OK. It's not really a diet. It's just where we'll be eating from for the next two or three days. Our forty-two month old fridge decided to take a dive. Actually, it started with the freezer. The compressor started making a noise the week before Christmas. I mentioned it to my husband, but he said that was normal. I didn't think so. Then right before Christmas it got louder. Then we noticed that the ice maker had stopped working. Then we noticed that some of the frozen food was getting soft.
On Christmas night, we decided we would call on Monday to schedule a repair visit. We should not have waited.
We came home from dinner last night to a big puddle of water around the fridge. Some of the thawing food had melted into the ice maker door chute. We cleaned it up as best we could, and made an action plan. In the morning we would get a bunch of ice and salvage what we could from the freezer. The fridge itself seemed like it might still be working, but we knew that it was at risk as well. Plus, the repairman might need the whole thing emptied out.
This morning, I purged the freezer. What a scary task that was. It was also depressing. I salvaged some of the food that was pricey and still in good condition. We have a huge rolling cooler. I filled it tight with semi-frozen/still-frozen food. I had a bag of ice and some cold packs that I placed on top. When Goblin got back from his morning class with ice, I put some in Ziploc bags and covered everything pretty well.
He got himself some breakfast, including a glass of milk. He noted that the milk was not as cold as it should have been.
This would happen on a long holiday weekend when our fridge/freezer have never been fuller. Plus, the outside temperature is in the fifties!!! Single digit temperatures would have really been appreciated at this point.
I doubt we can get a repairmen here before Tuesday. If the unit needs replaced we may not have a new one until the weekend.
So it goes. We'll be eating well for the next two days. Duck tonight. Salmon tomorrow night. Welcome to the Rolling Cooler Diet.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Saturday, December 27, 2008
A different kind of holiday spirit
One of my favorite things about this time of year is that I get to listen to Christmas music. I have over 50 CDs of the stuff. (Sad, but true.) Every year I pick up a few more. This year I picked up one electronically that is pretty awesome. The a capela Straight No Chaser's Holiday Spirits. Their version of Twelve Days of Christmas is totally awesome.
On the flip side. I got a fabulous holiday CD by goth musicians Nox Arcana. This video is just a shot of the album cover with the song The Carol of the Bells. One of the most intriguing versions of this Christmas classic that I have ever heard.
I already had an earlier CD by them, Dark Manor. However, Winters Knight so impressed me that I've downloaded FIVE other CDs by them. Each of their CDs is thematic. Here are the album covers of my not-quite-comprehensive Nox Arcana library:
While Christmas has been fun, I guess my gooey, sticky, warm, pulsing heart really does belong to Halloween.
On the flip side. I got a fabulous holiday CD by goth musicians Nox Arcana. This video is just a shot of the album cover with the song The Carol of the Bells. One of the most intriguing versions of this Christmas classic that I have ever heard.
I already had an earlier CD by them, Dark Manor. However, Winters Knight so impressed me that I've downloaded FIVE other CDs by them. Each of their CDs is thematic. Here are the album covers of my not-quite-comprehensive Nox Arcana library:
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While Christmas has been fun, I guess my gooey, sticky, warm, pulsing heart really does belong to Halloween.
A semi-useless trudge to Burlington, MA
I had an appointment at the Apple store down in Burlington this morning. As I mentioned earlier my DVD drive bit the dust. Today's appointment was a reschedule from last Sunday's snow storm aborted appointment. The original phone tech who made the appointment for me agreed with my assessment that the drive would need replaced.
Goblin made the 35 minute drive with me. He had the time and I can barely lift the iMac. (It's bulky more than heavy, but I'm broken in so many ways that it's a bad idea for me to try if I don't have to.)
At the appointed time, the tech at the Genius Bar (don't you love that!) had me log into the computer. He saw that I had VMware on my dock and asked me how that was working for me. I said that everything worked just fine except the DVD drive. He made some curious noises and said he wanted to check so things just to be sure that it was a hardware issue.
I often find myself in this situation. I've been dealing with computers for over thirty years (no exaggeration). When I encounter a problem I do my best to diagnose and repair the issue. When I find myself at the end of what I can do, I try to hand my assessment off to the technician I contact to assist me. Inevitably, they assume that I am like every other end user and start from scratch in their assessment of the problem. Eventually, he booted the iMac from an external drive and discovered that the drive was still busted. I could actually see his body physically acquiesce. So than I casually said with a somewhat smug smile, "Hardware, huh?" He met my eyes somewhat sheepishly and said, "Yeah." I said, "Yeah, well. I kind of recognized the sound the drive was making."
He then started taking a bunch of information from me and told me it would be 3-5 business days to fix the thing. I was a bit put out. I mean, it's a standard DVD drive that they use in all their iMacs. He apologized and said that they were out of them and had to order one. He wanted to know if I would be leaving the iMac there while we waited for the drive, or did I want them to call me when it came in.
Goblin thought this was hysterical. I was instantly uncomfortable. Do without my iMac for most of the week??? Bah! Goblin started teasing me in front of the tech. I did acknowledge that I did have three other computers on my desk. The tech started and grinned, "And I thought I was bad."
We all came to the conclusion that it would be best if I took the iMac home and trekked it back down to Burlington when the part came in. I might still have to live without it for a day or two. But, that was much more tolerable.
Bear in mind, if they had paid attention to my assessment, and the fact that my appointment was postponed six days, they could have had a drive in the store. Grrrr... Then again, maybe they were out of drives due to holiday stuff. Who knows?
So, the iMac (BTW, her name is Matilda) is sitting in its rightful place on my desk. I have an external CD/DVD drive that has come in handy in the last week. So, all is tolerable in my computing world right now.
We did take the opportunity to cruise Burlington mall a bit while we were there. I picked up some half-price holiday cards for next year, along with a half-price audio book I've been contemplating. We had a lovely snack at Au Bon Pain, and then hit the ATM on the way home.
Goblin made the 35 minute drive with me. He had the time and I can barely lift the iMac. (It's bulky more than heavy, but I'm broken in so many ways that it's a bad idea for me to try if I don't have to.)
At the appointed time, the tech at the Genius Bar (don't you love that!) had me log into the computer. He saw that I had VMware on my dock and asked me how that was working for me. I said that everything worked just fine except the DVD drive. He made some curious noises and said he wanted to check so things just to be sure that it was a hardware issue.
I often find myself in this situation. I've been dealing with computers for over thirty years (no exaggeration). When I encounter a problem I do my best to diagnose and repair the issue. When I find myself at the end of what I can do, I try to hand my assessment off to the technician I contact to assist me. Inevitably, they assume that I am like every other end user and start from scratch in their assessment of the problem. Eventually, he booted the iMac from an external drive and discovered that the drive was still busted. I could actually see his body physically acquiesce. So than I casually said with a somewhat smug smile, "Hardware, huh?" He met my eyes somewhat sheepishly and said, "Yeah." I said, "Yeah, well. I kind of recognized the sound the drive was making."
He then started taking a bunch of information from me and told me it would be 3-5 business days to fix the thing. I was a bit put out. I mean, it's a standard DVD drive that they use in all their iMacs. He apologized and said that they were out of them and had to order one. He wanted to know if I would be leaving the iMac there while we waited for the drive, or did I want them to call me when it came in.
Goblin thought this was hysterical. I was instantly uncomfortable. Do without my iMac for most of the week??? Bah! Goblin started teasing me in front of the tech. I did acknowledge that I did have three other computers on my desk. The tech started and grinned, "And I thought I was bad."
We all came to the conclusion that it would be best if I took the iMac home and trekked it back down to Burlington when the part came in. I might still have to live without it for a day or two. But, that was much more tolerable.
Bear in mind, if they had paid attention to my assessment, and the fact that my appointment was postponed six days, they could have had a drive in the store. Grrrr... Then again, maybe they were out of drives due to holiday stuff. Who knows?
So, the iMac (BTW, her name is Matilda) is sitting in its rightful place on my desk. I have an external CD/DVD drive that has come in handy in the last week. So, all is tolerable in my computing world right now.
We did take the opportunity to cruise Burlington mall a bit while we were there. I picked up some half-price holiday cards for next year, along with a half-price audio book I've been contemplating. We had a lovely snack at Au Bon Pain, and then hit the ATM on the way home.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Goodbye dear friend
During the mid-1980's I purchased my first and most favorite cookbook: the twelfth edition of The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, in a mass market paperback edition. It was the most comprehensive, yet diminutive, reference in my cookbook library, a library which grew quite large over the intervening decades. At just over a thousand pages, it was doomed. Paperbacks that large, and that well used, simply don't hold up very well. Last year the spine finally split.
I was heart broken. I did not want to part with my beloved cookbook. I knew that newer editions of the book were available but I could not imagine that any were up to the standard set by my edition. If for no other reason than their smaller page count.
But, I did my research. At 896 pages the 100th anniversary (13th) edition of The Fannie Farmer Cookbook seemed like it might suffice. I was certain that it would be lacking some of the character of my old friend. However, the old book was literally falling to pieces more and more each time I used it.
I put the new edition on my Amazon wish list, and my beloved mother-in-law made sure that the tome appeared under my Christmas tree.
While I'm just beginning to get acquainted with my new friend, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
But before I could part with my old dear friend, I thought I owed it this send honor-filled send off.
Thanks for all the years of wonderful service!
I was heart broken. I did not want to part with my beloved cookbook. I knew that newer editions of the book were available but I could not imagine that any were up to the standard set by my edition. If for no other reason than their smaller page count.
But, I did my research. At 896 pages the 100th anniversary (13th) edition of The Fannie Farmer Cookbook seemed like it might suffice. I was certain that it would be lacking some of the character of my old friend. However, the old book was literally falling to pieces more and more each time I used it.
I put the new edition on my Amazon wish list, and my beloved mother-in-law made sure that the tome appeared under my Christmas tree.
While I'm just beginning to get acquainted with my new friend, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
But before I could part with my old dear friend, I thought I owed it this send honor-filled send off.
Thanks for all the years of wonderful service!
Happy Xmoose
I hope that everyone is having a pleasant Christmas Day with their loved ones.
We got up around 7:30. That is sleeping in for us. We don't have any little children in the house anxiously itching to see what Santa brought them. However, I am not a good sleeper, and one of our cats starts yowling from the basement around 6 when no one comes to feed her and let her loose.
While I'm pleased with most of my gifts, I am most pleased with the present I got for our cats. I ordered a motion-activated cardinal from National Geographic. It tweets when it senses movement. I found a retro wire bird cage on ebay to go along with it. Viola! Perfect present for the entire family to enjoy.
Our younger cat was the first to be intrigued by the thing.
When the older cat tried to get close, he chased her off.
She came back later though.
A good time was had by all.
We got up around 7:30. That is sleeping in for us. We don't have any little children in the house anxiously itching to see what Santa brought them. However, I am not a good sleeper, and one of our cats starts yowling from the basement around 6 when no one comes to feed her and let her loose.
While I'm pleased with most of my gifts, I am most pleased with the present I got for our cats. I ordered a motion-activated cardinal from National Geographic. It tweets when it senses movement. I found a retro wire bird cage on ebay to go along with it. Viola! Perfect present for the entire family to enjoy.
Our younger cat was the first to be intrigued by the thing.
When the older cat tried to get close, he chased her off.
She came back later though.
A good time was had by all.
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