMEMBER PUTTING THE COCONUT FLAKES AWAY UPON RETURNING HOME. I remember putting the other things away, and I surely remember intentionally leaving the puff pastry on the counter so it could thaw. And then I did my normal evening activities and went to bed.

Here's where things really take a turn: The next day, ready to bake, I begin assembling my ingredients: Flour, butter, brown sugar, condensed milk and… confectioner's sugar?? Why do we have so much confectioner's sugar? I ask myself. I vaguely recall buying confectioner's sugar to make fudge, but that was a while ago and the fudge has long been made and eaten. It's at this point I realize that I cannot find the coconut flakes. And yet… the confectioner's sugar bag is not unlike the coconut flakes bag. Blue… plastic… with the tear-off-supposedly-resealable top???? Could it be I accidentally bought confectioner's sugar instead of coconut flakes?

But how COULD it be??? As stated, I CLEARLY remember my internal dialogue regarding which coconut flakes to buy, choosing the cheapest option, and looking at the little coconut flakes through the little plastic window on the BABY BLUE bag. Yes, the confectioner's sugar bag is certainly similar in shape, size, and even color: it is BLUE! But it is not BABY BLUE. And believe me, I know the difference. I spent way too much time and money studying color theory in college, and I sometimes believe I have a near-photographic memory for certain objects. I absolutely cannot imagine that I accidentally purchased this confectioner's sugar.

But the whole thing just seems like too much of a coincidence, does it not? After all, I do not remember putting the coconut flakes in the cabinet, and yet the quite similarly packaged confectioner's sugar just so HAPPENS to be in the exact place where I would have placed the coconut flakes, had I remembered placing them there? And the bags just happen to be very similar? And even if I did in fact buy coconut flakes, who bought the confectioner's sugar? Was it a previous fudge-related purchase? But then where are the coconut flakes? Did I leave them at the store? In my many years of going to this exact store and using this exact self checkout, I don't think I've ever left anything behind. But it's always possible, is it not?

The other funny thing is that I distinctly remember not requesting a receipt from the self checkout machine, but I DID accidentally take someone else's pre-printed and not-taken receipt from the machine, glance at it, and throw it in the trash on my way out of the store. I was very close to having documented evidence that would indicate if I had purchased coconut flakes or confectioner's sugar, but alas, I have never been one to request a receipt, and this instance was not an exception.

So what do you think, dear reader? Does all evidence point to a coconut confectioner's sugar switcheroo? Or did a few coincidences all occur at the same time just perfectly enough to both confuse and disappoint yours truly, who was really looking forward to baking coconut-lime bars and now instead must settle for plain lime bars?