Every year I have some sort of major problem. Garden, illness, home, car....
But, what I was not quite expecting? Was my freezer. Once again my freezer has struck another massive blow to my heart. And so I spent hours upon hours gagging and cleaning, and throwing away pounds and pounds... and pounds of food. MY food. ARGH! Not only the monetary value of this food. But what hurts (emotionally) the most is the amount of harvested and prepared garden produce. The squash, peas, beans, corn, spinach, seeds, okra, tomatoes, broccoli, carrots, not to mention all the stuff that was ready for the holidays.... :-( Oh my heart sunk when I smelled the devastation.
This isn't the first time the freezer has done this. Two years ago I threatened to get a new one. I tried to, but my frugality kept me tending my old box. Defrosting it when needed and dealing with it's quirks. It had some sentimental value. It was nearly as old as my marriage.
But last night I welcomed into my life a new friend. He's sexy, and sweet. He whispers to me. He's handsome and broad chested. He's got good bones and a decent work ethic, too. Best of all I can lock him up and he doesn't mind. ;-)
Meet Renaldo.
So here is to hoping that this years harvest is safe to be tucked away in the freezer and won't rot when I'm off gallivanting around for a week.
For what it's worth - that cat peed on my husband's (NEW! WHITE!) shirts while we were gone, and as for the garden - that will be another post! I was just glad I still had some lettuce and most of my seedlings when I got back!!!
'Till next time!
Barbie~
Oh, Barbie...how terrible! About the food loss, that is. Renaldo, on the other hand, muy hermosa!
ReplyDeleteI lost some meat and fish (steak, talapia and salmon) moving it north last week. Not to the point of actual spoilage, at least the dogs can still enjoy it. I just wouldn't feel real safe serving it to humans. The fruits and veggies thawed just enough to stick together now that they are refrozen, but were still icy. I do feel safe eating them, thank heavens. Those fruits and veggies of our labors are the most precious, even though not the most costly.
Barbie, I am so sorry. Not for nothing, did you check with your homeowers insurance, you may have food spoilage to cover some at least to help with the cost of the new freezer. It is not an easy job giving them a cost on your own vegetables but it can be done. I know many policies in NY have that coverage.
ReplyDeleteI no that is no help in the feeling of loss that I am sure you are going for.
Renaldo is beautiful. I to have containers on all my shelves. I mark them with dynamo tape as to what is in them. It keeps them neat and easy to find what you want. Also make inventorying a lot easier.
I am so sorry you had to leave your first love! You put so much time and energy into him! I don't know what we would do if we lost ours. I'm glad you rebounded quickly and found yourself a new man!
ReplyDeleteOh gosh, how devastating to lose so much saved food :(
ReplyDeleteWe went back and forth about a defrost / no defrost freezer when we bought the one in our basement. We eventually went with the one that you have to defrost every so often because it keeps the food frozen long-term better (the frost free types come up above freezing on a cycle - that's how they stay frost-free; the frost melts. We've had it for 3 years now and still haven't had to defrost it although we may need to sometime in 2012...
Enjoy Renaldo!