Weekend Wrap and DEfrost

 

Well, the beautiful cloud which the kids created for us on our 50th anniversary celebration over the weekend has all but floated onward, leaving behind a potpourri of cherished  memories. 

The celebration was truly a gift from their hearts which touched our hearts in an unparalleled fashion. 

A part of that gift came yesterday when Annie decided that she needed more room in the freezer for her Totinos pepperoni pizzas. 

She suggested that the freezer was a bit overloaded and especially inefficient because of the mounds of snowed-over glaciers inside. 

I had silently concurred with her assessment a few days before, but our full daily schedule of purging and cleaning and mowing and organizing and dusting and all that stuff that comes with planning for unknown amounts of company did not allow time to tackle the freezer. 

This was especially true because the last time I defrosted it, the job lasted for several days. 

Annie, however, had only a few hours because she would be flying back to Seattle later in the afternoon. 

So, she rolled up her sleeves, did a little You Tube research, sought my approval for contents to go and contents to stay and then began the process of removing titanic amounts of ice from the freezer. 

She brought out bowls for catching water and towels for catching the run-off. She used my hair dryer and Bill's wax-melting machine from the old cross country skiing days.  

She boiled pan after pan of water to set on freezer shelves, and she nursed the melting and snow/ice removing action. 

At one point, after making some notable progress, she summoned me to the freezer and suggested that those remaining baggies of stuff emerging from a few years of ice reminded her of the sight it must be on Mount Everest when the frozen bodies of unsuccessful mountain climbers start showing up from under the snow. 

Yup, it definitely was a bit reminiscent of that scene. 

Annie worked for about seven hours on the freezer, and by the time she had to leave, probably 75 percent of the ice had melted, leaving only the stubborn sheets seemingly velcroed to the shelves to drip, drip, drip. 

This morning, the dripping continues, and the towels on the floor have kept loose water under control. 

Annie plans to come back home in August, and when she does, I'll buy her SIX Totinos pizzas instead of the usual three that I normally stuff into the freezer prior to her arrivals. 

Yes, the weekend was filled with wonderful moments with family and friends and dogs, but I think Annie outdid herself on the gift which will keep on giving as we put more food than ever in the freezer. 

Thank you, Annie. 

The freezer is still melting, as is my heart. 

Coming off from floating on our anniversary cloud means that we'll be returning to some sense of normal, if there is such a thing around this Lovestead. 

Horses get their pedicures today, and we'll move on with our usual activities with a great sense of satisfaction, knowing that over the past couple of weeks, much of the stuff that's been stuffed behind doors and in drawers and even in freezers has been reduced significantly and that Bill has fully mastered the new dump/transfer station routine 

We'll also know that we've are blessed to have such great kids.  

Thanks so much Willie, Debbie and Annie for envisioning and organizing such an amazing family and friend experience that will live forever in our hearts. 

Ma and Pa Love are blessed.  

My sister Laurie made these as an anniversary gift. 

She knows what strokes our hearts.

Lovely thoughts of hope. 

Thanks, Laurie. 

💚💜💜💛