Kitchen annoyances
Nov. 6th, 2003 10:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
urocyonThings have been fun around the house the past couple of days. Everyone seems to have some sort of bad cold or flu and doesn't feel like doing an awful lot besides take decongestants and their painkiller of choice and drink tea.
So what happens Monday afternoon? I go into the kitchen to get a cold drink, only to find that the ice cubes are half-melted. After a little investigation by my dad, it seems that the refrigerator compressor has given out. This happened during one of the bouts of fall weather when afternoon temperatures have been ggetting up into the upper 70s and lower 80s Fahrenheit, of course, so we couldn't temporarily store the food outside. It has been living in big foam chests with lots of ice--my dad, packrat extraordinaire, brought them home years ago, and we've no idea what their original purpose was--but he's thrilled at any opportunity to use them.
The food, this is, which my mother and I have not already cooked to try to prevent it from spoiling so quickly. We've eaten more meat in the past few days than in the average week, and more is being stored on ice cooked. I am starting to get a little cranky because I seriously doubt that I feel any better than anyone else present, and I've been nominated to do much of the sorting through and cooking.
As one may have guessed already, replacing the fridge sooner was a high priority. Between being ill and currently low on funds (besides not in possession of an appropriate vehicle for transporting appliances), this has proven more difficult. The past few days, there has been much searching for and perusal of second-hand refrigerators in decent working order. (Bless The Trading Post amd similar advertising papers!) With any luck, one of the ones my parents are supposed to examine tomorrow will suit, and can be brought in by rental truck, if nothing else. I know this is a situation beyond anyone's control, but it is beginning to wear thin. The dog, at least, has been pleased; she's gotten to eat several pounds of freezerburnt meat from the bottom of the freezer. *g*
This afternoon offered a further bit of kitchen-related excitement. It's been an extremely grey day, pouring rain most of the time. At 2:30 (EST) it looked like dusk. So the overhead kitchen light refused to put on more than an extremely dull glow; it's a fluorescent ring fixture, so I had no idea what to do, other than flip the switch a few times in hopes that it would come on. The window in there is north-facing, so doesn't get the best of what daylight there is. I was in there trying to put together a late lunch, and couldn't see what was happening at the stove. Though it felt slightly absurd, I resorted to setting up a few candles so that I could at least halfway see what I was cooking. Sid has since gotten the light on through the simple expedient of messing with the switch some more--that light can be balky at times, but I've never had it behave that badly before!
I suppose I should figure out what else to fix to eat. Given that we have meats already cooked and plenty of thawed vegetables, it shouldn't be that difficult. :)
So what happens Monday afternoon? I go into the kitchen to get a cold drink, only to find that the ice cubes are half-melted. After a little investigation by my dad, it seems that the refrigerator compressor has given out. This happened during one of the bouts of fall weather when afternoon temperatures have been ggetting up into the upper 70s and lower 80s Fahrenheit, of course, so we couldn't temporarily store the food outside. It has been living in big foam chests with lots of ice--my dad, packrat extraordinaire, brought them home years ago, and we've no idea what their original purpose was--but he's thrilled at any opportunity to use them.
The food, this is, which my mother and I have not already cooked to try to prevent it from spoiling so quickly. We've eaten more meat in the past few days than in the average week, and more is being stored on ice cooked. I am starting to get a little cranky because I seriously doubt that I feel any better than anyone else present, and I've been nominated to do much of the sorting through and cooking.
As one may have guessed already, replacing the fridge sooner was a high priority. Between being ill and currently low on funds (besides not in possession of an appropriate vehicle for transporting appliances), this has proven more difficult. The past few days, there has been much searching for and perusal of second-hand refrigerators in decent working order. (Bless The Trading Post amd similar advertising papers!) With any luck, one of the ones my parents are supposed to examine tomorrow will suit, and can be brought in by rental truck, if nothing else. I know this is a situation beyond anyone's control, but it is beginning to wear thin. The dog, at least, has been pleased; she's gotten to eat several pounds of freezerburnt meat from the bottom of the freezer. *g*
This afternoon offered a further bit of kitchen-related excitement. It's been an extremely grey day, pouring rain most of the time. At 2:30 (EST) it looked like dusk. So the overhead kitchen light refused to put on more than an extremely dull glow; it's a fluorescent ring fixture, so I had no idea what to do, other than flip the switch a few times in hopes that it would come on. The window in there is north-facing, so doesn't get the best of what daylight there is. I was in there trying to put together a late lunch, and couldn't see what was happening at the stove. Though it felt slightly absurd, I resorted to setting up a few candles so that I could at least halfway see what I was cooking. Sid has since gotten the light on through the simple expedient of messing with the switch some more--that light can be balky at times, but I've never had it behave that badly before!
I suppose I should figure out what else to fix to eat. Given that we have meats already cooked and plenty of thawed vegetables, it shouldn't be that difficult. :)
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no subject
Date: 2003-11-11 02:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-11-11 09:12 pm (UTC)I need to answer your mail, but I hope your trip went well.