a peek inside the fishbowl

25 Oct, 2007

Refrigerator Roundup

By andrea tomkins in Yaktivism

I’m sitting here waiting for our refrigerator to be picked up. It will be anytime between 9:00 and 1:00 p.m. Gack.

This fridge we’re getting rid of is probably over 20 years old. In fact, it’s the kind that has one big door and a little freezer up top. The freezer was really an ice cave – the walls were always coated with frost … great for dramatic effect (“Look kids! My hand is going into the ice cave!”), but not so great for actually keeping stuff frozen.

When we first moved into our house (this was 10 years ago) my in-laws bought us a new fridge. The old one got moved downstairs. Since that time it’s been mostly used as a beer fridge. I also moved extra condiments down there too – seldom-used sauces like “Memories of Wichita” etc. – and from time to time I used it to store prepared food for holiday dinners or when we were having company.

Months ago we unplugged it. The thing was in need of a serious defrosting. And then we never bothered plugged it back in. We estimated it was costing us $150/year to run, possibly more. It just wasn’t worth it.

Now, if we want cold beer we just take a few bottles out of the twofer’ and put in the upstairs fridge. Memories of Wichita went into the garbage. And when company comes (which is a rare occasion) I just shuffle food around and find space. Sure, extracting things can be a pain in the butt, but is it really worth $150/year? No.

Our old fridge is going to be claimed by the Great Refrigerator Roundup.

As long as the fridge is in working order they’ll take it away – for FREE – and recycle it. Apparently by the time they’re done with it, the only part going into the landfill is small enough to fit inside a hat.

Pretty cool huh?

Next post: one where I pretend to be a professional model.

24 Oct, 2007

general observation

By andrea tomkins in Misc. life

Today is crazy. But I love it.

Sarah had a birthday party to attend on Sunday morning at Ray’s Reptiles, which is a solid 30-minute drive from where we live. We debated whether to drive out there, drop her off, come back home and then drive back to pick her up, but then we decided it would just be easiest if we did something in the area.

R-i-i-ght.

Well, you know what? There isn’t much around there. So we packed up our golf clubs (by OURs I mean Mark and Emma’s) and left.

So while Sarah was going to be hanging out with the likes of this guy:

 Snake

We were going to hit the greens. And by WE I mean Mark and Emma. Although I gave it the ol’ college try as well:

DSC_4975.JPG

Where did the ball go?

And here is the mini-putt. Sadly, it wasn’t the kind that had revolving miniature ferris wheels, multi-level towers or scary clowns. This was Mini-Golf In Natural Setting. It was pretty, but I shouldn’t have chosen an orange ball, considering much of the area was covered in leaves.

DSC_4976.JPG

Mini golfing

(If I had money in invest in a business venture I would definitely set up a mini-putt. Sheesh. It’s a license to print money.)

At the end of it all we had a bit of extra time to kill so we drove another km or so down Bank St. to an antique shop. It was great. They had so.much.stuff! Some very cool things too.

Say, if I told you I saw an 8-track player shaped like a giant robot would you believe me?

No? Well check it out:

Read the rest of this entry »

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  • Jeanie Maennling: I spent many wonderful days visiting my cousins and Uncle Herb and aunt Eleanor at the Farm in the 1950's. Mycousin Skippy (Sharon) and I got into l
  • alex: For a classic Canadian treat for valentine day , try a BeaverTail (a fried dough pastry) there its yummy
  • Juliet Luiz: I was at this park today and saw the foundation and historical sign which got me curious and let me to your blog post! Great information:) too bad t
  • Rowyn Tape: Hello, I was sitting at Easter dinner with my grandmother and she was telling me this story. She is Herbert Lytles daughter who eventually bought the
  • Bernie: I freeze ball sizes of bread dough for beavertails each winter season.Easy to thaw, roll out and fry. Best winter treat!
  • Jen_nifer: I feel very much the same about my SUP. Floating with snacks is fantastic! When I go on water with some current, I make sure that I paddle into the cu
  • sam: Great article. This is very insightful. Thanks for sharing

The Obligatory Blurb

My name is Andrea and I live in Ottawa with my husband Mark and our dog Sunny who is kind of a big deal on Instagram. During the day I work as a freelance writer. I am a longtime Ottawa blogger and I've occupied this little corner of the WWW since 1999. The Fishbowl is my whiteboard, water cooler, and journal, all rolled into one. I'm passionate about healthy living, arts and culture, travel, great gear, good food, and sharing the best of Ottawa. I also love vegetables, photography, gadgets, and great design.

If you're so inclined, you can read more about me here.

I've deactivated the commenting function as well as my contact form so if you want to get in touch, please drop me a line at quietfish@gmail.com. Thank you!

 


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