As I am sure you will all apreciate, in a climate like ours, keeping food chilled and fresh is top priority, and for this purpose, the previous owners left their fridge with small freezer above it, and another, low level freezer for us to use. Unfortunately these have been giving us some problems lately, with excess water appearing all over the fridge, an unreliable thermostat so we have lost milk and fruit and veg, and a defunct light which we were unable to replace. The top freezer was simply two fairly large shelves, which meant everything had to be unloaded in order to reach a packet I knew was lurking at the back. And even when I had used quite a large bagful of what ever it was, the rest of the stuff never seemed to want to go back into the now larger space! This was also the problem with the floor-standing freezer as it had four compartments, but they only had a flap 'door' and no drawers, so it was a constant battle to keep food rotated. So after a bit of persuasion, Chris agreed to replace them for me.
We are keen to support the shops within our little village, (We will need them one day, when we can no longer drive), so yesterday afternoon we went to the little electodomesticos round the corner, and we were impressed with the range he had to show us. He took us two doors down the road to a lock-up garage where we found exactly what we (I anyway) was looking for. The young lad who served us was so nice and helpful. He didn't speak English but he was very patient with my faltering Spanish, and when he wasn't sure if we had understood, he typed what he wanted to say into his laptop and translated it for us! He explained about a very good government scheme whereby, as long as we bought a new appliance of grade A or A+ energy rating, we would be given a substantial refund on our old one and they would take it away to a recycling depot. We finalised the deal and within an hour, two lovely matching appliances were sitting in our hall. He unwrapped them for us and took all the packaging away with him, which was a great help. So I now have a tall fridge, with room for chilled drinks all summer, and two huge drawers for fruit and veg, and a matching tall freezer with big drawers, so everything is now accessable. For the offer, the deal
er had to take copies of evidence of our residencia to the energy authority. He told us to let the two new 'chillers' rest for the night to settle their fluids. Early today he came back with the paper work stamped and approved, and told us we could now plug them in.
We moved the old ones out into the kitchen and used an extension cable to plug them into the utility to keep their contents cold while the new ones were reaching the desired temperatures. Then we manoevered the new
ones into the same places as the old ones had been. The freezer is a lot taller of course, so it looks very big, but we will soon be used to it. The only downside was that the microwave that used to sit on the freezer has had to move into the utility area, but it is just as near as it used to be so it's not a problem.
While I was waiting for them to cool down I dismantled my silk flower arrangement that has lived on top of the fridge since we came here. I brought i
t with me, because I made it when my kitchen was replaced back in Oswestry, and have always liked it. It is mainly silk flowers with some ears of corn, a few poppy seed heads, and some 'arty' bits made of wood and string. When I got it down last night, prior to moving the fridge, it was woefully dusty, so this morning I washed all the flowers. I just swooshed them 
around in some soapy water, (that's a very technical term!), rinsed them and put them outside to dry, and they came up a treat. Now it is all put back together again, and back in its rightful place, on top of the new fridge. I also cleaned up all my magnets and replaced them on the side and front of the fridge. I know a lot of people wouldn't want them there, but they either represent something or someone special to me, or they come from all the lovely places we have been around the world, and everytime I go to the fridge I smile at a happy memory they evoke.
By lunch time the fridge was cool enough to transfer food across to it. It took me a while
to work out what arrangement of shelves etc suited me best, but I am happy with it for now. I have a special bottle rack so I have some drinks in there, and there is a mechanism to tilt it if you want to store bottles that have been opened. And you will see that I even have half an empty shelf. But it won't stay like that for long. As it is right at the end of the month, I am low on some things, but I'll be shopping next week and it will be much fuller then, and that shelf is reserved for half a water melon. They are just coming into season, and I love them, especially when they are really chilled.
Soon after that was done, I decided that the freezer had also got cold
enough to fill, so I emptied each shelf of the old one as quickly as I could, and sorted it into different drawers for each type of food. It looks surprisingly full considering it came from two relatively small freezers, but it just shows haw tightly everything had to be packed in before. I even labelled the drawers so I can find things quickly. Now I will be able to see what I have got, and I won't have things falling out on me every time I open a door!
It is a super hot day again today, so both freezers soon thawed out and I gave them a quick wipe out. The dealer had promised to come around 6.00 this evening to collect them, and sure enough, at ten to six he was here. What excellent service. We are very impressed!
I am sorry I seem to have rambled on again. Not many people could say so much about a couple of new fridges. But I have always felt very at home in my kitchen. I see it as a sort of extension of me, and it gives me great pleasure to have nice things to use in it.
We are keen to support the shops within our little village, (We will need them one day, when we can no longer drive), so yesterday afternoon we went to the little electodomesticos round the corner, and we were impressed with the range he had to show us. He took us two doors down the road to a lock-up garage where we found exactly what we (I anyway) was looking for. The young lad who served us was so nice and helpful. He didn't speak English but he was very patient with my faltering Spanish, and when he wasn't sure if we had understood, he typed what he wanted to say into his laptop and translated it for us! He explained about a very good government scheme whereby, as long as we bought a new appliance of grade A or A+ energy rating, we would be given a substantial refund on our old one and they would take it away to a recycling depot. We finalised the deal and within an hour, two lovely matching appliances were sitting in our hall. He unwrapped them for us and took all the packaging away with him, which was a great help. So I now have a tall fridge, with room for chilled drinks all summer, and two huge drawers for fruit and veg, and a matching tall freezer with big drawers, so everything is now accessable. For the offer, the deal
er had to take copies of evidence of our residencia to the energy authority. He told us to let the two new 'chillers' rest for the night to settle their fluids. Early today he came back with the paper work stamped and approved, and told us we could now plug them in.We moved the old ones out into the kitchen and used an extension cable to plug them into the utility to keep their contents cold while the new ones were reaching the desired temperatures. Then we manoevered the new
ones into the same places as the old ones had been. The freezer is a lot taller of course, so it looks very big, but we will soon be used to it. The only downside was that the microwave that used to sit on the freezer has had to move into the utility area, but it is just as near as it used to be so it's not a problem. While I was waiting for them to cool down I dismantled my silk flower arrangement that has lived on top of the fridge since we came here. I brought i
t with me, because I made it when my kitchen was replaced back in Oswestry, and have always liked it. It is mainly silk flowers with some ears of corn, a few poppy seed heads, and some 'arty' bits made of wood and string. When I got it down last night, prior to moving the fridge, it was woefully dusty, so this morning I washed all the flowers. I just swooshed them 
around in some soapy water, (that's a very technical term!), rinsed them and put them outside to dry, and they came up a treat. Now it is all put back together again, and back in its rightful place, on top of the new fridge. I also cleaned up all my magnets and replaced them on the side and front of the fridge. I know a lot of people wouldn't want them there, but they either represent something or someone special to me, or they come from all the lovely places we have been around the world, and everytime I go to the fridge I smile at a happy memory they evoke. By lunch time the fridge was cool enough to transfer food across to it. It took me a while
to work out what arrangement of shelves etc suited me best, but I am happy with it for now. I have a special bottle rack so I have some drinks in there, and there is a mechanism to tilt it if you want to store bottles that have been opened. And you will see that I even have half an empty shelf. But it won't stay like that for long. As it is right at the end of the month, I am low on some things, but I'll be shopping next week and it will be much fuller then, and that shelf is reserved for half a water melon. They are just coming into season, and I love them, especially when they are really chilled. Soon after that was done, I decided that the freezer had also got cold
enough to fill, so I emptied each shelf of the old one as quickly as I could, and sorted it into different drawers for each type of food. It looks surprisingly full considering it came from two relatively small freezers, but it just shows haw tightly everything had to be packed in before. I even labelled the drawers so I can find things quickly. Now I will be able to see what I have got, and I won't have things falling out on me every time I open a door! It is a super hot day again today, so both freezers soon thawed out and I gave them a quick wipe out. The dealer had promised to come around 6.00 this evening to collect them, and sure enough, at ten to six he was here. What excellent service. We are very impressed!
I am sorry I seem to have rambled on again. Not many people could say so much about a couple of new fridges. But I have always felt very at home in my kitchen. I see it as a sort of extension of me, and it gives me great pleasure to have nice things to use in it.
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