It’s been weeks in the making, this annual fridge and freezer defrost of mine. Yes, my fridge is so old it both needs an annual defrost and has a fridge section that makes icicles that invade valuable food storage space.
I’ve been shopping my freezer for afternoon teas in a bid to clear as much as possible before the clean up. These pikelets got a makeover with some frozen berries, maple syrup and lemon juice to transform them into hefty crepes.
The perishables in the fridge have been going towards such worthy lunches as cheese and sardine sandwiches.
And so it went on until I flipped the switch late last night to herald the start of the Great Thaw.
As far as defrosts went, it wasn’t too bad, actually. I even had time halfway through to indulge myself in a ridiculously calorific and bananatastic breakfast of (defrosted) banana bread and half eaten banana (thank you, Toddler SSG) which were sandwiched together with softened butter (courtesy of the Great Thaw) and then doused in honey. I scrolled through some of my favourite blogs as I ate which made the morning feel like a more leisurely Sunday one than how it had actually begun, with all that cleaning and dumping.
The next thing to do after defrosting the fridge is to set about filling it up again. So it was off to the shops for Toddler SSG and I. I’ve figured that if I schedule one outing a day on ‘quarantine’ days, it does seem to stave off cabin fever in the afternoon.
There was some excitement in the biscuit aisle. And it wasn’t the Zumbo Tim Tams (which I am not going to fall for this year). Did you that the TIny Teddies are doing collaborations this season? No longer will your mini packets be filled with 10 teddies of honey, chocolate or choc chip flavours. Instead, the teddies have each paired up with a non teddy friend. In the case of the chocolate teddies, they’re now BFFs with choc chip spotty dogs. Who would’ve thought the group dynamics of biscuits could change so much and with so little warning?
Back at the compound, I’ve started using Batiste dry shampoo. I love the smell of the tropical spray as well as it’s Hawaiian themed bottle. The coconut scent isn’t as overpowering or synthetic as it can be in haircare products and I’ve found the shampoo easy to brush out of my hair.
And I’ve also done something I never thought I’d ever do. I assembled an entire wooden play set with my own two hands. Without breaking any of my fingers or losing any fingernails.
I bought this airport play set for Toddler SSG almost a year ago from Aldi and I’ve been waiting for him to be old enough and for an afternoon to be wet enough for me to be sufficiently motivated to put it together. Toddler SSG has been showing a keen interest in his cars over the last few weeks as well as his ongoing fascination with planes so I could put it off no longer. The set retailed for under $40, from memory and the assembled set looks pretty good for the price. I don’t think I’ve seen any other retailer with a play set like this in the price range.
I will confess to using a few ‘mummy’s little helpers’. A few swift knocks with a hammer helped a stubborn screw go in a bit further and some super glue helped stabilise the joins of the car ramp.
And no airport would be complete without a few patches of fluorescent yellow duct tape, for improved visibility of course.
And this is how the airport looked once everyone moved in and the runway got laid down out the front. So far, we’ve had no flight delays due to superior air traffic controlling, no loss of luggage and the emergency helicopter hasn’t had to make any emergency flights. The taxi has gotten lost a few times though. But it’s Sydney, everyone gets lost on Sydney roads. Even with GPS.
