Fridges And Seders

it is 11:00 a.m. in the holy city of zefat.   l woke up with a horrific headache.  I only had a small glass of wine last night but in addition to all the dried fruits I ate, I'm in bad shape today.  an hour or so before the tu b'shvat Seder I realized that the fridge had stopped working.  yes, everything in the freezer had defrosted.  I quickly ran downstairs with all the chicken, meat and fish to store in the kids' freezer.  I usually do not refreeze defrosted food items but this was an emergency.  there is no way that I could have cooked up all of the chicken parts, chop meat and fish last night. 

the fridge did the same number nearly 2 years ago on the night that I threw a sheva bracha for my nephew.  it was a week before the pesach Seder.   the ice cream logs I had bought for the special occasion were all soup.  at the time I was recovering form radiation therapy an did not have the strength to shop around for a new fridge.  I also didn't have the money after being sick all winter.  I had the fridge repaired for a small fortune.  I spent almost the third of the cost of a new one but back then I didn't have options.

I did get almost another two years out of this fridge so I can't really complain.  my family had been so generous while I was sick that I couldn't think of asking them for more financial help.  my sister recently surprised me with a cash gift to buy a new computer.  buying appliances is part of being a grown up.  I have been using my mother's things for 14 years.  I used her Maytag washing machine until recently.  I paid a small ransom over the years keeping it serviced and replacing American parts.  I could have bought a new and smaller machine for half the cost.

I don't like changes.  I  am sitting Shiva over the fridge.  it was my mom's.  she picked it out and chose the color.  it was a lemon form the start.  we  paid a small ransom for the service contract.
I shelled out big bucks for the insurance for years after mom died.  I still had a month left on the contract when it nearly died two years ago.  as it turns out, the insurance company went under and died, leaving me to pay for a new service.   this time around, I have a 10 year warranty on the motor.   when you think about it, the motor is the last thing to go before it is officially declared dead. replacing the thermostat is what keeps the service people in the black.

I do not know how I will really be able to manage the payments.  I was planning on going to the bank today to arrange another loan but I'm not feeling up to going to town.  I already emptied the fridge and placed it on the front porch.  I need to scrub the floor before the new one comes tomorrow.  the weather has taken another turn back to cold and nasty.  the drop in barometric pressure is what is killing my head.  I have to pick up my checkbooks tomorrow morning so I'll check out the bank then .  in the meanwhile, I have to pick up the kids soon.  I'm honestly not in the mood.  I have to walk over to the grandson's gan and take him home on foot.  he will not like this.

last night's Seder was about as bad as I expected it to be.  and of course, I had the added pressure of running to town to buy a new fridge.  everyone was hungry and I hadn't really made any food.  I did make a barley mushroom soup but no one except my son had any.  I only made a small portion of cooked wheat and had to tell the very hungry kids that I didn't have anymore.  I could have kicked myself for not having made a double batch.  the ladies usually don't feast on cooked wheat.  the Seder started closer to 9:00 p.m.  it was way past the kids' bedtime and way past my endurance level.

the baby screamed and cried throughout the Seder.  the daughter-in-law, aka, Kim Kardashian, spent  the evening taking selfies.  unfortunately, she didn't take any pix of the Seder table.  the little kids cracked up after eating the candied worms and bananas and left the table to watch t.v.  my son did try  to read the torah passages but couldn't be heard over the baby's screams.  no one was paying attention anyway.  I kept on thinking that I shouldn't have even bothered.   I spent so much money and effort and hours on the internet to create a wonderful Seder and in the end, no one would have missed it if I hadn't.