the name of the game

This morning started out fairly quiet. I began with a few dishes from last night. Then started tidying, moving from room to room, as the sleepy heads emerged from their rooms one by one.

I like it when the kids wake up one at a time. It's slow and easy going.

One thing on my mental to-do list was making a big pot off chili. Last night I was really on the ball and started soaking beans AND cooked the meat. Some of the kids like it when I use black beans (that's my favorite) and others like dark red ones.

I got a wild hair and thought, Why not both?!?!

I know, I know. I'm pretty crazy. A real risk taker.

While the chili simmered I decided to attack the next thing on the list: the dreaded deep freeze. If you have a manual defrost freezer you'll know why I've been putting it off. The kids didn't get the door shut all the way and the frost and ice began to build. Uggh, but Wednesday morning is a wonderful time for this kind of project. Why Wednesday morning? Because a dreaded project on hump day is like pushing through "the wall" in a marathon. If you can just get through it, it's all downhill from there. (I can say that now because the project is over.)

On the side of the freezer it is recommended that you prop the door open so it can thaw "naturally." Yeah right. I don't have time for that, so I sent one of the indentured servants for my weapon of choice...the hair dryer. I like multi-tasking tools. A hair dryer is a tool right?

Once the inside was thawed and clean it was time to fill 'er back up. I filled up the top 3 shelves with fruits and vegetables, leaving the bottom 2 for the meat from my meat freezer, which decided to take an unexpected turn for the worst. It's somewhat disheartening to go to get some meat out of the freezer only to discover that just half of it's contents is actually frozen.

Dinner at my house anyone? We're having roast!!!

Hopefully we will be able to fix the darn thing. I'd hate to get rid of it. We bought it back in the first few years of our marriage. Honestly, I've become a bit attached to it. Silly, isn't it?

If we must part, I'll take a picture and journal about it. ;)