Ireland day 0713. Monday 11 September 2023- Defrosting *

Ireland day 0713. Monday 11 September 2023- Defrosting

Today’s summary	Went on a quick walk round the demesne in the morning with Val on her half day before she went to work after lunch. Defrosted the freezer and went to the gym in the afternoon
Today’s weather	Grey and damp in the morning. Light rain and heavy drizzle for most of the rest of the day from noon onwards. Light westerly wind. Appx 16C

Today’s overview location (The grey mark shows the location of our route)		Close-up location (The orange line shows where we walked) (Click button below to download GPX of today’s walk as recorded, or see interactive map at bottom with elevations corrected): Quick walk round the demesne

Commentary

(Summary blog only. Last full blog was Day 0368).

You know it’s been a pretty quiet day when the most interesting thing you have to write about is the half hour you spent defrosting the freezer.

Actually, there was a bit more to it than that, as Val had a half day so we managed to fit in a quick walk round the demesne before lunch (chicken salad – super healthy!) after which she zoomed off to the museum.

As soon as she had gone, I decided to tackle the freezer problem. There was so much ice build-up in it that it was almost impossible to get anything in or out. So I pulled everything out, as best I could, then attacked the thick layer of rime with a breadknife and hairdryer. I had to be a bit careful not, in my enthusiasm with knife, to puncture the freezer lining but I managed successfully to decant about a tonne of ice from the freezer to the sink in about 30 minutes, and then to get everything back in before it melted. Hopefully that will see us through until the end of 2025 before it needs doing again!

Once I had done my domestic duties, I decided I needed a bit more exercise so went off to the gym for a session on the machines and in the pool. Val narrowly beat me back to the flat – we both arrived around 5:30. Now we are about to tackle the production of a healthy dinner – it’s fish goujons tonight and I need to be on standby to try and locate the cod – I’m sure I put it back somewhere in the freezer, but I can’t exactly remember where…

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)


Walnuts ripening on the trees alongside the back road to the castle	Look at that! Brilliantly ice-free freezer.





Two years worth of freezer non-maintenance