When will I learn?

It was never my idea to start with.  The freezer needed defrosting.  It has needed defrosting for many months.  I have been putting it off and 'running down the freezer', especially after the last time the freezer door was left open.  I have not been in a hurry about it.  It is a job I loathe and detest.  Then the freezer is currently surrounded by clutter which is quite far down the 'to do' list as I need to do x y and z first.  Then I am looking at the grim corners of the freezer at the things I ought to do stuff with and thinking I'll get to those before I start.  I can think of lots of reasons not to defrost the freezer now.

Action has been forced upon me.  Tomorrow we are going to my brother's for a barbecue.  They have everything set up for barbecues and we have gone several times over the summer.  This time we insist that it is our turn to take the meat.

The best place to get the meat for the barbecue for us is a farm shop which has a splendid meat counter.  What is on the counter is what was in the field.  There are also sacks of local veg as well and some lovely home made cakes and buns.  If we go to the farm shop for meat for the barbecue then we may as well get the meat to stock us up for Autumn.  And if we stock up for Autumn I need to defrost the freezer first.

So I froze some water in bags, DF brought some cheap £1.41 for 20 nappies back from town and I unplugged the freezer.  I put the few bits that I was willing to keep in a cool bag with the ice, stuffed the freezer with nappies and threw out the bits of food in the freezer that I had been avoiding for so long - in some case I think it may be years.  If I was going to actually use them, I would have used them by now.  I regretted the money wasted and took it as a lesson learned.  They were certainly not fit to pass on for next door's pets.

Then I forgot all about it.  I tootled around, helped DH with bear's routine, browsed the net and then, just as I was ready for bed at 10pm I remembered.  Thanks to the nappies there wasn't a flood, but the ice was still firmly attached.

So I have spent the last two hours wrestling with swollen nappies (they are wonderfully absorbent) and towels and lumps of ice.  I finally got a drawer back in that hasn't fitted since before last Christmas and I think I have done something interesting to my shoulder.  I didn't do a perfect job, but it was good enough.  Tomorrow I have room to stock up!

Tomorrow I will also finish clearing up a stack of cloths, nappies, rags and damp patches.  For now I am winding down after the battle with a hot chocolate and a grumble on the internet.  Next time I will be better organised.  I shall also start saving for a frost free freezer.