Fritz the Fridge

Hello and welcome to an anniversary Saturday here at the Wannaskan Almanac. Today is September 16th. Happy Anniversary, honey!

Last week, I promised "more to come" on our home improvement projects. I've mentioned occasionally that I'm not the most organizationally talented gal living in Wannaska. Granted, I'm not the worst either....

To my credit, I've learned quite a bit about pitching the things that "don't give you joy." Or, in other words, how to Marie Kondo my home, even if I've never read her book. After a summer with lots of rest and restoration, I was ready to embrace my back-to-school theme: "New Year, New You."

I even had an exceptional organizational buddy at my side (for a week!) The first room was the living room. I thought it was going to be the kitchen, but I have this new (to me) hutch from my brother. I wanted to put the china that's been stacked in the kitchen cupboards these last 17 years into the hutch - which I couldn't do until I established a permanent spot for the hutch.

My friend and I cut out paper squares that represented the living room space and the furniture items we wanted to place in the living room - hutch, couch, clavinova, matching chairs and ottoman and the BAC (Big Ass Chair).

Then came the kitchen.

I cleaned out 4 long-neglected cupboards. Most of the contents either went into the hutch or into the donation box. I was so happy to finally get hubby's beer glass collection moved to more stable shelving and to not need to stack all of the coffee mugs and tea cups.

Despite not meeting the room-a-day pace I'd hoped for (there's still the kids' bedroom swap, our bedroom, and the bathroom closets), I was pleased with our progress. On Monday morning, I had a whole week ahead of me to look forward to, plus hubby would be gone for 3 days. What could go wrong?

Meet Fritz.

He's our fridge. 

Fritz decided to give up the 'frigerator ghost and join his maker in appliance heaven. 

Usually, appliances fall into the left circle of our married couple's Venn diagram. I'm on the right side with laundry, garbage, and homework, while hubby's on the left with car maintenance, vacuuming nooks and crannies with his handheld vacuum (his specialty), and pretty much anything that happens outside of the house. Our overlapping circles include cooking, shoveling, and bedtime stories.

However, on Monday morning, as I noticed a bright red puddle of a mystery liquid underneath and in front of the fridge, hubby left for his 7am flight with a kiss and a message I'm sure was filled with good intent and love: "Don't buy a new fridge."

I was on my own.

Whenever I have found myself in this predicament - a crisis that falls on the hubby side of the Venn diagram - I don't sweat it. I always have someone to call. The first person to pop into my head was my dad who passed away 11 years ago. Then I thought of a family friend, who passed away 4 years ago. And then my stepdad, who passed away 2 years ago. It seemed that the backup handymen of my life were all gone. But I didn't have time to be sad or contemplate this profound revelation. I had water dripping steadily from the waterline, filling my small plastic bowl every 3 minutes.

As I sopped up raspberry juice - the mysterious red liquid - from the floor and bottom of the freezer, I thought about my next move. My plumbing experience involved toilet tanks, not fridges. I knew from TV shows that there might be a valve below the sink which, if not turned correctly, could spray like Old Faithful creating new problems. 

With "Don't buy a new fridge," echoing in the otherwise empty brain chamber that contained only these two measly marbles of plumbing knowledge, I finally thought of someone to call.

To my relief, my brother answered despite it being 8am on a Monday workday morning. Also, to my relief, he took the time to listen to his sister's troubles and set to work (calmly) helping me solve the problem.

First up, the rapid drip-dripping.

Together, with my brother on the phone, and me filled with determination that I can DO this, I set on a wild adventure looking for the shut-off valve to the fridge. After a fruitless search of the laundry room, he told me to turn the power off to the water heater and water pump.

Problem solved!

Now that fears of flooding the kitchen were abated, I set to the second task of vacuuming below and behind the fridge. During all this special treatment, I listened to Fritz’s moans and rattles. He’d cough a click followed by a pitiful wheeze as if he really wanted to whir his little heart compressor – but just couldn’t do it – only to begin the cycle again a few moments later. 

I sensed this was serious. It might even be the end. Cardiac arrest with risk of flat-lining, I surmised, channeling Dr. Meredith Grey from Grey's Anatomy. So, I called Marvin Home Center and was relieved to get on the service team’s schedule for later that day. Welcoming the appliance guys into my home can be likened to kids thrilling at the sound of Santa’s reindeer hooves tap-tapping on the roof.

It didn’t take long for the professionals to announce their prognosis: “The compressor is shot. The fridge is on the fritz.”

When my husband serendipitously called, right at that moment, I handed the phone over to the service guy. I knew it would go over better coming from him.

"Looks like we have to buy a new fridge," hubby said when the appliance guy returned the phone to me.

In Toastmasters this past week, we learned about the Rule of 3. Someone mentioned that good things can happen in groups of three, but not to forget that bad things can happen as well. This "bad" situation has a happy ending - the new fridge will be delivered this coming Monday! -  however, I can't help but wonder, what the next two bad things will be. 

(I'm looking at you, Denny the Dishwasher and Wanda Washing Machine.)

 

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