Snow storm & Death of the Fridge
Last Friday it became apparent that my refrigerator was no longer working as it should. Ice cubes were not freezing all the way through, and some items in the freezer were starting to thaw. I can't complain too much, because the fridge was given to me for free 20 years ago by a customer who had me remodel their kitchen. So, 20 years use of a free refrigerator is not bad. But being the Friday before a holiday weekend meant that even if I went out and bought one immediately (which I did), they probably would not get it delivered to my house until Tuesday at the earliest. I bought a couple bags of ice and put them in the fridge, and bought a 25 pound (11 kg.) block of dry ice to put in the freezer. I also started cooking up a big batch of chicken vegetable soup to quickly use up 6 thawed chicken breasts and leg/thigh quarters. Several packages of thawing vegetables also went into the soup.
After 2 days, the ice was melted, and the dry ice had almost completely evaporated, but things that had been thawing in the freezer were frozen hard again.
This called for a change of strategy. Fortunately the temperature outdoors was dropping. With John's help I emptied the contents of the freezer and fridge into 2 camping coolers, a plastic tote, and a large enamel pot. We carried everything outside and put it on my back yard table. The temperature dropped below freezing, only getting above freezing for a few hours one afternoon. No animals got into the food, in spite of a dream I had where racoons were pillaging the coolers. All the food stayed out there until Wednesday when the new refrigerator finally arrived. I loaded most of the food into the new fridge, only lost a little bit of stuff, and threw away some things that were due to be tossed anyway.
1.
My outdoor "fridge".
I love my new fridge. It is a 25 cubic foot (708 cubic liters) side-by-side, just like my old one was, but the new one is stainless steel with black sides instead of all white.
Last night I made up a big batch of chili, using 3 pounds (1.36 kg.) of ground beef that had partially thawed and refrozen. I also used up the last 6 cups (1.4 liters) of my home made stewed tomatoes, some of which had been frozen for 9 years.
*****************************
Yesterday it started snowing mid-afternoon. It continued all night and did not stop until this afternoon. All together we got about 9 inches (23 cm.) of light, fluffy snow. It looked quite pretty in my back yard.
2.
Looking to the west across back yards.
This was the first time that Honey had experienced more than a trace of snow. She was a bit frightened by it, but eventually started exploring it a little, blazing trails through it in the back yard. Still, in spite of its novelty, she did not want to be outside for long.
3.
Honey exploring the new snow.
She definitely preferred to be inside in her hidey-hole under my computer desk.
4.
Honey in her hidey hole under my computer desk with her favorite ball. It is pretty comfortable under there with her gray dog bed, and just inches away from her daddy. She is teething, so it gives her easy access to my sneakers. She loves to untie the laces, and has chewed all the aglets* off in spite of giving her multiple chew toys to play with instead. She has also been chewing on the lower desk shelf.
She is slowly gaining more confidence in my house, and ventures into most of the rooms downstairs. She has also been learning to play with a ball, apparently this was something new to her. She loves her red rubber ball and will bark at it if it hides under a chair. She also takes it into her dog-bed under my desk and chews and snuggles with it, making little whining noises. I don't understand the whining, but it is cute and endearing. Also in the past week she has started wagging her tail when she's in the mood. She is definitely breaking out of her timid shell.
5.
Yours truly, with Honey. Photo taken by John.
*Aglets are the stiff ends on shoelaces to prevent unraveling and make threading through holes easier.
[Edited: Problem with e-mail validation and photo posting fixed. Thanks LJ tech!]
After 2 days, the ice was melted, and the dry ice had almost completely evaporated, but things that had been thawing in the freezer were frozen hard again.
This called for a change of strategy. Fortunately the temperature outdoors was dropping. With John's help I emptied the contents of the freezer and fridge into 2 camping coolers, a plastic tote, and a large enamel pot. We carried everything outside and put it on my back yard table. The temperature dropped below freezing, only getting above freezing for a few hours one afternoon. No animals got into the food, in spite of a dream I had where racoons were pillaging the coolers. All the food stayed out there until Wednesday when the new refrigerator finally arrived. I loaded most of the food into the new fridge, only lost a little bit of stuff, and threw away some things that were due to be tossed anyway.
1.
My outdoor "fridge".
I love my new fridge. It is a 25 cubic foot (708 cubic liters) side-by-side, just like my old one was, but the new one is stainless steel with black sides instead of all white.
Last night I made up a big batch of chili, using 3 pounds (1.36 kg.) of ground beef that had partially thawed and refrozen. I also used up the last 6 cups (1.4 liters) of my home made stewed tomatoes, some of which had been frozen for 9 years.
*****************************
Yesterday it started snowing mid-afternoon. It continued all night and did not stop until this afternoon. All together we got about 9 inches (23 cm.) of light, fluffy snow. It looked quite pretty in my back yard.
2.
Looking to the west across back yards.
This was the first time that Honey had experienced more than a trace of snow. She was a bit frightened by it, but eventually started exploring it a little, blazing trails through it in the back yard. Still, in spite of its novelty, she did not want to be outside for long.
3.
Honey exploring the new snow.
She definitely preferred to be inside in her hidey-hole under my computer desk.
4.
Honey in her hidey hole under my computer desk with her favorite ball. It is pretty comfortable under there with her gray dog bed, and just inches away from her daddy. She is teething, so it gives her easy access to my sneakers. She loves to untie the laces, and has chewed all the aglets* off in spite of giving her multiple chew toys to play with instead. She has also been chewing on the lower desk shelf.
She is slowly gaining more confidence in my house, and ventures into most of the rooms downstairs. She has also been learning to play with a ball, apparently this was something new to her. She loves her red rubber ball and will bark at it if it hides under a chair. She also takes it into her dog-bed under my desk and chews and snuggles with it, making little whining noises. I don't understand the whining, but it is cute and endearing. Also in the past week she has started wagging her tail when she's in the mood. She is definitely breaking out of her timid shell.
5.
Yours truly, with Honey. Photo taken by John.
*Aglets are the stiff ends on shoelaces to prevent unraveling and make threading through holes easier.
[Edited: Problem with e-mail validation and photo posting fixed. Thanks LJ tech!]