Miscellanea
So, last week was the hottest this year, plus humidity, peaking on Thursday and Friday. Of course, that's exactly when I had planned my monthly Japanese meeting. I decided to do as little preparation in the kitchen as possible, because my kitchen is a veritable sauna. I served fruits, and crackers and stuff which people could dip in cheeses, dips and sauces I got from the supermarket (except from Tahini which I made myself). I bought lots of ice cream and stuffed my freezer with it. I also went at the last moment and bought seeds and nuts - the Israeli favorite snack food - but they were not needed eventually.
13 people showed up. I had to borrow two chairs from a neighbor. I'll need to buy two or three more folding chairs, but I'll wait until the weather is better. Two air conditioners and a fan I ran didn't suffice. It was a hot evening. But it was rather successful. I had two Japanese guys among the visitors, and there was much laughter and - as one of the guests brought saké, people also got a little tipsy.
It was over by about 11PM, and I just filled a couple of trash bags, and decided to leave everything else for the morning.
Only sometime after midnight I heard a noise. I got up but couldn't see anything, and went back to sleep. Turned out one of the cats - probably Proxy - jumped on top of the fridge and to the cupboard above it, opening the freezer door with her hind legs. And it stayed open all night.
First thing I did was close it. But that wouldn't do. It wasn't cooling properly. And I noticed some frost was gathering on the back of the freezer. Of course, this is a no-frost fridge, but being open for 8 hours during hot and humid weather conditions is not exactly its operation bracket. I suppose the air ducts were blocked with ice, and the no-frost system wasn't enough to melt it back.
So I had to just defrost the whole thing. Of course I threw away everything in the freezer - I had to do that anyway after it was open for 8 hours. Frozen vegetables. Bread. Home-made chicken soup. And of course, all the ice cream left from the meeting - found their way to the trash.
I had all the contents of the fridge - things that can keep for a few hours, anyway - moved into bags and containers and put them all in my computer room, which was the only room air conditioned at that point. And then I gave the fridge and the freezer a thorough cleaning, while the ice was melting slowly. It hasn't had one for a while, I must admit. I also remembered the advice of the repairman last time I had cooling issue, and moved the fridge to clean up the heat dispersal griddle on its back. Luckily the spot behind the freezer wasn't too dirty. I always have nightmares of cockroaches multiplying in there, but there were just cat toys (of course).
The ice was melting and the drain pan at the bottom of the fridge was full to the brim. It didn't seem to be movable, though. And I had to drain it somehow. So I brought a bowl, put it on the floor, and stuck a few spent wipes into it - one end in the fridge drain pan, the other end above the bowl. The water sipped upwards into the towels by capillary power, and then siphoned down into the bowl. It was a slow but steady drip. Physics is cool. After about half the water drained out, I removed the wipes and emptied the bowl, cleaned the floor and sprayed it with insecticide, and moved the fridge back.
After I was convinced that water was definitely not condensing on the back of the freezer any more - a sign that all the ice has melted - I put everything back in and plugged it back in. It took another day before I was convinced that the fridge is in good working order - everything is cool, no ice is forming. And a bonus point: it was making an awful noise before all this happened, a rattling noise that even my mom commented on - over the phone - and said was not right. That noise is now gone. The kitchen is quiet.
All this was, as I said, in the hottest day of the year. And no matter how much liquid I was taking in, more was coming out. It was only some time in the night that I finally had everything in place, all the remains of the meeting put away, and the Roomba happily running around. Exhausting.
So I look forward to a quieter weekend this week. I do need to replenish my food supply. With that weather, I didn't go out of the house much, and I have an empty freezer, no bread at all. I didn't even have enough eggs last week, and it was either getting to the non-kosher supermarket after that exhausting day, and it was still terribly hot and humid at midnight (!) or find a convenience store that carries eggs in my neighborhood. There were a couple - but the eggs were past their due date. Thanks, but no thanks.
I called in the exterminators for the fourth time right now. They are getting annoyed with me. One thing is certain, if I ever have another hornets' nest, I'm not calling this extermination service. They don't have a clue about hornets, it seems. The horrible bait seems to have worked - but only partially. I can see at least four hornets flying around, and I don't know if that's all that's left or not, but I can't plug up the nest while they are still hovering around.
The weather is currently slightly better (less hot), and I'm waiting for my groceries to come from the online supermarket. Then I'll go get a hair cut. Then I hope to get some bread from my fave bakery (I'll buy some cookies there as well), and be back in time for my conversation lesson online at 17:00. At sundown perhaps I'll go to the non-kosher supermarket and buy the rest of the stuff I need - especially eggs and meats - and that will leave me the entire weekend without needing to go out at all.
Next month we have the holiday season. I asked my boss for the "bridge days" between Yom Kippur and Sukkot, that will give me some 17 days off straight. He'll decide on it in the beginning of the month. And with the end of August, all the kids running around the office will also be gone. People started bringing their kids to work, having exhausted all the ways to keep them out of the way during the summer vacation.
Oh, and I'm buying a new iMac. I'm just waiting for the new ones to arrive in Israel. I'm buying the 27" i7 model. I'll also want a magic trackpad, but they don't know when those will arrive at all. Shinies! I want them now!
13 people showed up. I had to borrow two chairs from a neighbor. I'll need to buy two or three more folding chairs, but I'll wait until the weather is better. Two air conditioners and a fan I ran didn't suffice. It was a hot evening. But it was rather successful. I had two Japanese guys among the visitors, and there was much laughter and - as one of the guests brought saké, people also got a little tipsy.
It was over by about 11PM, and I just filled a couple of trash bags, and decided to leave everything else for the morning.
Only sometime after midnight I heard a noise. I got up but couldn't see anything, and went back to sleep. Turned out one of the cats - probably Proxy - jumped on top of the fridge and to the cupboard above it, opening the freezer door with her hind legs. And it stayed open all night.
First thing I did was close it. But that wouldn't do. It wasn't cooling properly. And I noticed some frost was gathering on the back of the freezer. Of course, this is a no-frost fridge, but being open for 8 hours during hot and humid weather conditions is not exactly its operation bracket. I suppose the air ducts were blocked with ice, and the no-frost system wasn't enough to melt it back.
So I had to just defrost the whole thing. Of course I threw away everything in the freezer - I had to do that anyway after it was open for 8 hours. Frozen vegetables. Bread. Home-made chicken soup. And of course, all the ice cream left from the meeting - found their way to the trash.
I had all the contents of the fridge - things that can keep for a few hours, anyway - moved into bags and containers and put them all in my computer room, which was the only room air conditioned at that point. And then I gave the fridge and the freezer a thorough cleaning, while the ice was melting slowly. It hasn't had one for a while, I must admit. I also remembered the advice of the repairman last time I had cooling issue, and moved the fridge to clean up the heat dispersal griddle on its back. Luckily the spot behind the freezer wasn't too dirty. I always have nightmares of cockroaches multiplying in there, but there were just cat toys (of course).
The ice was melting and the drain pan at the bottom of the fridge was full to the brim. It didn't seem to be movable, though. And I had to drain it somehow. So I brought a bowl, put it on the floor, and stuck a few spent wipes into it - one end in the fridge drain pan, the other end above the bowl. The water sipped upwards into the towels by capillary power, and then siphoned down into the bowl. It was a slow but steady drip. Physics is cool. After about half the water drained out, I removed the wipes and emptied the bowl, cleaned the floor and sprayed it with insecticide, and moved the fridge back.
After I was convinced that water was definitely not condensing on the back of the freezer any more - a sign that all the ice has melted - I put everything back in and plugged it back in. It took another day before I was convinced that the fridge is in good working order - everything is cool, no ice is forming. And a bonus point: it was making an awful noise before all this happened, a rattling noise that even my mom commented on - over the phone - and said was not right. That noise is now gone. The kitchen is quiet.
All this was, as I said, in the hottest day of the year. And no matter how much liquid I was taking in, more was coming out. It was only some time in the night that I finally had everything in place, all the remains of the meeting put away, and the Roomba happily running around. Exhausting.
So I look forward to a quieter weekend this week. I do need to replenish my food supply. With that weather, I didn't go out of the house much, and I have an empty freezer, no bread at all. I didn't even have enough eggs last week, and it was either getting to the non-kosher supermarket after that exhausting day, and it was still terribly hot and humid at midnight (!) or find a convenience store that carries eggs in my neighborhood. There were a couple - but the eggs were past their due date. Thanks, but no thanks.
I called in the exterminators for the fourth time right now. They are getting annoyed with me. One thing is certain, if I ever have another hornets' nest, I'm not calling this extermination service. They don't have a clue about hornets, it seems. The horrible bait seems to have worked - but only partially. I can see at least four hornets flying around, and I don't know if that's all that's left or not, but I can't plug up the nest while they are still hovering around.
The weather is currently slightly better (less hot), and I'm waiting for my groceries to come from the online supermarket. Then I'll go get a hair cut. Then I hope to get some bread from my fave bakery (I'll buy some cookies there as well), and be back in time for my conversation lesson online at 17:00. At sundown perhaps I'll go to the non-kosher supermarket and buy the rest of the stuff I need - especially eggs and meats - and that will leave me the entire weekend without needing to go out at all.
Next month we have the holiday season. I asked my boss for the "bridge days" between Yom Kippur and Sukkot, that will give me some 17 days off straight. He'll decide on it in the beginning of the month. And with the end of August, all the kids running around the office will also be gone. People started bringing their kids to work, having exhausted all the ways to keep them out of the way during the summer vacation.
Oh, and I'm buying a new iMac. I'm just waiting for the new ones to arrive in Israel. I'm buying the 27" i7 model. I'll also want a magic trackpad, but they don't know when those will arrive at all. Shinies! I want them now!