Twenty-two years, at least, and still running. Our Amana refrigerator. Makes a light humming noise off and on in its aging state, but it’s still rocking. No issues and no repairmen. No computerized controls.
On occasion, Paul pulls it out to clean the coils and then back in place it goes. We talk about getting a new one.
However, like my old car, if it is still working and I’m not spending money on it, it’s hard to justify buying a new one.
Stuff on fridge
I suppose the most important thing on the refrigerator is the Amsler Grid. If you zoom in on the white piece of paper, you’ll see it’s a bunch of squares.
If you have macular degeneration and it’s getting worse, the lines in these little boxes look wavy and not straight.
I recommend highly yearly eye exams. They are so easy to just push off to the side. They are so important.
My optometrist discovered mine. I went in to update my Rx for glasses and the next thing you know he’s telling me I have AMD. He referred me to an ophthalmologist.
I have dry AMD. If you’re going to get AMD, dry is better than wet. However, dry can develop into wet.
Wet AMD can cause vision loss. With dry, people rarely go blind.
I’m told it will be 10-15 years before I’ll have to deal with it. What exactly does ”deal with it” mean? I’m not asking.
The grid takes less than a minute to do and can help save more of your vision. I probably check mine every two or three months just in case there’s a slight change. I’m not taking anything for granted.
I go to the ophthalmologist twice a year for monitoring. Also take AREDS 2 twice a day, which is to slow progression.
Now that’s a pricey little OTC pill! However, the doctor said take it so I do.
I recommend a grid for everyone just to CYA. You can print one off the internet.
The ”Love” sticker is from The Humane Society of the United States and says, ”Love is a four-legged word.” Just love that.
Two magnets: 1) Thank You for Being; and, 2) “naMEOWste.”
Love flamingos! I love them as yard art.
What’s in the fridge?
Looking in here I’m trying to figure out something interesting that is going on in there. Not much to work with.
Looks like there’s an empty lemonade bottle. A red bowl of cherries on the top shelf. There are two red bags on the right bottom shelf.
These are Eight O’clock coffee bags we purchased in error. They are the whole bean variety. Paul likes ground. I’m not a coffee drinker.
We could pour the beans in the blender and put the setting on grind. Problem solved. I used to do that all the time with flax seeds. My priorities — I’d rather read than grind.
We keep batteries in the freezer. I keep eye pillows there. They’re great for when you have an irritating headache.
Wild Blueberries
Next to the ice maker, there’s a blue bag. These are Wyman’s Wild Blueberries. It says on the bag ”2x antioxidant activity compared to ordinary blueberries.”
I happened upon these when I was on a Chobani yogurt kick. Every day for months and months on end, I had yogurt, granola, and these blueberries. And yes, I am over yogurt now.
These wild blueberries are the crème de la crème. They are much richer in vitamins, fiber, antioxidants, and other micronutrients than cultivated regular or organic blueberries.
Wild blueberries are clearly the winner — they grow in forests without human activity at all. They grow by default where no pesticides or fertilizers are used. They are wild.
Wild Blueberries vs. Organic Blueberries — Which One Should You Buy? http://www.articflavors.com
I’m just saying you might want to give these berries a try, if you haven’t already. They’re tiny compared to a regular blueberry.
I liked eating them frozen in my yogurt. You’ll find them in the frozen fruits section.
Composting
On the left side, third shelf down is our refrigerator composting container.
Embarrassing to me for you to see the banana peel hanging over the side, but we’re friends here, right? It’s my job to empty this container.
Outside the kitchen door we have a much bigger container that has a secured lid. That’s where I put the compost from the fridge.
Once it is full, Paul empties it into the composting bin next to the garden and stirs it in with the compost already there.
We really have to watch Daisy’s wanderings after Paul mixes it. She finds delicacies in there.
She’s come out eating old apples, tomatoes, carrots. Disgusting. She likes to eat dirt, so what can I say? To her, life is good.
We don’t compost anything salty, citrusy, cheesy, oily. We compost eggshells, coffee grounds, banana and avocado peels, fruit, paper towels and coffee filters, watermelon rinds, cherry and avocado pits, vegetables, corn cobs and corn husks.
Paul puts in grass clippings and leaves. He says it’s important to have a green and brown mix. Nothing diseased.
The EPA says meat is not compostable. However, some people still compost it. It attracts critters and foul odors. Same goes for dairy products, but I don’t know the EPA’s take on dairy. Bones are compostable.
I learned you can compost cardboard. Paul doesn’t compost this because he considers cardboard a recyclable.
Refrigerator facts
- About 15% of American households contain two refrigerators.
- A person on average opens the refrigerator door up to 23 times a day.
- The United States Department of Energy says refrigerators last approximately 12 years.
Refrigerator fun
- I thought all this time it was the dryer shrinking my clothes . . . turns out it’s the refrigerator.
- If you’re bored and want to be weirded out, check out Google Images 241543903.
- “November 15 is National Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day.
The End
I remember my childhood in Elizabethtown. People put their old, inoperable refrigerators in their barns.
That’s what one of my aunts did with hers. She used it for storing her tools. I think she had a lock on it.
My refrigerator story belongs to my mother. I was probably five- or six-years old. I remember the white refrigerator having a decent size dent at the bottom of it.
Somewhere along my way in life somebody told me about it. My mother threw an iron at my dad and missed, thankfully.
Just in case the thought has crossed your mind, here’s how ”Refrigerator Perry” got his nickname.
As a freshman in 1981, a fellow player could barely squeeze into an elevator with Perry and their laundry which they were taking to be washed. The player, Ray Brown, said ”Man, you’re about as big as a refrigerator.”
Now that’s a real knee-slapper, isn’t it? For some reason, I expected something with oomph.
I wouldn’t like being called a refrigerator, but if it makes for a better football player, that’s the name of the game. ”Go, Refrigerator, Go!”
Namaste 🙏
Thank you so much for reading. If you have a refrigerator story, I would love to hear it.
💙💛
A knee slapper it is!
A knee-slapper indeed. Best to you.